9 INCH MARKETING

Book’em Danno

October 25, 2009 · 2 Comments

I shared a new goal this new goal with my friends and family this week:

“I will write a book on ‘Marketing Lagniappe’ by March 1, 2010″

Here is the premise of the book:

business booksThe book in a nutshell is that 90+% of marketing is in the traditional funnel
whether its the old guard ‘outbound interruption model’ or the updated ‘inbound enticement model’.  Marketing Lagniappe deals with the vital 1% who make it through the funnel and actually purchase your product or service.  It aims to answer two questions: How do you get them to be a repeat customer and more importantly how leverage word of mouth/mouse for your customers to reach back to the folks in the funnel?

I will be blogging at http://marketinglagniappe.com as I write the book.

→ 2 CommentsCategories: Integration

Value is the New Black, part deux

October 7, 2009 · Leave a Comment

A couple of months ago I posted on the concept that ‘value is becoming the new black’.  There is now a study out by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, also proclaiming that “value is the new black,” predicting that post-recession shoppers will transform into “value hunters” as they look for true value and meaning from brands, rather than just discounts.

I was just reading that this trend looks like it’s going to steamroll into 2010.  Here is a summary of a report submitted by Brandkeys with my thoughts in parentheses:

Brandkeys analyzed the likely consumer values, needs and expectations for the next 12-18 months and offered the following trends:

  1. Value is the new black: Consumer spending, even on sale items, will continue to be replaced by a reason-to-buy at all. This may spell trouble for brands with no authentic meaning, whether high-end or low. [Not a good time to be stuck in the mushy middle]
  2. Brands are increasingly a surrogate for value: What makes goods and services valuable will increasingly be what’s wrapped up in the brand and what it stands for. [Are you 'marketing with meaning'?]
  3. Brand differentiation is brand value: The unique meaning of a brand will increase in importance as generic
    features continue to propagate in the brand landscape. Awareness as a meaningful market force has long been obsolete, and differentiation will be critical for sales and profitability. [What is your purple goldfish and where is the lagniappe in your marketing?]
  4. “Because I said so” is over: Brand values can be established as a brand identity, but they must believably exist in the mind of the consumer. A brand can’t just say it stands for something and make it so. The consumer will decide, making it more important than ever for a brand to have measures of authenticity that will aid in brand differentiation and consumer engagement. [The age of 'tell and sell' has past.  We live in low trust world where actions shout louder than words.  Are your customers giving you a V4?]
  5. Consumer expectations are growing: Brands are barely keeping up with consumer expectations now. Every day consumers adopt and devour the latest technologies and innovations, and hunger for more. Smarter marketers will identify and capitalize on unmet expectations. Those brands that understand where the strongest expectations exist will be the brands that survive and prosper. [Meeting expectations is a fallacy.  You either exceed or you fall short.  Your choice?]
  6. Old tricks don’t – and won’t – work anymore: Consumers are on to brands trying to play their emotions for profit. In the wake of the financial debacle of this past year, people are more aware then ever of the hollowness of bank ads that claim “we’re all in this together” when those same banks have rescinded their credit and turned their retirement plan into case studies. The same is true for insincere celebrity pairings – such as Seinfeld & Microsoft or Tiger Woods & Buick. Celebrity values and brand values instead need to be in concert. [Be authentic]
  7. Consumers won’t need to know a brand to love it: As the buying space becomes even more online-driven and international (and uncontrolled by brands and corporations), front-end awareness will become less important. A brand with the right street credibility can go viral in days, with awareness following -  not leading – the conversation.  [I love the idea of being able to create what David Meerman Scott refers to as a 'WORLD WIDE RAVE']
  8. It’s not just buzz: Conversation and community is increasingly important, and if consumers trust the community, they will extend trust to the brand. This means not just word of mouth, but the right word of mouth within the community. This has significant implications for future of customer service.  [Customer service may be one of areas that Twitter can be used effectively for]
  9. Consumers talk with each other before talking with brands: Social networking and exchange of information outside of the brand space will increase. This – at least in theory – will mean more opportunities for brands to get involved in these spaces and meet customers where they are.  [Fish where the fish are]
  10. Engagement is not a fad; It’s the way today’s consumers do business: Marketers will come to accept that there are four engagement methods: The platform (TV; online), the context (program; webpage), the message (ad or communication), and the experience (store/event). At the same time, they also will realize that brand engagement will become impossible using out-dated attitudinal models.  [Amen.  The average distance between the brain and the heart is 9 inches.  Brand need to take a sensory approach to engage consumers through integrated marketing]

Today’s Lagniappe [a little something extra] – Interesting bit of research

Recent research from Penn State University found that one in five Tweets is brand related, and appears to support the belief that there is an increasing desire for brand engagment and customer service on more community-based media.

