Hi All: Snowing big time here...in Colorado...Oct 28th, 2009...Here's a piece I wrote that I adapted from an idea I found in Marketing Management that is useful to share with your clients name of business...which is their brand.
Marketers agree that brands are assets, but do financial managers, analysts, and C-level executives concur? Brands must be treated as financial assets, and brand equity should be directly linked to financial value, argue William Neal and Ron Strauss in their article "Widening the Moat."
In the past, the key to growth was access to capital; however, brand value "has assumed greater importance in companies' growth strategies. Brand value allows for sustainable competitive advantage and signals that a company has developed attributes that are difficult to copy and often are unique to the company.
Since most brand value methodologies use current financial statistics to create estimates of future operating profits, they can be flawed. "Brands don't fit the 12-month timescale of annual financial statements," the authors state.
Brand equity is a subset of total brand value. Intangible assets such as reputation and perceived brand quality help companies compete effectively over the long run while increasing revenue, freeing cash flow, and strengthening shareholder value. "Brand equity is a measure of the water in the lake (a reservoir of cash flow earned but not yet released to the income statement), which is akin to long-term value," the authors state. "Brand equity serves as an early warning device, even when it's not reflected (when treated as an expense) in current earnings. If it's rising, it indicates that the company has been investing in future value. Conversely, it serves as an early warning device that the company is sacrificing future cash flows and value for short-term goals."
Marketers should manage brand equity as a financial asset as well as employ it to increase enterprise value, the authors argue. "Marketing is about generating demand and the consequent income that flows from that demand," they state. "In many product and service categories, brand equity is a significant driver of demand." ¹
As each media executive, and I’m referring to those who sell media, attempt to surpass last year’s sales revenue, do they really think about what happens to the client’s reputation for its enterprise value amidst their competitors? Not at the 433 media companies we’ve taught. Most are mainly concerned with making the monthly/quarterly budget…slamming the latest quarterly/monthly promotion/project down the local business owner’s throat because it was soooo specially priced and hanging out on line or waiting at the fax machine for the agency order to come in to save their derrières.
The relationship between the prospective clients is interdependent upon several key brand development factors: 1.The knowledge the media rep knows about their business, 2. The patience to spend the necessary time to develop trust and confidence, 3. Place…how the prospective client’s brand/name of business fits within the specific business classification and 4. Position vs competition and what the client believes how their consumers see them, 5. What are the current Promotions, 6. The overall sales within the county in which the prospective client’s business resides [Found in the current Sales Management Survey of Buying Power or the current Census of Retail Trade found in most any public library] compared to what the media rep finds is the gross sales of the prospective client’s business, [7. This is optional..but provides the client with their share of market], 8. This too is optional…the current share of voice, which is the client’s current total ad budget divided by the industry’s current ad budget, 9. What marketing objectives the prospective client wishes to attain in the next twelve months, 10. What the current creative is supposed to do. These ten brand development factors are crucial in determining the client’s actual needs.…which is the paramount solution to revenue and profit growth as opposed to advertising which is mostly related to only moving merchandise at the moment. The media rep who wants to earn the top money in the field for them and the client always takes the time to find out these 10 market development factors which are only a part and parcel of what true brand equity is all about….the value of a given business within the consumer’s mind at present.
Yes it takes time, effort and a great deal of patience in assisting the client in reaching their optimum brand equity….but that’s what makes world class media professionals who view media sales as a career rather than something to do while waiting for something else to come along and who make the six figure incomes each year. That’s what we call the Personal Financial Asset.
Passion, commitment, structure, discipline and continued practice are required to become the best of the best. If not….why even bother?
Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D.
1. Adapted from an article in Marketing Management
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sales Architects: The Two Most Powerful Words for Selling More
By Lee B. Salz
Let me guess…the headline pulled you in, right? You may well be thinking someone has found a new formula for water—that there are two magical words you can say that will skyrocket your revenue and commissions. The headline referred to these words as "powerful," so they must be new. Perhaps these words are a deceptive trick, hypnotizing prospects into pulling out their credit card to buy from you.The reality is, these two words aren't ones you can ever say to a prospect, but they are guaranteed to drive your revenue and income. Yes, you read correctly: guaranteed. Who would be crazy enough to make such a claim about two little words? Well, it's not crazy. In my travels working with thousands of sales professionals, I've found a common thread in those who are tremendously successful. That thread comes down to the aforementioned two words, on which they base their entire sales career.It's popularly thought rock star salespeople are born with a gift of gab, and that this is the differentiator that makes them a success. Not true. Our two magic words can be taught to any salesperson, who can then effectively include them in his selling repertoire. Enough mystery: The two most powerful sales words are synergy and priority.Synergy is the process by which matches between the needs of a prospect and the capabilities of the supplier are identified. Synergy means you are crafting a solution, not pitching wares. Synergy means you understand the buying players as individuals, not just their company. Keep in mind that, to date, a company has never bought anything…people do.
