ASR Blog

Guerrilla Networking: Yay or Neigh?

I spent the weekend of March 21 in San Francisco. It was a fun trip. More than a week later, though, I'm still chewing over something  that happened while I was there. It was a missed opportunity, and I'm mourning it.

Here's what happened: On Friday, I was riding an F-line streetcar from Market Street to Fisherman's Wharf. The streetcar was crowded and I was packed into the back of it with a gaggle of tourists and a few visibly perturbed locals, like sardines sandwiched into a can. I noticed a gentleman standing next to me; his messenger bag was brushing up against my right arm. Attached to it was a name badge or sorts. I read it and smiled, as he was an editor at a major San Francisco-based media company, which publishes several high profile Web sites.

Being a writer, editors are my best friends. These are the folks who make my business tick. It seemed serendipitous, therefore, that I was rubbing elbows — literally — with this guy in a San Francisco streetcar. This was an opportunity, for sure. The question was, how could I seize it?

I had with me some business cards, as well as some promotional pens on which is my business contact information. I thought about slipping a pen secretly into his bag or his pocket, but that felt creepy. I thought about actually introducing myself, but that felt awkward, given the circumstances. I thought about e-mailing him an introduction on Monday, but that felt fanatical. So, I did nothing while I watched him exit the streetcar, taking with him a world of potential new business.

I'm reminded of the classic "elevator pitch" that so many entrepreneurs are trained to give. Does it really work? I can't help but think that if I had tried to schmooze this man on a streetcar, among tourists with fanny packs and digital cameras, he would have been more likely to slap me with a restraining order — or at least a very odd look — than a writing contract. After all, it's one thing to approach someone at a networking event, but it's something else entirely to tap a stranger on the shoulder in order to make a sale.

Was I right to let the man be? Or did I miss out on a major opportunity? If you've got stories of "guerrilla networking," I'd like to hear them. Did your efforts sour or succeed? Maybe there's still time for me to reach out and connect ...

How to Do Niche Marketing via Google AdWords

Last week, I published an article about marketing to minority audiences. Often ignored by mainstream marketers, they're an increasingly important, increasingly powerful segment of consumers. Not only to big guys like Coke and Microsoft, but also to small businesses like you and me.

One of the most fundamental pieces of advice that I encountered about reaching minorities is to find them where they already are. It does you no good, for instance, to craft an ad for African-American men if you're going to run it in a magazine that targets white women.

Here's the thing, though: Many of the smallest small businesses — including mine — don't have the budgets to run either mainstream or minority ads in newspapers, in magazines or on cable TV. We've got to reach our customers as efficiently and as inexpensively as possible. Often, that means advertising online via search engines and affiliate networks, where customers often are nameless and faceless.

I wondered if it was possible to really target a single group of customers, such as minorities, online — to give anonymous Internet users who are clicking your pay-per-click ads a tangible demographic identity. To find out, I engaged Kim Malone Scott, director of online sales and operations for Google's AdSense.

Here's what Kim told me about using Google AdWords to reach niche customers:

Q: The Internet is a big place, full of lots of people. Is it possible to reach a targeted, niche audience online?

Google's advertising offerings provide advertisers the ability to meet every marketing objective. Although Google's Content Network can reach about 70 percent of all Internet users, it is also possible to target and reach a narrow niche audience by location or demographic.

Q: Why might I want to reach that niche audience to begin with?

One of the first pieces of advice we give to small business advertisers is to know your audience. By taking a good look at the products and services you’re selling and the customers who are buying them, you can translate that knowledge into effective and targeted advertising.

It really goes beyond niche demographics being an attractive advertising target; it’s about niche demographics being the right audience for the goods and services that a business is trying to sell. If a small business determines that a minority is buying the products they sell, then that minority becomes an attractive and important advertising target for that business. Google can help that business reach that particular demographic.

Q: Ok, so niche demographics are obviously an attractive target. Now, how does one reach them with their AdWords campaign?

