Marketing Inspiration

A Doctor Who Only Makes House Calls

Dr. Jay Parkinson's Web site is stylish enough to belong to an ad agency or a media start-up rather than a general practitioner. Then again, Parkinson isn't like your average family doctor.

For starters, he only makes house calls. Each visit costs around $200, and he stays for as long as he's needed, not the five or ten minutes you're allotted in a traditional office. Also—hold onto your hats—he's easy to reach. On the site, he displays his mobile phone number, his email address and a quartet of IM addresses.

In another shocking twist, Parkinson demystifies the process of diagnosis and treatment, using hypothetical situations like falling on your wrist in the park. You could go to an emergency room for a seven-hour visit and a $2,000 bill, writes Parkinson, or you can call him to do the following:

• Based on a phone conversation, he suspects your wrist is broken. He sends you to nearby radiologist, who charges $80 for an x-ray.


• Your wrist is broken. The radiologist emails the x-ray to Parkinson, who directs you to an orthopedist in the neighborhood who can see you in an hour and charges $400 to cast your arm.

Parkinson's summation: You've saved $1,520 and five hours of your day. "But say your wrist wasn't broken," he concludes. "It was simply sprained. You only spent $80. I then tell you what to do about that sprained wrist."

By making convenience, transparency and value the central thrust of his unconventional practice, Dr. Parkinson makes himself virtually irresistible to his target audience. And we'd say that's a healthy dose of Marketing Inspiration.

Get to the Po!nt

Would Anyone Care If You Went Out of Business?

John Moore of Brand Autopsy blog has a provocative series of posts in which he asks: "If [company name here] went out of business tomorrow, would anyone care?" Subjects have ranged from Sears to Subaru.

When Moore asked about Eddie Bauer, he received a range of answers that hinted at the struggling clothier's strengths and weakness. Interestingly, readers who said they would miss Eddie Bauer tended to cite specific products, while detractors focused on the company's image. "They stock tall size in shirts and pants that fit off the shelf," said 6' 4" commenter Jamey. "Very few places meet that specific need." A contrary view from commenter Jon Gabriel: "I would identify EB as a mall-bound pretend-outdoors brand containing items that look vaguely rugged, but wouldn't last an hour in the wild."

Moore's inspiration for the series came from Bill Taylor and Polly LaBarre, who say it's the question every company needs to ask itself. How would your company fare in the harsh glare of self-examination?

• Do you provide such a unique product or service that customers would be saddened to see you go?


• Have you forged an emotional connection with your customers that another company couldn't duplicate?


• Could your employees find an employer that treated them as well as your company?

The Po!nt: "How does your company rank?" asks Moore. "Can you answer YES with conviction? Or, do you have to concede by answering NO?" If the latter, it's time to work on drumming up support.

E-mail Marketing

Give 'Em a Good Tease

Whether your email campaign's audience is B2B or B2C, most recipients use a preview pane to decide whether they want to read the message or hit delete. Reggie Brady suggests several ways to maximize your preview pane's effectiveness. Here's the overview:

Include your logo and a headline above the body of your email. Traditionally the location for housekeeping items such as "Add us to your address book" or "Click here to view online," this space is wasted without a headline to highlight a product, service or offer. Other items to include in this valuable real estate:

• Personalized salutations. People are drawn to their own names.


• Your toll-free number. "Today, the customer is in control," says Brady, "and should have as many options as possible to conduct business in their channel of preference."


• A secondary offer. Don't crowd too much text into a small space. Relocating "Add us to your address book" to the footer could free up room for an additional offer.

Link to an HTML version of your email's content. "I am astounded to see how many marketers who rely on images in their emails ignore this," Brady writes. "[I]mage blocking represents a major challenge and it is likely that many recipients will not see your message as you planned."

The Po!nt: Says Brady, "What readers see in [the preview pane] can influence their decision to open your email." Remember this, and you'll increase the odds that readers get your message.

Customer Behaviour

How Saying the Least May Achieve the Most

Clearly the things you say and show in an ad can convey something about your product. But how about what you don't say or show?

A study has revealed that ads containing considerable white space lead customers to perceive the advertised product as more prestigious, sophisticated, trustworthy, higher in product quality and leadership, and lower in risk than the same ad without white space.

Researchers note that these associations hark back to the minimalist movement, a reaction against artwork perceived as deceptive or full of illusion. In advertising, the less-is-more approach to graphics is a response to the text-heavy, authoritative, "scientific" or "information"-type ads of the early to mid-20th century—examples of which include, for instance, extolling the digestive benefits of smoking Camels or drinking Schlitz beer. The removal of excessive imagery and language makes the information in the ad appear more truthful, and makes the advertiser appear as if it has nothing to hide.

The Po!nt: If you are trying to create a sophisticated and trustworthy brand image, consider saying less—not more—in the ads you create.