To master synergy, several actions need to be taken. The first is to study your buying players, making sure you fully understand them and what makes them tick. As they lie in bed at night thinking about their work, where is their mind focused? If your buying player is a CFO, he is probably focused on profits. How does your solution help the profitability of the company?The second is to fully study your company and understand its capabilities. What is it that your company does that solves the awake-at-night problems for your buying players? If you cannot identify these synergies, you now know why you can't get meetings with the people you want to engage. Your solution has to be congruent with their focus.The third action is to develop a template needs analysis program, one including questions that expose the prospect's perceived challenges, as well as positioning questions that expose opportunities where your firm can improve upon the present situation. This part takes work, but it becomes the foundation for your sales success. Needs analysis (also two words) drives sales.In my keynote speech, I use a Velcro metaphor to make the point about synergy. As you know, there are two sides of Velcro—the cotton side and the hook side. If you evenly overlay the two sides, a tight bond is created, and it's difficult to separate the two pieces. But if you only match a corner, it is easily separated. Synergy in sales means you are forming a tight bond between a supplier and a prospect based on a match of needs, wants, and desires. As you can imagine, the needs analysis discussions are critical to a salesperson's ability to identify the synergy. And needs analysis plays a role with the other most powerful sales word: priority.Priority is what leads a prospect to buy today. Not tomorrow. Not in the future. Today. Synergy gets the prospect into the pipeline. Priority leads a prospect to become a client. The same tools referenced earlier for synergy are also necessary for priority. A salesperson's ability to facilitate effective needs analysis discussions is the key to mastering priority. "Why should they buy this today when they can just as easily buy tomorrow?" Sure, there are motivators that can be employed: discounts, incentives, etc. But if you truly understand your prospect, their challenges, and the solution, you have all the information necessary for getting the deal done without those motivators being offered. Priority's arch-enemy is status quo&; and don't underestimate the power it has. It is the No. 1 killer of sales pipelines. Status quo will win every time if you don't have the information you need to understand why the buyer should buy today."But the decision-maker is a busy person," you proclaim. "How am I supposed to get her attention?" Well, I'll bet I can get your attention: Imagine receiving an e-mail from your CEO saying he to meet with you tomorrow to discuss tripling your salary. You won't even check your calendar before responding, "I'll be there!" Making money is a priority for you. All else gets cast aside when someone wants to put more money in your pocket. The same concept applies to sales. If the solution that you have designed is aligned with the priorities of the decision-making buying player, the deal happens. If not, status quo will win it.
Let me guess…the headline pulled you in, right? You may well be thinking someone has found a new formula for water—that there are two magical words you can say that will skyrocket your revenue and commissions. The headline referred to these words as "powerful," so they must be new. Perhaps these words are a deceptive trick, hypnotizing prospects into pulling out their credit card to buy from you.The reality is, these two words aren't ones you can ever say to a prospect, but they are guaranteed to drive your revenue and income. Yes, you read correctly: guaranteed. Who would be crazy enough to make such a claim about two little words? Well, it's not crazy. In my travels working with thousands of sales professionals, I've found a common thread in those who are tremendously successful. That thread comes down to the aforementioned two words, on which they base their entire sales career.It's popularly thought rock star salespeople are born with a gift of gab, and that this is the differentiator that makes them a success. Not true. Our two magic words can be taught to any salesperson, who can then effectively include them in his selling repertoire. Enough mystery: The two most powerful sales words are synergy and priority.Synergy is the process by which matches between the needs of a prospect and the capabilities of the supplier are identified. Synergy means you are crafting a solution, not pitching wares. Synergy means you understand the buying players as individuals, not just their company. Keep in mind that, to date, a company has never bought anything…people do.
To master synergy, several actions need to be taken. The first is to study your buying players, making sure you fully understand them and what makes them tick. As they lie in bed at night thinking about their work, where is their mind focused? If your buying player is a CFO, he is probably focused on profits. How does your solution help the profitability of the company?The second is to fully study your company and understand its capabilities. What is it that your company does that solves the awake-at-night problems for your buying players? If you cannot identify these synergies, you now know why you can't get meetings with the people you want to engage. Your solution has to be congruent with their focus.The third action is to develop a template needs analysis program, one including questions that expose the prospect's perceived challenges, as well as positioning questions that expose opportunities where your firm can improve upon the present situation. This part takes work, but it becomes the foundation for your sales success. Needs analysis (also two words) drives sales.In my keynote speech, I use a Velcro metaphor to make the point about synergy. As you know, there are two sides of Velcro—the cotton side and the hook side. If you evenly overlay the two sides, a tight bond is created, and it's difficult to separate the two pieces. But if you only match a corner, it is easily separated. Synergy in sales means you are forming a tight bond between a supplier and a prospect based on a match of needs, wants, and desires. As you can imagine, the needs analysis discussions are critical to a salesperson's ability to identify the synergy. And needs analysis plays a role with the other most powerful sales word: priority.Priority is what leads a prospect to buy today. Not tomorrow. Not in the future. Today. Synergy gets the prospect into the pipeline. Priority leads a prospect to become a client. The same tools referenced earlier for synergy are also necessary for priority. A salesperson's ability to facilitate effective needs analysis discussions is the key to mastering priority. "Why should they buy this today when they can just as easily buy tomorrow?" Sure, there are motivators that can be employed: discounts, incentives, etc. But if you truly understand your prospect, their challenges, and the solution, you have all the information necessary for getting the deal done without those motivators being offered. Priority's arch-enemy is status quo&; and don't underestimate the power it has. It is the No. 1 killer of sales pipelines. Status quo will win every time if you don't have the information you need to understand why the buyer should buy today."But the decision-maker is a busy person," you proclaim. "How am I supposed to get her attention?" Well, I'll bet I can get your attention: Imagine receiving an e-mail from your CEO saying he to meet with you tomorrow to discuss tripling your salary. You won't even check your calendar before responding, "I'll be there!" Making money is a priority for you. All else gets cast aside when someone wants to put more money in your pocket. The same concept applies to sales. If the solution that you have designed is aligned with the priorities of the decision-making buying player, the deal happens. If not, status quo will win it.
