A Fresh POV

The letters POV are used when referring to a camera angle. It is the camera’s POINT OF VIEW. In essence it is all that the camera can “see” from its position. People and cameras are somewhat alike except cameras are moved around for another scene while people are sometimes stuck in a mental POV that’s hard to change.

If you are a CEO, product/brand manager or general manager, you no doubt value having other POV’s added to the discussion when critical decisions are being made. Steve Jobs admits the hugely successful iPhone would not have been possible without considerable input. Some early thoughts were changed but more importantly some here-to-fore unconsidered additions were made. Knowing how innovative Apple is, that probably comes as no surprise. But there is a twist.

What has changed in recent years is the angle of the POV. Businesses used to require that it came from inside their industry. It’s was, however, a way of thinking that didn’t allow for much innovation…just “me too” watered down. Kind of like everybody in the family ordering up the same desert at a restaurant. Today, smart marketers see it differently. “It’s not a matter of looking outside the box,” a recent client told me, “it’s having the guts to obliterate all boxes so we get a clearer view of the landscape.”

A POV is nothing more than a static position taken at some point in time and even the widest camera lens can’t see everything. If medical patients are smart to get a second opinion, good marketers are also smarter when they get another POV, especially when it comes from outside the box.

Call us. We have some great examples of fresh POV’s that literally changed product history.

Mark Alison

Business Accelerator

The Alison Group

Survival in Tough Times

Many businesses have been through this before. In 1982 we were just starting out and that recession seemed like a monster to us. This one may seem like a monster to you but there is more than hope. There is the opportunity to actually move your business forward. Here is how to do it.

1. Be seen. Choose a strategy that includes more frequent exposure to your solid client base and others who parallel your base. Whether this is direct mail, e-strategy, mass media or whatever has worked in the past. Touch them often.
2. Offer value that transcends price. Wal-mart is doing quite well in these times because their brand strategy is built on lowering prices. It is likely that your prices are low already. Don’t endanger your business by cutting them again. Create an offer that says “value” to your customer. It could include an extra year of warranty. Some things don’t cost you much but are valuable to your customer.
3. Expose your full product/service line. Even repeat customers may not know everything you sell because they have adapted a routine of buying one thing. Let them know your full line.
4. Generate some excitement. In a sea of bad news people hunger for some good news. Even your staff will be energized. Do something that will bring attention to your business. This is not “advertising.” It is PR.
5. Stay the course. If you have been successful in the past it is likely that you are fundamentally sound. Don’t allow knee jerk reactions to creep in. Remember what you are best at. Now is not the time to accept any defeat. There are likely twice as many potential customers out there as you currently have. They need a reason to buy from you. Give it to them.

A Plan to Succeed

“If you fail to plan,” Harvey MacKay is quoted as saying, “you plan to fail.”

How many banks lend money to a new venture without seeing a business plan? In most cases it is part of the application. Why then, is a sustainable marketing plan so unusual?

Here’s why – most entrepreneurs think the entire world is their marketplace. They have such firm convictions in their product or service that they feel it will market itself if they can just get the message in front of an audience…any audience. (How many times have we heard- “Get me on Oprah”) The first rule in land development is:  Don’t fall in love with it. Yet they do. And it’s the same with other products and services as well.

A Wells Fargo/NFIB study, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, says 62.5% of small businesses will fail within a ten year period. So here is how the six step process typically goes:

• Enthusiasm – They launch the product feeling anyone and everyone will buy it if they see it. Money is spent in media, web sites, PR, etc., all based on an entrepreneurial pride.

• Surprise – When it doesn’t take off, they find it hard to believe. More money is spent but this time, in what appears to be, better tools to get the job done.

• Commitment – Some sales take place but not enough to justify the expense; however, the spurt of sales is enough to harden the commitment. The thinking is: it is just a matter of time before this catches on. Kind of like the playing craps.

• Denial – Most of the seed money is spent and now many marketing options are closed due to lack of budget. The hope is to limp through until sales generate enough to invest again.

• Fallback – Figuring there are some other partnering opportunities that can make it work. Partnering can bring more cash into the business.

• Blame – Now the very sources used to promote the product are the culprits, or there was sabotage inside the organization. It is still, essentially, a good idea.

  With inventory and marketing being the two most expensive items on the P&L, why not develop a comprehensive, yet flexible, marketing plan before spending money?

