Storm Dawg Marketing

Good morning, everyone!  I am working from home today due to some extreme weather conditions.  Anyone else out there working from home today?  One thing I noticed about working from home is how much coffee one can consume when working but a few feet from the coffee pot.  Seven cups and counting, folks.

Today’s caffeine-enhanced post is about this blog being rebranded. Yay!  I’ve been talking about branding over the last month, and now most of you probably know why. 

If you don’t, let me enlighten you.  Infogroup – our company/mothership – has rebranded.  We are now showing our united front to the world.  Yep…we’re global…so watch out world, and watch this really great video all about it. 

Since we are now showing a unified front through our product and service offerings, logos and branding, we will also be giving StormDawg a new look and feel.  The new look and feel will be one that represents our entire organization and all of our customers’ interests.  We are going to be launching this sometime in January so keep your eyes open.  We think you will really really like it! 

Although I cannot give you too many details, I will say that the new blog will be in one word…AWESOME!  We have been working with the design firm Dizzain on the new look for the blog.  They have been great and are a talented crew.  Thanks, guys – we can’t wait to see what you’ve cooked up!!

Meanwhile, Bryan and I have been gathering research like mad to put together some great content.  What we want to do is create a place that you will want to stop in every day for your daily dose of humor, sales and marketing tips…and well, I can’t give it all away.  You will have to stay tuned! 

In the meantime, stay warm!

Christina Kudym

In my last story I told you about how my parents successfully rebranded their business.  It worked for them…but would it work for you?

To continue my short series on small businesses and rebranding, I wanted to talk about some reasons for rebranding,  and about why rebranding might not always be a good idea. 

There are a few reasons that would have you deciding to change how you are seen by the public.  One reason is that some businesses want to be classified differently so they are seen in different sections of the Yellow Pages or Yellow Pages look-up and search services. 

For Example: Exterminators vs Pest Control vs Pest Management Services.  You would think these are pretty much the same thing, but each title/classification gets searched for differently and with more or less frequency than the other.  By changing your name to the title/classification that gets searched or looked up more often, you are increasing your chances of being noticed.

Another reason to change might be that your business is expanding its products or services.  Offering more is always a good way to get more customers and to keep existing ones.  But unless you are changing your name to reflect those additional products or services, what is the point?

Another reason for a name change might be that your company has been sold.  Here’s a little story about that… 

A friend of mine works at a company that had a well-known brand and a good service to offer.  At the beginning of the year another company took note of their “reputation” and “offerings” and decided to acquire her company and roll their service and products into their suite of offerings. 

Apparently, that created quite a good combination because within 4 months of the initial purchase, that company was sold and she again had to email us her new contact info.  

Her signature line on her email to me last week read: 

Friends Name
at Blank Company (previously Blank Company & Blank Company)

Ha!  Seriously??  Obviously, there is value in the previous company names if you are still using it in your corporate signature line…so why change the name?  Letting acquisitions operate under their own name is not a bad idea if they have a strong brand. 

Don’t get me wrong, I understand why you would change it…but don’t advertise your identity crisis in your email signature on outward communications.  I wonder if any of her customers have moved on because they feel there is a lack of stability in the company?  Would you? 

Have a fantastic New Year!
Check in next week for the next installment in my rebranding series! 

Christina Kudym

 As a business, you always try to make your mark…to be known for something.  Whether it be through great signage/logo, a signature product, a service or a catchy slogan, people always know you for something.

Here is a personal and humorous story about one small business that rebranded itself successfully.

To start, let me explain that my parents have been in the restaurant business for over 40 years.  Thus, my passion for all thing small business, especially ways to help the small business.  Small-business owners work hard…they deserve all the help they can get!  My parents’ first restaurant was a partnership with a few of  their friends.  It was a diner that served homestyle comfort food in large portions. (Just thinking of it brings back memories…and makes me a little hungry!) 

After a few years of running the business with his partners, my father wasn’t liking the direction things were headed and decided to buy his partners out.  Luckily for him, they had all realized that owning a restaurant was quite a bit of work (ya think?) and they didn’t want to do it anymore.  Needless to say he got a great deal in buying them out. 