Google offers its AdWords advertisers that are opted into the Google Content Network the ability to reach niche audiences online with placement targeting. Placement targeting lets advertisers choose individual sites in the Google Content Network where they’d like their ads to appear. When advertisers create a placement-targeted campaign, they can choose the demographic site selection option. This option enables advertisers to find and run their ads on Web sites with the right audience for their AdWords campaigns. Advertisers submit demographic preferences and create a list of sites that they think may be popular with that demographic audience. A feature called the Placement Tool then automatically returns a list of available sites from Google’s Content Network whose audience tends to match the demographic description an advertiser selected. For instance, if an advertiser is selling ethnic beauty products, they may ask the Placement Tool to look for sites that are popular with minority women.

Like using AdWords for search, small business advertisers can spend as little or as much as they would like for placement-targeted campaigns. They can choose either cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) pricing.

Q: If I decide to advertise within Google's Content Network, what common mistakes should I avoid making?

Small business advertisers who create AdWords campaigns, but don’t measure their effectiveness, are making a mistake. After a campaign goes live, advertisers should measure its results regularly. They should keep a close watch on their account statistics, review their Web logs and use conversion tracking software (available for free through some advertising programs). With that data, advertisers should continually review what they’ve set up, keeping in mind that there’s always room for improvement and that the online advertising environment is dynamic. Advertisers shouldn’t be afraid to make changes and try new things.

An Idea: Share the Love

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. I got some sweets from my sweetie, sure, but I also got a very nice card from my grandmother and an e-mail from my mother, who never, ever sends me e-mail. After all these years, they're still sending me valentines. Unexpected, the notes really perked me up. So much so, in fact, that it got me thinking: Why don't we send our customers valentines?

Well, I decided that we should. We send them holiday cards at Christmas time. But so does everyone else. If we sent them cards, e-greetings or handwritten notes on second-tier holidays, however, or even at random times of year, it would really make an impression on our clients and customers. It would be special — and in their eyes, so would we. Isn't that what the "Just Because" and "Thinking of You" sections at Hallmark are all about?

Your gesture doesn't have to be elaborate; unlike your valentine, your client isn't expecting diamonds. They're not expecting anything, in fact. Simple, therefore, is bound to be successful.

Doing anything at all is a competitive advantage. So mark your calendar with the following dates — they're excellent opportunities to make your clients smile — and stock up on cards and candies:

• Feb. 18: Presidents Day
• March 20: First day of spring
• March 23: Easter
• April 1: April Fool's Day
• April 15: Tax Day
• May 11: Mothers Day
• June 15: Fathers Day
• July 4: Independence Day
• Oct. 31: Halloween
• Nov. 4: Election Day
• Nov. 27: Thanksgiving

It's pretty simple. On the first day of spring, send your client flowers or a "Thank God it's spring!" note. On Tax Day, send a funny e-greeting that says, "I thought you could use a laugh." On Halloween, send some candy and tell your clients that life would be "scary" without them. Be creative.

The point is this: On days that you decide to do something special for your loved ones, throw in something special for your customers, too. It's unexpected, and they'll love you for it.

198 Marketing Tools, Techniques and Tactics

The February 2008 issue of Entrepreneur magazine has an awesome list of marketing tools, tactics and techniques for small businesses in the "Startups" section near the back of the book.

I wanted to reprint the list here because it's just a really awesome, comprehensive list of marketing ideas and implements (a list that I really, really wish I could take credit for putting together!). It's proof that you've got infinite out-of-the-box options when it comes to promoting your business.

Take a look and let your marketing muse get drunk on the possibilities.

Your Guerrilla Marketing Arsenal:

Source: Entrepreneur, February 2008

How to Apologize to Your Customers

When I worked at the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, we talked a lot about apologies. After all, people aren't perfect, and neither are their companies. Both make mistakes. The question is, when your business mucks something up, how does it say, "I'm sorry"?

