Ever have one of those days where suddenly you gain clarity about something so simple that you've struggled to come to terms with for years? Today I had one of those lightbulb moments about something that is absolutely critical to succeeding in your business. It's not something that I didn't already know, it's something I've said out loud (and meant sincerely) for years, and it's not rocket science (or "rocket surgery," to quote a really bad joke I recently heard). But for some reason, as I was driving around running errands, it popped into my head and I gained a level of clarity that I never have before. And perhaps my own "a-ha" moment can help you as well.

I don't know if you know this, but there was a time when I struggled in my business to get ahead. In fact, I failed the first time I went out on my own. Miserably. And while I know now that the main reason for failure was not branding my business well enough right from the start, I also believe that I didn't plan to succeed.

Have you? Have you really ever sat down and thought about what success means for you? Have you ever thought about how you feel about success, about successful people?

Are you comfortable with it? Success is something we're often taught "only happens to others," is only "something that happens to people who brag a lot/are pushy about what they do," "is only something that happens to rich people." And sometimes that latter sentiment is twisted around to state that success only happens to bad people -- with the underlying idea being that the only way to become wealthy is to be a bad person. I've yet to meet anyone perfect :) so it's safe to say that wealth alone isn't enough to make you a bad person.

There are quite a few people I know -- some clients, some close personal friends, some distant and some very close -- who all seem to be struggling with this issue at the same time. And I've been there. Not lately, but I remember it well.

But the only way to succeed, to really get what you want, is to have your head in the game. Is yours?

Just a couple thoughts that might help you with your small business marketing:

1. I know it might feel sometimes as if you're facing an uphill battle when it comes to your marketing, but if this sounds like you, relax. The more you do, the easier it gets if you learn from your mistakes.

2. Don't take rejections personally. Your prospects may be:

• uninterested because they don't value what you offer, meaning they might be lousy clients to begin with
• flat broke
• distracted by a personal health problem or that of a loved one
• understaffed in a different area than the service you provide
• uneducated about the merits of what you offer (in which case, you can do something about this)
• struggling to get by
• in the middle of a huge pitch or presentation prep work, in which case you are keeping them from progress

3. If you make marketing a part of your routine, it won't seem so tough, and you can break the work into bite-sized chunks that are more manageable.

Have any small business marketing questions? Let me know!

I've done more ranting than raving around here than I'd like lately, but I have been confronted with more ridiculous marketing schemes of late than I typically am in an entire year.

I just got a spam in my inbox that was obviously a very poor translation of an Italian phishing spam (with a nonsensical subject line of "It earns with" -- it earns with what?!) that probably managed to get plenty of unassuming Italian speakers to give up their private personal data against their will. But I'll bet it flops terribly in all English-speaking places that it was blasted out to. As for me, well, all it did was make me mad ... and then laugh out loud because of the marketing truth hidden within.

So many small business owners come to me frustrated. Frustrated that they aren't getting the kinds of clients they want for their consulting businesses. Frustrated that their competition is making money hand over fist while they themselves are making peanuts and having to fight for every dime they do make. Frustrated that the promotions they send out aren't working.

Want to know the #1 reason why these folks aren't making money? Want to know the #1 reason why you aren't making money (if you fall into this category, that is)?

Because you're not speaking to your prospects using the right language. It all starts with your brand. It carries over to how you promote yourself. It continues to the way that you dress, act and carry yourself around the prospects you hope to sell your products/services to.

Learn how to communicate *effectively* with your prospects. Learn how to really listen. Learn how to use *their* words to describe what *you* do.

Do all that (it's far simpler than it looks) and you'll start seeing success. Im ernst. (That's German for "seriously." I don't know Italian, sorry!)

/rant mode off

Have a great day, folks!

I wrote an article a few months back about how the entire marketing process is like dating -- you have to warm people up to you prior to getting them ready to open their wallets, to cut to the chase.

A more sensitive way of putting this is that your prospects are like someone you date: The first date is most important because it determines whether there's a second date. The second date determines whether there's a third date. At some point, there's a kiss -- and the beginning of a real relationship (and not necessarily in that order).

That's exactly how marketing works as well (and why you want your brand in order before you even make it to the very first date!). If you don't give your prospects reasons to seek you out a second time, if you don't charm them the first time, you're out. So that first impression means a lot.

