We’ve been exploring 12-year-old Daniel Franklin’s 10 Marketing lessons and today we’re going to expand on lesson # 3: Building a customer base by giving away product. While the idea isn’t new, it’s recently hit pop culture in a major way.

Radiohead received a massive amount of media exposure when they offered a limited time, “pay as much (or little) as you want” for their album, In Rainbows.

More recently Suze Orman offered a limited time, free download of her new book, Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny. (It’s since hit the bestseller list.) And these are just two examples.

Giving away a free album or book might seem counterintuitive, but it made it extremely easy for a potential paying customer to sample their product. Daniel gave his pens away to teachers for Christmas presents. Do you think those teachers talked about it? Are you kidding?

Marketers like Daniel know giving away free product can lead to powerful, positive word of mouth. Marketers call this a gravity well, or marketing funnel.

The top of the funnel is wide; it’s easy to get into. As you go deeper the funnel narrows, and once you reach a certain point, the product(s) is no longer free. Can you stop once there are costs attached? Of course. But if you like what you’ve seen and sampled so far, you’re much more likely to pull out your credit card than if you’d never entered the Gravity Well in the first place.

Laura and I have a friend, Randy Ingermanson, who developed a brilliant method for developing novels called the Snowflake Method. Thousands of fiction writers have downloaded Randy’s pdf file for free. What does Randy get? Names. Randy teaches fiction writing and markets to those thousands of people who were enticed by his Snowflake Method. Simple? Yes. Strong results? Yes.

Does this mean we’ll be giving away free resources here at He Blogs, She Blogs? Absolutely. Not only through our blogs, but with downloadable content (which will appear soon.) Does this work for any product? Just about. No, car dealers can’t be giving away free cars, but what about free oil changes? Or car washes?

So brainstorm. What can you give away to get people entering your Gravity Well? All ideas welcome.

• 10 Marketing Lessons from a 12-year-old Entrepreneur
• What’s Your Passion?
• 5 Tips for Becoming an Expert at Your Craft
• 5 Ways to Stay Motivated

Tags: 10 Marketing Lessons, Gravity Well, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, Randy Ingermanson

I just finished reading Home to Holly Springs, the latest installment in the best-selling Mitford Series. Jan Karon has a rare gift for creating characters so real, you feel as if you’ve known them your whole life. She’s one of the few authors who can—in the course of one page—elicit both laughter and tears from me.

Her books harken back to the good old days of literature, when conversation was king and relationships ruled. Her characters engage in sparkling, unembellished dialogue that speaks for itself.

In this excerpt, Father Tim advises his two new buddies, T and Ray, what to name the product they’ve just created—a Kudzu-based cream that makes hair grow on bald spots:

T stooped over the chair and pointed to the top of his head. “Feel this,” he said.

He raised his forefinger and felt it.

“Fuzzy.”

“Dern right. Fuzzy as a peach. About a week, an’ we got fuzzy. It’s gon’ work.”

“Good timing. I might have a name for you.” He’d finagled it out of his feeble brain one night at the hotel.

“Shoot,” said T.

“But remember I’m a preacher. I’m not a marketing maven.”

“Yeah,” said Ray, “but bein’ a preacher puts you in sales, an’ that’s good enough for us.”

“Let’s start with packaging, so when I get to the name, you can, you know, imagine the way the name will look to the consumer.”

“Good deal,” said T.

“A white tube.”

“We’re with you,” said T.

“Blue lettering. I read a study that said men like the color blue—has authority.”

“What about women?” said Ray. “We don’t want t’ lose out on that demographic.”

“I didn’t get that far,” he said. “But I’ll keep it in mind. For the lettering, I’d use bold type. Sans serif.” He’d done pew bulletins, he knew this stuff. “Sans serif is more contemporary, though I’m a serif man, myself. Okay. Here’s the name…”

You could hear a pin drop.

“Mo’ Hair.”

“I don’t get it,” said Ray.

“Try again,” said T. “If you don’t mind.”

“Okay. You’ll like this. Hair to Spare.”

“Man! said T. “Hair to Spare. That’s it. I like it. I really like it.”

