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?

As promised, here are pics of my new kitten Pablo, who was rescued out near Coney Island and came to us flea-ridden and in desperate need of love and care.

How he looked when we got him cleaned up ...

... and here's the little charmer after he was dried off and able to make himself at home here. :)

He was so undernourished that I had to feed him every 3 hours until the past few days ... That's when I am really grateful not to have to deal with the daily grind at a regular job. And that I owe to you, my valued readers!

In the latest issue of Avenues to Marketing Success, I wrote about the power of blogging, and it only makes sense for me to fill you in a little more on why I personally blog.

Giving out information to readers like you is one key way that I can help you grow your business a small tidbit of marketing knowledge at a time. I hear from enough of you that this appears to be quite helpful to you, especially if you are new to your business or you're uncomfortable marketing yourself regardless of how long you've been in business.

I don't get a lot of comments here directly on the blog (though if you want to comment, you're welcome to -- click on the Comments link below), but I do get tons of e-mails asking for more information about what I've written, clarifying comments I've made and that sort of thing. I love hearing from you, and you give me priceless information about how I can better help you in the future with all your questions, so keep the questions coming! And feel free to share them here on the blog if you wish.

I also shouldn't neglect the fact that I personally love having an outlet to get out my frustration about some marketers' attempts to sway you to their services just so they can make a buck, even though there is little or no value to what they offer. I just got an e-mail this morning from the 30th Internet marketer promoting the same thing as everyone else, with the same e-mail every single time, down to the typos. I know that we're all in business and don't have time to reinvent the wheel every time we send out new offers, but honestly, make sure that if you use any sort of canned sales letter for any reason in your own business to tailor it to the way YOU write. Sorry for the mini-rant, which is somewhat beside the point.

What I should have said before I got off on that tangent was that long prior to getting today's e-mails, I also got apologies ... APOLOGIES from a number of folks who had sent the promotion out because they hadn't done their homework to see if the product in question was worthwhile. C'mon. You make thousands and thousands of dollars from each e-mailing you send out, and you can't take the time to verify if ANY of the information is useful?

I expect more. Your customers expect more. And that's where your blog can come in handy.

When you write a blog, here are some hints:

Get personal.

Dig deep.

Give it your all.

Don't try to sucker people into buying from you unless you offer a good product.

Show your value by showing yourself and your brand values to your readers.

And remember:

You don't have to be perfect in your communications, but the more you write about things in a blog that are helpful to your clients and prospects, the more feedback you get about what's helpful and what isn't. And you also become a better writer, helping you with all of your promotions in the future.

I urge you to consider starting a blog to give your prospects a better sense of who you are and what you stand for (that's a HUGE part of the branding process, after all, and I would be remiss if I didn't say so!) Blog for humanity. *laughs* Blog for your sanity. After all, if I didn't have this blog, I'd have nowhere to rant and rave! :) I don't think my cat cares what I think about marketing as long as she get her ocean fish dinner in gravy!

Think a blog doesn't work to draw in clients? Then why did you read this post?!

After a particularly frustrating day recently, a good friend and fellow small business owner contacted me and started complaining about how tired she is, how she wishes she didn't have to work so hard, how it's so much easier to work for someone else.

You may have felt like this too, likely more than once if you've been in business for any period of time.

But I know this friend well enough to know that all her bellyaching was really just venting because she's tired from too much business to handle and needs some R&R.

So I played devil's advocate and started talking about how great it would be for her to go back to her previous full-time work, how it was very practical to have to travel 6 months of the year to less-than-exciting locales with generic, cookie-cutter hotels that all looked the same. And it was especially lovely not be able to spend her own birthday with her husband, whom she doesn't like anyway. (And yes, in case it isn't clear, all of this was ironic in nature.)

When I listed all the things that she hated about her previous job, I heard it -- that audible quick-change in her tone of voice that indicated her suddenly recognized thrill to be stressed out from making more than she ever has in her life, even if it's a little more work than she'd like right now until she gets some of her admin work outsourced.

Maybe you've been through the same thing. Or maybe you're upset because you're not making as much as you want, and it feels like you're working around the clock.

There's a cure for all of the above, and it has a lot to do with how you prioritize your time and find your way. But that's a subject for another post and a subject I cover a lot in one form or fashion.

Instead, I request that you push your chair back, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Then answer me this: ain't it great to be on your own?

What if you were beholden to bosses and politics and shifts and timelines of when everyone else was doing everything?

What if you were only able to make your salary, and the rest of what you earned your firm went into someone else's wallet?

What were your reasons for venturing into this world of "you get what you make of it"?

As an entrepreneur, you've got the power. You're in the drivers seat. And from time to time you must take time to smell the roses.