There's an entire section in my High-Concept Brand Bible that explains the power of first impressions and why you need to make your small business's first impression nothing short of stellar. But not everyone understands this ...

I recently placed an ad on my local Craigslist for a simple subcontracting project for someone with a certain type of professional skills. The help I needed is far less interesting or illuminating than the responses I received -- and you can learn a lot about romancing your prospects from what I received.

Some examples:

1) An overly confident message from someone who sounds polished, but overbearing. The job in question is a simple task for someone who has done this professionally, and I am not concerned at all about finding someone who can handle the task. But I do not want to work with someone who appears to be in love with herself. There is a balance that you must find to be appealingly confident, whether you're on a date, trying to get hired for a freelance job or selling your products.

2) A resume that had absolutely nothing to do with the job I needed filled. The guy had been a producer, counselor, lawyer and a lot of other things that sounded great, but had no bearing on the task at hand -- and there was no cover letter to give context. If you're on a first date, you need to make sure to make a little polite conversation about yourself rather than throw out a catalog of everything you've ever done, right? Why wasn't that done here? I don't know, but I passed on that application. Give context and you'll get further (as in "I can help scrapbooking enthusiasts like you better than the rest because of my extensive experience as a scrapbooker myself" -- show the prospect why they can relate to you).

3) One applicant ended up telling me her life story, switched gears to ask about payment rather abruptly (which is a legitimate query, but not in the aggressive way that the applicant asked), and then began mentioning where she lived and how difficult it would be for her if she had to leave her home office for any reason. Other than the life story, none of the content of the application in and of itself was too problematic -- except that it was sent in an almost stream-of-consciousness manner that made me afraid she wouldn't be able to complete assignments and/or would end up spending more time chatting with me than performing the task, which I am outsourcing to save myself time. I love to work with great people, but ... this was a weird application and the person, however lovely in real life, seemed a little scatterbrained for the detail-oriented position I needed filled.

4) An earnest e-mail from someone with no experience, but the strong desire for the work. I may end up hiring this person, but there's one killer sentence in the freelancer's application that just blows away any value her potential clients might have for her -- she gave her recommended rates for the position, and then stated that if that was too much, to please "tell her what she is worth." If you are not confident about your rates, it is better not to mention them at first than to backpeddle so quickly in your marketing materials. Instead, say that your rates are competitive, and you can be flexible to meet the needs of the assignment. And better yet, gain the confidence you need to stand behind the fees you really want to make by building a brand for your business -- and then get what you ask for!

In any case, what impressed me the most out of this experience is that there is a HUGE market for talented small business owners who know how to communicate themselves well to their prospects in fields even I wasn't aware of. So don't tell yourself that you're not good enough to get high rates, that you're not able to break out of your current situation or, on the other hand, that there's no room for improvement in the way that you handle your prospecting, think again. What kind of romancing do your prospects need? And how can you improve your marketing skills, how can you strengthen your brand to get ahead?

At the end of the day, it's all about taking action to improve yourself. I have faith in you. Do you?

Are you fearless?

I have personally put in a lot of time lately to get Avenue East's business/marketing plans for 2006 and beyond hashed out. Strategizing like this is great fun for me because it lets me see how we'll be able to help people, expand our reach to an even greater number of small business owners, etc. In essence, it's my blueprint for my business, with flexibility built in, of course. (If you don't do this sort of planning for your own business, you should! But that's another topic, so I'll try not to preach here.) :)

While I was developing the plan -- just a Word document full of ideas, goals and information on how to make all of the above happen -- I constantly referred to a question that I like to ask myself time and again: Am I aiming high enough with my goals?

If so, then all was good. If not, I thought through the idea in order to determine how to set my sights higher. Why? Because when you aim low, you get what you ask for, and nothing more.

Think long and hard about what I am about to note, which is critical to your future success. Make it your mantra for the future. Here goes ...

If you make decisions based solely on your fear of failure, you are not giving yourself the chance to get ahead.

But what does that mean? Think about what is holding you back. Write down those reasons; make sure not to forget to mention any fears that might be keeping you from putting your business into the limelight and getting the attention it deserves. Then think about all you have to GAIN from taking calculated risks.

