Uncategorized – Page 12

May 25, 2013

Consumer behavior: You Experience a Silent Rage After Exerting Self-Control

People who chose an apple over chocolate before selecting a movie were 16% more likely to prefer an anger-themed film, such as Anger Management or Hamlet, than people who selected a movie without having made such a food choice, say David Gal of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School and Wendy Liu of UC San Diego. This and other experiments suggest that the denial of immediate gratification may give rise to a silent rage: Exerting self-control can also intensify people’s irritation toward controlling messages.
Source: Grapes of Wrath: The Angry Effects of Self-Control

May 22, 2013December 23, 2016

Sometimes Entrepreneurs Are So Stupid

I usually wash my car once or twice a week. I go to one of those express wash that is close to my home. I’ve been going there for at least 4 years, every week at least once. Price is fair, it is close and I never had an issue. Until the last two washes. Last week I noticed that the back of my car was still a little dirty after the wash and when I went to vacuum the car, the vacuum was very weak. I was in a hurry so I just left.

Today we wash the car and the same thing happened. Back more than a little dirty and the vacuum not working. All the other vacuums were taken so I got stuck with that bad one.

We finished cleaning the car and on our way out stopped to speak to the owner to let him know there was something wrong with his equipment. Why did I do that?

He started going on and on about the amount of chemicals he uses and how I was probably off road and the kind of clay from that dirty road is the type that doesn’t come off etc. We said that last week the same thing had happened and we had been in town the whole time.

There he goes again with the same story. We leave the car, showed him that the front of the car was fine, the problem was just in the back and we could take that off by just passing our fingers, so it was not stuck in the car. He said that is why he provides towels and Windex for clients.

Of course, I pay to have the car washed and then I spend my time cleaning the mess that the machine left.

He never once considered that the brush could have an issue, the pressure of water and chemicals, the pressure of the brush. No, it was the dirt from places I’ve been.

With the vacuum the same thing: He takes care of the equipment, he doesn’t know what is going on, now he is going to pay attention to the vacuum.

Then he makes a face and says “If you really want, I can have you go through the wash again”.

If I really want? I don’t want and I don’t need to. There is a really cool car wash that just opened a few blocks away with vacuums that look very modern, same price, new employees with smiles on their face because they got a new job and I can take my loyal business there. The only thing that will change is that I’ll drive two more blocks.

During four years I happily gave him my money, never, ever complained about anything. Washed, vacuum and left. Every week some times several times a week. During a period of time I was even on a monthly program. I’m a dream customer.

Now, let’s think, because unlike him, you can do that very easily: If something is not working well in your business, take accountability, don’t try to blame the customer. Yes, there are people that are a nightmare and try to take advantage of you. Not the case here. I’m a loyal customer that never complained about anything there. Take that in consideration before blaming the kind of dirt I ride on.

Then redo whatever you offer. Don’t tell me that if I really want you can make an exception. Do it.

You cannot afford to lose customers to competition because of stupid things. And learn, for goodness sake, to take feedback. I stopped my day to go tell him there is something wrong with the equipment. Go and check and shut up.

How many other customers didn’t like the result and left never to come back without saying a word?

Don’t be stupid, don’t act like this entrepreneur. Take feedback and take accountability.

May 16, 2013December 23, 2016

The Sound of a Number Affects Your Perception of Its Size

In an experiment involving prices for an ice cream scoop, people perceived $7.66 as representing a larger discount from the original $10 price than it actually was (estimating, on average, that it represented a 28.7% reduction, when in reality the difference was 23.4%), and they perceived a price of $7.22 as a smaller discount than it really was, say Keith S. Coulter of Clark University and Robin A. Coulter of the University of Connecticut.

People unconsciously associate certain letter sounds, such as the “s” and “i” in “sixty-six,” with smallness and the “t” and “oo” of “twenty-two” with largeness, and these associations interfere with the accuracy of their quantitative perceptions.

Source: Small Sounds, Big Deals: Phonetic Symbolism Effects in Pricing

May 6, 2013

The liking factor- NeuroMarketing

Create a “liking” effect with your audience.

What can you do to create a sense of commonality between you (or your company) and the customer?