It's a wonderful thing to be able to have the freedom to run your own show. (After all, when else would you be able to write blog posts at midnight?) I for one wouldn't trade it for the world.

And I hope that you too can take a moment every few days to revel in your own independence.

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!

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!

Introducing the latest addition to the Avenue East family: Lulu! Despite all the madness surrounding the launch of The High-Concept Brand Bible home-study guide, my husband and I made the time on the weekend to adopt this little beast on the weekend, when she decided that we were taking her home and made all the right moves to make us fall in love with her!

As you can well imagine, this 1-pound wonder has already become the center of attention and is proving to be quite the adventurer, despite the oh-so-innocent routine she's doing in this pic!

*sighs* It had to happen sometime. It could have happened anytime.

But it didn't just happen any old day -- it happened today, when we were working to get our new High-Concept Brand Bible launched.

So what was it that ruined my otherwise gleeful afternoon as I (mistakenly) reveled in the pleasure of finally having this guide on the market and relaxed, really relaxed for the first time in months?

Naturally it wasn't just 1 thing. Two nasties managed to plague the launch right from the start:

1) I sent an e-mail out to more than 5,000 people, and right at the top, where my database is supposed to automatically include the person's name, I included the little code in the wrong place in the file, so everyone got greeted as <$name$>. Don't you love being called <$names$>?

2) A tiny little image saved in a seemingly innocuous folder on our Web server wreaked havoc on the order page for the book. 5,000 click over to a page and then get asked for a password. Nice, huh?

Anyway, I've already sent my subscribers a big apology, and I do hope that that's all the damage control necessary in this situation because neither mistake was intentional.

But you know what? Even though I was pretty frustrated when I found out about these problems for a little bit because I was worried about upsetting my subscribers, this is a great day. Finally I'm able to help people the way I have wanted to for years (I dreamed of helping as many small business owners as possible for, oh, most of my big-business marketing career, and there aren't enough hours in the day to help half of the folks I'd love to be able to). And besides, I don't mind getting bad news about my own mistakes when the messengers are subscribers who are kind enough to take the time to share their concerns with me.

So in case you are one of the subscribers who suffered today at my hands :) once again, my apologies.

Since I announced the launch of my upcoming resource, The High-Concept Brand Bible™, I've been getting all kinds of questions about branding from my subscribers and clients.

If you signed up for the pre-launch list (send a blank e-mail to contactus5-134674@autocontactor.com -- you will find out how to save $100 if you order by Dec. 22), you received a brief answer to the question: My market -- and my clients -- are very unique. I don't understand why a brand would possibly help me get ahead.

My short answer to the list was:

This question gets posed to me repeatedly, and the fact is that while I understand that you feel strongly about this, it really doesn't matter what market you're in, it doesn't matter how competitive your niche and no, your clients are not different! The High-Concept Brand strategy that I teach you in The High-Concept Brand Bible™ is the same system used by companies like Nike, Sony, Apple ... oh, and by thousands of small businesses and micro-businesses such as health care consultants, financial professionals and, yes, marketers like myself.

You might think that, for example, my own service/publishing business has nothing to do with the devoted fans who buy each new set of Nikes that comes out -- but guess what? People are people and have a set of needs much like everyone else on the planet. You just have to know what they're looking for, and then brand your business accordingly!

But I don't feel that that does the question its full justice.

So brace yourself because I'm going to be more blunt than my mother raised me to be: :)

The brutal truth is, you can tell yourself that your market is special all you want. You can claim that your clients are not like other people's clients, that they won't respond to a powerful brand message, that they won't respond if you try to raise your rates, that they won't see you in a different light if you finally claim the expertise that you and your small business have in spades.

You can shy away from making a bold move to turn your business into a brand powerhouse based on the same principles as the big players do.

But the underlying cause of all this hesitation isn't about any "marketing truths" about your clients -- it's about your fears ... of change, of moving outside of your comfort zone, of succeeding.

Don't let fear dictate your marketing

We all seek out vendors because we have a problem that needs solving. And the easier that those vendors make our lives, and the more pleasurable our experiences dealing with those vendors, and the more that we see the value of working with those particular vendors, the more likely we are to go back, spend more and tell others about them.

Your clients are no different. We're all just human beings with the simple need of a solution to the things that challenge us in life, whatever they may be. We know and expect others to promote their businesses to us because they are in the business of making money or will go out of business far more quickly than we hope.

Telling yourself that you cannot expect *your* clients to handle a simple promotional slant to your communications with them is to say that you don't think your business is good enough, that you don't have a strong enough relationship with your clients to be able to stake your claim on success in the marketplace, plain and simple.

If I sound frustrated, it's because I am!

