Maze Dwellers, Desk Sitters, Lizard Brainers and the rest of us now have a guide to break out! Seth Godin has done it again with his latest book, “Linchpin”. Release the passion that you already have and make your passion visible to others. Seth has provided the tools and the vision to move to your higher level. Make your life your canvas and share your passion. While painting your masterpiece, you release what you can and should become. Let the real you emerge to reach your full potential, and become what you deserve. “Linchpin” will be your guide, and lead you to becoming indispensable.
POWER ON–Mark
Bonus Links:
I am not a humble person, I believe I am right almost every time I have an interaction. What I have also discovered, is that other people I interact with believe that they are also right almost all of the time.
If you are a paid consultant, you are paid to be right, but that does not always extend to other aspects of life and business. In business there is always an individual or group that knows either more or different information than you do. Pamela Slim, author, coach extraordinaire, mentor and blogger, has written about this subject. She is an expert in this area and really dedicated to getting aspiring entrepreneurs up and going. Her primary advice is to get a Council of Elders or a personal board of directors. I highly suggest checking it out.
Another marketing expert, Bryan Waldon Pope, wrote about resources available to assist in running your start-up. His information is part of his website at Marketing Success Institute. He provides a number of resources in his blog to help you start or grow your business.
So as you start running, growing or marketing your business. Take your blinders off, open your ears and above all ask questions.
I have found with some of my hiring and business practices it is best to ask those people who likely will give you the harshest criticism for advice. Friends and family will tell you what you want to hear, those who are are unaffiliated or more critical will tell you what our need to know. Be unconventional and ask for criticism, learn from it and grow your business to a higher level. Then make your critics your biggest cheerleaders by showing them you can listen and learn.
Bonus Sites:
www.escapefromcubiclenation.com
www.marketingsuccessinstitute.com
POWER ON–Mark
Amplitude: 1) the state or quality of being ample, esp. as to breadth or width; largeness; greatness of extent. (Source: www.Dictionary.com)
Recently I was reading “What The Dog Saw” by Malcolm Gladwell, and there was an article on ketchup. What caught me was the description of how the taste of a food is measured, it is amplitude. Amplitude measures the balance of sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami and how each of these related to the complete taste of the food. Take a minute to read this article, I found it fascinating.
I started thinking of how this can apply to marketing with a big M. Marketing can be a wide assortment of differing activities focused on getting customers to buy your service or product, measuring the results and modifying your processes. This helps to insure a better marketing result and hopefully better sales. Unconventional marketing can become your amplitude if done correctly, or it can become your downfall if you leave the consumer with a bad experience. The depth and breadth of your marketing can increase your amplitude with your customers, prospects and suspects. Make your marketing a savory experience.
Here’s how:
By doing some of these things, you can create a higher amplitude for your business. The experience is the thing. Whether it is visual, tasty, aromatic, and aural or touch, you can raise your amplitude by doing it better.
What is your amplitude?
POWER ON–Mark
A very deserving winner with Dave Adams (Adams G3) and myself
Saturday was Atomic Penny’s First Annual Community Share Day at Utah Valley University. During the basketball game I along with the participating partners were able to give away a car to a very deserving single mother.
As you know I am a proponent of spending less and getting more when marketing.
Free luncheon for sponsor and community organizations-Texas Roadhouse
Car Donation to be repaired and given to a deserving recipient-American Family Insurance
Car Repair for donation- Adams G3 Collision and Repair
Certificate for room rental-Noahs
All marketing and prizes, with the exception of $45 for stamps was donated or provided.
Participating Community Organizations:
Boys and Girls Club of Utah County
Second Chance Foundation of Utah
All of these organizations gave away a donated iPod and raised funds and awareness during the basketball game.
All it took was asking, implementing and following up. Ask and you will be surprised at what develops!
Personally, this was one of the most rewarding events I have ever participated in or organized.
POWER ON–Mark
Shopping as we move forward is changing as shoppers become more savvy and cost conscious. The first big retailing weekend of the holiday season is behind us and according to a myriad of reports, things are changing. An article on businessweek.com states that traditional brick and mortar store sales are flat, while online sales are expected to increase 8%. While sales and traffic are up, revenue is currently running at the same level as last year. All of this is old news, however there is another angle to consider–service.