One big hurdle he saw that first month was a name change, you see the largest partner, who started the business, had used his own name for the name of the restaurant.  With him out of the picture and with a lack of resources, my dad was faced with a dilemma: Keep the name and continue, or change the name and go into even more debt. 

The restaurant was known for good food, great service, and a clean and well-run establishment.  So he worried, ”If I change the name, will customers and prospective customers think ‘everything’ is changed and effectively wipe my slate clean?  Or will people not even pay attention and come in to see the ‘new’ place?”

Well, my dad made decisions about the staff and menu and added things here and there, but the name of the business kept looming over his head.  His ex- partner was pushing for a change and wanted to charge my father for using his name.  You see, when my father made his little tweaks business picked up.   Apparently, making the breakfast menu available “all day” and adding a salad bar were KILLER busines moves in the 80’s. :)   Well, the partners were none to happy about this and wanted additional $. 

To squash this effort and avoid any legal battles, my father decided to change the name of the business.  Being the funny guy that he is, he took one letter off of their sign – changing the name of his business from LAMPE’s to AMPE’s.  The business flourished.  And for as long as I can remember, everyone thought our last name was Ampe.  So not only did my father rebrand a business, he also rebranded our family. 

My parents recently purchased another established business named Sam’s…I wonder how long before everyone thinks his name is Sam.

Until next time,
Christina Kudym

Good morning. For today’s post, we’ve decided to feature a local business owner with  strong opinions about serving customers.  We hope you enjoy his post, and please share your thoughts!

- Bryan D. Jennewein

Good morning,

To understand my approach to customer service, it is helpful to explore customer preferences. To do that I have created a small theater complex I call “Customer Service Cinema.”

Customer Service Cinema is composed of a ticket office and two theaters. The two theaters are physically identical and always run the same movie. Even the show times are the same.

There is one difference between the theaters. One theater operates under the axiom “The Customer Is Always Right” (CIAR) and the other under the axiom “The Customer Is NOT Always Right” (CINAR).

If you choose the CIAR screen, you will encounter customers who think as you do. One or two have brought laser pointers and use them during the movie. There will also be a few patrons texting and talking on their cell phones while the movie is playing. You can expect to have at least one cell phone ring and to be answered. The person answering may even use their “outside voice” so you can share in every detail of their call.

While there are a few empty seats in the middle of the theater, your seat isn’t as good as you hoped. When you asked about sitting in the empty middle seats you were told those seats were “taken.” Only after the movie started did you realize they were “taken” by the coats of the people in the seats next to them. You can also expect that there will be someone about three rows behind you that has seen the movie enough times that they are able to deliver key lines just a few seconds ahead of the actors.

On the other hand, if you visit the CINAR screen, you will find something quite different. In that theater, laser pointers, text messaging, cell phone conversations, and talking during the movie are not tolerated. If your cell phone rings, you will be asked to leave. Patrons are not allowed to reserve seats. If you deliver lines, others will shush you and the theater staff will ask you to leave. If you do manage to get tossed, you will not be given a refund.

Which theater would you prefer?

I have yet to have a single customer tell me that they would prefer to attend the CIAR theater. Most are actually adamant that they would want to attend the CINAR theater and there is usually an “ah ha” moment when they realize the insanity behind the axiom, “The Customer Is Always Right.”

As a business owner, I have tried to follow “The Customer Is Always Right” approach for too many years. It has been a no-win proposition for thousands of good customers, hundreds of well-intentioned and hard-working employees, and for me. We have all suffered because I tried to serve what more and more has become the lowest common denominator.

No more.

With every fiber of my being, I do not believe that the customer is always right. I believe that the customer is always served. For some requests, the answer will be a resounding and unapologetic “No!” Most customers applaud this approach. You can probably guess which ones do not.

As a business operator who represents the interests of my good customers, my good employees, and my own sanity, I respectfully ask anyone that believes that the customer is always right to take their business elsewhere.

Joel Potter
Chief Enlightenment Officer
Fit Happens – Gold’s Gym – Omaha, Lincoln & Battle Creek

I had an interesting online interaction this morning that I feel compelled to share. So I am. I believe it touches on an issue that is at the heart of most successful small businesses: how we serve our customers.

