In a cyber world, where Twitter took off, it’s no surprise that the next step after telling people what you’re doing is telling people where you’re doing it.
Enter: foursquare.
Now, I don’t know about you guys, but my mind automatically jumped to my middle school days playing foursquare. But, apart from something that your friends can join in, this foursquare is a tad different.
Foursquare is a new trend of letting people know exactly where you are, and I mean, exactly. Stop off at the local bakery on your way home? Foursquare it. Hitting the gym during the weekend? Foursquare it. It’s not just something that’s a great way for your friends (or stalkers) to know where you are, but it’s great for businesses as well – especially those with smaller marketing budgets.
For businesses, the best thing about this is that it’s free publicity. People can review, recommend and promote you all by just telling everyone where they are. It offers the opportunity to get your name out there by people who already like you. Not to mention, it has map tie-ins and all the typical bells and whistles of a consumer-review type of site.
Businesses and foursquare users can both really use this to their advantage. Not only can businesses see who their most loyal customers are, but they can also reward them. Customers who use foursquare “check-in” where they are and get badges (“adventurer”, “local”, “newbie”) and when they become “the mayor” (the most loyal of all the regulars) they are rewarded by some, but not all, businesses by getting freebies of some sort.
All in all, it’s a win-win for everyone. Businesses get their names out there and people who use foursquare, well, they can show how busy their lives really are. That and potentially win freebies at their favorite local spots. So, go ahead, sign up.
Hope your weekend is terrific. If you do anything fun, foursquare it.
Sharon
This month, Esquire is running the article “An Investment Like No Other” – a short but great piece about the importance and value of small business.
The article capitalizes on the notion that in a time of such investment turmoil, there is no place to put your money like the small mom-and-pop shops of America – very much that Wall Street to Main Street ideology that we were educated on during the last presidential race.
Why is it a good place to put some cash?
43 million Americans work for companies employing less than 100 workers. Throughout the past 15 years, small business has cranked 64% of the countries new jobs. More than 50% of American nonfarm GDP is created by small business.
As Mr. Kurson points out, small business is indeed big business. Not to mention, it offers personal rewards unattainable when working for the big guys. Cleaning toilets, stocking the fridge and swinging by the office to pick up the Saturday mail give you a certain satisfaction that you just can’t get in the corporate world. Sounds strange, but it’s so very true.
Mr. Kurson then goes on to offer three simple tips for making it happen. Tips that we’ve found to be of the utmost importance at Gorilla 76.
1. Learning QuickBooks is the single best thing you can do.
2. Cash flow is king. Or the lifeblood, as we’ve previously referred to it. Without it, well, you’re out of business.
3. Marketing is a must (obviously). This budget is tempting to cut. But don’t. Do you quit watering the lawn during a drought?
So, in closi…sorry, got to run. Last minute client meeting scheduled and our pantry is bare and the bathroom, well…
So, with the new year and all, change, business refocus and other “good stuff” is inevitable. Everyone else is compiling these lists of what and how they’re going to accomplish goals and such – figured we’d do the same.
So…
1. More blogging. Lots more blogging. We’re doing okay on the micro side of things, but don’t write enough on the macro. We preach it to our clients but we have a hard time doing it ourselves. Yep – need to fix that.
2. More reading. Lots more reading. Industry stuff. Fun stuff. A library of everything. We think it’s important for inspiration, and, well, the old noggin in general.
3. Quit letting the award annuals pile up. We love looking through them – so, we should probably do it. It’s a good way to find inspiration and learn from the greats.
4. More sack lunches and sample days at Straub’s. This whole Central West End thing is hurting the pocketbook. First Herbie’s, now Pi. It’s getting ugly.
5. Continue to pursue hobbies. I just got a nice camera – I want to use it more and really learn the craft of taking a good photo. Joe likes to cook – he should do that more. Hobbies are important. They help keep you sharp and focused at the 9-”5″.
6. Encourage clients to do “due diligence” of research. Makes for much more effective work in long run.
7. Continue to be a student of SEO. A local ad guru told me it grew 5,000% last year. Ummm…probably need to stay on top of that then.