First time seeing 9 inches?  Click here to subscribe via e-mail to the blog

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Lagniappe

Marketing Lagniappe – “In Search of Your Purple Goldfish”

September 29, 2009 · Leave a Comment

marketing lagniappe purple goldfish presentationI just successfully downloaded my first presentation onto Slideshare.  It’s a slideshow entitled:  Marketing Lagniappe – “In Search of Your Purple Goldfish”.

[Note: If you watch the slideshow, plan on manually advancing each slide by clicking the PLAY button to the right of the green PLAY button]

Here is an outline of the slideshow:

  • 5 reasons you need to consider lagniappe
  • The pronunciation and origin of the word ‘lagniappe’
  • The two definitions of lagniappe
  • What is a purple goldfish?
  • The 4 factors that determine the growth of a goldfish
  • The 4 ingredients of lagniappe
  • Five companies that are getting it right
  • The V4 principle and the power of ‘word of mouse’
  • The 2 benefits of lagniappe
  • Where to get started?

Any good examples of lagniappe out there?  What other companies are doing it right?  I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra)  - Goldfish joke

A goldfish walks into a bar.  Bartender says, “What will you have”.  The goldfish steps up and says in a slow creaky voice, “WAAA-TER”

First time seeing 9 inches?  Click here to subscribe via e-mail to the blog

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Lagniappe
Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Reasons why Stew Leonard’s gets an ‘attaboy’

September 23, 2009 · Leave a Comment

stew leonards norwalkI live in Norwalk, Connecticut near a famous landmark.  In golf terms I’m about a 3 wood up the hill from Stew Leonard’s.  Stew’s is a grocery store without peer.  Mark Twain had an interesting quote about the Taj Mahal,

“There are two types of people in this world . . . those who have been to the Taj Mahal and those who haven’t”.

If you are a fan of marketing . . . the same thing should apply to what the New York Times has affectionately called the ‘Disneyland of Grocery Stores’.

Here are the 10 reasons Stew Leonard’s deserves a marketing attaboy:

1. Be larger than life – Stew’s is the World’s Largest Dairy Store.  It boasts an in-store dairy plant where milk is packaged in front of customers.

FunPlace_Mascots2. Entertain the kids – Costumed characters and animatronics throughout the store.  Impossible for kids not to be entertained.

3. Be different – Stew’s is like a maze.  There is one continuous aisle that winds through the store.

4. Keep it real and fresh – 80 percent of the products sold are fresh (brought in daily or prepared directly in-store).

5. Strong culture - I love acronyms.  Stew’s philosophy is built around an acronym for S.T.E.W.: Satisfy the customer; work together as a Team; strive for Excellence in everything you do; and get the customer to say WOW.

6.  Great place to work – A perennial Fortune 100 Best Place to Work.  ”You can’t have a great place to shop without first making it a great place to work.” – CEO Stew Leonard, Jr.

7. A rock solid tagline – “The customer is always right”.  Here is a picture of the 6,000 pound piece of granite inside the entrance [See the backstory in Today's Lagniappe].

8.  Sampling works – Walk through Stew’s on any given day and you’re inundated with samples of fresh fruit, cake, cheese and treats.  They understand that 35% of customers who tried a sample bought the product during the same shopping trip.

9. Stew’s Little Farm –  The store boasts a small farm where kids can learn about and observe animals.  It started because the land that Stew Sr. bought to build his new dairy was an actual farm. Stew promised the owner that he would keep part of the land as a farm so she could visit with her sheep every day.

10. Lagniappe – Spend at least $100 at Stew’s, the register moo’s and you get a free coffee or an ice cream.  How about that for a little something extra!