It's hard to put yourself out there. I know it can be scary to think about getting (gulp!) a lot of attention for yourself, a higher income, a changed lifestyle, or what have you. Change is hard for most people to take, especially if you have always thought of more wealthy individuals as somehow greedy because of their financial prosperity. (How can it be bad to make your family's life better? You also have the opportunity to help others more if your business brings in more profits, so it doesn't have to benefit only you.)

As you start off 2006, make sure that you aim for the very best that you can achieve -- and then implement a realistic plan to help you get there!

Again, a side note based on an ezine I subscribe to ... An expert marketer just weighed in on how ineffective branding is as a way of generating income for a business, and I felt the need to rebut such outlandish claims.

Your brand is the overriding theme of all of your marketing, from start to finish. It's what makes people choose your business over the competition, makes it simple to understand why you're special and makes the most of your company's biggest strengths in the marketplace.

Done right, your branding efforts make it much easier to market your business over time -- giving you the platform your business needs to serve as a solid basis for all of your campaigns and to keep clients coming back to you time and again.

What the experts call "branding" isn't branding

Every last one of the marketers I've heard "dissing" branding as a discipline are talking about the overly hype-ridden fluff that some "brand marketers" claim is effective in generating awareness of your business, but never gets a response. Of course that stuff is fluffy -- the marketing equivalent of the gooey marshmallow fluff you use to make Rice Krispie Treats, tasty in combination with something of more substance, but ineffective in and of itself. The "branding" that these experts are referring to are those silly ads in mainstream magazines and on TV that do nothing other than entertain a little and do nothing to generate a response.

But every brand marketer worthy of being called one (and I modestly include myself in that category) knows that a real brand is the foundation for everything else in your business, and in no way means that you can stop marketing yourself entirely the moment that you have outlined your brand identity. Marketing requires asking people to act, to buy, and it is the next step in the process after establishing a brand for your small business.

My upcoming manual helps people use a brand strategy as a means of strengthening their message to prospects -- and then use that strategy to market themselves more effectively. Anything less would be unhelpful and not worth the paper the book is printed on. But don't tell me that branding is useless -- it works for companies large and small all the time.

One last rant

With literally no exceptions, every single marketer who has spoken out against branding has done an *amazing* job branding himself or herself as an expert in a particular marketing field and works hard at keeping that reputation intact. You can't tell me that branding doesn't work because it sends work their way time and again. If they don't see branding for what it is, it's simply because they're calling it another name.

/rant mode off

Ever read an article and think, "My sentiments exactly"? This happened to me a moment ago.

As I sat sorting through the dozens and dozens of my e-mails from the past couple of weeks that I didn't get to during the Thanksgiving holiday, I came across an article by Paul Lawrence that focused on a philosophy I have espoused in my life for a long time -- and it might be of help to you.

Whether you're aware of it or not, fear likely dictates a large number of your actions, day in and day out, both in your business and in your personal life. It might be fear of failure, fear of being unable to provide for your family, fear of success, you name it. We all face these fears on a regular basis.

Lawrence talks about the power of the Magic Question, however, as a way of coping with his own fears ... and since it is *exactly* what I ask myself when I face a new challenge, I wanted to share this Magic Question with you too.

Before I mention the question itself, consider this: Most solutions to your huge problems are not earth-shattering. They are not mind-blowing, over-the-top changes that you must make to achieve your goals. You just have to follow the common-sense advice and put it into action.

So what's the Magic Question, you ask? "What's the worst that could happen?"

When you are in a situation that brings out your fears and insecurities, simply ask yourself what the absolute worst thing is that could happen to you if everything went wrong.

For instance, I am about to launch a new course on how to brand your small business, and although I have already had a number of clients express interest in the course, of course there is always the possibility that no one will buy it, everyone will laugh me out of town and my business will fail to grow at the rate that I have planned. But none of that is likely to happen, and allowing my fears to rule my actions would be silly.

The same goes for you: What's the worst that could happen if you took a calculated risk?

After yesterday's painful database dilemma here on the blog, it was hard to work up the energy to post something new and helpful about small business marketing for you, my valued readers.

What if I spend a lot of time on a new post, only to find that the database problem -- which is supposed to be fixed now -- comes back, deleting the small business marketing tip I had planned to enter?

What if the subject I choose isn't as helpful to my readers as I hope for it to be?

What if ... Forget it, this "what if" business could go on all day.

I generally think of marketing of any kind as a calculated risk. Going in to literally any project, you know that some of your promotions won't reach their target, some won't be taken seriously by the folks you're trying to reach and you will get a few negative responses to anything you do.