The 13 Most Annoying People to Work With
By Margery Weinstein
Most of us have had colleagues over the years who turned annoying into an art form. Well, now it's a classifiable art form. Career experts Christine Lambden and Casey Connor, authors of the new book, "Everyday Practices of Extraordinary Consultants," have compiled a list of "The 13 Most Annoying People to Work With." How many of these does your company still have on its payroll? • Pontification Person. This person goes on and on, telling you what he or she is going to say, saying it, and then telling you what he or she said. • Um Person.To avoid losing control of the conversation, this co-worker fills every pause with "Um," not realizing he or she might be able to think better when not talking.• Too Much Detail Person. The authors could elaborate on this one, but then, of course, that would be contributing to the problem.• 50,000-Foot-Only Person. He or she is eloquent when you talk about the big picture, but refuses to allow anyone to get into the details, which we all know is where the real work gets done. "Unless you’re the CEO of a multinational corporation," say Lambden and Connor, "you have to be willing to work at any altitude."
• Hypnotized-by-E-mail Person. Wireless technology can be a lifesaver, but there’s something defeating about presenting to the tops of people's heads because everyone at the conference table is hunched over his or her laptop. • Buzzword Person. "This employee is annoying in meetings, team rooms, and in cubicles," say Lambden and Connor. "In fact, this person is just plain annoying all the time."• Foul Language Person. Much like Buzzword Person, this co-worker is too lazy to think of the right words to express what he or she is thinking, if, indeed, he or she is thinking at all. This person isn’t trying to impress you with his or her knowledge. "They aren't trying to impress you at all," Lambden and Connor note. "They don't care what you think of them." Refreshing on some level, but probably not a person you’d want on your team. • Reiteration Person. The only contribution this person makes is to restate what already was said. So, basically, he or she actually has no contribution to make.• Too Busy to Be Prompt Person. He or she always is late to work and every meeting, clearly lacking time management skills. Nobody can be working on something important all the time, after all.• Can't Control the Meeting Person and arch-nemesis Wants to Take Over the Meeting Person. There has to be some balance between the out-of-control ditherer and the maniacal meetings dictator, doesn't there?• Secondary Conversation People. Your best material often isn't riveting, but staffers at least could pretend to care. But Lambert and Connor point out these workers "only are annoying if their conversation is less interesting than the meeting."• Disagrees With Everything Person. "This co-worker honestly believes he is just being practical, or serving as the voice of reason, or playing devil's advocate," the authors point out. "This may be true sometimes, and even helpful occasionally, but when it becomes a habit, everyone else just tunes them out."• Obscure Metaphor Person. This employee is as annoying as "the fool in a troupe of Morris dancers," say Lambden and Connor. "See? Wasn’t that annoying?"
Most of us have had colleagues over the years who turned annoying into an art form. Well, now it's a classifiable art form. Career experts Christine Lambden and Casey Connor, authors of the new book, "Everyday Practices of Extraordinary Consultants," have compiled a list of "The 13 Most Annoying People to Work With." How many of these does your company still have on its payroll? • Pontification Person. This person goes on and on, telling you what he or she is going to say, saying it, and then telling you what he or she said. • Um Person.To avoid losing control of the conversation, this co-worker fills every pause with "Um," not realizing he or she might be able to think better when not talking.• Too Much Detail Person. The authors could elaborate on this one, but then, of course, that would be contributing to the problem.• 50,000-Foot-Only Person. He or she is eloquent when you talk about the big picture, but refuses to allow anyone to get into the details, which we all know is where the real work gets done. "Unless you’re the CEO of a multinational corporation," say Lambden and Connor, "you have to be willing to work at any altitude."
• Hypnotized-by-E-mail Person. Wireless technology can be a lifesaver, but there’s something defeating about presenting to the tops of people's heads because everyone at the conference table is hunched over his or her laptop. • Buzzword Person. "This employee is annoying in meetings, team rooms, and in cubicles," say Lambden and Connor. "In fact, this person is just plain annoying all the time."• Foul Language Person. Much like Buzzword Person, this co-worker is too lazy to think of the right words to express what he or she is thinking, if, indeed, he or she is thinking at all. This person isn’t trying to impress you with his or her knowledge. "They aren't trying to impress you at all," Lambden and Connor note. "They don't care what you think of them." Refreshing on some level, but probably not a person you’d want on your team. • Reiteration Person. The only contribution this person makes is to restate what already was said. So, basically, he or she actually has no contribution to make.• Too Busy to Be Prompt Person. He or she always is late to work and every meeting, clearly lacking time management skills. Nobody can be working on something important all the time, after all.• Can't Control the Meeting Person and arch-nemesis Wants to Take Over the Meeting Person. There has to be some balance between the out-of-control ditherer and the maniacal meetings dictator, doesn't there?• Secondary Conversation People. Your best material often isn't riveting, but staffers at least could pretend to care. But Lambert and Connor point out these workers "only are annoying if their conversation is less interesting than the meeting."• Disagrees With Everything Person. "This co-worker honestly believes he is just being practical, or serving as the voice of reason, or playing devil's advocate," the authors point out. "This may be true sometimes, and even helpful occasionally, but when it becomes a habit, everyone else just tunes them out."• Obscure Metaphor Person. This employee is as annoying as "the fool in a troupe of Morris dancers," say Lambden and Connor. "See? Wasn’t that annoying?"