First, let me catch you up to speed. A few weeks ago, we blogged about some new changes you were going to see on here. Part of that is a new design (shhh…don’t tell anyone). We’re also examining things such as software platforms, hosting providers, et cetera. We decided to stick with the WordPress platform since it’s widely used, easily supported, and growing with new plug-ins every day. For design, we’re looking at some agencies and freelance designers (anyone out there good with WordPress theme design and interested in a potential trade? We’ll happily promote you here and help you market in exchange for an awesome new design).

For hosting providers, we have the option to host through ourselves or use a provider. (This is what brings me to today’s post.) By chance I came across a company called FatCow. They were mentioned as the #1 hosting solution through a website called Hosting Review (www.hosting-review.com). My goal was to explore all of our options. And FatCow was rated number one, seemed the most inexpensive, and has support for WordPress. Even better…they pitch themselves as “green” and entirely wind-powered (with redundant backups… don’t worry… I bet your website will still work even if the wind stops blowing).

I poked around FatCow.com to find specific server configurations, supports, etc., mostly because in addition to being infoGROUP’s social media marketing guy, I’m also their social media technology nerd. When we set up some of our newest blogs, I install the software, design and/or theme it, and administrate it moving forward.

It was during my initial chat with a FatCow representative that I felt a familiar sense of entitlement wash over me. Their representative kept demanding that I send, via chat, the URL of the website where I clicked to initiate our chat from. This seemed to me…odd. In fact, the representative flat out refused to serve me or answer any of my questions until I answered his.  Again…odd. (See the full chat transcript below.)

It was then that I realized that “FatCow” was very likely one of the larger hosting companies simply pitching itself under this new name to grab a niche market.  Smart. In fact, we here at infoGROUP do that, too.  And it works.

So I dug a bit deeper. Turns out that FatCow hosts their own domain with themselves (duh)… but the company Hosting Review points its domains to ThePlanet.com, one of the bigger hosting providers. This makes me think that FatCow is likely owned by ThePlanet, and that the website Hosting-Review.com could potentially not be “non-partial” like they claim. I’ll keep digging to clarify this one and report back.

In this scenario, I felt like I was their customer, and I was entitled to an answer to my questions before I had to answer theirs… if they wanted my business.

I am their (potential) customer, and I am right. They should have answered my questions. Their biggest problem: They haven’t connected their diversification strategy with their online customer support. The chat representative probably didn’t have permission or authority to disclose what I asked him.  (Maybe they’ll rethink that transparency…or heck, maybe they’ll even come across this post?)

What do YOU think?  Is the customer always right?  Should I have gotten my answer before giving them mine?

Bryan D. Jennewein

Full Chat Transcript

Chat transcript with FatCow

A few years ago, I took a trip to Greece and Turkey. It was part of a large group, and my friends and I received a pretty good deal. We had a tremendously fun time and learned quite a bit about local and historical culture. The one thing we never had to think about was the travel arrangements. Everything from our airfare to our hotels to even the small plan that flew us from Istanbul to Asia Minor was taken care of by the travel company. In truth, I don’t even remember how we were connected with the travel company or how that company marketed itself.

Today, I’d like to talk about one of the contestants from last month’s contest, a travel company by the name of American Adven-Tours Inc. The company is owned by M.J. Starky, but it was her daughter Miranda who wrote in:

I am writing this on behalf of my mother and her new company. Less than a year ago, my mom decided to make a HUGE career decision. On her own, but with over 10 years of previous experience working for another company, she decided to open her own group travel company. [...] She tries very hard to get her name out there, but she is in need for some help in that area. My mom works alone; doing tedious office tasks from dusk until dawn, and then has to travel with her groups often. Her office is located in West Virginia, which makes it even harder to advertise, then to say New York or Miami where there are a lot more people. Currently for marketing, my mom has reached out to previous clients that she has worked with. She uses the good ole “word of mouth” technique, which kind of pays off because she is so good at what she does. Other than that, she has made some phone calls and trips looking for new clients. She has also paid someone to make her a website. I feel that this company has everything it needs to be very successful except for help in marketing.
The company’s info is below:
American Adven-Tours, Inc.
304-931-4739
Owner: Marilyn “M.J.” Starkey

This company wasn’t our winner last month, but infoGROUP will definitely be reaching out to help. It sounds like word-of-mouth marketing is effective, but difficult to accomplish. Maybe there’s some opportunity for American Adven-Tours to explore social media, taking their word-of-mouth digital?

