How many of you out there have had one of the following exchanges with bank personnel?

YOU:  I have a third-party check I'd like to cash.
THEM:  Do you have an account with us?
YOU:  No.
THEM:  Then there will be a $__ charge for you to cash the check.  If you had an account with us there will be no charge.
YOU:  Really?  Why would I want to open an account with your bank when you're actually penalizing me for not having one?  What's my motivation?

YOU:  I'd like to see about getting a loan through your bank.
THEM:  Do you have an account with us?
YOU:  No.
THEM:  Then I'm afraid we cannot discuss a loan through our bank, as we do not have an established relationship with you.
YOU:  And the likelihood of you ever having one with me is now virtually nil.

OK, so I made up my own final response for you in both cases.  Sound like something you thought about saying or did say?  In any case, what are these bank people thinking?  As if they weren't already proving they are misguided in terms of strategy and decision making, they seem entirely brainless when it comes to marketing.  Did they miss the marketing lesson about not alienating business prospects?

What if other businesses operated the same way?  For example, what if you went to a car dealership and when you told the salesperson you were interested in one of their cars they asked if you'd bought from them before.  If you said no would they tell you that there'd be a surcharge on your car purchase then?  Would Macy's deny you a purchase because you didn't have a store credit card?  Come on.

Perhaps this isn't exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, but isn't it just plain stupid to lose potential business with a punishment-versus-reward prospect relations policy?  I can tell you that without a doubt I personally will never do business with the bank I had that first conversation with.  Nor will my friend ever do business with the bank that proferred that second exchange. 

The reality is when it comes to bad experiences, people have memories like elephants on steroids.  So listen up bank executives.  It's time to consider an alternative approach to prospecting.  Don't choose to close the door the moment a teller or loan officer utters those fatal words to your prospect.  Treat everyone who enters your bank as though they are already your customers.  Welcome them with open arms...not insulting policies that are sure to alienate them, perhaps permanently.

        

As we springboard from a historic election and speed headlong into an uncharted new year, the team at MCTT offers its input on trend-spotting. 

News alert for government, corporations, and the media:  We consumers/tax payers are mad as hell and won't accept the bulk of blame for the state of the world or domestic economy and environment any more.  It's time for ya'll to step up to the responsibility plate and take your own appropriate action.  Oh, and another thing, you can longer dazzle us with your inconsistent position on consumer spending versus saving. 


OVERDUE CHANGES/TRENDS

• Manufacturers should by their own volition (or if need be by regulation) reduce waste and redundancies by maximizing the longevity and performance of their products, which includes reducing the total number/versions of products in a given line.  This policy should apply to both consumer and B2B manufacturers.
• In the shorter term manufacturers need to reduce packaging and simultaneously drive development of more eco-friendly versions for the longer term.  Where applicable for consumables like food, producers and retail outlets need to plan forward for providing more bulk buying options.
• There should be very attractive incentives for corporations like major auto makers to develop sustainable, longer-term business strategies that reflect/take advantage of both industry and environmental data that in fact has been available for decades.
• The credit card industry needs to be held accountable for its business practices.  It's time to regulate its lending policies.  Specifically, caps should be placed on credit limits, caps that accurately reflect a consumer's income-to-debt ratio (once again this data is readily available. FYI, the industry did lend accordingly in its infancy).  The industry should be regulated with regard to unreasonable and/or shifting payment due dates and late fees, hidden charges, and ephemeral policies.  Credit card companies should be held mutually accountable for lending money beyond a payer's obvious capacity to repay.  As a side bar, it's fascinating how these firms can bemoan late payments that go hand-in-hand with fees which more often than not offset the so-called inconvenience to the card company and its capricious payment due date system. 
• The industry around consumer credit ratings requires a complete overhaul!  This shameful and obscenely corrupted system is no longer based in any reality.  What idiot decided that the magic number for the life of bad credit data should be seven years?  Why should any individual have to live with a negative impact to their credit once a debt is paid?  And what's with that arbitrary policy of credit inquiries having a negative impact on one's credit standing?  It's preposterous!  The list of illogical policies and problems with the system is virtually endless.  Fix it now.