Salespeople Must Bring the Total Package of Benefits
Excerpt from "5 Skills of Master Salespeople" by Michael D. Maginn (Singularity Group, 2009) Every customer has problems to be solved. The point is that the salesperson has to go beyond the product need and into the wider array of needs customers have in buying, in making the buying decision, in using the product effectively, as well as in the future of the business.To do that successfully, the salesperson has to see what he or she is selling in a different way. The salesperson's offering is not a product or service or even a family of products or services. Rather, the offering is the total package of benefits associated with doing business with the salesperson's company. This extended concept of the offering—including the deal itself, the efforts of the vendor to make the product work, and the customer's business success now and in the future—gives the salesperson more solutions to apply to customer problems. The more solutions the salesperson brings, the more value the customer feels. When the salesperson brings a lot of value, the total offering—the full package of solutions to the broader array of customer needs—starts to outweigh price objections or price-only advantages the competition may have.What is the total package of benefits?Consider what a salesperson brings to the table. Typically, in the eyes of the customer, it's a product or service. The cost of entry into the sales relationship is that a salesperson must know and be able to explain the features and benefits of the product or service and how they are different from the competitions'. Presumably, a good salesperson should be able to relate these features and benefits directly to customer needs. But, clearly, products and services are not the only things a salesperson brings in.
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Because of their company knowledge, industry expertise, and exposure to a range of customers, the salesperson also has ideas and information about payment terms, availability, delivery, installation, support and application concepts, and even credit and billing options.A salesperson also brings ideas about customization, about how the basic product can be modified or configured for a specific customer use. Customization may be related to the actual product itself, the financial relationship, or any other aspect of doing business with the vendor company. When the salesperson searches for and finds a need for adapting the product to make it fit more effectively, then he or she can explain how the vendor does that or how he or she can do it for the customer. Once again, the broader capabilities of the vendor company are on the table.Even intangibles can fill a customer's needs. Consider a new buyer of complicated products or services. The salesperson's ability to relate past success stories about smoothly run installations and operations may be just what an uncertain customer needs. The salesperson is selling reassurance by citing specific related experiences.Finally, part of the package is the salesperson. The old adage about people buying the salesperson is true. Customers see an effective salesperson and sales process that yield the best possible solution as a benefit. Salespeople can provide access to expertise, industry gossip, and networking contacts. The salesperson is the initial interface to the vendor organization; he or she can get things done, especially when other channels don't work.
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Because of their company knowledge, industry expertise, and exposure to a range of customers, the salesperson also has ideas and information about payment terms, availability, delivery, installation, support and application concepts, and even credit and billing options.A salesperson also brings ideas about customization, about how the basic product can be modified or configured for a specific customer use. Customization may be related to the actual product itself, the financial relationship, or any other aspect of doing business with the vendor company. When the salesperson searches for and finds a need for adapting the product to make it fit more effectively, then he or she can explain how the vendor does that or how he or she can do it for the customer. Once again, the broader capabilities of the vendor company are on the table.Even intangibles can fill a customer's needs. Consider a new buyer of complicated products or services. The salesperson's ability to relate past success stories about smoothly run installations and operations may be just what an uncertain customer needs. The salesperson is selling reassurance by citing specific related experiences.Finally, part of the package is the salesperson. The old adage about people buying the salesperson is true. Customers see an effective salesperson and sales process that yield the best possible solution as a benefit. Salespeople can provide access to expertise, industry gossip, and networking contacts. The salesperson is the initial interface to the vendor organization; he or she can get things done, especially when other channels don't work.
Double Your Income by Warming Up Those Cold Calls
By Silvia Quintanilla
Salespeople are under a lot of pressure to win new business. This fact hit home a few weeks ago when I spoke to a salesperson who uses our research.She told me she is expected to perform five demos every week. In fact, someone from headquarters calls her every Monday to find out what five demo appointments she has lined up that week. And just two weeks before, her company laid off a slew of under-performing salespeople.I have to admit, just speaking to her made me a bit nervous, and I don't even work there!That conversation inspired this article. Hopefully, the tips below can help your sales team meet their metrics—whether it's demo appointments, in-person meetings, or opportunities in the pipeline.
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Finding a Good Prospect When we do research for our clients, we're always looking for a "way in." In other words, we're looking for a project or challenge the prospect is facing that matches what our client sells.Here are some of our favorite ways of finding that information:Tip 1: Use the Job Postings

This has helped us find hundreds of sales opportunities for our clients. The key is to use a site that aggregates job openings from many places (such as Career Builder, Monster, Dice, etc.). A good one we like is Indeed.com. Once there, go to the Advanced Search function. Next, type in a few key words that apply to your service/product. For example, let's say you offer business intelligence (BI) solutions. Type in that key word (or similar key words that would indicate a company is working on a BI project). You'll likely have to sift through a few postings, but it could prove worthwhile. Once you find a company that is starting a project in this area, your chances of engaging your prospect will improve significantly.