What are your hobbies, values and beliefs? What about your ideal customer?

This is something easy to do if you really know who your ideal customer is.

Petsmart did this really well by posting pictures of their executives with their pets. I like them more now!

With this simple step they created a connection with their ideal clients.

The more we understand our customer’s brains and how they’re wired, the better we will be able to market to them and achieve success

April 25, 2013

Make Customers Happier by Helping Them Accept Their Decisions

Research participants who covered a tray with a transparent lid after choosing a single chocolate from a large selection on the tray were more satisfied with their choices (6.03 versus 4.78 on a 7-point scale, on average) than people who didn’t cover the tray, says a team led by doctoral student Yangjie Gu of London Business School. Acts of “closure,” such as covering rejected alternatives, induce people to stop pondering missed opportunities. Companies might be able to increase satisfaction by taking simple steps to allow consumers to make peace with their decisions, the researchers say.

March 8, 2013

8 Marketing Takeaways to Align Your Content Strategy With the New Facebook News Feed

The text below if from Hubspot

1) Publish more visual content.

Facebook’s new look is flooded with enhanced images of every variety — an entire feed can be viewed solely comprised of these vivid images! Just one month after the introduction of Facebook timeline for brands, visual content — photos and videos — saw a 65% increase in engagement. This metric is bound to increase even further with the upcoming Rich Photos emphasis.

Prepare for the rollout of these updates by creating visually compelling content. If you’ve been previously posting text-based statuses and links, think about how you can convert those ideas into visuals.

2) Create image-focused ads.

While Facebook did not speak to how these News Feed changes impact ads. However, according to an interview published by the MIT Technology Review, when asked how the new design will affect ads, a Facebook representative said, “The idea of making things richer, more immersive, includes ads.”

Furthermore, the article states, “Speculation about the changes include the possibility that Facebook will add additional mini-feeds segmented by content (such as one just for photos), as well as bigger, more targeted ads.” Only time will tell, but it’s important to start thinking about your ads from a visual perspective.

3) Keep your copy short.

With the spotlight on photos, Facebook has also changed the way captions will display. While previously captions were scripted underneath the uploaded photo, captions will now overlay images in the News Feed.

This means that photos will be the primary way by which people engage with your visual posts, so any copy you craft should be brief and succinct. It has to provide all the key information the user needs to understand the image and its value, and take action.

With the new Facebook News Feed, users will be able to look at content posted only from their friends. That means that even if someone likes and follows your business page, they may never see your posts because they filtered them out by looking at the content posted only from their friends.

Your solution to this is to focus more on your evangelists and customers. Your evangelists are the lovers of your brand — the people who find you remarkable, and share your updates with their own Facebook friends. Whether they’re customers, or just pure fans of what you do, these people will be instrumental in your success on Facebook.

4) Focus more on your evangelists.

5) Create more compelling content.

The way Facebook is now surfacing top-shared articles reminds us of a LinkedIn Today-like method for featuring top content. This means it’s in your best interest to use Facebook as a way to promote your more public-facing content — such as blog content, for instance — to try to get your best content more viral reach.

But here’s the secret when it comes to creating viral reach: It’s all about sharing compelling content. Facebook is exploding with content daily, and unless your content stands out from the crowd in terms of value and interest, it won’t gain the visibility it needs. As shown below, Facebook will, in a news-like fashion, aggregate the most frequently shared content from a publisher, and include the company logo alongside that. As a content creator, you’ll need to work hard to create remarkable content that is shared so widely.

6) Integrate your Facebook and Pinterest strategies.

Content shared through third-party apps will begin to see greater visibility in your News Feed. This includes Pinterest, as showcased below. In fact, 98% of people surveyed with a Pinterest account said they also have a Facebook and/or Twitter account. Even more important, Pinterest drives sales directly from its website — of people with Pinterest accounts, 21% have purchased an item after seeing it on Pinterest.

7) Influence users to check-in.

Location-based activity has been gaining more importance on social media. On Google+, we saw the integration of Google Places. And when Facebook launched Graph Search, it came equipped with the ability to search for content based on location. In addition, results in Graph Search are often local. For example, if you search for the word “coffee,” Facebook’s Graph Search will likely return results on coffee shops near you.