Bottom line: Stew’s understands that ultimately the customer is looking for a meaningful experience.  Everyone likes to be entertained.  Is it working?  Numbers don’t lie . . . Stew’s sales per square foot were approximately five times that of the average grocery store, prompting an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for the greatest sales per square foot of any food store in the United States.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) - The value of 95 cents of egg-nog

How Stew Leonard’s Customer Service Rock of Commitment Came to Be

Two weeks after Stew Leonard’s grand opening in 1969, Stew Leonard, Sr. was standing at the front door of the store greeting customers.

Suddenly a customer came up to Stew and said, “YOUR EGGNOG IS SOUR!” and thrust into his hands a half-gallon carton.

“My eggnog is sour, from my brand new dairy plant? Impossible!” exclaimed Stew, “You’re wrong! It can’t be sour. We’ve sold over 200 half-gallons of eggnog from this batch and you’re the only one who’s complained!”

The customer was so mad, veins were popping out in her neck. She said, “I don’t care how many cartons you sold, it’s sour and I want my money back!”

Eggnog was 95 cents per half-gallon so Stew reached into his pocket and gave the customer a dollar bill. She snatched it out of his hand and started out the store. The last words he heard her say were, “I’m never coming back to this store again!”

That night, Stew relayed the story to his wife, Marianne, and she, too became upset with him.

“I don’t blame her at all,” said Marianne. “You didn’t listen to her. You contradicted her and practically called her a liar. I hope you are not going to run your store like other store managers, who think all customers are trying to put something over on them. They don’t trust us — but we fix them — WE JUST NEVER GO BACK!”

After thinking about it for a while, Stew realized that he had everything in the world tied up into his dairy store. He could not afford to lose a single customer by telling them they were wrong.

He realized that most customers were honest and wouldn’t try to take advantage of him. However, if he tried to protect himself from the one percent who were dishonest, he’d end up penalizing the other 99 percent who were really good and honest!

Stew decided Marianne was right and that no customer was ever going to be wrong in my store again.

FunPlace_RockOn his way to work one morning, Stew drove by a monument yard, where they were unloading granite. Suddenly, Stew got an idea. He stopped and bought a huge slab of granite from Mr. Bates. It weighed 6,000 pounds. Then Stew had him deliver the rock to the front door of his store, and had their stonemason chisel the store’s new policy into its face:

  • Rule 1 The Customer Is Always Right!
  • Rule 2 : If The Customer Is Ever Wrong, Reread Rule 1.

To this day, 35 years later, the rock still stands firm at each of Stew Leonard’s store entrances. Every single team member knows of the eggnog story, and how the rock came to be. They know that they can do anything in their power to make the customer happy. Happy customers not only come back, they bring their friends!

First time seeing 9 inches?  Click here to subscribe via e-mail to the blog

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Attaboy = New Rope
Tagged: , , , ,

Two for Tuesday: Marketing Interactions and Online Marketing

September 21, 2009 · 1 Comment

2 For Tuesday

Here is the second post in a series called, ‘Sharp Points – 2 for Tuesday’.

The idea behind ‘Sharp Points’ is to highlight two blogs from the Junta42 list of top content marketing blogs.  This week we’ll tackle #3 and #4 on the list:

#3. Marketing Interactions – Ardath Albee authors ‘Marketing Interactions’.  She is an expert B2B marketing strategist.  The blog discusses how to increase and quantify marketing effectiveness through interactive e-marketing strategies.  The key to an effective strategy is the creation of compelling content.

Sharp point to share: Ardath wrote a post a few weeks ago highlighting the importance of storytelling.  She was one of 40 contributors in an eBook on the subject:

StoriedCareersCover1-web1“Mostly I think the reason is the control people are exercising over selecting what information they spend their time with. There are more choices than ever before, people are busier with limited time, so why would they choose to spend that time on things that don’t meet their needs? The more personalized and relevant information is to the person presented with it, the more engagement is possible. Storytelling is in our genes.” — Ardath Albee

toprank-logo

#4. Online Marketing Blog - Online Marketing is TopRank’s internet marketing blog on the shape shifting intersection of social media, digital public relations and search engine marketing.  Headed up by Lee Odden and hailing from the great state of Minnesota, the blog dates back to 2003.

