Best (and worst) practices -- the best advice there is!

This one is for the girls and boys on the front line, those out there building relationships with advertisers and prospects for advertising in our publications. It's a little bit like Dragnet...the stories you're about to hear are true, but some names have been changed or omitted to prevent embarrassment or lawsuits. These are just a few ideas and war stories that we can all learn from in today's hectic selling environment.

EXAMPLE 1: The fine line between use and abuse:

I shared this at our sales meeting last week. A good friend of mine who works for an area competitor sent me an e-mail, touting the benefits of doing business with one of her clients. "I'm sending this to all my friends. If you ever need (omitted) repair services, you should call (omitted). I know him and trust him and I'm sure you will too." I have no idea if her advertiser paid for this or if she was adding value or maybe just helping out a friend. All I know is (a) I didn't really mind receiving it even though (b) I never signed up for it and (c) was not given an opt out link. I don't mind being "used" a little...but I don't want to be "abused" either. I'll see what other e-mails the future brings but the lesson here is to be careful when crossing the business and personal address books in the interest of doing business with your clients. Be nice to your friends.

EXAMPLE 2: Ask questions before committing.

I know the person who made this goof, know him very well. His name rhymes with "me". Got in my car last week, drove 45 minutes to spend an hour with one of our representatives and one of her customers, helping develop a plan for their "spring campaign". (Then drove back, too). There are many things I am not very good at, but I think a do a pretty fair job of working with customers on a marketing analysis model and was pretty proud of the work I did for this client. What I didn't know (because I didn't ask) was that this customer runs the smallest ad he can and might bump up to the next bigger size based on our planning session. Bottom line: two of us invested the better part of a morning in a session that held little if any promise of growth, all because I didn't do my due diligence (nor did my colleague). Spend time with customers, call on everyone but invest quality time in direct relation to the results you might garner. Just makes sense.

EXAMPLE 3: If you don't have something good to say...

An auto sales pro I know shared a story about a salesperson for another print media outlet who visited their dealership recently. This person mentioned how well they were doing but pointed out that other area print outlets were not doing well to the best of his knowledge. He may have thought he was putting himself in a good light but the impact on the auto person was highly negative. I'm paraphrasing but the summation was "if the only thing good you can say is something bad about your competitors, then say nothing at all." Great advice...the salesperson didn't hear it, though. He won't get a chance to, either. Don't throw mud...you can't do it without getting your hands dirty.

I can't promise our advertisers that our salespeople will always be the answer to their needs, but I know we will knock ourselves out trying to find solutions. For more information, call us at 315-472-7825 or e-mail us at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com. Thank you!

Super lessons for the rest of us

It's over! It's over! Giants win! Anybody win...please!

With all due respect to the Giants, their fans and any other related groups, I am so glad that the "big game" (as we who have no license must refer to it) is over. I love football, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. But there is happiness in watching the two week, non-stop, overdone media frenzy finally wind down to just one more day of post-game analysis. And then we can get back to our normal mundane media experiences.

For our purposes, the question of what is normal looms large. Two "super" points to reflect on:

1. Commercials -- an annual highlight of the game. What did you think? Is it me, or was the big picture of big game commercials a little lackluster this year? Or are our expectations so high at this point -- because we have been conditioned by past experiences -- that we expect to be bowled over (no pun) by every spot that airs?

2. Big money -- yes, those spots cost millions just for air time. Production costs must soar, too. Do polar bears really sell more Coke? Does the Dorito dog (my favorite, by the way) really sell more crunchy chips by burying the missing cat? Enough chips and soda to justify the cost?

There are likely no definitive answers to these questions. Only the sponsors can determine if they got the value they paid for, and building on their brand recognition is certainly a bigger priority for super commercials than just selling product. Thus, here are the takeaways for the small business people like you and me:

a. Careful not to overdo it -- most small businesses don't have the time and budget to over-promote an event. But too many e-mail blasts or Facebook updates or value-less coupons can have the same effect on your customer database as too much big game hype can have on fans.

b. Establish a marketing goal -- every campaign, every ad you do must bring you some value. But before you promote, be sure to establish a goal for the event and determine how you will realistically measure results so you'll know if you're on the right track or not. Whether you're selling your brand or hoping to move a specific product off your shelves, make it a measurable event.

c. Don't be missing in action -- I will venture a guess that part of the decision making process for Coke and Doritos is their past experience and the expectations of a loyal fan base. Their spots have become part of the big game experience and viewers might notice them as much by their absence as they do their presence. In other words, if you are considering changes in your media mix, always make allowances that some of your customers expect to find your ads where they currently do. If you move the ads you may lose some of the faithful you've attracted. Jumping around in the media can increase your expenditure and make it hard for your loyal fans to stay in touch with your brand and products.

Our ad staff at the Scotsman can help you plan campaigns and ads so problems like these never happen. Just give us a call at 315-472-7825 or e-mail us at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com. As always, thank you so much for your time!