Atomic Penny

What does being the best really mean? If you are the best, are you better than everyone else? Do you really believe that? Often, once one attains ”best” status, they realize that it can be a double edged sword.

Knowing you are the best is good if you don’t let it go to your head. If you do, it can make you a target. Getting an ego because of your success makes you unbalanced and easy to topple. There is nothing wrong with taking pride in your success, however that pride needs to stay controlled.

Always keep in mind that satisfaction about being the best can be one of the worst things that can ever happen to you. It can become the acme of your life and career. Once you reach that pinnacle and assume that you are done, you’ll cease to learn and grow.

The view from the top is great, but lonely. Why not look around you and find others who want to succeed and achieve together?  Find a way to  get to the top and make room for more because if you do it together, you all win.

Who can you help succeed today?

POWER ON–Mark

The Confetti Project is officially here!

It’s time to think in a new way about marketing. It’s your time to think differently about how you run your business. It’s time to start connecting with future and past customers. It’s time to create new alliances, strengthen current relationships and move on to a higher level of commitment. Not a monetary or time commitment, but a commitment to excellence of  marketing in a new and different way. Thinking differently, taking the road less traveled and remembering who inspired you to be where you are today.

The Confetti Project is designed to help you get there. Different thinking, open minds and ideas that inspire are foundations of the Confetti Project. The Project is based on 4 basic steps:

• The Countdown
• The Launch
• The Explosion
• The Fallout

Watch as this takes off and come along for the ride!

In fact, I believe in this system so much, that I’m giving away my NCAA March Madness basketball tickets to prove it! To learn more, visit the Atomic Penny Facebook fan page here.

POWER ON-Mark

I often find myself on the receiving end of questions regarding word of mouth (WOM) marketing –”How often do you have a marketing program that is focused on WOM?”; “How do you make sure that WOM is working?”; “How do you control it?”

My suggestion to achieve WOM success is to plan the biggest event you can afford and invite EVERYONE! And don’t just invite customers. The reason why is simple, but often overlooked. Your customers, if pleased with your service, have already told people about your product or service. It is the customers that have not yet been WOWed from an interaction with you that can help you reach a brand new audience.  Emergemcemarketing.com has a nice blog on this subject.

Get the message to spread to new customers through interactions outside the usual office or business environment. An event that I have had consistent success with is a car wash. For the cost of  a power washer and a local high school or community group, you can increase interaction, goodwill, and your bottom line. 

Let the people you please spread the word about your business!

POWER ON-Mark

I am not a fan of reality TV, but the new CBS show, “Undercover Boss,” has my attention for a variety of reasons.  I am intrigued by the fact that a CEO is not recognized by any of the people he works with. Does that mean that the communication from the top does not include information about the CEO? Or does it imply that there is a lack of communication? Also, if you watch the show, are you surprised that the majority of workers are either 1) Happy and go lucky in their position, or 2) Have overcome obstacles to maintain his or her job?

The one employee that really stuck out for my was Dolores from the episode that aired on February 21, 2010. Dolores had taken it upon herself to get to know her customers–all of them. She knew names and situations while serving the most coffee of any 7-11 store in the US. All this while living with a failing kidney. Dolores was clearly the driving force in retaining customers and achieving high sales. Seth Godin even calls her a Linchpin.

You can learn from her much more than you can learn from the CEO. It is not about margins, ROI, metrics or even advertising. It is about doing the right thing. It also affects employee and corporate morale. What a pleasure it must be for customers to be greeted with a smile and their name when they walk in the door! Spreading the word about one’s business through actions and interactions, as opposed to a big advertising budget, is what I call the Confetti Effect, part of my Confetti Project. More on that soon…

Learn from Dolores, take what she teaches and find a Dolores in your company, or better yet: become one.

POWER ON–Mark