Perfection

I found a recipe for the "perfect" biscuit the other day.

Imagine that.

Someone spent hours trying recipes and finding the perfect combination of ingredients to make the best biscuit.

What if every business decided to spend the time to perfect their products. Not just make an average product that would just get by, but to take the time and passion required to find the perfect combination to make the perfect product or service.

Perfection isn't easy, but if you're really passionate about your products than other people will catch on to that. Take Lush for instance. Lush is a company that makes soaps, lotions and other cosmetics. The idea behind Lush, though, is that they hand make every product. In fact, when you buy a bottle of shampoo or lotion you can look on the back to see a picture and name of the person who handmade your product. These products are also made with the most natural ingredients and they're wonderful. Now that's passion. That's perfection.

And before you assume Lush is just a small business - Lush is in 40 countries with over 100 stores in the U.S. alone.

All the while this already green conscious company is striving to improve their products and packaging. Passion and perfection doesn't always have to come in small packages.

You're Stuck In An Elevator...

...for 30 seconds with a Rabbi and your next potential client.

What do you do?

For starters, you ignore the Rabbi. He's muttering to someone on his cell phone anyway and you're pretty sure you can track him down, if it was necessary.

What's left? You're next potential customer - so you take a deep breath and...?

Now what?!

You have to ask?

I'm shocked that you don't know the answer to this one by now. It's called the 30 second elevator pitch because that's about the amount of time you have to really interest your next potential client. In those first 30 seconds you need to catch their attention and keep them interested in your product or service. Sometimes you only have 30 seconds to explain exactly what you do.

My 30 second spiel?

"Xente Media is a company that saves you money. We will research your customers and find out exactly what they like - from their favorite TV shows, magazines, Internet sites, how much they make, how many children they have, what kind of car they drive and more so we can use your budget to reach only those customers in your target market with efficient, well-placed advertising. Xente Media is not just an advertising agency, we're a company based on strategy and using your ad dollars wisely."

Could it use some work? Probably. Every elevator pitch takes some practice and some skill in saying exactly what you need to say to grab the attention of your customer.

I've found there are some great sites dedicated to helping you craft the perfect elevator pitch.

How To Craft a Killer Elevator Pitch

The Art of The Elevator Pitch

Microsoft Small Business - 5 Tips For Creating an Elevator Pitch

Rather than re-inventing the wheel today, let's just work on something tried and true. Let's hear your elevator pitch? What do you have to say in 30 seconds?

Stealing the Golden Goose

So your small business doesn't have the advertising funds of that giant across town. No worries! As a smaller business you have abilities that a giant doesn't. Just think Jack and the Beanstalk! You move left, you move right and before that giant can even think about reacting you're on your way down the beanstalk with that giant's golden goose.

Okay, so maybe you aren't Jack and maybe there isn't actually a beanstalk, but you can still run off with the giant competition's golden goose. You just have to be ahead of the curve and make smart decisions about how to reach your target market.

One of the best ways to stay ahead of the curve is to watch what's happening with mobile these days. Smartphones are becoming so popular that this is one trend you need to watch closely. And if you're a small business, this is a great opportunity for you.

"A number of new location-based services are beginning to provide attractive alternatives for such small-scale advertisers. Foursquare, for one, allows small business to target offers based on a user's actual proximity to their location. These offers can deliver heightened relevance by appealing to a player's status, nearby friends, or demonstrated preferences." - Five Mobile Trends for 2010

What does this mean for you? It means that if your customer is within a certain distance of your business, you can reach out to them in a timely, attention-grabbing, cost-effective manner! Now, isn't that so much better than trying to compete with a million dollar ad budget?

Take that golden goose! RUN!!

Cupcake Heaven?

Once upon a time my friend told me about this amazing cupcake place in Beverly Hills. A place where the cupcakes are huge and tasty, where the lines stretched out through the door and people just can't stay away. I can't resist, so I visit this famed cupcake heaven. Sure it's cute, sure people are indeed lined up out the door and down the street. The cupcakes are rather large and well, we pay $5 for a cup of coffee, so a $3 cupcake isn't so bad.

I was almost convinced.

Until I added Sprinkles to my Facebook list and my Twitter account. I expected some cutsie little updates, some fun stories or incidents. Instead, every day I receive messages announcing free cupcakes. Who doesn't love free cupcakes, right?

But that's all I get. I don't get any other updates, no stories, no insights into the brand. I don't think I'd even buy a cupcake at this point, because I know if I hang out long enough I'll get a free one via a Twitter or Facebook update.

So many companies struggle with the latest in social networking, not knowing how to use this powerful medium. Some use it for shameless promotion, some for coupon distributing and some have actually figured it all out by using it as a combination of posts designed to strengthen a brand.

How people perceive your company is incredibly important. If you're known as a company with bad customer service, poor products or you just can't keep your word, it'll get around. If you never return calls or get back to people in a timely manner, people will know. The reputation of your company will carry a lot of merit.

Don't believe me?

Think about Target and Wal - Mart.

Target, with their open floor plans, bright colors and hip clothing designers is more frequently shopped by women than men. That's their rep. Now there might be a few other things you know about Target, but in general, women tend to shop there more often than men.

Now consider Wal-Mart. Blue and white colors invade the store, floor plans are closed and the tool and auto parts sections far outweigh the women's clothing division. Wal-Mart might also have a reputation for treating their employees poorly, but few people remember that in light of cheap prices.

If your just known as a great cupcake place that doesn't do anything but give out free cupcakes every day, that'll get around too. In fact, it might just boring after a while too. It might convince people that your brand is a little too easy.

Free cupcakes are great, right?

The Popcorn Button

I think the popcorn button on the microwave is one of the world's greatest inventions. I only eat popcorn maybe once a year, but I still think it's amazing. And for anyone who has ever put their popcorn in the microwave and wandered off in the 3 to 4 minutes it takes to pop and found their popcorn burnt or not fully popped, I encourage you to reconsider how amazing that little button really is.

And speaking of amazing inventions - what is so amazing about you and your business or your product? When you're starting your business the first thing you need to ask before you start your advertising campaign is "What makes this so amazing?"

Consumers today aren't stupid. They'll do their research and if your product isn't amazing, they'll tell you so. If there is a flaw, if there is a problem with poor customer service, you need to make changes. Immediately.

You don't have to be unique, you don't have to have the greatest invention in modern times, but you do have to be amazing! Just think of the Snuggie! That must be one of the most ridiculous inventions I've ever seen, but look at the views on this video! This became a cult phenomenon because it's creative, completely ridiculous and amazingly funny.

So before you spend thousands of dollars on your advertising, take a minute and write down what makes you and your business amazing!

When you're finished, call me! I'll help you take that "amazing" list and turn it into an even more amazing marketing and ad campaign!

And for some more amazing ideas - check out this list:

Top 100 Advertising Campaigns
The 101 Greatest Headlines Ever Written
Best Things Ever
Greatest Inventions ( I was disappointed to see the popcorn button didn't make it *smile*)
New Coca-Cola machine - This is just great! And I expect it to be on the next list of greatest inventions!