Tip 2: Regularly Review Vertical and Functional Periodicals No matter what you sell, there's probably a monthly magazine that matches it. There are online magazines dedicated to IT professionals, HR, marketing, finance, legal, etc., as well as magazines devoted to verticals (banking, health care, retail, etc.). There are even online magazines devoted to specific geographic regions.Each magazine is packed with stories and news events for that specific area. We recommend reviewing them regularly to find timely prospects. For example, many of our clients focus on selling to IT executives. Besides CIO.com, here are three other online magazines that may prove helpful:• Baseline Magazine: www.baselinemag.com • CIO Insight: www.cioinsight.com • Computerworld: www.computerworld.com There's an online magazine(s) for nearly every area. If you need help finding one that fits your solution, send me an e-mail at silvia@industrygems.com 

Tip 3: Read the Earnings Transcripts If your salespeople are looking for the six-figure (and potentially seven-figure) sale, have them read the company's quarterly earnings transcripts (if the company is public). Every quarter, public U.S. companies must present to shareholders and investors. Those meetings are recorded and later transcribed to written word.At these meetings, the executive management talks about future strategies, upcoming projects and any issues or challenges they're trying to resolve. It's a great way to find out the more "hidden" type of information—information that's not being reported in the news. You can find a company's earnings transcripts at Seeking Alpha.Silvia Quintanilla is president of Industry Gems, a boutique custom sales intelligence company dedicated to helping salespeople win large deals with America's biggest companies.
Salespeople are under a lot of pressure to win new business. This fact hit home a few weeks ago when I spoke to a salesperson who uses our research.She told me she is expected to perform five demos every week. In fact, someone from headquarters calls her every Monday to find out what five demo appointments she has lined up that week. And just two weeks before, her company laid off a slew of under-performing salespeople.I have to admit, just speaking to her made me a bit nervous, and I don't even work there!That conversation inspired this article. Hopefully, the tips below can help your sales team meet their metrics—whether it's demo appointments, in-person meetings, or opportunities in the pipeline.
CM8ShowAd("Middle");
Finding a Good Prospect When we do research for our clients, we're always looking for a "way in." In other words, we're looking for a project or challenge the prospect is facing that matches what our client sells.Here are some of our favorite ways of finding that information:Tip 1: Use the Job Postings

This has helped us find hundreds of sales opportunities for our clients. The key is to use a site that aggregates job openings from many places (such as Career Builder, Monster, Dice, etc.). A good one we like is Indeed.com. Once there, go to the Advanced Search function. Next, type in a few key words that apply to your service/product. For example, let's say you offer business intelligence (BI) solutions. Type in that key word (or similar key words that would indicate a company is working on a BI project). You'll likely have to sift through a few postings, but it could prove worthwhile. Once you find a company that is starting a project in this area, your chances of engaging your prospect will improve significantly.
Tip 2: Regularly Review Vertical and Functional Periodicals No matter what you sell, there's probably a monthly magazine that matches it. There are online magazines dedicated to IT professionals, HR, marketing, finance, legal, etc., as well as magazines devoted to verticals (banking, health care, retail, etc.). There are even online magazines devoted to specific geographic regions.Each magazine is packed with stories and news events for that specific area. We recommend reviewing them regularly to find timely prospects. For example, many of our clients focus on selling to IT executives. Besides CIO.com, here are three other online magazines that may prove helpful:• Baseline Magazine: www.baselinemag.com • CIO Insight: www.cioinsight.com • Computerworld: www.computerworld.com There's an online magazine(s) for nearly every area. If you need help finding one that fits your solution, send me an e-mail at silvia@industrygems.com 

Tip 3: Read the Earnings Transcripts If your salespeople are looking for the six-figure (and potentially seven-figure) sale, have them read the company's quarterly earnings transcripts (if the company is public). Every quarter, public U.S. companies must present to shareholders and investors. Those meetings are recorded and later transcribed to written word.At these meetings, the executive management talks about future strategies, upcoming projects and any issues or challenges they're trying to resolve. It's a great way to find out the more "hidden" type of information—information that's not being reported in the news. You can find a company's earnings transcripts at Seeking Alpha.Silvia Quintanilla is president of Industry Gems, a boutique custom sales intelligence company dedicated to helping salespeople win large deals with America's biggest companies.
Fashion sellers turn shopping into an event
susan.carpenter@latimes.com Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
Here's a great piece about how to bring customers to ta retailer's store that your media company can promote as "entertainment" within the ad schedule....With the economy still in a jam...all things are possible...
Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D....
Here ya go.........