There are more needed changes on our prediction radar, but we'll save those for another entry.  In the meantime we welcome your recommendations for changes/trends whose time has come.  Let's bring back logic to how things work.

        

Guest Blogger:  Christine Van Buskirk, Girl Shop Spot

I've written a post or two on other blogs and forums about why small businesses should take advantage of this new and ever so popular trend, video marketing, but I have failed to reiterate what I have come to learn, and many may be questioning.  Is Video Marketing Overrated?  The stats would tell you no, but I am here to say otherwise.

Brand Recognition:  Video Marketing is great for brand recognition.  Many marketers have taken this route over television commercials in hopes of achieving brand awareness on a large scale.  And why not?  If the video fits the audience it can help your brand stand out.  Video marketing makes all this possible with a very affordable price tag.  But these outlets in which we broadcast must be the proper channels in order to relate to our target customers.

Sales:  Video Marketing is not to be relied upon to bring in sales.  I think the confusion lies in the type of business, type of video, where it is posted, and what the bulk of viewers are looking for.  Most videos are viewed for pure entertainment.  I've seen companies spend a lot of money on producing a video in hopes of seeing large conversion rates from it.  It really all relies heavily on the audience composition and what they are on a given video site for.  For example, YouTube.com is mostly used for entertainment.  Yes, you can upload any type of video, but most visitors are simply going there to be entertained.

So that brings us back to sales.  How will that type of site help convert your video to sales?  Most likely someone looking to be entertained isn’t ready to get out their check book, but they might be ready to look into your company further.   In this case, a company would be much better off creating a video to entertain with a call to action to get noticed on YouTube.  Since we can't all create a video for each and every purpose, creating a generic one that has some entertainment value may be the best current approach.  However, if you're looking to post on a site that has better channels, a niche market, and a reason to promote your business in another way, a "How to" or "Did You Know" video could be a very favorable and more targeted option.

The Conclusion:  All the numbers we're seeing about the increase in popularity from video marketing are real. The overrated part comes from what people are viewing them for and how videos reach their target audience.  Right now video marketing is overrated because:

1. The numbers are mostly coming from people looking for entertainment.  Online video viewers don’t want the commercials.  That's why they left television.  The bottom line is that with online media people feel they are in control of what and when they watch. 
2. The growing number of video channels isn't organized; there is so much noise and not enough collaboration on how and where to post.
3. Videos are popping up now like banner ads once did, un-wanted, in your face, a huge annoyance.  What is needed is as follows:
1. More and better targeted, better organized search engines and sites to meet the growing demand for video marketing outlets.
2. Smart marketing from companies pursuing video marketing success, i.e. following the simple marketing formula of knowing your what, who, when, and where.  Thereafter we would have more realistic video marketing stats to work with, and more importantly, happier prospects and customers.

In closing, video marketing is overrated to the extent that unless video marketers are hitting their audience with a clever video and on the right channel, they are better off devoting their time and money to something else.

Guest Blogger Bio:  Christine Van Buskirk
After the development and launch of another website I discovered that I wanted to create one that would help the small business owner. That's how www.GirlShopSpot.com came to be, where I am responsible for web and architectural design, functionality, and all aspects of marketing, providing strategic and operational leadership to the company's small in-house team handling Web Development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Public Relations, advertising, video marketing, and promotions. 
 
As a woman, a shopper, a mother, and entrepreneur I came to recognize the need for a centralized, online resource for women that a) facilitates easy and fun shopping combined with local and other search functionality, and b) provides robust online marketing for e-commerce and brick-and-mortar businesses seeking a direct connection with their customers, at highly affordable rates.  GirlShopSpot.com is a continually evolving manifestation of these objectives.  In less than one year, GSS now has 198 advertisers and consistently provides SEO page rankings of page 1 – 3 for its advertisers.

        

Whether you're launching a business, or you're a small business veteran, or a marketer for a large corporation, it can be easy to stray from the basics of running a marketing program.  You can get distracted, derailed, question your own good sense (or have someone else do it for you).

As MCTT is here to support your success, we want to share our well-earned expertise on what you need to remind yourself about the marketing basics.