The answer, I discovered at WOMMA, is a matter not only of customer service, but also of branding. That's because customers are an understanding breed of beast. They appreciate honesty. They appreciate transparency. They appreciate candor. A company's response to its own missteps therefore offers a unique glimpse into its character. Customers don't want to do business with finger pointers; they want to do business with sincere, stand-up corporate citizens.

So, if you've messed up, what do you do? You could cue up Brenda Lee's famous "I'm sorry" country song and broadcast it via loudspeaker. You could ignore the problem. You could send customers a note that's overflowing with excuses and explanations. Or, you could simply say, "We screwed up, and we're sorry. We'll do better next time."

That's exactly what my Web hosting company, DreamHost, did recently when it overcharged my account. Here's how they said, "Sorry":

Hi Matthew!

Ack. Through a COMPLETE bumbling on our part, we've accidentally attempted to charge you for the ENTIRE year of 2008 (and probably 2009!) ALREADY (it was all due to a fat finger)!

We're really really realllly embarassed about this, but you have nothing to worry about. Please ignore any confusing billing messages you may have received recently; we've already removed all those bum future charges on your account and fixed everything up.

Thank you very very much for your patience with this .. we PROMISE this won't happen again. There's no need to reply to this message unless of course you have any other questions at all!

Sincerely,

The Foolish DreamHost Billing Team!

DreamHost solved and notified me of the problem before I was even aware of it. They were sincere and they were proactive. I was impressed.

Sure, it sucks that they screwed up, but because of their apology, I was appreciative instead of annoyed. That's how you say, "I'm sorry."

Love from Oprah

Oprah Winfrey can recommend something—be it a book or a presidential candidate—and everyone takes notice. But for those lucky few companies that get the Oprah seal of approval, how can you prepare for the onslaught of orders, interest and sales (hopefully)? This post on Wall Street Journal's Independent Street blog talks to Jamey Bennett, whose LightWedge LED reading light was mentioned on The Oprah Winfrey Show in June.

The post focuses on how Bennett prepared for a repeat airing in December, several months after the original show aired. Bennett was so unprepared the first time around that he is taking special steps to be ready for Part Two.

This is an interesting angle on the overplayed ''Oprah can make anything successful'' news, and one that retailers and designers could learn from. So, I'll as the same questions as WSJ's Wendy Bounds: Have you ever had an unexpected burst of publicity? How did you cope with the buzz? What can small companies do to prepare themselves?

~Kimberly Maul

Reaching College Students

Are you trying to reach the elusive college student demographic at your store? A new survey from the National Association of College Stores (NACS) asked 587 college students what they want for Christmas--and 19 percent said gift cards or money.

While it may seem strange, electronics were at the bottom of the list, Gifts and Decorative Accessories reported, because most college students already have the electronics they need and/or want.

So what can retailers stock in hopes of grabbing the attention of college students? Organic, recycled and Fair Trade items.

''According to our Student Watch survey, college-bound students showed a penchant for purchasing items made from recycled materials, Fair Trade products and organic alternatives in categories such as food and beverage or health and beauty products,'' said Karen Bartelme, researcher in charge of NACS Collegiate Research Services program. ''A gift card or cash has the double benefit of allowing them to avoid un-cool gifts from grandma, while at the same time voting for causes that are important to them with their pocketbooks.''

~Kimberly Maul

Designing My First Ad: A Recipe

Advertising is a lot like baking cookies. There are hundreds of different recipes out there, and while most use more or less the same ingredients, what comes out of the oven is always a surprise. Too much of one ingredient, and your cookie is too sweet. Too little of another, and your cookie is too dry. It's all about experimentation in pursuit of the perfect morsel.

I liken advertising to baking because there are infinite formulas out there that are designed to breed success. All involve some mix of media, market and messaging, and yet all produce "grab bag" results. You're just never sure if your proverbial dough is going to sit well on your customers' palates.