Navin Megji calls it "the thoroughfare" -- a stretch of San Vicente Boulevard that isn't a shopping district so much as a racetrack for commuters. Yet it's this strip of posh Brentwood where the 25-year-old boutique owner set up Feature -- a chic, fashion-forward enclave selling splatter-paint mini dresses and fitted boyfriend jackets from designers such as Alexander Wang, Vena Cava and Wayne."There's not a lot of walking traffic," said Megji, who, on a recent Monday in her 1,000-square-foot shop, was spending most of her time refolding lingerie and doing paperwork. "I've found the best way to get exposure is to do pop-up events or more of an extended trunk show."The $200 she springs for Champagne and cocktails for each event "is a minimal cost for the amount of business it brings in," said Megji, who's done meet-and-greets and extended trunk shows with the creative directors of the Geren Ford and Wren lines and various cupcake and cocktail events to lure a customer base she describes as "Brentwood moms and their daughters" who "prefer more 'editorial' looks" and "don't shop at Nordstrom."What's the payback? A doubling in sales, with the added bonus of building relationships with her customers, Megji said.Megji isn't the only fashion retailer to use events to lure buyers. With retail sales down 9.1% so far this year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, emporiums as varied as outlets that specialize in eyeglasses and department stores that sell, well, everything, are hiring DJs, screening movies, serving drinks, offering tattoos, showing art, throwing parties and rolling out the red carpet for shoppers."Retailers are really jumping in [to experiential marketing] because in this kind of economy, you've got to build that brand affinity if you're going to survive," said Stacey Ruth, CEO and chief creative officer of the Wow Factory event marketing firm in Atlanta. "With events, there's an interaction between the brand and the consumer that is not purchase-dependent. Retailers are able to capture information about their customers that's not invasive, and customers get a chance to try without having to buy and to get some perks and benefits for participating."At Macy's Shoe Diva events, customers can shop 'til they drop while listening to a DJ, getting fake tattoos or having their fortunes read. At Bloomingdale's, which has been running its film-inspired "Lights, Camera, Fashion" campaign since August, fashionistas who've exhausted themselves pawing through piles of designer jeans can take a break in the stores' screening rooms, which have been running an endless loop of Bloomie's-financed indie flicks. If they spend at least $150, they also get a free pass to a screening of a soon-to-be-released movie, such as the Earhart bio-pic "Amelia."At the Beverly Center Bloomingdale's, a third-floor alcove that is usually a customer service area for one-on-one-fashion consultations is currently a small movie theater, set up with a large flat-screen TV and rows of directors' chairs. Located between a display of French Connection embroidered dresses and Trina Turk geometric-print tops, the "theater" has seen the most use by bag-carrying husbands, according to one sales associate who works in the area.Though Anne Keating, Bloomingdale's senior vice president of public relations and special events, said that the campaign has "definitely improved business," especially in ready to wear, accessories and cosmetics, she declined to say by how much, only that "we've had great sales results."The Event Marketer Institute puts a finer point on the subject. It estimates that nearly half of participants at in-store events purchase sponsoring products.At Matrushka -- a hip Silver Lake boutique that, in the last year, has hosted dance troupe performances, art openings and T-shirt nights that allow customers to choose the pieces of a shirt and have them sewn together on the spot -- business is up for the year, said owner-founder Laura Howe."It's not by much, just by enough that we're able to say that," said Howe, who's been holding events since she founded her boutique six years ago. The concept: "Customers should feel like they're a part of something as opposed to just straight commercialism. That energy really translates because people identify with feeling like there's something more going on."And that, in turn, creates excitement."My whole initiative right now is keeping the customers curious and interested," said Jeff Rudes, co-founder and president of J Brand, an Anna Wintour favorite. In early September, the luxury jeans maker partnered with the Ron Herman store on Melrose Avenue to do a jeans "gallery" where the denim was mounted to the wall like art pieces, complete with explanatory placards. It was the best turnout for an event in the store's 37 years, according to Rudes."Today, it's very hard to have exclusivity because there are so many brands. Events are something that makes us different," Rudes said. "We're looking for out-of-the-box, cool openings and events to create something special, and that's what the retailers want too."Not only do events pay off with sales, they also bring publicity. Once the initial frenzy of a store's opening has subsided into the daily grind of an ongoing business, it's hard for shops to get attention when the only "news" is a sale or change of season. Events lure the media, which is constantly hungering for fresh material."Events are a very low-cost way to get imagery out," said Ethan Lipsitz, owner of Apliiq. The downtown boutique regularly hosts DJs and live art happenings that demonstrate the store's concept of upcycling old clothes and freshening them with rare-textile appliques. This year, Lipsitz invited an artist named Phade to airbrush his appliqued T-shirts at a party, which was documented by a photographer, who posted the pictures to Apliiq's website, where potential shoppers could not only search out pictures of themselves but also purchase Apliiq products."It shows people enjoying your space and wearing your product and showing the process as something that can be celebrated in a small community and blasted out online," said Lipsitz, 25.For the shopkeepers, it's also a way to have fun."If you're going to be there anyway, you might as well open some Champagne and invite everyone you know," said Crystal Meers, L.A. editor of the fashion and lifestyle blog Daily Candy, which has seen an uptick in fashion retail events, especially at the boutique level. "Why not?"
Here's a great piece about how to bring customers to ta retailer's store that your media company can promote as "entertainment" within the ad schedule....With the economy still in a jam...all things are possible...
Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D....
Here ya go.........