I talked myself out of my little blogging "pity party" by reminding myself that I chose a profession that relies on rejection to gain knowledge. :) And sometimes bad things happen, like blogs dying, mailings not getting sent on time, printers botching print jobs, etc.

It's a rough road to travel sometimes, but then, running your own small business is always tough, and marketing that small business is just a part of it (a big part of it, but still ...).

In your own business, you may get discouraged by exactly the same frustrations that I named above -- fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of something going wrong that you can't plan for. But the fact is that for every small business marketing campaign that goes awry, you have the amazing opportunity to learn something new.

In what other part of your life could you take rejection as a positive? If I send out an e-mail campaign that gets a lower response than I originally expect, there's a good reason for it, and one that I may not have considered in advance. If you run a special that your prospects don't respond to, well, you now have a "control" by which to judge the performance of future campaign.

And yes, sadly, sometimes lousy stuff happens, like my blog dying right before my very eyes. Even sadder, a wildly expensive set of brochures (due to the vast quantity, not the cost per brochure) that I once developed for a huge client turned up in the back of a storage facility months after the initial launch, ruined due to poor climate control and carelessness on the part of another vendor.

And yet the beat goes on. Even when there are setbacks, we must move forward.

Sorry to get so philosophical today, folks, but I thought my initial sad sentiments might resonate with some of you who've had a bad time at some point with your own small business marketing. I always try to see the positive, however, and I know from experience that if you apply knowledge gained from lousy experiences into your next small business marketing campaign, more likely than not, you'll see greater success the next go-round. Chin up! I'll do the same.

[Reposted due to database problem]

I get enough inquiries from new subscribers asking me for advice on job hunting that I decided to post about it once and for all. The key principles of job hunting are so similar to that of marketing as a whole because a job hunt is, in essence, finding a job (market) for yourself that needs what you offer and convincing your employer (prospect) to select you over all other applicants (the competition).

Some simple suggestions before you start your next job search (and notice that these principles work for small business marketing as well):

Develop a personal brand that maximizes key strengths that only you can offer your employer.

Establish a network of people throughout your industry who can help you meet others who might want to hire you. I love hiring people who are referred to me because I know more about the person than what I'm seeing on a resume and cover letter.

Get professional "marketing materials" made up. In the case of a job hunt, you need to have a professionally written resume and cover letter that tell your prospective employer exactly why YOU and only you can meet their needs. If you're not a professional writer (and most of you are not), hire a resume writing professional to help you. Just like a copywriter trained to sell with words, a good resume writer knows how to make you look good on paper.

Dress the part. You don't have to wear a $1,000 suit to look professional, but dress as nice as (or nicer than) the folks interviewing you. You only have 1 chance to make a good impression.

Look up practice questions on a job search website and think through your answers prior to entering the room with your prospective employer. The fewer surprises you allow for, the more confident you'll be.

Shake hands like a winner. Come across confidently and you're halfway there.

During the interview, turn comments about yourself into benefits you offer the company. When a company is looking to hire someone, whether we're talking about an employee or a vendor, they want to know what they have to gain. So show them!

Follow up. Dash off a quick thank-you note to your contact at the company reiterating your interest in working with him or her. If you don't hear back within a reasonable period of time, write a polite e-mail or make a quick phone call to ask about the status of the job. Don't be pushy, but show your interest.

When you look at the steps, it doesn't seem all that difficult. But many people skip one or many of the items on this list, whether for their small business marketing or in the midst of a job search. The most important lesson of all, however, is to learn from your mistakes. If you go into one interview and find that you aren't as prepared in a particular area as you should be, work on this for the next appointment.

Good luck ... in your job hunting or your small business marketing. It's all based on the same principles, after all.

[Reposted due to database problem]

As you may know, I celebrated my birthday about a week ago while I was on the road. Early this morning I began doing the weekly email inbox clean-up session that keeps me sane and ensures that I haven't forgotten to take care of anything each week. In the midst of doing so, I came across a handful of emails from vendors I've registered with -- including my favorite local radio station here in SoCal.

The station is smart enough to know that they should pamper their loyal listeners to keep them happy and tuning in, and they sent me a ecard to wish me a happy birthday. Sounds sweet, and it's nice to receive (even if in my heart of hearts I know that it is computer-generated and not a one-on-one note from my fave DJs) ... but there's also a *wee* little problem with the card.