Sharp Point to share – Here is a great post on 16 Rules for social media optimization from Top Rank’s Adam Singer.  Adam revisits the original 2006 post.  Here is just one of the many sharp points:

linkability1#1 – Increase Your Linkability

“This is the first and most important priority for websites. Many sites are “static” – meaning they are rarely updated and used simply for a storefront. To optimize a site for social media, we need to increase the linkability of the content. Adding a blog is a great step, however there are many other ways such as creating white papers and thought pieces, or even simply aggregating content that exists elsewhere into a useful format.”

warning_turning_40_greeting_card-p137409162262896718q6k5_400Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra)  - Today I turn the big 4-0.  Turns out I’m not alone.  Whew!!!

Check out my fellow alums in the Class of ‘69:


→ 1 CommentCategories: 2 For Tuesday - Sharp Points
Tagged: , , , , , ,

50 marketing axioms

September 20, 2009 · 1 Comment

9-inch-axiom2001

An axiom is a proposition that is not proved, but is considered to be self evident. Therefore, its truth is taken for granted, serving as a starting point for deducing other truths.

9 INCH AXIOMS are the premises that my posts are based on.  Click here to see #1 through #40.  Here are axioms #41 to #50:

hendricks41. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION | ‘Picking the right location for an event is absolutely critical’

[My first attaboy awarded to Hendricks Gin.  Superb case study on the importance of location]


jimi-hendrix-are-you-experienced42. EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING | ‘Experiential can be one of the most powerful forms of marketing through the power of engagement’

[Lessons from Jimi Hendrix on the importance of experiential marketing]


is-value-the-new-black43. VALUE | ‘Price is a relative thing.  Value is the real barometer affecting purchase intent’

[Talking coupons and the importance of driving value.  Good old school case study from Coca Cola.]

quality-time-matrix44. VALUE OF IMPRESSIONS | ‘All impressions are not created equal.  You need to look at the length and the quality to gauge overall effectiveness’

[Matrix that measures length and quality of an impression with various forms of marketing]

john-hughes-and-his-cast-of-characters45. BE TOP OF MIND | ‘Don’t let your prospects or customers forget about you.  Out of sight = Out of mind’

[A tribute to John Hughes and a fun quiz that will test your 80's teen movie knowledge]


five-guys-burger-and-fries46. K.I.S.S METHOD | ‘Don’t overthink the customer experience. Keep It Simple Stupid by delivering a great product.  Bells and whistles can be distracting and annoying’

[An attaboy for FIVE GUYS Burgers & Fries.  Some strong marketing takeaways]

tyler-durden-on-meeting-expectations47. MEETING EXPECTATIONS | ‘Sorry kids . . .the 3 biggest myths are Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Meeting Expectations’

[There is no such thing as meeting expectations . . . you either exceed or you fall short]


geico-vs-allstate48. CHALLENGING STRENGTH | ‘Sometimes the best way to challenge a competitor is to directly attack their main strength’

[Discussing Allstate vs. Geico and the issue of savings]

inbound-marketing-certified-professional149. COMMITMENT TO LEARNING | ‘In life you should always be committed to learning.  When you are green, you are growing . . . Once you are ripe, you start to rot!’

[Discussing Inbound Marketing University]


ll-bean-100-guarantee150. GUARANTEES | ‘Standing behind your product and service with a 100% money back guarantee speaks volumes about your commitment to quality and customer satisfaction’

[A few priceless marketing takeaways from L.L. Bean]


Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra)  - Trivia:  What are the only two sports where it is illegal to play left handed?  (Answer in the first comment)

First time seeing 9 inches?  Click here to subscribe via e-mail to the blog

→ 1 CommentCategories: 9 inch axiom
Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Two for Tuesday: Tipping Point Labs and Copyblogger

September 15, 2009 · 6 Comments

2 For TuesdayI’ve decided to start a new ritual called ‘Sharp Points – 2 for Tuesday’.  I always thought ‘2 for Tuesday’ had a nice ring to it all the way back to my college days of ‘drink specials’ and the local classic rock radio station.

The idea behind ‘Sharp Points’ is to highlight two blogs from the Junta42 list of top content marketing blogs.  This week we’ll start with #1 and #2 on the list:

tipping point labs logo#1. Tipping Point Labs – an agency out of Newton, Mass (greater Beantown), Tipping Point Labs was founded back in 2002.  They are digital content creators focused on quality and speed.  I love this quote about ‘perpetual production’

Perpetual Production

Valuable content builds trust. Relationships are built on trust. Relationships influence buying decisions. Buying decisions drive revenue. Without frequently delivering high-quality, relevant content you can’t build relationships.

