Redirected

Garth Beyer

Forget the Error 404 page. No matter if you can be goofy, a moments laughter still doesn’t answer the question of “Well, when will the page be back up?”

University of Wisconsin’s main servers went down today. Website and all services were broke, down, inaccessible. Once they got the power restored, instead of seeing a 404 not found page, the university redirected all site links to the DoIt technology service twitter page for all updates on campus website and online services.

Sometimes answering the question everyone wants to know is better than making light of an unexpected error.

 

Stay Positive & Responsive With Transparency

The Problem With Free Work

Garth Beyer

I’m working with a group to write  and create a new marketing/branding/insert-buzzword-here strategy for a 2 billion dollar a year profiting business. I don’t have an issue sharing the biggest problem with working with this client because my group is doing it for free.

The problem with free services like what my group is doing is you may – and it’s very likely you do – care more about the success of your effort than the client does. From your perspective of having nothing to lose, you can push boundaries, dance on the edge of remarkable and generally roll with any interesting idea you come up with.

From the client’s perspective, if they have nothing to lose, then why waste their time digging up extra information for you, loaning a few of their products to you or giving you a trial of their service.

I’ll show a perfect example below (spelling mistakes kept) from an email I sent to the client asking questions my group needed to know the answers to so we can reestablish the brand. Two takeaways. First, if they were memorable answers, you would be able to guess the brand, but I bet you can’t. Second, the client has given us nothing more to work from.

Is it stopping us? No. Is it holding us back from doing the best we can do. Definitely.

 

Stay Positive & Read On (founder’s name and business’s name altered)

 

Q1. Can you elaborate on Benjamin Gray’s statement that Le Croy makes customers feel “a little like coming home”?

Benjamin Gray just wanted to treat our customers like family and make them feel that Le Croy was a place for them to depend on for quality apparel.

Q2. What do you think is the “extra mile” you go for customers?

We make sure their products are top quality, we answer their calls, emails and social messages, if they have an issue we try to resolve it as quickly as possible, and sometimes we find someone that is not expecting to hear from us and surpise/delight them with new product or special items to say thank you.

Q3. Who are some influential people who wear your brand? Who in pop culture would you consider partnering with?

I don’t have the answer to this one today.

Q4. Can you list some causes your brand supports?

insert link to website

Q5. What are you currently doing with the email addresses you have of customers. Just a newsletter? Can you tell us more how you decide how often to send out an email regarding sales?

We send email daily, segmented by Men’s, Women’s, Kid’s and School Uniform. Home is a secondary message on many emails. We focus majority of contacts on driving sales for the business. Highlighting products that are relevant for the time period. We share promotions when they exist, we usually have 2-3 promotions a week.

Q6. What does wearing Le Croy clothes make people feel?

Clothes that make me look great, good quality, preppy dependable style, ties to nautical.

Q7. Why should the consumers care about Le Croy?

Releavnt styles, quality and great value.

Q8. What is the purpose of Le Croy’s PR Twitter account?

Le Croy has two Twitter account, one is the PR handle. The PR handle is to share news about Le Croy and events that Le Croy is participating in.

Q9. Lastly, we would like to know how each pair of insert company’s jeans is constructed. If you can tell us what materials you use? How the materials are acquired? Where the jeans are sewn together? As well as the creative process in designing the jeans?

I do not have this answer at this time

*To give the benefit of the doubt here. Perhaps this business is transitioning into a new economy layout and doesn’t have answers to the new untraditional marketing strategy basics. Regardless, telling us so would make it much easier to help them than acting like their brand is concrete and perfect.

**What do you think Le Croy could have done better to give us what we need to develop the best marketing strategy for them? What critiques do you have for my group and I? Share your input in the comments section below.

It Only Makes Sense

Garth Beyer

When I write long form fiction or create a business plan or branding strategy, I have a check-list by each page.

  • see
  • smell
  • taste
  • hear
  • touch

When you walk into a store, do you notice the pleasant smell? Scent marketers are paid to make the store smell pleasant so you stay longer, enjoy yourself more and generally feel relaxed while shopping. Not all stores do this, in fact, not many do.

Hostess, with their Twinkies, really sells the sound of opening the Twinkie package.

Apple does a fine job with design when it comes to their pads, you can see it. More importantly, you can touch it. You can swipe your finger, hold it in the corner with one hand, graze your palm across it.

Appealing to the five senses even comes in play when selling a home. A couple of homes at the Madison parade of homes did a fine job of checking off the list of senses.

My significant other and I could see the entire house, we could smell lemons in one and a pleasant sort of Febreez smell in another. We could taste the wine and beer just by looking at the bars downstairs. (One house did have water and sprite in the fridge for guests, but unfortunately did not advertise it.) Just outside the homes, there was a food cart. Another house had a very hotel feel to it, specifically in the bathroom. Not three steps into the bathroom my significant other was dancing. They had music playing, fit to the hotel, a Frank Sanatra-feel. And yes, we could touch the railings, the carpet, the backsplash, the cabinet knobs. Check. Check. Check. Check. Check.

When writing, when designing, when strategizing, let’s not forget the other senses. I can’t guarantee a sale, but I can guarantee appealing to all senses lowers the number of complaints and raises the talkability-factor of the product or service.

 

Stay Positive & Mmm Mmmm Good

 

 

Nervous, Anxious, Worried.

Garth Beyer

You’ve got a special talent, you know.

When you’re nervous about a certain event, you can start focusing on the success of that event or even how to make it more successful than imagined.

When you’re anxious, you can think of all the benefits you’ll be exposed to when the time your anxious for arrives.

When you’re worried, you can consider everything you have the power to change to also change the outcome or you can think of how much you have to be grateful for already.

Your special talent is movement. When you stand still, when you think the same thoughts of being nervous, anxious, worried, your causing a fast death.

And as for complaining about being nervous, anxious, worried, let me quote my neighbor: “Man, I don’t complain about nothin’. Not the hot. Not the cold. As long as I wake up in the morning. It’s going to be an okay day.”

With a little movement (of the body and the mind), you can make today more than okay.

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Waste Your Talent

 

One Great Thing Makes Everything Else Better

Garth Beyer

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If you know anything about Madison, Wis., you know hot & spicy cheese bread is a big deal. In fact, it’s Stella’s Bakery’s one great thing. As a result, all their other pastries are delicious. Stella’s one great thing makes everything else better.

Take the hot & spicy cheese bread away and everything else tastes a bit more bland.

Take Apple’s design away and everything else starts to feel cheaply made.

Take the Dre out of Dre’s Beats and, well, you get the point.

The piece of advice all these brands take to heart: don’t try to be everything. Be remarkable at one thing. The rest follows.

 

Stay Positive & Can You Guess My One Great Thing?

Go ahead. Guess. I’ll mail a loaf of hot & spicy cheese bread to the person who guesses it.

To Know What You Stand For

Garth Beyer

I shouldn’t have to search through your website to find your big idea, your brand essence, your mainstay. Creating a linchpin brand comes from saying no to enough little ideas so all anyone can see is the big idea. Zappos gave up a lot to stand up for service. Apple let a lot of things go so they could focus on design.

 

Stay Positive & What Do You Let Go Of?

You Can Still Do It

Garth Beyer

If you have an idea and the few people you share it with express they don’t like it, you know you can still do it, right?

Why waste the night wondering if they are right when you can spend the night making it right.

 

Stay Positive & They May Take Your Hope, But Not Your Time