The 3 secrets of marketing; exposure, exposure and exposure.

The weather has finally gotten cold enough to force me into that most hated of fall tasks: taking in the air conditioner. There's nothing like crumbling foam, spiders galore and stinky water sloshing around in the bottom tray to bring joy to the process.

However, even this cloud had a silver lining. Our A/C unit is a Fridgadare. It says so on the panel, on the instructions, and even on the plug. You can't ignore it.

I just noticed that the name is printed in large, black letters on the outside of the unit. Brilliant! Everyone walking or driving by outside sees our little billboard hanging there from the window. A defacto recommendation, free advertising, and perfect product placement.

Bottom line: unlike car makers, put your name and logo everywhere - on all 6 sides of your product packaging, on your shirt, on your car, on your hat. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it isn't there. Kinda like that tree in the forest...

Sometimes your best marketing solution walks through the door, disguised as a customer.

I recently helped a local optometrist improve an ad for her local newspaper. She had created one with the help of the paper's staff, and it said all the "right" things: Great selection, great service, all insurance accepted, etc.

She showed me the copy and my first reaction was "so what?". Every optometrist claims great selection and service, and none would be in business without accepting insurance.

She needs our old friend competitive differentiation.

We chatted about why she was advertising. She had just moved her business across the river (a very small river) and was worried about her clients following her to the new location. It's about 8 miles as the crow flies. But then she mentioned that one elderly client had just come in and commented that after trying the closest optician, he decided to make the drive due to the fabulous personal care he felt he received from this doctor.

Eureka - a testimonial and a reason for being all in one! Testimonials are vital to small business advertising and competitive differentiation. I suggested she call him and ask if she could use his statement in her ad. I also suggested accentuating the "fabulous personal care" he spoke of - something that is sorelyy lacking these days in health care.

Souped up with the testimonial and a new focus on personal care, the ad hit the streets shortly thereafter. Many of her old customers saw the ad and realized what they were missing - just 8 miles "across the river". They started coming back, and new customers perked up too.

All based on a chat about someone she had seen that day. Sometimes the best solution walks through the door. Watch for it.

Macys or Fileens - Does Branding Matter?

Federated recently announced that they would be rebranding all their stores under the Macy's banner. A friend commented that she was dismayed by this - according to her the service at Fileen's was always better, and she often had trouble finding help at Macy's. Given that these two chains have been run by the same people for many years, I can't help but think the staffing levels must be very similiar.

So which is it: did my friend perceive Fileens as better just because it wasn't Macy's? And is Macy's stabbing themselves in the back by eliminating the Fileens monicker? Or was Federated truly maintaining better staffing levels at Fileens?

As the differences disappear, so will the shoppers. Branding matters. A lot. (and by the way, so does service!)