I bring all this up because I just designed my first display ad. In my line of work — writing — you don't do a lot of advertising. It's just not the most effective means of marketing. Still, when someone offers you a free ad, you take it. That's exactly what a client of mine did last week. She's launching a new e-mail newsletter and offered me a free 350 x 200 banner ad in her first issue. So, I set to work designing it. Here's what I came up with:

               

I'm no advertising expert, but thanks to my background in magazine publishing, I know something about getting people to read things. Here's my recipe:

Ingredients

- 1 bold headline
- 5 font sizes
- 1 splash of red
- 1 call to action
- 1 "Free"
- Details, to taste

Directions

1. Position your bold headline near the top of your ad, like in an article, in order to give the reader a point of entry.
2. Write your ad copy, using several different font sizes to create multiple points of interest.
3. Include only relevant details in your ad copy, such as services, prices or products. Keep it short, simple and sweet.
4. Take a cue from the cover of Cosmo and highlight important words in red; it makes them really pop.
5. Include a call to action; if you tell customers to do something, they'll do it.
6. Finish your ad with a phone number, e-mail address or Web site so that folks can find you when they're ready to become your customers.

My ad hasn't run yet, so I don't know if my recipe will fly or fail. I'm curious, though, to see who else out there is baking. If you've got a good advertising recipe, consider sharing it here. Heck, while you're at it, share your best cookie recipes, too!

Going Up Against the Big Dogs

When a big box store moves into town, a lot of the local independent businesses start to worry. And while it is definitely tough to compete with national brands and more money and power, there are ways to hold your own against a big box store. The Courier-News in Bridgewater, N.J. discusses the ways small, independent businesses can compete and win going up against a major corporation.

''You need to be different than the big-box stores,'' said Kris Lynn, owner of garden shop The Potting Shed, in the article. ''You have to find creative ways to get people to come.'' Some of those creative ways include viral marketing, hosting local events like summer block parties, and making the most out of the store's location.

This article focuses on local stores in New Jersey, but is an interesting read, especially for store owners and employees who are dealing with the infiltration of bigger stores in their area. Have you dealt with this situation? How did you get through?

~Kimberly Maul

Am I Hit or Not: Prediction Market's Newest Site

Instead of boasting to your buddies that Superbad is going to take the No. 1 movie honors again and again and again, put your money where your mouth is; or, rather, your virtual money.

The prediction market, which includes Hollywood Stock Exchange (where you can buy and sell virtual shares that rise and fall based on the success of actors and movies) and the Iowa Electronic Markets (which lets folks bet on election results) has a new kid on the block: Media Predict, which allows registered users to place bets on whether or not a book proposal or TV pilot will get picked up.

“Being able to predict the performance of something is key,” said Brent Stinski, founder of Media Predict, in a New York Times article. A prediction market, he said, “is a very powerful tool.” And, apparently, the guesswork of the masses can be remarkably accurate.

The question remains, however, whether or not the wisdom of crowds can foretell a decision that essentially comes down to, well, an editor in a New York publishing house. Hence, Project Publish, Media Predict's book contest in which participants can buy virtual shares in any of 50 book proposals currently being peddled by literary agents. As part of the contest, Simon & Schuster will pick 5 finalists, one of which will get a deal. Will they stumble upon another Celestine Prophecy-in-the-rough? Possibly. Or they could, by using the Media Predict tool, gauge what the general public thinks about these proposals before accepting or rejecting them. Which could be a smart move. There's a statistic floating out there that 90% of book sales in 2004 were from just five titles.

And how do the authors feel about this? Being one of the 50, I can say that anything that gets your book proposal even the slightest bit of attention is a good thing. Also, it allows you to see how a large audience, not just a small committee, would consider the marketability of a book about a secret NASA training program that uses B-movie actors to convince a team of astronauts that they have landed on an alien planet.

Lightning strikes, I keep telling myself.