Navin Megji calls it "the thoroughfare" -- a stretch of San Vicente Boulevard that isn't a shopping district so much as a racetrack for commuters. Yet it's this strip of posh Brentwood where the 25-year-old boutique owner set up Feature -- a chic, fashion-forward enclave selling splatter-paint mini dresses and fitted boyfriend jackets from designers such as Alexander Wang, Vena Cava and Wayne."There's not a lot of walking traffic," said Megji, who, on a recent Monday in her 1,000-square-foot shop, was spending most of her time refolding lingerie and doing paperwork. "I've found the best way to get exposure is to do pop-up events or more of an extended trunk show."The $200 she springs for Champagne and cocktails for each event "is a minimal cost for the amount of business it brings in," said Megji, who's done meet-and-greets and extended trunk shows with the creative directors of the Geren Ford and Wren lines and various cupcake and cocktail events to lure a customer base she describes as "Brentwood moms and their daughters" who "prefer more 'editorial' looks" and "don't shop at Nordstrom."What's the payback? A doubling in sales, with the added bonus of building relationships with her customers, Megji said.Megji isn't the only fashion retailer to use events to lure buyers. With retail sales down 9.1% so far this year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, emporiums as varied as outlets that specialize in eyeglasses and department stores that sell, well, everything, are hiring DJs, screening movies, serving drinks, offering tattoos, showing art, throwing parties and rolling out the red carpet for shoppers."Retailers are really jumping in [to experiential marketing] because in this kind of economy, you've got to build that brand affinity if you're going to survive," said Stacey Ruth, CEO and chief creative officer of the Wow Factory event marketing firm in Atlanta. "With events, there's an interaction between the brand and the consumer that is not purchase-dependent. Retailers are able to capture information about their customers that's not invasive, and customers get a chance to try without having to buy and to get some perks and benefits for participating."At Macy's Shoe Diva events, customers can shop 'til they drop while listening to a DJ, getting fake tattoos or having their fortunes read. At Bloomingdale's, which has been running its film-inspired "Lights, Camera, Fashion" campaign since August, fashionistas who've exhausted themselves pawing through piles of designer jeans can take a break in the stores' screening rooms, which have been running an endless loop of Bloomie's-financed indie flicks. If they spend at least $150, they also get a free pass to a screening of a soon-to-be-released movie, such as the Earhart bio-pic "Amelia."At the Beverly Center Bloomingdale's, a third-floor alcove that is usually a customer service area for one-on-one-fashion consultations is currently a small movie theater, set up with a large flat-screen TV and rows of directors' chairs. Located between a display of French Connection embroidered dresses and Trina Turk geometric-print tops, the "theater" has seen the most use by bag-carrying husbands, according to one sales associate who works in the area.Though Anne Keating, Bloomingdale's senior vice president of public relations and special events, said that the campaign has "definitely improved business," especially in ready to wear, accessories and cosmetics, she declined to say by how much, only that "we've had great sales results."The Event Marketer Institute puts a finer point on the subject. It estimates that nearly half of participants at in-store events purchase sponsoring products.At Matrushka -- a hip Silver Lake boutique that, in the last year, has hosted dance troupe performances, art openings and T-shirt nights that allow customers to choose the pieces of a shirt and have them sewn together on the spot -- business is up for the year, said owner-founder Laura Howe."It's not by much, just by enough that we're able to say that," said Howe, who's been holding events since she founded her boutique six years ago. The concept: "Customers should feel like they're a part of something as opposed to just straight commercialism. That energy really translates because people identify with feeling like there's something more going on."And that, in turn, creates excitement."My whole initiative right now is keeping the customers curious and interested," said Jeff Rudes, co-founder and president of J Brand, an Anna Wintour favorite. In early September, the luxury jeans maker partnered with the Ron Herman store on Melrose Avenue to do a jeans "gallery" where the denim was mounted to the wall like art pieces, complete with explanatory placards. It was the best turnout for an event in the store's 37 years, according to Rudes."Today, it's very hard to have exclusivity because there are so many brands. Events are something that makes us different," Rudes said. "We're looking for out-of-the-box, cool openings and events to create something special, and that's what the retailers want too."Not only do events pay off with sales, they also bring publicity. Once the initial frenzy of a store's opening has subsided into the daily grind of an ongoing business, it's hard for shops to get attention when the only "news" is a sale or change of season. Events lure the media, which is constantly hungering for fresh material."Events are a very low-cost way to get imagery out," said Ethan Lipsitz, owner of Apliiq. The downtown boutique regularly hosts DJs and live art happenings that demonstrate the store's concept of upcycling old clothes and freshening them with rare-textile appliques. This year, Lipsitz invited an artist named Phade to airbrush his appliqued T-shirts at a party, which was documented by a photographer, who posted the pictures to Apliiq's website, where potential shoppers could not only search out pictures of themselves but also purchase Apliiq products."It shows people enjoying your space and wearing your product and showing the process as something that can be celebrated in a small community and blasted out online," said Lipsitz, 25.For the shopkeepers, it's also a way to have fun."If you're going to be there anyway, you might as well open some Champagne and invite everyone you know," said Crystal Meers, L.A. editor of the fashion and lifestyle blog Daily Candy, which has seen an uptick in fashion retail events, especially at the boutique level. "Why not?"
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
New U.S. Census to Reveal Major Shift: No More Joe Consumer
LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- The 2010 Census is expected to find that 309 million people live in the United States. But one person will be missing: the average American.
"The concept of an 'average American' is gone, probably forever," demographics expert Peter Francese writes in 2010 America, a new Ad Age white paper. "The average American has been replaced by a complex, multidimensional society that defies simplistic labeling."
The message to marketers is clear: No single demographic, or even handful of demographics, neatly defines the nation. There is no such thing as "the American consumer."
The census is the biggest market-research project of the decade. The Census Bureau will spend upward of $15 billion to count the population as of April 1, 2010, and amass a treasure-trove of data on U.S. consumers.
"The decennial census will tell us quite precisely how American consumers have changed in the past decade," Mr. Francese writes. "It also will give us clues about where the consumer marketplace is moving. The census is the gold standard against which the results of all major consumer-research studies are benchmarked."