These guys are game changers and I recommend visiting their blog and tuning in to tippingpointlabs.tv

Sharp point to share:  Check out this presentation on “Predictions: Nine in ‘09″

tipping point labs

site_copyblogger#2 Copyblogger - Started by Brian Clark in 2006, Copyblogger is a go-to-resource for bloggers.  If the key to being successful online is kick ass content and copy, then Brian and his contributors have you covered on the latter.  Over 75,000 blog subcribers and 35K+ Twitter followers speaks volumes about the quality you’ll find on Copyblogger.

Sharp Point to share – Here is an excerpt from a great post from Brian entitled, “Ernest Hemingway: Top 5 Tips for Writing Well”

5. Never have only 4 rules.

Actually, Hemingway did only have 4 rules for writing, and they were those he was given as a cub reporter at the Kansas City Star in 1917. But, as any blogger or copywriter knows, having only 4 rules will never do.

So, in order to have 5, I had to dig a little deeper to get the most important of Hemingway’s writing tips of all:

“I write one page of masterpiece to ninety one pages of shit,” Hemingway confided to F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1934. “I try to put the shit in the wastebasket.”

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra)  - I was reading a post from Josh Cole at Tipping Point Labs.  Every week the agency shares 5 links.  The 5th on this post had me in stitches laughing.  Josh talked about Woofer, the site where you have to post a lot to post at all.

First time seeing 9 inches?  Click here to subscribe via e-mail to the blog

→ 6 CommentsCategories: 2 For Tuesday - Sharp Points
Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Wells Fargo’s marketing lagniappe gets them an ‘attaboy’

September 13, 2009 · 1 Comment

9 INCH AXIOM – Little things

‘Sometimes the littlest things can make a big difference’

wells fargo marketing lagniappe

Help My Business Sucks

I was listening to a video podcast the other day from Andrew Lock.  Andrew has a weekly show called, “Help – My Business Sucks”.  Its usually 7-10 minutes whereby Andrew shares his perspectives on unconventional marketing.  I highly recommend subscribing to it on iTunes or having a look at his site @ http://helpmybusiness.com.

Andrew was telling a story about how he was using the drive thru at his local Wells Fargo bank. At the end of the transaction the teller asked him if he would like a sucker.  Andrew was perplexed until he realized it was an offer for a lollipop.  He drove away with a smile on his face.  That lollipop was a small token or ‘marketing lagniappe’ from Wells Fargo.  It’s a practice that goes a long way towards increasing customer satisfaction, especially when it is unexpected.

official attaboy

 

The red lollipop is one of three reasons why I believe Wells Fargo deserves an ‘attaboy’.  Here are the other two:

 

Stagecoach -  Very few banks have the heritage and storied history of Wells Fargo.  The stagecoach dates back to the early days in the 186o’s.   

awf_ponystamprot_photo

Henry Wells and William Fargo offered banking (buying gold, and selling paper bank drafts as good as gold) and express (rapid delivery of the gold and anything else valuable). The bank earned a reputation of trust by dealing rapidly and responsibly with people’s money. In the 1860s, Wells Fargo  earned everlasting fame – and its corporate symbol – with the grand adventure of the overland stagecoach line which included the western leg of the famed, but short-lived, Pony Express.

The six horse stagecoach is the signature icon of the brand.  When the brand merged with rival Norwest back in 1998 they made a smart move by unifying under one brand and staying ‘on the wagon’.

80% Rule – Wells Fargo understands the importance of servicing the needs of their current customers to fuel growth.  This is a quote about cross-selling from their website:

“The more you sell customers, the more you know about them. The more you know about them, the easier it is to sell them more products. The more products customers have with you, the better value they receive and the more loyal they are. The longer they stay with you, the more opportunities you have to meet even more of their financial needs. The more you sell them, the higher the profit because the added cost of selling another product to an existing customer is often only about ten percent of the cost of selling that same product to a new customer.”