In it, there was a note that allows me to accrue additional points (they have a customer loyalty program in place in which you trade points for goodies like CDs and concert tickets) just by going to their website and typing in a specific phrase. The problem? They didn't include their URL, and it's been a long while since I've been to their site, so it's no longer anywhere to be found in my recently used URLs file in Internet Explorer.

Secondly, the number of free points gives me essentially nothing. I'd have to have 15 times the amount given away in the ecard to even begin to be able to get anything at all.

So I've got a present that I'd have to do work for just to be able to someday possibly accrue enough points to get that Milli Vanilli CD I've been saving up for since the mid-80s ... if, that is, I can ever find the radio station's website when the time comes.

Folks, if you want to do something nice for your clients, make sure that:

a) it requires no work on their part to enjoy

b) it actually provides something of value to your clients

c) you include relevant contact info because your clients are not psychic and might not know how to proceed

All of the above will keep happy clients even more thrilled with you and your business.

[Reposted due to database problem]

A good friend came to me recently, pretty much begging me for help with her marketing. "Marketing makes me miserable," she said, "and I'm no good at it."

I'm the opposite -- I find marketing thrilling about 99.9% of the time, mainly because I am genuinely curious about the people I work with and help with their small business marketing issues. When I tried to get to the bottom of my friend's frustration, it turned out that she'd always thought that going into business would be about what she wanted to do, not what other people needed from her. For her, marketing is a vicious tug-of-war, and she's the one who ends up with her face in the mud, making less profit than she wants and staying frustrated about her fruitless efforts.

I encouraged her to contact a couple clients whom she really likes -- and ask them to let her know what they're looking for in a vendor. That info, combined with her own likes and dislikes, will guide her to a better business plan -- and she'll likely see the marketing results in short order.

When you do your homework about your prospects, it doesn't have to be a lousy experience to market yourself and your small business. In fact, it's almost a guarantee that you'll see success. And every time I make a little extra cash, it makes me smile. You don't have to suffer through your marketing -- just find the right balance.

[Reposted due to database problem]

I'm not one to combine politics and business, but it occurred to me when I saw the early morning news today that there's a serious connection between branding and the Supreme Court Justice nominee process that's going on here in the U.S.

Bush's latest nominee, Harriet Miers, is apparently a workaholic dedicated to her job. Regardless of your politics, that in and of itself isn't a problem (though I prefer to work fewer than 17 hours a day, thank you very much, unlike Ms. Miers). But she isn't flashy. Doesn't call attention to herself and her accomplishments, either on the job or in the church in which she is active. No one knows who she is, what she does and why she may or may not be good at doing it.

That's fine and good if you don't want to achieve a high level of success -- in your career or your small business. If you want to succeed, however, you need to create a solid brand for yourself and/or your small business.

We like to tell ourselves that we should be able to remain true to ourselves and get noticed in our own right without our having to work at it. With all due respect, however, if you believe that, there's a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you ...

People are busy. Their lives are crazy. These people -- your prospects -- have more distractions today than they've ever had in the history of time. Cell phones. PDAs. Just logging onto the Internet provides more distractions than you would have had in an entire day 20 years ago.

You need to shake things up, figure out what's special about yourself and your small business and then go out and spread the word! What are you waiting for? If you're up for Supreme Court Justice someday, wouldn't you want people at least to have some clue who you are? That's what High-Concept Branding is all about. And in a shameless plug, my forthcoming branding book will launch in just weeks. So stay tuned for more info.

Don't give up on prospects who haven't responded to your initial inquiries. It takes 7 or more contacts to get your brand firmly planted in your prospects' brains as a solution to their problems.

If you give up too quickly, you could very well miss out on a major opportunity.

[Reposted due to database problem]

I'm sure we've all been in situations where a vendor of some sort has let us down because of their customer service.

Avenue East is in the midst of one such situation at the moment. A vendor we rely on seemed to be a great choice prior to purchase -- committed to customer service, recommended by many top businesses in our field and used widely in our industry. Their product appeared highly functional and trustworthy and yet since starting a (thankfully) short-term contract with this vendor, nothing has gone right.