MCTT's Top Five Basics to Remember about Marketing

1. It takes time!




1. Even us marketing gurus can get overly excited about the desired results of a ...<< MORE >>

Things are extremely busy here at MCTT, but we want to make sure we wish you a Happy Halloween. 

        

If the report through Bloomberg and other news outlets is true, all of the large Wall Street firms are planning on presenting their employees with 2008 year end bonuses, to the tune of an average of over $6 million!  It should be inconceivable, but may well happen.

As the stakeholders who are investing their own sweat and blood into saving these yahoos from demise are we going to stand for this level of gross mismanagement? 

Regardless of what revenue increases have occurred since the bailout, it can only be due the rescue and not the questionable expertise of Wall Street itself.  Because if the bailout hadn't happened, how many of these firms would be around to hand out the bonuses?

In reality these monetary rewards earmarked for firm management and employees should either a) not happen, or b) be deducted from their salaries, or c) returned to those bailing out The Street....Joe the plumber and the rest of the hapless public. 

Unfortunately, the great minds behind the bailout either didn't think to provision against or redirect these premiums, or they appear to have been inclined to facilitate them.

Read about this latest travesty for yourself:

Time.com 
Deal.com

 

        

In recent months we have noticed a couple of rather peculiar developments with the English language here in the states.  One word now seems to have a highly negative connotation while another has morphed to almost comical proportions.

Take the word "liberal" for example.  Here is a general set of related definitions, per onelook.com:
Quick definitions (liberal)
▸ noun:  a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties
▸ noun:  a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets
▸ adjective:  having political or social views favoring reform and progress
▸ adjective:  tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition
▸ adjective:  showing or characterized by broad-mindedness ("A liberal newspaper")
▸ adjective:  not literal
▸ adjective:  given or giving freely ("A liberal backer of the arts")

The term has been around for a long time, and yet during this election year it seems to have become a dirty word, one associated with irresponsibility, socialism, totalitarianism, and worse.  Really?  So how does "ultra-conservative" fit into the new language mix?


And how about that word "maverick" getting bandied about?  Here's the onelook.com definition for it:
Quick definitions (maverick)
▸ noun:  an unbranded range animal (especially a stray calf); belongs to the first person who puts a brand on it
▸ noun:  someone who exhibits great independence in thought and action
▸ adjective:  independent in behavior or thought ("Maverick politicians")

Seriously, since when is any politician a true maverick (even Kennedy had people to answer to)?  Just how wild and independent is any public official (that is if they want to get into office in the first place and then be re-elected)?  So the phrase "Maverick politicians" just strikes us as more of an oxymoron than an accurate descriptor.  

Or could it be that usage of these two terms simply exemplifies an evolving or mutating language?  Just food for thought on this Fall day.

        

It's not pretty.  Layoffs damage the psyche as well as the wallet.  The job search can last longer than anticipated.  The media makes weathering it sound easier than it really is.  But you can persevere.  There is a way to make the best of it.  Then again, you just may be among those who will land on their feet sooner than later.  In which case, when you are in a position to hire people perhaps you will consider what applicants are up against.

First of all, those of you who have recently become victims of layoffs should know that over the past eight years many, many others have ...<< MORE >>

Guest Blogger:  John Bradley Jackson
Reprint:  Business Plan Blunders
Original Date of Publication: September 24th, 2008


Business plans are like a compass—they point the way for the company and explain the business to the investor. Yet, business plans can tell the wrong story and may even kill the deal with the investor.


Here are some examples of business plan blunders to avoid:

• Lousy Writing: Nothing kills a plan more quickly than poor grammar, incorrect punctuation, and spelling errors. Enough said.


• Target Market Poorly Defined: A product that fits everyone is a prescription for disaster. Don't go there. Be very ...<< MORE >>

Small business retail and affordable marketing go together like sales and revenue.   And when a new pay model for an online shopping site charges only for very specific ad interactions, with 11 different customer touch points, then we'd say this service is well worth checking out.  And in this case, it is truly what you make of it.  With so many ways to connect with buyers, utilizing each and every touch point absolutely makes the sum of the parts more powerful.  One of the best aspects of the service is the seller's ability to track these interactions and therefore the overall cost and ...<< MORE >>