That last sentence deserves repeating.  IT COSTS 10 TIMES TO ACQUIRE A NEW CUSTOMER THAN IT TAKES TO UPSELL A CURRENT ONE. Nearly eighty percent of Wells Fargo revenue growth comes from selling more products to existing customers.  The average Wells Fargo customer carries over 5 products which is more than two times the industry average.

Their focus on serving existing customers has two tremendous benefits:

1.  It reduces attrition.  Well Fargo loses less customers each year compared to its competitors.

2. It provides them with a competitive advantage against companies that only offer one or a few products.

 

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) - Backstory on the actual stagecoach, a quote and the origin of ‘on the wagon’

Backstory on the Concord Coach – Built high and wide to handle the rough, rutted roads of a new country, the design of a classic American vehicle was perfected in Concord, New Hampshire. Carriage builder J. Stephens Abbot and master wheelwright Lewis Downing built the famed stagecoaches of Wells Fargo & Co.  The curved frame of the body gave it strength, and perhaps a little extra elbow room. Perfectly formed, fitted, and balanced wheels stood up to decades of drenching mountain storms and parching desert heat. The unique feature of these coaches was the suspension. Instead of steel springs, the coach body rested on leather “thoroughbraces,” made of strips of thick bullhide. This feature spared the horses from jarring and gave the stagecoach a (sometimes) gentle rocking motion, leading Mark Twain to call it, “An imposing cradle on wheels.” (Roughing It, 1870)  For the record: Concord Coaches weighed about 2,500 pounds and cost $1,100 each.

Quote – Andrew Lock has a genius quote that he shares on each and every show:

Marketing is Everything . . . and Everything is Marketing

Origin – Where does the saying, “I’m on the wagon” or “He fell off the wagon” come from?  Answer in the first comment.

First time seeing 9 inches?  Click here to subscribe via e-mail to the blog

→ 1 CommentCategories: Attaboy = New Rope
Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

L.L. Bean’s 100% guarantee

September 12, 2009 · 2 Comments

9 INCH AXIOM – Guarantees

‘Standing behind your product and service with a 100% money back guarantee speaks volumes about your commitment to quality and customer satisfaction’

LL Bean 100% guaranteeI just received my fall L.L. Bean catalogue yesterday.  The cover immediately caught my attention.  There was a picture of a rust heather fitness fleece pullover.  Next to it was a circular cutout with a fabric swatch and the callout ‘feel the softness’.  I was immediately drawn to touching the soft fleece.  Just another smart move using ‘tactile marketing’ from the KING OF CATALOGUES.

Back to the Beginning in Maine

L.L. Bean was an avid hunter and fisherman in Freeport, Maine. During his outdoor activities he noticed that his boots would become soaked. In 1911 the 39 year old Bean set out to solve this problem and developed plans for a waterproof boot. ll bean

The Bean boot was a combination of lightweight leather for the upper part of the boot and rubber on the bottom. He brought the plans to a cobbler, and the first boots were made. Bean felt the boot produced to be of good quality, and obtained a list of non-resident Maine hunting license holders and prepared a descriptive mail order circular (His first catalogue was a whopping 4 pages). He promised 100% money back for anyone who was unhappy with the boots. Because of this, Bean had to refund 90% of the costs of the first 100 sets of boots made, when the rubber on the bottom developed cracks. Bean seemed not to mind returning the money, and the popularity of the boots was clear.

The rest is history.  The company now distributes 55 catalogues a year with sales of $1.5 billion.

3 Marketing Takeaways from L.L.

1. Focus on a core audience – Bean’s first list consisted of licensed non resident hunting license holders.

2. No questions guarantee – Bean didn’t want anyone to have his product that wasn’t satisfied.  Send the product back in any condition and you get 100% of your money back.  This is L.L. Bean’s signature ‘lagniappe’.

3. Commitment to Innovation –  L.L. Bean took his problem solving skills from the Bean boot and applied it to other products.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra)  - trivia on the founder L.L. Bean and future of the catalogue

Trivia – What does the L.L. stand for in both L.L. Bean and LL Cool J? Answers in the first comment.
Future – Here is an interesting article from NPR on the future stylings of L.L. Bean.

First time seeing 9 inches?  Click here to subscribe via e-mail to the blog

→ 2 CommentsCategories: Attaboy = New Rope
Tagged: , , , , ,

Marketing Lagniappe

September 6, 2009 · 2 Comments

marketing lagniappe 3I’m currently working on a slideshare presentation called, “Marketing Lagniappe – In Search of Your Purple Goldfish”.  Stay tuned as I’m about a week or two away from completion.