Time and again, I see business owners just like you sell themselves short when they could finally be succeeding. I'm talking about highly talented, even gifted people who aren't paid what they're worth because they have never attempted to show the world what they're capable of, what their products or services are actually worth.

And it's all because of an unwillingness or inability to lead, to risk upsetting a handful of overly sensitive clients while strengthening your standing among the rest of your clients -- and a whole lot of new prospects as well.

So let me ask you this? If I gave you the tools to lead the way with your brand, would you?

If you were given the chance to learn a step-by-step approach to figure out why your business is so special, to boost your confidence, to raise your standing in the eyes of your clients and prospects, would you take it?

Brand success is just around the corner

When you take the time to understand what clients are looking for, regardless of industry, occupation and personal likes and dislikes, you begin to see that each and every one of us can benefit from turning a "follow the leader" business model into a "leader teaches its following" High-Concept Branded™ business. It's just that simple.

When you take the time to lead the way, you pave a path for yourself and your business that heads toward the kind of success that gives you the money, time and freedom to do the things you want in your life. And it doesn't matter what size your business is, what type of clients you have, etc.

All you need is the vision to turn your business into a brand. And that is what The High-Concept Brand Bible™ is all about, folks: finding your vision, building from your business's strengths and taking charge of your business success from this point forward.

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.

If you've been to this page in the past few weeks, you'll notice that I have been neglecting this blog, only posting every now and again. Today when I fired up my blog program and was ready to get started with my first post since this long break, I encountered a severe database error that wiped out all of my files. Thankfully, I had the documents backed up, but all blog items had to be reposted from scratch.

As a result, all items are now in the November database, rather than dating back to May. I've also created a new category, Rants & Raves, to elaborate on, well, anything marketing-related that brings out the best or worst in me that I feel you should know for your own marketing. If you have any marketing tools or other marketing-related issues that would be relevant for this category, let me know at publisher at avenueeast dot com!

[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]

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.

[Reposted due to database problem]

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.

(Reposting post from 05/12/05 after recovering from a database error)

Dear Reader,

It's not everyday that you make your very first blog post, so I wanted to make sure this one is worthy of its pixels (or is that its ones and zeroes?).

If you're at all like me, you spend lots of time thinking about how to promote your small or micro-business. And it's hard to decide who to trust.

There are many marketers out there who will tell you they have a marketing formula that always works. Many of them are my colleagues and trusted friends, and they've found a solution that makes them money hand over fist.

But their approach might not work for you because it doesn't apply to your marketing goals, your business model or it just simply doesn't feel right for whatever reason.

Then there's the camp that claims you have to have an expensive website in order to make a living on the Internet. And for some sites, that might be the case, and I'll readily admit that I've worked on some campaigns for big brands that essentially required a "pretty" site because of the corporation's business model. YMMV (that's "your mileage may vary" for those of you who aren't quite as addicted to the Internet as I am).

And I should also note that while I modestly would like to think that the way my site currently looks is part of its allure (admit it -- you love it) ;) if I prove otherwise, you can bet I'll be testing new designs, approaches, what have you, in very short order indeed.

But the one and only marketing technique that stands out and has proved time and again to work -- for myself, colleagues and clients -- is to create a great product/service/etc., come up with a solid brand identity for yourself by establishing what you stand for, get the word out and use smart marketing methods to generate business. Online. Offline. Doesn't matter, just so you use effective techniques.

OK, OK. That made it sound easy, didn't it?

But even if I've oversimplified things just a wee bit here <g> and there are many ways to achieve the goals I've mentioned, it really does come down to this killer combo.

And frankly, that's why I'm here. There's no need for you to have to wade through all the garbage just to find the small handful of marketing gems out there that will really get the job done for you. This blog and my newsletter, Avenues to Marketing Success, are my way of cutting through the hype and showing you what really will make a difference to your marketing.

I promise that the upcoming posts will be shorter and less philosophical so that you can take my recommendations and run with them.

As I wrap up this intro to my marketing approach, let me leave you with a few thoughts:

1) If it works, do it.

2) If it proves not to, don't make the same mistake twice.

3) If it doesn't appear to make sense, but others have proved it does, give it a shot.

4) Keep an open mind: if another marketer's "ugly" website is making tens of thousands of dollars of revenue and yours isn't doing squat, it might just be time to rethink your business plan.

5) Most important: If you're not testing, you're losing money.

More to come in future blogs ... I wish you much success in your marketing and invite you to contact me at any time with your questions or recommendations!

Cheers, and all the best,

Jennifer

P.S. If you're not already signed up for my newsletter, Avenues to Marketing Success, you're missing out on more common-sense marketing advice for your small business, whether it's about Internet marketing, branding, copywriting or another tried-and-true method of boosting your income.