“Customer is king”; “The customer is always right”; “We aim to please”, are all traditional refrains heard in the retail and marketing departments in almost every company. The reason why you aren’t hearing that is that sales forces are reduced and there is no one to tell you how much your business is appreciated. What you don’t hear is, “We aim to make a profit”, “The customer is right when we make money off of them”; and The dollar is king”, If you went shopping over the weekend, did you notice lines are a little longer, sales people are fewer and prices are lower. As a marketer, you sell the sizzle, and right now the sizzle is price. With lower prices, companies need to cut costs somewhere. And I believe that the saved costs are in the service arena. There have been no big news stories about a rise in seasonal hiring, all that you see and hear about are prices and discounts.
I believe that is one of the factors fueling the increase in online sales, along with ease and convenience, liberal return policies, free shipping and a large selection of product at sites such as Amazon.com and Zappos.com. Zappos usually sells at or near full retail. Zappos also offers outstanding service before, during and after the sale.
As a marketer, your mission is going to be getting feet in your door and buying your product. With price being the major consideration, I believe that you can do some things that get buyers in your doors, and wanting to return. They are:
Simply put, in order to survive, you need to differentiate. Otherwise, you will live and die by beating your competitors prices, with little or no additional revenue. In the end one or both of you are out of business.
Make your service and convenience difference your competitive advantage. Your competitors will be hard pressed to replace the smile you put on the customer’s faces.
POWER ON–Mark
Are you or your business on:
Facebook?
Linkedin?
Twitter?
Plaxo?
Digg?
Do you-
Have a blog?
Website?
Leave comments on similar blogs or websites you can interact with?
Understand social Media?
If you answered "no" or "what is that" to the majority of the above questions, take some time to do what yoou need to do to learn and participate.
Let me know how I can help.
POWER ON–Mark
When was the last time you asked your customers , employees or providers the above question? Often it is not what you do for your stakeholders but what you can do for them. Next time you have a conversation with one of them, take the time to ask.
You mak be amazed at what you will learn, and what you can do for those who depend on you.
POWER ON–Mark
One of the principles we have at Atomic Penny is that marketing doesn’t need to cost a fortune. As a marketer, there is so much information out there, you need to find a way to cut through the clutter. Many times that means bigger, bolder, brighter and longer. A marketing campaign can end up costing mountains of money with only the hope of a return to justify the money spent.
There are many tools out there, and many resources on the web such as Google Analytics for your website. But the most effective resource is experience. The experience of those who have been in the trenches is invaluable. There are a myriad of tools and we can help you find them. Check out blogs or better yet consider perusing a blog aggregator such as www.marketing.alltop.com with an emphasis on marketing. Alltop provides a plethora of information for free, all you need is an open mind and some tome to read and interact. Another way to gain knowledge for free is to search for white papers from experts. All that will cost you is an email address.
Bottom line, make use of the tools and information available to you before you open your wallet. The time you spend will be worthwhile, and the money you save can be used in areas that need your attention.
Try low cost and high value-you will like it!
POWER ON–Mark
Atomic Penny, in conjunction with Adams G3 Collision Repair and UVU Athletics, is pleased to announce the First Annual Community Share Night on December 5, 2009. Community Share Night is being held to recognize the efforts of community organizations in the Utah Valley area. This event will be held at the UVU vs. San Jose State basketball game in the McKay Events Center.
The featured community organization will be Turning Point, and the Womens Resource Center a resource for non-traditional students who have faced hurdles in returning to school and rejoining the business community.
Additionally, local community organizations will be present to provide information pertaining to the services that are provided to the citizens of Utah County. Your partnership dollars will provide valuable assistance to these organizations.
As a local business, we are offering you the opportunity to be a part of this special event. Partnerships are being offered for a pre game dinner, 2 media timeouts (6 total partnerships) and halftime festivities. Partnership levels are:
As partners, tickets to the game will be made available and you are encouraged to invite family, friends, and clients to this exciting event.
At halftime, there will be a special presentation courtesy of Adams G3 Collision Repair to a very deserving individual. Halftime sponsorships will assist us in bringing this presentation to reality.
All monies collected (with the exception of supply costs) will be distributed to participating community organizations.
Plan now to be a part of this exciting event. For more information and to sign up as a partner, please contact Atomic Penny at 801-995-5550 or via email at atomicpenny@gmail.com. Response requested by October 28, 2009.
Thanks to Mark and his marketing knowledge we were able to increase our fundraising of one event by 450%!
Mark helped our organization achieve our goals. His advice and inspiration helped us raise more on our annual campaign than during any previous year — all while the economy was at its lowest.
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