Here is the basis for the presentation:

The underlying reason behind marketing lagniappe is that you want to go above and beyond by giving a little extra with your customer.  The net effect is two-fold:

  1. They become a repeat customer 
  2. They tell others about their experience to promote your product or service

word-of-mouseWe now live in an information age where it’s vital to leverage ‘word of mouse’ in addition to traditional ‘word of mouth’.  You need to understand the v4 principle.  v4 or ‘vouch for’ is when someone stands up and provides a positive frame of reference for you, your service or your product.

I first came across the concept of v4 back in 2000.   This is a hilarious forum post on Sportsbike.net from a guy named Streetracer. Enjoy:

Think about your entire history of relationships… Every person you dated long term, short term, prison term, and every random hook-up in between. The vast majority of those relationships were with someone you met through a common friend. Very rarely do you find a couple who met randomly at a bar. Most couples met through a friend, a friend of a friend, or a relative. The reason most relationships begin this way is what I call the “V4 Principle.”

v4 principle“V4″ is short for “Vouch For” and it is this reason that the majority of people in America get BUSY. Say you’re out on a Friday night and you see a cute brunette at the bar. You approach her, make small talk, and attempt to pick her up. To you she’s a hottie with dating potential. To her you’re just another one of the drunken masses out there trying to score some. Now take the same situation as before, but when you see her at the bar she is talking to your best friend’s girlfriend. Now when you approach you’re SOMEBODY as opposed to the NOBODY you were before. The girl at the bar has a reference point for you and your best friend’s girlfriend is there to vouch for you: “Oh, that’s Fred. He’s Mike’s best friend. They work together at the law firm. He’s a real sweetie, and he’s sooo cute when he’s drunk.” See how it works? You’re the same drunken ass either way, but now you’re perceived as charming. So, if friends are largely responsible for our hook-ups, how does one improve his odds? Simple, just use this handy dandy friendship reference guide that follows to determine who you should hang out with more and which friends to discard:

1.) Married Friends – Don’t have any. They only hang out with their miserably married couples and they constantly attempt to pull the rest of us into their pit of despair. There is nothing for you here.

2.) Friends Who Work In The Service Industry – Hold on to these. People who work in restaurants, bars, retail, and the like tend to have a plethora of same aged single people to kick it with. They are laid back and don’t work until noon, so they’re always up for a night out. Also, all hostesses are easy.

3.) Friends Who Do A Lot of Drugs -Keepers. Whether you do drugs or not is irrelevant. People who do a lot of drugs tend to hang out with other people who do a lot of drugs… and, chicks who do a lot of drugs tend to be easy.

4.) Religious Friends – No! No! No! All of their friends are usually bible-thumpers as well, and meeting a group of hot Baptists is like going to your favorite bar without any money. You can look all you want, but you can’t have anything.

5.) Strippers – If you have any friends who are strippers you can contact me. Please let me know where you’ll be this weekend…

We now live in a ‘recommendation age’.  The information is already at our fingertips . . . we just need a point of reference.

Today’s Lagniappe  (a little something extra)  - a joke and a solid reference

Joke - Question: Do you know what they say about topless bars?  Answer:  Once you’ve seen one . . you’ve seen them both.

Solid Reference –  Great blog called the WOMMA Word.  WOMMA is an acronym for the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.  Here is a snippet from a recent post from Pat McCarthy on the power of recommendations:

Personal recommendations are trusted 90% of the time worldwide according to a survey conducted by WOMMA member Nielsen. Online product reviews are trusted 70% of the time. And the reviews are pouring in. For those who think the Internet has stabilized, please consider the developing world. Billions of people have little or no Internet experience, but just about everyone is interested. Consequently, product reviews and the continued expansion of Internet access will only amplify the impact of user generated review content. What does this mean for brands and marketers? The product has to be solid. Inferior work will not be tolerated by the masses. Also, companies need to engage. When consumers speak, they like to be heard. If a company doesn’t respond, the consumer will find someone who does.

 First time seeing 9 inches?  Click here to subscribe via e-mail to the blog 

→ 2 CommentsCategories: Lagniappe
Tagged: , , ,