The power of sig lines

How many emails do you send out during a day? Imagine if you could send a marketing message 10, 25, 50 of your existing and potential consumers per day for free. Use your email signature line. Too simple? Many of the most effective marketing tools are that simple. Most are simple common sense. Set up your sig line to communicate your brand positioning, your unique selling proposition, your differential. Use it to direct those consumer to interesting ideas. Position yourself and your business as a trusted resource, an expert. Do you have a blog? Do you have a youtube video that you've created for your business? Do you participate (or better yet, own) a particular social networking site? Add these to your signature line. Simple? Yes. This one is a "no brainer."

Value and service will win

At breakfast this morning, the owner of the restaurant explained to me how much her food costs have increased in the last few years - her cost of eggs has more than quadrupled, her bread is going to $4.00/loaf, etc. Unfortunately, this is the way things are right now and how we as businesses deal with it will make the difference in our success.

The key to brands surviving these times will be differentiation through value and service. Genuine differentiation, not the "steepest, widest, longest" differentiation (pardon my reference to the heydays of Sunday River marketing - however, it was brilliant then - one of the best marketing campaigns of the time.)

Despite the rising costs of everything, your customers will still buy - they still need to eat, they will still want to work out (they need to buy gear for that), and they still need their "Americano" coffee to start their day. But they will make you work harder for their business. They will look for value - not discounts, but value. They will spend their very hard earned money on those brands and with those business who demonstrate value - and, most importantly - here is the real secret to success right now: consumers will spend money with you if you show them that you care. Not candy and flowers type of love (although that could never hurt). You need to show them that you care that they've chosen your business or brand over the many others. Show them - tell them - that you appreciate that they've chosen your business. The businesses that figure this out - and quickly - are the ones who will win in these times.

Save a bag, save the world

After work tonight Bruce and I were brainstorming on a new marketing idea....which I won't share here yet. But it was born from the idea that plastic bags are dead and reusable bags are becoming so hot. We calculated that since my family made the commitment a year ago to only use cloth bags for groceries, we have eliminated 1300 plastic bags. Just one family. 1300 plastic bags that never made it into the environment. Can you imagine if every person just in our shop made that commitment for one year? What an impact we could make. And, it made me think that reusable bags shouldn't just be for groceries....why not carry bags in the car and use them for any purchase? A book at Borders, a t-shirt at Banana, a jersey at Pearl, etc....you get the point.

Commuting better

After two weeks of lively discussion about new social media, our group launched a social networking site at ning....icommutebetter.ning.com. We have three other sites planned and it is our hope to not only spread the social fever but start a global conversation about the things we are passionate about here. Stay tuned....