The pace of life really is faster. And getting faster all the time.

Technology is NOT simplifying our lives. Yes, it is making us more productive, but the very real increase in our productivity falls behind the more rapidly growing demands of our businesses, employers and families.

What problem do you have, today, that I can solve?

How can I save you some time or money today? Effortlessly? Cost effectively?

Apply those questions to your company’s product or services and you will make your customers LOVE you.

Problems = stress. As consumers, solving problems is priority Number One. Only after clearing the list of ‘problems,’ and ‘fires to put out,’ do we even begin to think about upgrading those things in our life that are already working well. A close Number Two to solving problems is saving time and money.

Think like your customer. ASK your customers. What are the challenges and problems they face every day that your products or service may help to relieve? Position, market and sell THAT.

If you are thinking that selling a new line of fashion wear, or box of organic chocolates, doesn’t involve solving problems, think again.

• Ease of home online shopping with free shipping.
• Free post-paid returns.
• Live telephone customer service.

Could a shampoo solve problems? Save time???

Last month, Black Ink PR helped a client launch a new women‘s ‘dry shampoo.’

“Just in time for the holiday season, busy women of all hair types and colors can conveniently extend the life of their hairstyle or blowout with this 100 percent natural, powder formula that instantly cleans and refreshes…and…it’s color matched and can even help to cover your roots.”

 So this Valentine’s Day…when thinking of  your customers, skip the chocolates. Solve problems, save time. They will LOOOOVE you for it!

To make your customers love you, send solutions – not chocolate.

A marketing calendar. A 52-week calendar that cues you when to adjust your marketing campaign actics, themes and promotions to be in alignment with the one person that matters most – your customer.

Not sure where to begin? Put together a short list of two or three of your most logical print or online publications for advertising (whether or not you advertise). These may be “verticals” or broader publications that reach into your target demographics. If your business is B2B, these are trade or industry pubs.

Go online or call their advertising departments and ask for their “editorial calendar.” This lists the weekly or monthly themes that it highlights because they are proven the most actionable to their readership (your customers) and is the primary basis for their advertising sales. Copy it into your starter marketing calendar.

Next, review your past year’s sales data by product and volume. Write down why those sales varied and weave that into your marketing plan so you can boost sales ahead of a cyclical low point (a Facebook promo/special sale, etc.), or increase profit margins going into a high season (‘limited availability’). As always, monitor your largest competitors with bigger budgets for researching and tracking these cycles and trends. Get on their email lists.

As you develop it, this calendar becomes your marketing compass each day, and it will grow more robust each year and begin to automate your marketing – with a collective intelligence — for far greater effectiveness and results.

Even The Aztecs Knew that Those Who Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

The following blog post, my longest ever…is my attempt to “Mom hug” all involved. Please help make this world a better place for our children. May the force be with you.

• Exercise  “Power of the Purse”

Remember that your vote in this country is your buck! Think about where you are spending your money, and that is the power of the purse. – the most powerful form we have in our toolbox to communicate with businesses and corporations in this world today. You don’t like how a company is doing business, don’t use it. Don’t like a bank, take your money out and put it in a credit union. Use the “Power of the Purse”  (especially by an organized group effort) and the people you want to hear you will most certainly get the message.

• Presentation is key

Dress respectfully when you show up to protest. Don’t look like you just rolled out of a thrift store. Exercise color uniformity, such as wearing the same color shirt, in order to portray a sense of organization. This truly speaks volumes to the media. 

• Operate within the law

This country affords us so many incredible liberties that other countries don’t have, and while we are allowed to protest, we must do so within the confines of law. When police show up, be respectful to encourage positive future interaction. Remember, they are also part of the 99 percent.

• Know the word you stand for

It’s good to have one comprehensive slogan to get the message across. Communication is replete with misunderstanding because it’s often too wordy.  President Obama’s one word marketing campaign “change” was a supremely effective approach. In terms of this protest, “Revolution” sends a compelling message considering that our country was founded on it.

• Think in terms of innovation, not destruction

We can’t just annihilate corporations and expect to see improvement, In a nod to Ghandi, ask yourself “How am I going to be the change I want to see in the world?” Kudos to the woman who cut up her Bank of America debit card on camera and then started a facebook group – you know what…it worked!

Innovation, innovation, innovation my friends. Create new ways, create new structures, create new ideas. Now go forth unafraid. This country is counting on you!

What makes it so special? The owner. He stands at the door and greets everyone with the biggest smile and a hug that says “where you been so long?”  And when dinner is done he sends over a free dessert. One  dessert.  Really? Yes, really. And it’s usually shared by 8 people. 8 people get a delicious spoonful of care and consideration. And it keeps them coming back over and over…with their kids, with their friends, with their neighbors. Converted me.

If you come and join me in Los Angeles, I’ll take you there.  You’ll love it. We’ll have a great dinner and then share dessert. We’ll have so much fun, you won’t even mind that I brought my mother-in-law.

What’s your free dessert? What are you offering customers? What’s your big hug of delight and spoonful of care and consideration? Let me know…cause I’ll come back for it. Guaranteed.

Sweet Treat Makes Customers' Heart Beat

There’s strength in numbers, and a brand can be greatly enhanced by buddying up with the right partner.

Take Cambria, a beautiful central Californian town, located on Highway 1 between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It’s always been one of my favorite places, however I was just there this weekend, and they stole my marketing heart! They joined forces with the entire community to create the annual Scarecrow Festival, and now the entire month of October is a celebration of this lovely town that now attracts tourists from all over the country.

It takes three years to really get everyone participating, and five to really fly. In Year One, you are just the maverick paving the way but by Year Two, you’ve got some experience under your belt and are getting a few more people to participate.

Year Three is the tipping point of inclusion, because by now, people know you’re serious, trust you and see the merits of participation. By Year Four, you have a successful event, and that’s reflected in the press. Also, the community trusts you and participation is way up, often almost double the first year.

At Year Five – hurrah, your hard work has paid off and you are now a tourist attraction. More importantly, people are planning you into their schedules, family time and budget.

Congratulations, Cambria. Well done. My only regret – I don’t represent you. Call me anytime. Passion for your product is a phone call away.

Here are a few of our favorite scarecrows:

"Every Diva Needs her Down Time"

"Betsy Ross"

"Blowing in the Wind"

Ryan Seacrest almost defies description but entrepreneur is a good place to start. This incredibly driven hard-worker is best known as the host of  American Idol but he’s also a radio presenter, hosts E!’s flagship news program and is a TV producer with many successful projects under his belt, including Keeping Up with the Kardashians. You could call him a living, breathing Energiser Bunny. His hopeful and optimistic attitude has no doubt helped set him on a path to success becoming the highest paid presenter on US television, but he took his break as a kid’s TV presenter back in the early Nineties and ran with it. He has turned himself into a modern day Dick Clark. Ryan Seacrest’s name has become synonymous with today’s pop culture and he has created a brand that is unmistakable, undeniable and universal. Is your press campaign building your brand and uncovering every possible opportunity? 

Ryan Seacrest