8. Always keep the big picture in mind. Always.
9. Make it to the West Coast on business. Seattle’s been calling our name. Hmmm…Filson is in Seattle.
10. Continue to hit the gym. We bought company passes to a nice little fitness club. Unfortunately, the weights don’t lift themselves. The person signing us up forgot to mention this.
11. More brainstorming over beers.
12. Rework biz plan. That’s a goal every year. We did it last year and helped a good deal. Keeps things fresh. Keeps you focused and on-task. A business plan is a living and breathing thing. Needs to be treated that way.
13. Stay up on daily inspiration. Blogs, Twitter links (deep breath – can get overwhelming).
14. Hire a new Gorilla or two. We’re getting to that point. We have a couple great candidates in mind. They’d be tremendous assets to the team.
15. Redo our Gorilla website. We have some great ideas and sketches. But, we need something that’s clickable.
16. Continue to build relationships with current client base. We’re blessed with a good one, need to keep them all on board by offering them good thinking and great service.
17. Most importantly, continue to have fun while doing it all.
All the best in the new year – hope it’s prosperous to you and yours.
Jon
We have five senses so it’s only natural that we use all them as often as we can. But, when it comes to marketing, it seems that one sense is left out time and time again: scent.
I recently read an article by Harald H. Vogt called “Don’t Turn Up Your Nose At Scent Marketing”, that posed the question – why have companies not branded their own signature scent? I mean, websites really couldn’t do anything in this field…well, not right away that is. So the most obvious question is why haven’t stores, products, or, even print advertisers utilized this sense?
Scent is something that helps trigger emotions and memories. How have we gone so long without thinking something like this would be useful in the marketing world? Some stores have done this, but unintentionally. For instance, a bookstore or a paint shop all have very distinct smells. So much so that when people smell it outside of that particular store, they are instantly brought back to the last memory of reading a book or rehabbing a room. And unless you are a stressful reader or a wound-up painter, these generally trigger other emotions of relaxation or creativity. Regardless of the emotion, unless it’s a bad one, the person is going to be reminded of store and maybe even be tempted to go back.
So brand managers, small-business owners, CMOs and whomevers – when are you going to complete your in-store sensorial experience? When are you going to cater to the sense of smell?
In this industry it’s all about taking risks; being innovative; trying new things. Who’s up to the new challenge? Maybe you’ll want to read up on it a little more. Go ahead and take a gander at Vogt’s article, and remember to smell the roses along the way.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon
You’d think in a world of busy people looking for the shortest way to get from point A to point B, a tagline would be valued and not seen as extra clutter. However, some critics are adamantly against using taglines.
Recently, I came across a great article on Brandweek.com by Jim Morris – “The Lost Art of Writing the Sticky Tagline.” It offered several solid insights.
First of all, it’s important to note that everyone remembers a good tagline.
- Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
- Got Milk?
- Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.
Why do these work? They’re simple, clever and memorable. These taglines have helped develop a lasting impression for their brand. Each of these lines has become such a staple in their product’s positioning that it would be hard to imagine the product without it.
That begs the question, what makes a good tagline? That’s where Morris’ advice comes in handy. He gives a nice, short list of tagline don’ts. To name a few:
- Don’t worry about length. If it’s long, it’s long. The most important thing you need to ask yourself is if it’s good. It could be the shortest tagline ever and be the worst thing someone has ever heard or read.
- Don’t try and overload your tagline. Say what you need to and cut out the rest. Be careful though, don’t cut it down so much that you are saying absolutely nothing.
- Don’t use exclamation points. Please!
- Don’t overpromise. Don’t underpromise.
- Don’t try to say everything. Instead, focus on saying one thing well.
- Don’t use the jargon of the business. We get it, it’s clever. But for the most part, potential customers aren’t going to understand it. As we all know, confusing the customers is never a good strategy.
You can read the rest of Mr. Morris’ article here. Enjoy.
And thanks for reading.
- Sharon