The Census Bureau will begin releasing data in spring 2011. Mr. Francese, demographic trends analyst at WPP's Ogilvy & Mather, New York, and founder of American Demographics magazine, now offers projections and insight on what the census will show.
His 32-page report, available at AdAge.com/2010America, will give marketers a window on what the census will show and how to adapt those findings in a marketing world reliant on broadscale demographics that no longer exist.
Selected findings of 2010 America:
· U.S. households are growing ever more complex and varied.
"This census will show that no household type neatly describes even one-third of households," Mr. Francese writes. "The iconic American family -- married couple with children -- will account for a mere 22% of households."
The most prevalent type of U.S. household? Married couple with no kids, followed closely by single-person households, according to Mr. Francese's projections.
The Census will give Americans 14 choices to define household relationships. Mr. Francese says this will "enable the Census Bureau to count not only traditional families but also the number and growth since 2000 of blended families, single-parent families and multigenerational families, as well as multiple families doubling up in one household."
That presents boundless opportunities for marketers and media in how they target and segment households.
· Minorities are the new majority. "One fact says it all," Mr. Francese writes. "In the two largest states (California and Texas), as well as New Mexico and Hawaii, the nation's traditional majority group -- white non-Hispanics -- is in the minority." And in the nation's 10 largest cities, he says, "no racial or ethnic category describes a majority of the population."
Mr. Francese notes how diversity varies greatly by age, "with the younger population substantially more diverse than the old."
Consider these 2010 projections: 80% of people age 65-plus will be white non-Hispanics. But just 54% of children under age 18 will be white non-Hispanics. Mr. Francese observes: "White non-Hispanics will surely account for fewer than half of births by 2015."
In 2010, Hispanics will be both the nation's fastest-growing and largest minority (50 million people).
· The nation is moving. Over the past decade, Mr. Francese says, 85% of the nation's population growth occurred in the South and West. "During the still-nameless decade from 2000 to 2010," he writes, "a total of about 3 million people have moved out of the Northeast, and another 2 million have left the Midwest" for the South and West.
Mr. Francese's report offers his "2020 vision," analyzing how things will change over the next decade. "Our nation will be older and more diverse, and consumer markets more complex," he writes. The white paper pinpoints age and income groups where marketers could find the biggest opportunities.
~ ~ ~ Peter Francese wrote and Bradley Johnson edited 2010 America.
"The concept of an 'average American' is gone, probably forever," demographics expert Peter Francese writes in 2010 America, a new Ad Age white paper. "The average American has been replaced by a complex, multidimensional society that defies simplistic labeling."
The message to marketers is clear: No single demographic, or even handful of demographics, neatly defines the nation. There is no such thing as "the American consumer."
The census is the biggest market-research project of the decade. The Census Bureau will spend upward of $15 billion to count the population as of April 1, 2010, and amass a treasure-trove of data on U.S. consumers.
"The decennial census will tell us quite precisely how American consumers have changed in the past decade," Mr. Francese writes. "It also will give us clues about where the consumer marketplace is moving. The census is the gold standard against which the results of all major consumer-research studies are benchmarked."
The Census Bureau will begin releasing data in spring 2011. Mr. Francese, demographic trends analyst at WPP's Ogilvy & Mather, New York, and founder of American Demographics magazine, now offers projections and insight on what the census will show.
His 32-page report, available at AdAge.com/2010America, will give marketers a window on what the census will show and how to adapt those findings in a marketing world reliant on broadscale demographics that no longer exist.
Selected findings of 2010 America:
· U.S. households are growing ever more complex and varied.
"This census will show that no household type neatly describes even one-third of households," Mr. Francese writes. "The iconic American family -- married couple with children -- will account for a mere 22% of households."
The most prevalent type of U.S. household? Married couple with no kids, followed closely by single-person households, according to Mr. Francese's projections.
The Census will give Americans 14 choices to define household relationships. Mr. Francese says this will "enable the Census Bureau to count not only traditional families but also the number and growth since 2000 of blended families, single-parent families and multigenerational families, as well as multiple families doubling up in one household."
That presents boundless opportunities for marketers and media in how they target and segment households.
· Minorities are the new majority. "One fact says it all," Mr. Francese writes. "In the two largest states (California and Texas), as well as New Mexico and Hawaii, the nation's traditional majority group -- white non-Hispanics -- is in the minority." And in the nation's 10 largest cities, he says, "no racial or ethnic category describes a majority of the population."
Mr. Francese notes how diversity varies greatly by age, "with the younger population substantially more diverse than the old."
Consider these 2010 projections: 80% of people age 65-plus will be white non-Hispanics. But just 54% of children under age 18 will be white non-Hispanics. Mr. Francese observes: "White non-Hispanics will surely account for fewer than half of births by 2015."
In 2010, Hispanics will be both the nation's fastest-growing and largest minority (50 million people).
· The nation is moving. Over the past decade, Mr. Francese says, 85% of the nation's population growth occurred in the South and West. "During the still-nameless decade from 2000 to 2010," he writes, "a total of about 3 million people have moved out of the Northeast, and another 2 million have left the Midwest" for the South and West.
Mr. Francese's report offers his "2020 vision," analyzing how things will change over the next decade. "Our nation will be older and more diverse, and consumer markets more complex," he writes. The white paper pinpoints age and income groups where marketers could find the biggest opportunities.
~ ~ ~ Peter Francese wrote and Bradley Johnson edited 2010 America.
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