What did you learn from this snippet?

• In what part of the world do you think the story takes place?
• What do you learn about each of the characters?
• How old are the characters?
• What kind of a relationship do the characters have with one another?

Now, let’s examine Jan Karon’s dialogue-writing technique:

• How often does she include an attribution? (the “said so and so”)
• In what part of the sentence does she include the attribution?
• How often do the characters speak in incomplete sentences?
• How often does the author insert narration? How does the narration move or slow down the dialogue?

Does this dialogue “work” for you? Why or why not?

Tags: dialogue techniques, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, Home to Holly Springs, Jan Karon

Here’s what’s been happening on our clients’ blogs lately:

San Francisco Flower & Garden Show

• Flower & Garden Show makes big move to San Mateo in ‘09
• May gardening classes, tours, and events in Northern California

Rich’s for the Home

• Hot tub maintenance tips
• The role of music in outdoor entertaining

Puget Sound Sewing & Craft

• Confessions of a craftygrrrl

Alderbrook Properties

• Recycling program for compact fluorescent bulbs
• Farmers’ markets on the Olympic Peninsula

Northwest Flower & Garden Show

• Did you know that your garden furniture talks?
• Benefits of using seaweed in your garden, and other tidbit

Tags: Alderbrook Properties, business blogsNorthwest Flower & Garden Show, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, Puget Sound Sewing & Craft, Rich's for the Home, San Francisco Flower & Garden Show

In our last post, we discussed the importance of practicing your craft daily. But how do you stay motivated to practice?

Success magazine offers five tips:

1. Write out your goals and refer to them often.
2. Exercise – it revs up your energy level.
3. Imagine something you’d like to be doing when you finish your project and make the task a priority.
4. Keep a photo of your goal in a place where you will see it often.
5. Sleep – six to eight hours of sleep per night fuels inspiration, clarity, and helps maintain healthy eating.

Source:
Success magazine April/May 2008

In This Series:

• 10 Marketing Lessons from a 12-year-old Entrepreneur
• What’s Your Passion?
• 5 Tips for Becoming an Expert at Your Craft

Tags: becoming an expert, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, Marketing, motivation, Success magazine

Whenever people learn that I’ve written a couple of books, they respond, “Oh, I’ve always wanted to write a book about ________.” (fill in the blank with the topic you’ve dreamed of writing a book about)

I’ve heard that:

• 81 percent of Americans feel they have a book in them.
• 10 percent of that 81 percent actually write the book.
• 1 percent of that 10 percent work up the courage to pitch their book to literary agents and editors.
• 1 percent of the “pitchers” get offered a book contract.

Why do so few people pursue their dream of writing the next great American novel?

Simple. They’re not willing to practice the craft of writing.

They may think they are willing; they may say they are willing. But then they settle down in front of a computer screen and face that irritating, blinking cursor, they stare at it for a few minutes, then sigh and announce, “I have writer’s block.” Or… “I’m waiting for the muse to strike me.”

I believe this reluctance to practice one’s writing stems from our school days, when we slogged through countless English classes and were forced to write all those boring essays (I can claim this with assurance, because I used to be one of those rotten English teachers who assigned the boring essays). Most people with a high school diploma assume they can write as well as the next guy. Who needs to practice?

Imagine asking an athlete, “Why do you need to practice?”

They’d look at you as if you were crazy!

Of course athletes need to practice; many of them practice their sport several hours per day, seven days a week, year round.

Why should writers be any different? Why should roof builders and software developers and chefs be any different?

No matter what your passion, the only way you’re going to become an expert at it is to practice, practice, practice.

Here are five tips for building a habit of practicing:

1. Schedule daily time—whether it be 10 minutes or two hours—for practicing your craft.
2. Find a mentor. This person should be more advanced than you at your craft, and should be willing to encourage you, scold you, and hold you accountable.
3. Brainstorm fun ways to practice: attend a conference where you’ll meet others who share a mutual passion for your craft; enroll in a class where you can brush up on the latest techniques.
4. Set measurable, attainable goals. Instead of saying, “I’m going to write the next great American novel,” say, “I’m going to write 300 words per day for the next five days.” Remember, it takes about six weeks of regular practice to establish a habit.
5. Reward yourself for meeting your practice goals. After X hours of deliberate practice, allow yourself a special treat. Make sure that treat is something that highly motivates you to practice!