In hopes of not incriminating a firm that may get it right most of the time, I will not name the company outright. But let's just say that in less than two weeks' time, we have faced 7 pretty intense problems that all required the attention of the company's support staff. In each case, we submitted our support issue and got a response fairly soon thereafter. In most cases, we received prompt, pleasant responses. So far so good.

But the nature of those responses was not so good. In more than one case, we were informed that the firm was having technical problems that, quite frankly, have hurt our business and caused us to throw a part of our marketing budget out the window. It was implied that the problem would be solved by the end of the day. The apology we received the first time seemed genuine and even elicited a phone call.

Two days later, however, the problem was still not solved. When I followed up, however, the new support team member assigned to our case made mention of the problem again, in essence telling me that they had worked out the kink in the system, but not giving me any more info than I had when I started. I furthermore deduced from this conversation and a handful of additional back-and-forths with the support team that the firm has no accountability built into their service.

In other words, if something goes wrong, they have no way of knowing whom it affected. So I couldn't even fix problems for my clients unless they contacted Avenue East directly -- a customer service nightmare, to say the least.

Even worse, the vendor was unable to solve the problem without it affecting a large group of clients at a time. Adding insult to injury, a strange glitch meant that something happened that shouldn't have. Imagine that I clicked on red, and everything but red is what popped up. Worse, the change was permanent, and the support team informed me that I must have done something wrong.

Human error is a given in any and all situations, but honestly, I just don't think so this time. I personally double-checked everything prior to confirming my choice, and what happened just didn't make sense based on my selections. The end result was very random and my selection had been systematic. Very disconcerting, to say the least.

When I mentioned, finally, in writing, that these problems were giving me serious doubts about using the vendor, I got a polite, but unhelpful answer from the support person who also happened to be the one who said that I was in the wrong. Again I was told that the problem was now solved, but my concern with their service as a whole was not addressed.

Sadly, there's even more to tell, but I think that I have shared enough business "don'ts" for the day. So I'll get on to the constructive part of this mini-rant ...

Lessons to glean from this customer service experience

1. Prompt, please customer service responses are fine, but make sure that your answers (or those of your support staff) actually show a glimmer of understanding for your clients' needs. I cannot imagine why anyone would use this firm for any reason other than the one that I do, so the problems that were caused last week should have been anticipated and acknowledged by the support staff. When your clients have problems, they need to feel like you understand them and are making every effort to correct them.

2. Admit you're in the wrong when you are in fact to blame. It's the only right thing to do.

3. Avoid causing problems to begin with. Whatever you offer -- whether it's coaching sessions, software development or real estate -- it helps to make a list of the potential problems that might arise after purchase and know how to prevent them in the first place.

4. Solve your clients' problems quickly. Accidents do happen, and no system is perfect 100% of the time, but having some method of solving problems quickly will keep your clients in your good graces much more easily.

5. Always respond to your clients' customer service concerns by addressing them outright. If clients go to the trouble of letting you know that they are considering going elsewhere for your business, it means that they are willing to give you a chance to make it up to them. Most unhappy clients will take their money and run, so responsive ones -- even clients who aren't telling you what you want to hear -- generally can teach you something.

Less than 10% of unsatisfied clients will tell you what they do or do not like about what you offer; that small handful of clients who actively correspond with you are worth keeping happy.

6. If you have caused your client major stress, do something to show that you appreciate their hanging in there. It doesn't have to be a refund or gift, but find some way of showing your concern for your clients' well-being. People like to feel like they are dealing with human beings with hearts. Prove to them that they are and that you are worth the short-term hassle.

7. Make sure that you live up to your brand promise. If your company stands for top-of-the-line service, you need to ensure that that's what your clients actually get. We have been paying a premium because we thought that we would get our money's worth with this company, and sadly that extra cash hasn't bought us the good customer service we thought we would be getting, based on their marketing and their reputation in the industry.

It's actually pretty easy to keep most clients happy -- just make good on your promises and let your clients know that you care. That's the kind of customer service that will keep people coming back to you again and again.

[Reposted due to database problem]

It's hot, hot, hot here in Los Angeles, and I have brought in every fan I own to beat the heat in my unair-conditioned office. In doing so, I was reminded of something my colleagues and I used to do when the heat in our Hamburg, Germany, office got unbearable (a rare treat in that usually-gray clime) that made everything seem better: ice cream!