8) Continue increasing likes of your page.

While the number of Likes your Facebook page has accumulated has always been important, the new News Feed makes these Likes even more meaningful.

When a user previously Liked your page, the excitement on the businesses end was around the increase in reach they could provide through their new fan’s friends of fans. There was no immediate benefit. The new Facebook makeover provides an immediate benefit.

When someone Likes your page, a new story is created in News Feed that shows the page’s default and cover photo. This once again shows how impactful your Facebook cover photo is, because every time someone Likes your page, that cover photo will have the opportunity to influence the friends of your new Facebook fan.

February 24, 2013

Billion Dollar Industries

Every year…

$33 billion is spent in corporate training & e-learning industry.
$27.94 billion is spent in the eBook and book publishing industry.
$10.5 billion is spent in the personal growth market.
$17 billion is spent in the mobile app market.
$1.2 billion is spent in the coaching market.

That’s billion with a B.

HERE is what this means to you…

One word – OPPORTUNITY.

It doesn’t matter in which industry you are, you can create info-products. Check this out

January 28, 2013December 23, 2016

How to close more sales

This week BuzzBooster TV talks about how you can close more sales and improve your negotiation skills.
These are simple steps that can increase your conversion quite a bit.

Watch BuzzBooster TV How to close more sales now.

January 14, 2013

Just a cool quote

Only two things change your life: either something new comes into your life, or something new comes out of you.

January 8, 2013

E-mail marketing better than SEO and Social Media?

Very interesting info-graphic about the efficiency of e-mail marketing from Business2community.

If you feel overwhelmed by this fact, read on to learn about some great email subject lines that will guarantee your targeted audience opens your email.

1.) Subjects that Offer Contrary Advice

This particular subject line works really well if the audience happens to encompass members of the business community. Ultimately, the use of a contrarian title makes a reader begin to think about what you actually mean and they end up opening your email specifically to find out if they guessed what you were talking about.

Example: Your Clients Have No Idea What They Want: Effective Research Shows Correct Market Trends and Foregoes Collecting Customer Opinions

2.) A Creative Thought that Doesn’t Really Fit Together

In a sense, this could involve the use of sarcasm. When used correctly, this style of writing can be humorous, invoke curiosity and inspire action. But remember, if you use it in the subject line, the body of the text has to back it up.

Example: Accomplish All Your Dreams without Leaving Your House

3.) Say Something Controversial

Ultimately, controversy will always be an effective marketing tool. This is why the National Enquirer and other celebrity tabloids will always fly off the shelves. A reader always wants to learn a secret or be privy to salacious information. As an email marketer, you can use this desire to sell your product or service.

Example: What Facebook Doesn’t Want You to Know About Paid Ads

4.) Shock and Awe

Shock will always be one of the most intense emotions a human can experience, for better or worse. Shocking information sells and, just like the breaking news ticker that scrolls along the bottom of the TV screen, this type of subject line should be timely. After all, how many times have you paused what you are doing specifically to check out what a shocking headline was about, either on TV or the Internet? The same can be said about email.

Example: Warren Buffett Explains Why Your Business Is Going to Get Crushed in 2013

5.) Reference the World of Pop Culture

As much as many of us may hate to admit it, there is a reason why people like the Kardashians and Lindsay Lohan attract our attention. While it may be a form of mediocre entertainment, most people have a hard time turning their attention away from pop culture references. This is because, for good or bad, pop culture icons satisfy our curiosity as well as allow us to feel good about our choices (because of their bad ones). A pop culture reference in an email subject line can be pure gold.

Example: What Not to Do: Kim Kardashian’s Guide to Bad Business

In closing, there are some rules to follow when writing email subject lines.

Make it useful; promise valuable information to the reader.
Ensure that there is a sense of urgency; it must inspire the reader to open the email right now.
Create a unique message; ensure the email is something that is compelling and creative.
Provide specifics; always make sure that the message shows how the reader will benefit from the information.

Remember, your targeted audience is not simply standing by, waiting to hear from you. When you do happen to have an email in their in-box, you have to give them a reason to open your message and read what you have to say.