What craft are you going to commit to becoming an expert at? Make your public commitment right now, right here, and start practicing!

In this series:

• 10 Marketing Lessons from a 12-year-old Entrepreneur
• What’s Your Passion?

Tags: becoming an expert, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, Marketing, practice, Writing

As Laura points out in her post, “10 Marketing Lessons…”, our boy Daniel “recognized his gift/aptitude for working with wood.” Sounds obvious doesn’t it? Admit what you’re good at and go do it. The problem? Most people can’t remember what they’re good at, and most don’t go and do it.

We get so caught up in the life-river—jobs, relationships, paying the bills, catching a movie to dull the longing inside to do something relevant—that we bury our dreams and try not to admit they still exist. We end up surviving life instead of living it.

You want to rediscover your gifts? Your passions? These questions will give you a start:

1. If money wasn’t an obstacle (let’s pretend you just scored $10 million in the lottery) what would you do with your life?
2. What would you do with unlimited time?
3. What did you love to do as a kid?
4. If you had to list 25 things you want to do before you die, what actions would be on that list?

A friend of mine is very successful at a high paying job, but a vague dissatisfaction flits around him. Two weeks ago I asked what he’s passionate about. Without hesitation he said, “Travel.”

My friend has a great sense of humor, people warm to him immediately, he has a great business mind (i.e., he knows all the deals and tricks of travel) and he’s been all over the globe. And, get this, he gets five weeks vacation a year.

Is it as obvious to you as it was to me? I suggested he put together travel groups four times a year, during his vacation weeks, and see what happens. My wife and I would join him on a tour in a second. I’m betting a lot of other people would too. Goodbye mundane job, hello passion.

A fundamental of marketing is having a true fervor for your product. We’d love to hear about how you discovered your passion, and what you’re doing about it.

In this series:

• 10 Marketing Lessons from a 12-year-old Entrepreneur
• 5 Tips for Becoming an Expert at Your Craft

Tags: Discovering your gifts and passions, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, Marketing

“My friend’s brother is in the newspaper—he’s even on the front page!”

My 15-year-old son handed me the paper. Sure enough, splashed right beneath the Sunday paper’s masthead, in full color, was a photo of the kid, with the headline, “12-year-old a Business Success.”

I turned to the “Money” section, where the story of Daniel Franklin, a sixth grader who carves and sells wood and acrylic pens, took up nearly the entire page.

As I read the story, I realized that young Daniel possesses business acumen we grownups can learn from:

1. He recognized his gift/aptitude for working with wood.
2. He practices his craft daily and has become an expert (he works every day after school).
3. He built his initial customer base by giving away his product (he gave the hand-crafted pens to his teachers as Christmas gifts).
4. He used grassroots marketing to get the word out about his product (his teachers told everyone they knew about the pens, and people started placing orders. Daniel also exhibits his pens at craft fairs).
5. He isn’t afraid to charge what his product is worth (Daniel sells his pens for $25-$40).
6. He markets his product (Daniel has business cards and a snazzy-looking Website – www.pensbydaniel.com – that includes a professional slideshow display of all his pens).
7. He makes it easy for customers to purchase his product (Daniel’s clean, easy-to-navigate site politely informs visitors exactly how to order).
8. He’s expanding his product line—but not too quickly. In addition to selling pens, Daniel offers a line of corkscrews and bottle stops, ornaments, and confetti lights. He’s considering branching out into bowls, vases, walking sticks, pepper mills, and pen kits
9. He’s investing his profits wisely (Daniel used his earnings to buy a lathe, and he plans to purchase more tools and maybe a computer).
10. He landed some great free publicity. A full-page article (accompanied by two gigantic color photos) in a metropolitan daily paper is most entrepreneurs’ dream. How’d he land such great publicity? Because (a) Daniel is unique, and (b) he’s the perfect subject for a feel-good feature. How many 12-year-olds do you know who handcraft high-quality wood pens? How often do you read a “good news” story that inspires people of all ages? This story offers both elements.
    1. What do I really enjoy doing?
    2. What special talents or aptitudes do I possess?
    3. What am I passionate about – what do I never tire of talking about it?