Now, ice cream may not be your thing, but it sure was a nice surprise on a sweltering summer afternoon. And it was even nicer because it was a surprise.

Most of the time, it was a group of colleagues who chipped in to get the treats. I know I made more than 1 treat run to cheer folks up who desperately needed a break. Sometimes the company would buy enough ice cream to feed a small army and distribute it to everyone in the entire agency.

What does this have to do with your marketing? Plenty.

Many people (myself included) take it easy because there's just no motivation to do more than absolutely necessary when it's triple digits out and close to that within your own 4 walls. Your job is to find the right motivation for your prospects and clients.

I'm not advocating sending over ice cream sandwiches to your best clients, but you could easily create a summer "Beat the Heat" promotion of some sort playing on the idea of relieving your clients in peak summer months.

What other "pain" might they be feeling at the moment? Use it to your advantage and you might just see a steady rise in your bottom line.

[Reposted due to database problem]

In case you think that the little things don't make a big difference in the way you communicate with your prospects, think again.

Here's the scenario:

A busy email list on a marketing-related topic. Lots of posts each day. Lots of helpful input each day. Lots and lots of opinionated folks on the list. Some bickering here and there, the occasional over-the-top sales pitch by a new member who quickly learns how not to make friends and the usual conversational banter as people catch up online on their fellow listmates' time.

In other words, a good, professional list that isn't too uptight, but does enough self-policing to keep the content relevant to its members.

Until disaster strikes. Not one, but two individuals on the list went on vacation and were diligent about setting up an Out-of-Office reply to let their customers know they weren't available. That doesn't sound like a big deal, right?

The problem was that every last email to the list automatically generated that Out-of-Office note from both listmates.

The quantity of useless messages would have been enough to frustrate most people, given the high traffic of the list.

But things didn't stop there.

One of the two listmates had set up a cutesy note about the "extracurricular activities" he would be participating in on his vacation that, while perhaps charming to those who know him, was unprofessional at best and had literally no relation to the list's topic.

Now, this didn't affect me personally because I don't require the services of either of the above-mentioned people, nor did I participate in the discussion about my listmates' poor email etiquette.

But a couple dozen other people did, and those messages got distributed to thousands and thousands of listmates who are potential customers, colleagues or employers. And that was just the discussion on a single list.

The moral of the story

Sometimes I think we forget that our businesses still exist while we're away from the office, whether that absence is for business or pleasure. People continue to form opinions of your business even when you're not around, and seemingly tiny things like email settings can cause you to send out negative messages to the people you need to impress most.

In this case, the list members could have easily set up their list subscriptions to go no-mail or at least chosen an option in their email software to send an Out-of-Office reply only once to each recipient. This isn't failsafe, but it's a start.

The lesson to glean from this situation has to do with far more than how you configure an email system, though. Rather, it's important to understand that even when you're not actively promoting your services, you are sending a message that has major marketing implications.

What kind of opinion do you want others to have about you? The choice is yours.

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Just posted a new article about how to determine whether that new marketing technique that's got you drooling is right or wrong for your small business marketing. Take a look at the article here if you're the "take-action" type and tend to react the second any hot new marketing opportunity heads your way.

Before it sounds like I'm throwing stones here, it's anything but the case; I've been known to want to try out new tactics the very moment I hear about them!

To make sure you don't break your business bank account, however, you've got to have a method to your new marketing idea madness.

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I'm currently in the market for several types of (marketing-related) software. You would think it would be straightforward to find all of the above, but it's not.

To get an initial idea of what's out there, I did a quick Google search for the first product in question and the usual 100,000 results popped up. A few strategic additions, and the search narrowed down to a comfortable number of results.

Here's what happened:

I came across a lot of soft-sell "corporate" sites that literally did not tell me the features of their software and whether or not it could run on my own web server. In other words, all benefits and no features makes for fuzzy copy that says exactly nothing.

One standout "techie" site, for lack of a better term, had the longest list of product features I've ever seen in my years of writing copy for software firms. But there was only 1 sentence that included a benefit, so if I weren't fairly tech-savvy, I wouldn't have a clue what I was reading. And that product didn't seem quite up to par. All features and no benefits leaves readers yawning, folks.

Other pages told me what they offered but weren't actually selling software; they wanted me to sign up for a couple years' worth of pricey services hosted on their own machines. The one site that seemed the best match out of the lot had long copy that was compelling, emotional and even would have convinced me to buy had I needed what they offer. But I don't.

