Category: Small Business Marketing

The other day I was posed with the following question: “What makes a restaurant successful?”, Shahar really had me there, I stopped for a second, pondered a little bit only to come to the conclusion that to me it was probably the atmosphere. It was only for another second that I was baffled when Shahar soundly and determinedly responded “a hungry market!”.

Wow, that right there is IT… just says it all… a hungry market.

Will my product be successful? If there’s a market who wants it, yes. Are my services sellable? If there’s a market who needs it, yes. Define your target audience, find your pack of hungry customers… spoon feed them, and you’re sure to succeed.

Shahar and I just released the first episode of the Who Pops Your Popcorn Show. In the show we’ll always talk about social media and direct response marketing, and give tips for small businesses.

In this particular episode we explain the popcorn effect and show you how to use Twitter for business. Enjoy!

Did you know that before ketchup Heinz was a leader in the pickles market?

HiYa! Come celebrate with us at the BuzzBooster Business Birthday Bash!

August is a festive month for us! Well number 1 it’s summer, that right there puts a smile on our faces! Then on August 10th we (the BuzzBoosters!)celebrate our 5th year in business, on August 13th it was Shahar’s birthday and on the 22nd it’s Nashlah’s birthday! Wow isn’t that fun and crazy all together?!!

So yes, this Friday, August 22nd we’re having a get-together at the office to celebrate all that!

Don’t miss out, join us for a fantastic afternoon of great fun, celebration, refreshments, and phenomenal business networking!

RSVP here: http://www.buzzbooster.com/bbbbb.html

I was watching The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch the other day when a viewer expressed concern over change, over giving control, to which Donny replied “You give control in order to obtain more control”, when he said that he spoke to me. When you’re a small business owner it’s easy to get stuck doing tasks, stuck doing what you’re not good at just because you have to get it done. It’s important to realize that in the long run it’s more economical to outsource what’s not your forte, so that you can take your business to new heights by focusing on what you’re naturally strong at.

You’ve got to love change, after all isn’t that what business is all about? Constant change. It becomes easier when you embrace it, when you become it. It’s part of the game, if you don’t like it, don’t play it.

From the Sociological Images blog: “Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first presidential candidate to use television commercials. Below is one of his commercials, made by Disney, from 1952. Eisenhower was skeptical about using television and his opponent, Stevenson, wouldn’t appear on television because he thought it demeaning to a man ascending to the presidency. Eisenhower won.”

[Via BoingBoing]

I’m reading a book about philosophy called “Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar …”. In one section while explaining the Principle of Parsimony (essentially the idea that one should always choose the simplest explanation for something, one that requires the fewest leaps of logic) they share a little joke and some insight on Tupperware that got me thinking…

We’re often told to keep it simple, in fact, even recently I’ve blogged about it myself, but here’s where it differs: In our systems, in our strategies, in our business endeavors, with clients, processes and so forth we want to keep it simple, but when presenting something for a sale there’s no harm in embellishing it. The simple existence of your product or service is not enough. People need to be convinced, so our talk needs to be convincing. Tupperware got it…

“One evening after dinner, a five-year-old son noticed that his mother had gone out and asked his father, “Where did mommy go?”
His father told him, “Mommy is at a Tupperware party.”
This explanation satisfied him for only a moment. Puzzled, he asked, “What’s a Tupperware party, Dad?”
The man had always given his son honest answers, so he figured a simple explanation would be the best approach. “Well, son,” he said, “at a Tupperware party, a bunch of ladies sit around and sell plastic bowls to each other.”
He nodded, indicating that he understood this curious pastime. Then he burst into laughter. “Come on, Dad,” he said. “What is it really?”

The simple truth is that a Tupperware party really is a bunch of ladies sitting around selling plastic bowls to each other. But the marketing folks at the Tupperware Corporation, metaphysicians that they are, would have us believe it’s more complex than that.”

So let’s face it, you like chocolate don’t you? Come on as much as you’d like to avoid it, truth is you rely on it to bring you sweet satisfaction don’t you?! It hasn’t been scientifically proven just yet but I’m convinced that a woman’s genome consists of chocolate! All jokes aside I’m pretty sure that whether your consumption of chocolate is high or low you have a pretty clear idea of how much it costs to buy a good candy bar and the different kinds there are out there, right? We can get them with almonds, dark, milk, and even with peanut butter. For what reasons do we eat it? Because we feel like eating something sweet, to celebrate, to have a pity party, to get inspired, to simply enjoy the wonders of life! Here’s a question for you though: when was the last time you had chocolate with the second best thing ever invented… bacon? and when did you eat it to embrace yourself in a different culture?

Bizarre question huh?! Well, If there’s one thing that Katrina Markoff knows how to do well that’s to engage her customers. Her stories are so compelling and her messages so embracing that she gets people like you and me to eat chocolate and wasabi in one bite, and we do it because it’s a delicious experience, all the while enveloping ourselves in a different culture, artist, movement or religion!

Through chocolate Markoff has allowed people all over the world to break through barriers and engage with one another. Quite impressive considering that it’s just chocolate, even more impressive that she has made it a successful and profitable business! In my world chocolate is as common as water nowadays, and selling it can be a constant battle against prices. To eat Markoff’s chocolate however, you pay a premium price, but you do it gladly. That’s because Markoff is selling more than just chocolate, she’s selling a story, a lifestyle, she’s sharing a mission, she’s establishing a connection to people and community.

She does it through exotic flavors, innovative combinations and spices from many nations. Her packaging is impeccable, her message clear and unavoidable in everything she does. From wrappers, to printed materials, to her well laid out website. Her creativity seeps through as she even developed a “game” for you to have a party, a way to literally engage while eating the chocolate among friends.

In your business what are you selling? Go beyond the obvious product or service you’re offering, dig deep and find your compelling story because that will distinguish yourself from the competition. Make sure the message is clear and distinguishable through out your every move. Don’t be afraid to be creative and innovative and keep one thing in mind: it’s not about the product… it never is.

I like Jones Soda. I’ve had a couple flavors and don’t even drink it that often, but I know they’ve never done anything by the book, and that is why I like them!

If you’ve been in a conversation with Shahar I’m sure you’ve heard her spiel about Pepsi competing with Coke and spending a bunch of money but even then never becoming the number one in the cola department, but that smart companies create their own niche and become the un-cola and so forth… well, Peter van Stolk did just that!

He basically built a cult and he did it well, in part by positioning Jones as the anti-Coke. Its offerings have included flavors such as Jelly Donut, Egg Nog, and Bug Juice, sold in bottles labeled with customer-submitted photos. The company does no traditional advertising. Instead, its two RVs ramble from town to town nationwide, stocked with sodas that are distributed free to teens in malls and schoolyards.

I must say that their strategies have changed since the start of the company, obviously (what successful company stuck to their original plan until the end?!) Granted they’ve had a few misses, but they have such an engaging approach that it’s worth pointing out…

1. anti-Coke.
2. Super weird, but original flavors.
3. Customer-submitted photos (phenomenal strategy!)
4. No advertising.

Care to read an interesting article about them? Go here.

Does it feel like your business is a battle sometimes? Like things are so complicated? Like you have to go through so much to accomplish so little? Take a step back and re-think your strategies.