Get to the Po!nt

Time Is Money

It doesn't matter if you work in an entrepreneurial or corporate environment: Demands on your time can pull you in two—or ten—different directions. Taking control of your schedule can be challenging, but blogger Jeremiah Owyang suggests to wrangle your workday by thinking of time as money. Though Owyang speaks from the perspective of a Web strategist, much of his advice can be applied to a variety of disciplines. Here are some ideas that you can put right into action:

Pay yourself first. Each morning, Owyang budgets two uninterrupted hours for online reading and blogging; he enjoys both activities and they increase his professional value. "Like the advice from most financial advisors, they encourage you to pay yourself first by investing in your own funds, paying your bills and making yourself (reasonably) happy before paying off your creditors," he explains.

Cut back on unnecessary expenses. If an element of your workday doesn't provide ROI on the time invested, spend less time on that element. Owyang cites email as a typical problem area in his daily operations. "As soon as you answer emails, you're now paying for someone else's time," he writes, later noting it compounds his loss of time: "The more you respond to emails, the more you will receive."

The Po!nt: "Cherish your time as you do your wallet or purse," writes Owyang. "[T]his is yours, and unlike money, you can't invest and grow new time, you can only manage the existing time you've got, cut into other areas, or hire someone under you to do it."

Marketing Inspiration

Rules Schmules

Ben McConnell has been campaigning against inane corporate rules at the Church of the Customer blog. In a round-up of marketing resolutions for the new year he puts "Vow to eliminate a stupid rule" at number six. "You know what it is," he says. "Customers (or bloggers) have already told you. So eliminate it already. For extra points, give it a funeral." McConnell cites two examples of rules gone wild:

• A customer at a pack-and-ship store who wanted to tape his package was asked to do so outside. Huh? It turned out a woman had once sued the store for cutting her hand on its tape dispenser, and the company chose to avoid future lawsuits by banning the practice altogether. "One customer's misfortune inspired an unnecessary rule at the expense of 10,000 others who aren't clumsy and litigious," notes McConnell.


• In another logic-defying case, the manager of a high-end grocery store ordered an employee to release a shoplifter he had restrained, and then fired him for violating a hard-and-fast rule that prohibits employees from touching customers—a loose definition at best—for any reason.

"More rules are proportional to less convenience," writes McConnell. "More rules = fewer customers. You either let the tyranny of one customer influence your organization, or not. When someone wants to add a new rule, how about eliminating an existing one instead?" And we think that removing rules, not adding more, is Marketing Inspiration.

Get to the Po!nt

Don't Sabotage Your Creativity

Even for an out-of-the-box thinker, being creative on demand can be aggravating. In a guest appearance at Drew's Marketing Minute, blogger Katie Konrath offers advice on how not to get tangled up in frustration:

Don't reinvent the wheel. "Look around to see what people in other fields are doing," says Konrath. "Then adapt their solutions to your particular situation. It's not cheating if you expand on a concept that came from somewhere else." Henry Ford took the concept of an assembly line and applied it to cars. Likewise, the technology for roll-on deodorant was inspired by the inner workings of a ballpoint pen.

Actively pursue brilliant ideas. When you have an epiphany at three in the morning, or while waiting in line, don't be fooled into believing it's a random thought that came from nowhere. Writes Konrath, "Serendipitous ideas occur because you've set your mind to looking for a solution, and—even when you're not thinking directly about your problem—your brain is ticking in the background."

Think before throwing out a "bad" idea hastily. A brainstorming session often produces a few real duds, but concepts that seem implausible, impossible or silly may still have potential. "A lot of ideas that sound completely backwards at first are actually gold mines for new and better ideas," Konrath says.

The Po!nt: There are a million tools and strategies for sparking creativity, says Konrath, but none will "help unless you stop ... self-sabotaging behaviors that destroy your best ideas before you have them."

Marketing Inspiration

A Week at IKEA

Mark Malkoff, a comedian best known for patronizing each of Manhattan's 171 Starbucks in a single day, needed a place to stay while his apartment was fumigated. Since his friends had no extra space in their tiny apartments and hotels were too expensive, Malkoff decided to spend his week of temporary homelessness at his local IKEA. "My apartment is 80 percent IKEA anyway," narrates Malkoff in the first video documenting his experience. "It would be like living at home."

The premise is a bit thin. But whether a skunk works brainstorm from IKEA marketers or one comedian's inspired self-promotion, the series of videos collectively known as Mark Lives in IKEA are a win-win situation for all involved.

• IKEA gets lots of free press and product demonstrations from someone who appears to be the ultimate customer evangelist. (There seems to be no official support from IKEA, and Malkoff claimed he wasn't paid.) Additionally, the Swedish company's bemused cooperation reinforces a good-natured image.


• Malkoff has a viral venue to audition for a larger role on The Colbert Report, where he currently works as an audience coordinator.