I'm well aware that most people don't have a web server at their disposal, but I do, I want software, not services, and I don't like being told I'm getting info on one thing, only to be presented with another. Nowhere in the copy did the merchant tell the truth. Not once.

By this time, I'd spent over an hour hunting for something straightforward and couldn't find what I needed.

In desperation, I went to an online forum known for its savvy in this area and posted a plea for advice. I expected a handful of posts in response and one or two useful bits of information to walk away with.

Then, the unexpected happened. It wasn't business hours when I posted, nor was it a timeframe where I even expected a quick answer to my query. But lo and behold, the phone rang.

Someone had seen my post and gave me a call to let me know about something he sold that could help me. Now, ordinarily I don't like sales calls anymore than anyone else, and I sure don't tend to buy from someone I've just met. And I don't like getting business calls after hours (though I'm the fool for answering the forwarded call, I suppose). However ...

This call actually showed me that the vendor in question had understood what I was looking for. He knew the features and benefits of his product. He told me his background and how to find out more about him online. He let me know how to reach him if I had further questions.

Then he quickly got off the phone and let me think. A day later, I received a polite follow-up email that confirmed all of the contact info and product advice he offered.

And although I still haven't purchased, I'm seriously considering buying from this vendor, whom I hadn't heard of until that phone call.

Why? Because he was honest, told me the truth about his products, knew that the right combo of benefits and features are what sell a product, reacted quickly and followed up, all without being pushy. He let me make up my own mind and gave me the tools I needed to see that his business is legitimate.

That's what it means to simplify someone's life. Not soft-sell that says nothing for the sake of not offending people. Not features to prove that your product is technically superior while telling us exactly zip about what those features mean. (Guess what? We don't care as long as it runs properly the way we need it to.) And not lying to try to make a sale. Trickery doesn't breed trust.

Be straightforward. Go ahead -- tell me what you really have to offer. I dare you.

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I've never been the type to advocate aiming low, but it's become clear over time that when it comes to marketing, thinking smaller really is better, at least when you're a small-business owner trying to accomplish all of your marketing on your own.

Now, before I incite a riot here <g>, I should clarify that I don't mean you shouldn't set your sights high in terms of the success you plan to achieve with your small business. Quite the contrary -- shoot for the sky!

But when it comes to your marketing techniques, it has been my experience that if you really concentrate on a handful of different marketing activities, you will get better results and get less burned out than if you try out 20 of the best techniques.

In other words, choose a small number of tactics (as in 3 or 4), try each one out, test it, optimize it and repeat the process. Start with simple marketing tactics that have a small learning curve. Once you've got these promotional activities underway, choose a slightly more complex technique and optimize it until it works its best.

The "think small" technique works for just about any type of marketing you do -- and especially Internet marketing, which typically can be done without spending a lot.

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After a weekend jaunt to lovely San Diego, late last night my husband and I arrived back in Los Angeles tired and hungry, so we walked the small handful of blocks to a local all-night diner to grab a quick bite to eat. And it was there that we were smacked in the face with an example of unusual branding, to say the least.

We live in a neighborhood that is about as historic as you can find in L.A. -- 1920s-era homes and quaint shopfronts for small businesses that cater to everyone from folks like us to the elderly who live in the retirement homes on the opposite side of the shopping district. And it was one store catering to this population of older citizens that had my husband and myself in hysterics when we should have been concentrating on finding some grub.

You might think a shop selling wheelchairs would have it easy in such a neighborhood -- huge target audience planted right there, a captive audience if you will. And you'd be right. So maybe branding isn't so important for a shop like this, right? Wrong.

What stood out about this shop for me was an oversized poster in the window promoting a new model of wheelchair ... complete with a grumpy, overweight bulldog planted right in the middle of it.

Sure, it's lovely that the dog's fanged underbite finally got the recognition it deserved, but the photo overshadowed any credibility the store might otherwise have had in terms of their expertise in finding less-able people the right wheelchair for their needs. Why? Because apparently, they also help pedigreed pooches do the same.

Of course I say this in jest, but use this as a lesson for your own marketing materials -- whether a simple website, a brochure or even just your business card, are you branding yourself the way you want to be perceived by your customers? Use this tail -- I mean, tale -- and see if there's anything you can improve in your own branding.