In the next few posts, we’re going to explore each of these 10 marketing lessons in more depth. We’ll provide you with strategies you can use to make the most of your unique talents and aptitudes.

Right now, ask yourself:

Quick, before you chicken out – tell us about it in the Comments area! It’s not bragging; it’s simply a matter of reaching deep into yourself and allowing your true desire to surface. Sharing your passion with another person is the first step of achieving your goal.

Source:
“Turning Out Something Special,” by Debra Smith, The Herald of Everett, WA, Sunday, April 20, 2008, p. E-1.

Tags: Daniel Franklin, Entrepreneur, Everett Herald, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, Marketing

Just like Laura, I’m a sucker for a coupon. My wife and I didn’t use our Entertainment Book, but we did find a coupon last week for a new Sushi restaurant in our town.

Did you see the movie Defending Your Life from the early 90s? Albert Brooks (the voice of Nemo’s father if 1993 means kindergarten to you) and Meryl Streep starred. Not a blockbuster but there were some fun moments. Like when Albert Brooks enters a Japanese restaurant and every employee in the place shouts a greeting—in Japanese—above ninety decibels. That’s how we were greeted as we walked through the door. Very fun. They had us.

The service? Excellent. The food? Even better.

The kicker is when we paid our bill. The cashier looks at our coupon, which gives us either 15% off our bill or a free plate with the purchase of five, and says, “In this case, the 15% will save you more money so we’ll ring it up that way.”

Think we’ll be back? Think we’ll tell other people about the place?

Marketing 101 says word of mouth, on average, affects 250 people. (That stat comes from the average attendance at a funeral or wedding, equating to your circle of influence.) So by the time I stop telling my fun Sushi restaurant story, I’ll have impacted 250 people, influencing them to go there.

And Laura will have impacted 250 people, telling them, “stay away.”

So Laura was right in her post. She just didn’t take it far enough. For $14, her restaurant lost her business, but it also lost out on as many as 250 other potential customers. Let’s see, 250 x $25 average bill = $6,250. Pretty pricey choice to get that extra $14.00 in their coffer.

Marketing, like life, is a ripple out proposition. What is your business rippling out?

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Related Post:
Marketplace Manners: Rules for Serving…and Being Served 

Tags: HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, Marketing, word of mouth advertising

Two friends and I dined at an ethnic restaurant this weekend. Since we’re penny-pinchers, we took along our Entertainment book. The Entertainment coupons allow you to receive a complimentary entrée when a second entrée of equal or greater value is purchased.

We ordered two $16.95 entrees and a small side salad (one member of our party wasn’t hungry). When it came time to pay the bill, our waitress saw our Entertainment card and immediately said, “Oh, I can’t honor your card. You have to order two drinks with your meal.”

I’ve been an Entertainment card holder for years and had never seen a “must order drinks” requirement in the book before, so we hauled the book out of the car to double check. Sure enough, it indicated we needed to order drinks.

“Can we order drinks now?” we asked.

The waitress said yes, so we ordered two cups of coffee (to go).

She then re-calculated our bill and returned to our table, stating flatly, “I can only take $4.95 off your bill. Since you ordered a salad, that counts as an entrée and the “free” item is the lowest priced entrée.

I pointed out that we had ordered two $16.95 entrées and that the offer states that were allowed to deduct up to $14.00 off for the second entrée. I also pointed out that the $4.95 salad was not listed as an entrée item on the menu, but was listed under “appetizers” or “side salads.”

In broken English, the waitress insisted, “No, since you are eating dinner the side salad ‘counts’ as a dinner entrée.”

I rarely argue with servers, but this obstinate waitress was really getting under my skin. “Do you mean to tell me,” I continued (just loud enough so the couples at the two adjacent tables could hear me) “that I spent $40 on an Entertainment book and came here because I saw your advertisement in the book… I ordered two $16.95 entrees—the most expensive items on the menu, by the way—and you’re now telling me that you’re not going to honor your offer?

