ThinkNear.com

I just read about a new mobile advertising group called ThinkNear that will promote flash deals similar to Groupon and Living Social are beginning to do.  There are two main differences with ThinkNear is that ThinkNear will inform cell phone users about deals through mobile ad networks and only during times when there is a need to attract customers to your business.  And the deals will change depending on how busy you are.  Watch the Youtube Commercial and let us know what you think of this idea for your business.

Think Before You Post!

I wish I could say this was an April Fools' joke, but it's not. 

Yesterday a video was posted online of an African elephant being shot and butchered.  The video starts out talking about how the elephants were damaging a crop field for the villagers, then shows darkness for a while until the elephants were spotlighted and shot in the night, after that pictures of the shooter with his trophy kill were shown. The video was concluded with locals skinning and butchering the elephant.  What made this online video so publicized?  The shooter was the CEO of GoDaddy.com and the locals butchering the elephant were wearing GoDaddy.com hats. 

While some people would feel that killing the elephants was necessary to protect the crops and that its good to use the food to feed the locals, many will not understand that stance.  African elephants are an endangered species, shooting animals at night is a form of poaching, and the CEO was pictured in many poses with his trophy kill.  Also, if you have a 43 million dollar company you can afford other ways to protect the crops from elephants without killing them. 

Many people are upset with GoDaddy.com for the decision to post this video online.  Online domain company NameCheap.com even set up a deal for people to switch their domain service from GoDaddy.com at a discounted rate and will donate a portion of the proceeds to Save the Elephants. 

Some companies love bad press and some do not.  Before you post things online, on blogs, or on other social media sites think about the possible consequences.  

 To see the video go here. 

 

Becoming Irish!

The best part of St. Patty's Day is that everyone claims to be a little Irish that day. Even if there isn't a trace of Irish heritage in your past, you become an honorary Irish every March. The excitement of joining a large crowd of people with open arms is not only inviting, but a little awe inspiring. It's great knowing that no matter who you are, you'll be welcomed into the celebrations around you.
This is what makes a holiday so amazing and so much fun to celebrate!  And this is what businesses should aspire to do when they use holidays to promote products and services - include everyone!
Remember that holidays can be exclusive at times - whether it is Valentine's Day for all the couples, Christmas for Christians, Mother's Day for Moms, etc. 
Holidays appeal to certain groups of people, so when you are using your business to promote, remember to include as many people as possible for optimum results.

Blarney!

It is estimated that almost half of the US population will be Irish this week and it’s estimated that they will spend about $4.14 Billion celebrating their “Irish” heritage.  While many people celebrate this holiday with Shamrock Shakes, Guinness, green beer, corn beef and cabbage, and silly green clothing, there are still marketing possibilities for any business! 

How can your business benefit from St. Patrick’s Day celebrations? 

•Advertising specials for people wearing green

•Promotional items that celebrate the holiday

•Offer a complimentary meal like corn beef and cabbage to your customers

•Pictures with a leprechaun, just don’t forget the pot of gold!

Most importantly have fun with your advertising this week, it’s a day of celebrating Irish heritage and green is a great way to remind us Spring starts in a week.  

It's All About The Brand

Brand awareness is how many of your target consumers know your brand.  

Note the words TARGET CONSUMER.

Is it important that people on city sewage know the brand name of septic tank cleaners? Or for 85 year old ladies to know the name of the most popular Death Metal Rock Band?

No.

Instead of worrying about making sure your brand is known by everyone make sure the people who are likely to use your business know it exists. 

Why is Brand Awareness important in judging your advertising?  Did you buy a car today? How about lunch at your local restaurant?  Get a six pack of beer?  How about renting a movie?  Purchase a book?   Maybe you did some of those things, maybe not.  But if you were going to do all those things where would you go and what would you get.  Chances are you have answers to those questions and you will mention BRANDS you will purchasing.  Why? Because these companies have carefully branded their products to you over a period of time. This is why they are the first places we think of when we think of certain products or services.

It is hard not to judge our businesses and advertising dollars on a day-to-day basis when we have limited resources, it is important to remember building a business through advertising takes time.  Persevere and you will find success.  

Evil Avoidance

It's so easy for big companies to fall into some pretty evil ways, even when they're being careful.

The lesson learned here is that everyone makes mistakes. While mistakes may seem evil, sometimes they really are just mistakes.

And sometimes they aren't.
Our last example of evil comes from that great blue box - Best Buy.  Best Buy boasts a new buyback program that they unveiled at the Superbowl. It turns out they are already being sued by a company that claims they designed the entire program and Best Buy stole the proprietary information. The suit claims that Best Buy refused to pay for the information and program designed by TechForward. The program is virtually the same as TechForward's, with a few minor changes. You can read more about it here.

Best Buy has indeed set a terrible example of how a company should act, as have the other companies written about this week.

It is important to establish a code of conduct for your business - ethical standards that are at the core of your business.  For some help on that topic and to discuss this more, visit this blog.

You can define your company ethics, but remember every situation is different. So when a situation comes up that doesn't fit exactly into your ethics code, take a minute to think about what you're really doing to that other person. If you wouldn't want it to happen to you, don't do it to them.

If you're still thinking of taking the evil route - don't forget your copy of the Villain's Guide to Better Living! 

The Steps Downward

Name an evil company in the United States - Go!

How many of you mentioned your cell phone carrier?
Better yet, how many of you thought Microsoft?
Or maybe, in light of Apple's new subscription policies for their app stores, they came to mind.
Of course we can't forget the scores of other businesses many consider to be evil - insurance companies, big oil companies, technology companies, social networks, government run agencies (think DMV), toy companies... I think you get the idea. 

Every company has the potential for being "evil" - to make a mistake that offends their consumers, to forget that the reason they exist is because of customers.
Even companies, such as Google, that have the mantra, "Don't be evil." can still do some pretty evil things. Remember Google Buzz?

"Google's introduction of its Buzz social media tool this week was possibly the most disastrous product debut in the company's 12-year history." according to PCWorld's Robert X. Cringely.

Google Buzz was supposed to be the culmination of a Facebook world combined with a Twitter Universe. The only problem? It didn't offer an option to protect your personal world. Everyone could see who you were talking to and everything you said. Someone forgot about the necessity of everyone to have a personal, private life that is not on display for everyone to see.

Cringely continues to condemn Google in his article by saying the real problem is that Google, in it's largess has "become deeply out of touch."
Ouch!
For a company that prides itself on not being evil, they certainly took a hit on this project. Lucky for Google, the company is so large, it was a relatively minor hit. However, the tech world started to react with reflections on how Google was becoming more like Microsoft.
In fact, Apple's new subscription plan has started a similar talk about how Apple is becoming more like Microsoft.

It is good to know that Microsoft is still considered the tech standard for evil, to which all other companies are compared. It's good to know that you still have a long way to go before people start referencing your company as the evil standard. 

The way to avoid this for your company is to remember why you are in business in the first place. The reason should involve your customers. While you may be in business to make money, you can only consistently make money with happy customers and a great product or service. Otherwise, someone else will eventually come along and your customers will start disappearing.

There are a lot of evil companies in the US - go ahead Google them - so make sure you are one of the good ones.

 *Scott Adams - Dilbert Comic