• Viewers are entertained—and, perhaps, slightly appalled—by someone with the chutzpah to brush his teeth at the self-serve soda fountain and toss a used towel back on the shelf. All of this, meanwhile, is set to a diverse soundtrack that runs the gamut from Herb Alpert to Mötley Crüe.

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This Deal Available Only Last Week

How often do you come across an advertisement with a limited-time offer that has already expired? Or a seasonal offer still lingering after the holiday has passed? Like any public goof, you're probably just grateful it wasn't your screw-up. But it could be—and that's why Susan Gunelius of the MarketingBlurb blog says it's important to stay on top of your various campaigns.

An obviously outdated ad does more than embarrass your company; it can permanently change the way people think of your company, brand or product. After all, if you don't pay attention to your marketing, what other details do you gloss over? "Even if the ad works and catches a person's attention," she says, "the negative effect of the expired offer is enough to turn that person off of the advertised product completely."

To demonstrate, she provides an example she came across online in early January. The ad is from a prestigious automaker and reads "Now's the time to bring one home for the holidays." There is a link with the ad that takes to you to a local dealership, where you see yet another version of the expired ad prominently displayed on the dealer's homepage. Simply put, Gunelius says, "An outdated ad or promotion does not drive sales."

The Po!nt: "Make sure your copy and ad placement are timely and don't have a chance to become outdated," writes Gunelius. "Or else you'll risk negating your ad's effectiveness and throwing your advertising dollars out the window."

E-Mail Marketing

Newsletter No-No's

How can businesses use email newsletters to achieve their marketing goals? Knowing what not to do is a good place to start. Mark Brownlow claims there are six big mistakes marketers make when publishing newsletters. Here's a peek at three:

Confusing newsletters with promotions. Brownlow claims that newsletters' "real potential lies in building, over time, a lasting, long-term relationship with the reader." Instead of promoting your ergonomic office chair, for instance, provide an article on avoiding back strain at work. You aren't asking for immediate action—you're starting a conversation that might lead to eventual action.

Focusing on yourself, not your audience. Is your average reader really interested in the new employee gym at your office or the retirement party for your receptionist? Probably not. Save that info for internal publications and give your readers useful, timely and relevant content to build newsletter loyalty.

Making it difficult to unsubscribe. "Some marketers still believe a disgruntled subscriber is better than no subscriber at all," says Brownlow. "So they make people jump through hoops to get off an address list, or they wait a few more newsletter issues until the unsubscribe request is properly honored." Big mistake. Not only do you annoy and alienate potential customers, you create a statistical headache by throwing off response rates. A quick, painless process is in everyone's best interest.

The Po!nt: In your eagerness to get the most out of your newsletter, you might inadvertently defeat its purpose. Avoiding these common mistakes can help keep you on the right track.

Customer Behaviour

Nobody Wants to Be a Tightwad

It would be logical for consumers to use a coupon to save money rather than pay full price for a purchase. Yet redemption rates for coupons are really quite low! Is it simply that consumers don't have the time to clip and retrieve coupons from newspapers, magazines or product packages?

Researchers have discovered another reason why consumers might not like to redeem coupons: They make the buyer look cheap. Consumers are concerned with more than price when shopping—they are also aware of the impression they are making on fellow shoppers. They not only worry about others' impressions of the quality of their purchases, such as the amount of junk food in their shopping baskets, they also care that others might consider them stingy if they whip out a stack of coupons.

Consumers do not behave the same way, however, if the coupon is attached to the package or if they make the purchase online. In the first case, the consumer is not actively going out of his or her way to save money, so there is no negative connotation attributed to the behavior. In the second case, no one sees the online purchase being made, so there is no fear of others' negative reactions.

The Po!nt: To make coupons a viable part of your promotion arsenal, you may want to rethink how they are distributed.

Get to the Po!nt

Five Ways to Boost Intranet Traffic

If you aren't familiar with intranets, they are essentially an organization's online network (a private Web site) that can be accessed only by employees or authorized users. Intranets can be a great way to communicate with employees, but getting everyone excited about logging in can be a challenge. If you're having trouble building buzz for your intranet, or are still in the planning stages, Shama Hyder of the After the Launch blog offers this advice:

Feature intranet-only content. Would you visit a site that rehashed information you had already read in memos and newsletters? Probably not. So offer worthwhile content available exclusively on the intranet.

Make the login process easy. Don't let a labyrinthine login process convince your employees that it isn't worth the trouble.

Solicit user input. The most effective question to ask users might be, "Why aren't you using the intranet on a regular basis now?"

Implement a rewards program. "[R]eward your members for using the intranet," writes Hyder. "It's a great way to increase participation and cultivate a healthy competitive spirit within the organization."

Results won't happen overnight. Even the best intranet offerings might take a while to catch on, so don't get discouraged if it takes a few months to build enthusiasm.

The Po!nt: "We often think about marketing as an external practice, but it is just as important to market within the organization," writes Hyder. "Once employees are on board, the entire operation runs easier."