What do you think? What advice would you give M.J.? Let’s work together this week and see what kind of help we can drum up for M.J.

Bryan D Jennewein

Do you need help knowing how your product or service is perceived by consumers, how much to charge, how your company operates or how it should operate?

Before investing your resources in hiring a consulting firm, look no further than your computer. Ask consumers for their input on the Internet by creating a blog, Twitter account, or an online community. This is a great alternative since it doesn’t come with a large price tag and you’re getting information directly from the horse’s mouth.

Check out this article in The Wall Street Journal, “The Customer Knows Best“, which offers ideas, stories, and a word of caution for those about to recruit consumer’s feedback.

Please join us in congratulating May Volcy of ABL Case Management… our winner for October’s Free Marketing Contest!  You voted for her story, and with 93 votes she was the clear winner!  And with infoGROUP’s help, we’re going to make her business even more successful.

Here’s what May wrote in this month:

Nature of my business:
Medical Case Management services(telephonic and field) in the area of worker’s compensation. Our customers are: Third Party administrators, Insurance Companies, and Large employers. I am a registered Nurs Case Manager with twelve years of experience. My business is a certified minority business with WBENC and FRMBC. I am also a single mother of 3 grown children. I am facing the following problem/challenge: My competitors are large businesses that have a big market share with a big budget for marketing with all the big contacts. The only way I have been able to survive is by doing one on one contact with my customers in order to get business. As a one person business it’s very time consuming and I don’t have the funds to do enough marketing to increase my business volume. Meanwhile I have a staff to pay and it is getting harder and harder. I was told that I have to spend money on marketing in order to make money. I am afraid that I am spending too much and not getting any results in return. If only I could get my foot in the door of these potential customers and have the chance to present my company, I think this would be a step forward and a great success. My only competitive edge, based on what my current customers are telling me, is the excellent quality of the service I have been providing and a competitive fee schedule. It seems that I am running so hard trying to market new customers but I cannot meet any goal because I also have to do the current daily operation of everything else that has to do with running my business. Because of this struggle, I believe my company would greatly benefit from your help.

To say we are excited for May is an understatement.  Congratulations, May!  Who will be next month’s winner?  Stay tuned for some exciting new announcements about next month’s contest as well as some great success stories from previous winners!

Hey all,

There’s still time to enter this month’s FREE Marketing contest, sponsored by me, my S.W.A.T. team and infoGROUP. So far we’ve had 202 entries and we’re looking for even more.

Just click here to enter.

Don’t forget, you can also nominate a local business that you think should win the contest.

Finally, you can help your entry win by having your friends vote for it! Just have them click the thumbs up icon at the bottom of your story.

Deadline for entries is midnight on Monday!

Don’t work too hard!

StormDawg

Hey all,

I was doing some reading over the weekend, and I came across a couple of surveys that are pretty interesting.

The first one says “76 percent of small-business owners polled were not using social media or finding it helpful in generating business leads during the last year, and 86 percent said they did not use such sites to get advice or information.” http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2009/10/05/daily62.html

The second one leads with, “One in 10 small businesses are using social networking sites to connect with customers, according to a customer survey by software firm Sage.” http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2250764/facebook-remains-social-network

I have said this before and I will continue to say it, “Don’t get overwhelmed by information overload.” These stories are really saying the same thing but from a different point of view. About 1 in 10 small businesses are using social networking. Many people and pundits lament the business model of these social networks: Will YouTube turn a profit? Are Facebook and Twitter viable business models? Time will tell, but I think they are missing the point about social media.

It is the way people are communicating with one another. Remember the old saying about gossips: “If you want to get the word out about something, there is telephone, telegraph and tell a whoever.” Social networks are infinitely more efficient at getting the word out. If you engage your friends, family and customers and ask them to tell their friends and business contacts about your business, you can really amp up the most creditable form of advertising – word of mouth.

Social networking can also help optimize your website for marketing purposes using SEO, or search engine optimization. It turns out small business are really interested in having their websites found by people looking for their goods and services.

So it all comes down to this: Social networking is a new way of doing things for a small business, and I believe it is here to stay. Invest a little of your valuable time and think about what you can do to really amp the word of mouth that you built your business on.

Don’t work too hard!

StormDawg