“I get in trouble with my boss if I do this,” she replied.

“Let me get this straight. You’d rather take the chance of permanently losing my business (I’ve dined at this restaurant numerous times) and having me tell everyone I know not to come here because you’re unwilling to honor a simple coupon offer that’s going to set you back a grand total of $14?”

After a couple more minutes of heated debate, our server eventually decided to honor the coupon. After she slunk into the kitchen, another waitress, who’d calmly observed the entire scene from less than 10 feet away, announced to us, “You were right. You were entirely correct in saying that she should have deducted $14.00 from your bill.”

We exited the restaurant (with our to-go coffees in hand), feeling simultaneously elated and heart-poundingly queasy.

I learned a few lessons from this conflict:

1. Closely examine the fine print on coupons before using them.
2. Always inform the server up front when I’m using an Entertainment card or coupon. Ask which menu items it can and can’t be used for (once, my husband and I tried to use it on some obscure ‘holiday’ like Arbor Day and we were informed, “Nope. Can’t use it today. It’s a holiday.”)
3. If the server is having a hard time communicating, ask to see a higher-up. Our server barely spoke English, and the language barrier likely caused the majority of this conflict.
4. If you know you’re in the right, don’t get flustered and give up. Remain calm (as much as possible), but continue explaining your point.

As I reflected on our experience, I was reminded about the critical importance of gracious customer service.

Some service workers forget (or don’t care) that customers have long memories. Studies show that one negative comment counteracts 20 positive ones. In other words, we remember negative experiences 20 times longer than we remember positive experiences.

I know that service workers are overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. I get that. But I also know they have chosen to do this job, at this particular juncture in their life. And no matter how lowly the job, service workers need to remember the adage, “The customer is always right.”

During my career as a business owner/manager, I have encountered numerous cranky, picky, unreasonable, demanding, high-maintenance (fill-in-the-blank) customers. Cranky customers are a fact of life. I make a point to be unwaveringly polite to them and I bend over backwards to meet their needs.

Yes, “making nice” may cost me some extra money, time, and a chunk of pride. But giving the customer the benefit of the doubt is almost always the right thing to do.

Had our waitress immediately and graciously agreed to honor our coupon, I’d be telling you a different story today. And I’d be making reservations to visit that restaurant again.
But, as things stand now, I won’t be recommending this restaurant to others. I will be telling them about how poorly I was treated.

Will I return to this restaurant?

Never.

And all over a $14 coupon.

—————————

Whether you’re a manager or a server, please share your customer service nightmares and pointers in the Comments area.

Tags: customer service guidelines, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, Marketing

Every week on our blog, we highlight posts from our clients’ blogs, to give you a taste of the compelling content available on today’s business blogs.

Puget Sound Sewing & Craft - A partnership between Quality Sewing & Vacuum and Pacific Fabrics & Crafts, this new blog is packed with how-tos for the sewing, quilting, embroidery, and craft enthusiast. Check out the little ditty about Elena, a 3-year-old sewing whiz.

Alderbrook Properties - This beautiful golf course community on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state sponsors a blog that keeps the entire Olympic Peninsula informed of the latest happenings in their area. This week, we learned about The Page Turners Book Club, sponsored by the North Mason Timberland Library in Belfair, WA.

Northwest Flower & Garden Show - Gardening’s going to the birds on Flora’s blog, as she discusses the fine feathered friends with whom she shares her garden.

Rich’s for the Home - If you’ve got a small balcony or patio, you’ll find plenty of tips for how to dress up your balcony and how to create mood lighting for your patio. And don’t forget to try out the delicious pasta salad recipe!

San Francisco Flower & Garden Show - Jasmine tackled a variety of gardening projects this week: How to create a sunflower hideaway with your kids, How to solve squirrel problems, and how to interplant your vegetable garden.

Tags: Alderbrook Properties, blogging, business blogging, Northwest Flower & Garden Show, Puget Sound Sewing & Craft, Rich's for the Home, San Francisco Flower & Garden Show