We ask our clients to allow us to script and follow a marketing plan. It is amazing the decisions and directions that come out of the planning meetings. It is equally amazing how much money, time and frustration it saves.

It’s not just for entrepreneurs. It works for every company regardless of size and complexity. A plan to succeed. How imaginative! MacKay would be proud.

Remember Waterbeds?

Hey, check the internet, they’re still around. In 1985 they were big. The top and bottom waterbed sheets were sewn together at the foot, so they were really big too. Almost a laundry load by themselves.

Our smallish southern cut and sew factory client competed well in the bed covering business but waterbed sheets was a niche they had not penetrated. The large department store buyers wouldn’t give him the time of day. “We need something unique and there’s nothing special about two sheets sewn together” he said, “got any ideas?”  In less than three weeks we gave him the idea, name, logo and packaging concept that increased his sales by 35%. 

His response to our simple idea? “Why didn’t I think of that?” But what really blew him away was Macy’s stores buyer giving him an aisle kiosk for the exciting new “Button Ups” brand line of waterbed sheets.

Instead of a seaming them together, we suggested he sew buttonholes at the foot of one sheet and corresponding buttons on the other. You might think it was the mix and match tops and bottoms that made them an instant hit but it was the secondary sell point that really caught the female consumer – “May Be Washed Separately” clearly noted on the package cover. We designed it that way.

What could a fresh eye on an old problem be worth to you?

If there is a better way to market your company, we know it.

The Problem With Hog Hair

“The problem with hog hair is the awful smell when it heats up.” “Other than that,” he went on to say, “it is the best choice for high speed burnishing floor pads.” I overheard this at the Jan-San show. We were there in Chicago with our client. They manufactured the commercial cleaning pads he was talking about as did a half dozen others. For thirty years it had been a basic commodity in the trade. That was precisely the problem, commodity…along with the odor – especially noticeable in environments like medical centers. And that was the opportunity. Problem-opportunity, a perfect environment!

We gathered the client’s R&D team. Hog hair worked because of the texture and oily lanolin in the hair. “What if there was a similar product in the plant kingdom,” we asked? Our persistence led to coconut fiber, actually the strands inside the coconut hull. A few months later we introduced the coconut pad to the medical community. It was as good as hog without the smell and our client was the only one with it. Say goodbye to “commodity pricing.”

One final problem. Pasteurizing the fiber stripped away the delightful coconut smell. We suggested they add two drops of coconut extract to each pad when they packed them. “It will last long enough for the janitor to notice,” we reasoned, “he’s the one who will place the re-order anyway.” It worked. It’s still working.

If there’s a better way to market your company, we’ll know it.

A Real Estate Program that Turns “Leads to Yes™”

“Your prospect will willingly give us her phone number and we’ll call to set up the tour.” That’s how we described the “Leads to Yes” system to our client. Sounds too good to be true? Read on…

Every lead is precious, especially today, but unless there is pertinent contact information you bear the expense of the brochure, postage and time with absolutely no promise of a return. In many cases it can cost five to fifteen dollars or more. This is why we introduced the Leads to Yes (LTY) system to our clients two years ago.

LTY is not simply lead generation. It is a programmed system of “interest generation” and helps weed out the expensive “not ready for buy time” consumers while cultivating the more serious prospects. Moreover the associated database logs in all prospect information electronically and it is always available to sales via the internet and a personal log in.

When you calculate the cost, LTY more than pays for itself with money and time left over. This is a great example of marketing and sales working very closely for success. It’s the way we think.

If there is a better way to market your company, we’ll know it.

Communicating with Seniors

Mr. Collins was 72. The last thing he wanted was another operation. Around the table we went and not a single one of the ten seniors disagreed. The issue was they had all lived with bone on bone pain in hips or knees for years but joint replacement was not in their vernacular. The other commonality was each of them had been reached by a well researched and finely honed marketing program. 

A year later they were starring in a video that would reach many more folks with similar pain, encouraging…yes encouraging them to see our docs and get an assessment. 

Typical of Alison’s thoroughness, the campaign didn’t consist only of collateral materials and media strategy. It also evaluated the physician’s office capability to field calls and turn them into appointments. The screening and call back process were integral to our success. It was monitored and revised on the fly so no leads were lost to poor execution. 

The bottom line is this: If there is a better way to market your company, we’ll know it!