Too Much of a Good Thing Can Be a Pointless Thing

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Q

Reading this article about big data from one of my favorite marketing publications got me fired me up. I began to think about all of the hours I have wasted in meetings pouring over reports that ultimately didn’t matter. Don’t get me wrong, information can be a Big Data 300x225 Too Much of a Good Thing Can Be a Pointless Thingpowerful tool but the question I have for you is: are we getting a little too geeked-out on how much information we have access to these days?

Review your last few meetings, the inbox in your office and on your computer, and all of those big binders you have on your shelves. How much of that stuff do you rely on to manage your business? If you were to put some thought to it, aren’t there really a handful of reports in the “must have” category and the rest simply exist because “that’s what we’ve always done,” or some report-happy person in your office says they are necessary. So…we continue to kill trees, printing these things off and dragging them into meetings where we ignore them for various reasons. Continue reading →

Let’s Get Emotional

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Q

Remember your first blankie and how much you loved that thing? My kids both grew up with blankies and had a very hard time when we told them they could no longer take them everywhere. When I was young, my father and grandfather talked me into throwingblankie Let’s Get Emotional mine into a campfire one night. This sounds cruel, but I think it was just their way to implement a new John Wayne approach to parenting. It failed in a big way. After the flames died down and I realized what had actually happened, I had what people here in Southwest Missouri refer to as a “come apart.” My dad got his butt kicked by my mom, so I guess it all evens out.

Do you have things you are emotionally attached to? I do to this day – like a dress shirt my buddy John Rachid gave me 15 years ago, or my Red Wing boots from my college days. I bring this up because I really wonder if people think this way about their mattresses. Are people as connected to that item as they could be? Does anybody name a mattress so they can say things like, “I can’t wait to get home and spend some quality time on Wilma.” Okay, be careful with the naming thing. It could get you into some trouble but you get what I am saying here. Continue reading →

Don’t Miss the Biggest Month for Sleep

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Q

Okay everybody, it is April 2 and time to firm up your plans for Better Sleep Month. But before I get started, did you have anyone get you on April Fools’ Day? Check out these YouTube videos if you missed out on the fun – that way you don’t feel left out. The first video is a great mash-up of ideas on how to really cause trouble with your friends orBetter Sleep Month 184x300 Dont Miss the Biggest Month for Sleep family next year. Or THIS ONE, where this kid tells his parents he got his girlfriend pregnant. I don’t know about you, but in my house that would not have been very funny. But I digress. Let’s get back to Better Sleep business.

In the past I have talked about connecting your company to Better Sleep Month in some way, shape, or form. If you are already making the connection, good for you. I hope you are seeing results from your efforts. But if you are not seeing results, then why? Consider that by simply connecting your company to Better Sleep Month, you are saying that you stand for something more than just a mattress, accessory, or component. Your role in business is to help people sleep better, which is what this is all about, right?

I don’t care what you do, but for crying out loud, do something! We as an industry all have a responsibility to carry the water here and make sure that everyone we know is aware. Here are a few ideas for you:  Continue reading →

Here We Are, Now Entertain Us!

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Q

In case you haven’t seen it yet, you need to take a minute and watch some of the episodes from the new web series, Cycle Man. This show is brought to you by Leggett & Platt’s Home Furniture Components group, located with me here in good old Carthage, Missouri. So why am I bringing up a marketing plan created by furniture components people?Cycle Man w tag stkd 4C 300x225 Here We Are, Now Entertain Us!

Because it is relevant, that’s why! These guys want to take a component that is new to the market ­– a better product that delivers real value to the RSAs out there selling motion furniture – and sell it instead of what exists today. Now they could simply create a few magazine ads, maybe buy some digital space with some industry trade publications, push their message out on social media platforms, create a selling strategy for their sales people to take to the customer base, or get really crazy and do something like direct mail. Or they could do all of what I just mentioned and then some. Continue reading →

The Hero of Empowerment Marketing

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Q

The following is a guest post by Mark Kinsley

Few envision themselves as a person doomed to be inadequate. Those thoughts may creep into one’s head, but they’re not welcome. We believe there’s a hero inside each of us. So why do marketers and salespeople rely on a model of inadequacy when people really want to be the hero of their own story?

According to Jonah Sachs, author of “Winning the Story Wars,” empowerment marketing is all about telling stories that encourage audiences on their path to fulfillment. You’ve probably heard, or used, the inadequacy approach. According to direct marketing guru Herschell Gordon Lewis, the inadequacy approach relies on the five prime motivators: fear, greed, guilt, exclusivity, and approval. Continue reading →