23 Percent Don’t Know What They Are Doing

by Scott Howard | Nov 4, 2024 | ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

It’s another election week in the United States of America.

Monday November 4th is when this article gets published on my website and the audio version is released as episode 353 of the Genuine ScLoHo Media and Marketing podcast.

Because I work in the media, specially for a highly popular news talk radio station WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I’m very aware of the political world. Because I also listen and watch other media that presents news and views from a different political perspective, I’m pretty well rounded.

Because I’ve worked in media for a long time, starting as a teenager, but let’s say 30+ years, I’m also aware of the ways and whys media act the way the do. Not just news but entertainment too.

I’ve now spent 21 years in Fort Wayne media on the sales and advertising business side and every four years some businesses get a little too caught up in political speculation.

Last month a study was released by Borrell Associates pertaining to this. Here’s a quote from InsideAudioMarketing.com:

A lot is riding on the outcome of what happens on Election Day, and one of the potential impacts will be the advertising market. A survey of local advertisers by Borrell Associates finds that nearly one in four (23%) of small and medium-sized businesses say their advertising and marketing spending will be impacted depending on whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump wins in November. Another 30% say they aren’t sure, while 47% say they don’t expect ad spending to shift much regardless of the election outcome.

Some of my co-workers have seen this apprehension from their advertising partners about how the outcome of the election will determine the success of their business.

Let’s dig deeper into this article:

Borrell data shows supporters of former President Trump are more likely to alter their spending plans based on the winner. Among Trump supporters, nearly a third (31%) of local businesses say their advertising plans will be modified if their candidate returns to office…However, local business owners who support Vice President Harris are less likely to be influenced. Borrell says only 14% of those in the Harris camp say they will change their marketing plans based on whether she is the winner.

While the impact of the policies that each side will have different potential ramifications for business owners, placing that much emphasis on who the President is to determine your ad spend is stupid and ignorant for small and medium sized businesses.

If your business produces a good product or service and uses advertising and marketing correctly, none of this political stuff matters that much.

What do I mean by correctly? Advertising is simple. It’s just inviting potential customers to spend their money with you.

If you slow down or stop inviting people to your business and coast for awhile, your business will decline. Because you can only coast downhill.

When I titled this 23 Percent Don’t Know What They Are Doing, that refers to the one out of four or five businesses that are placing too much emphasis on political outcomes this week and instead should focus on what they can do to improve their company and invite more people to become their customers.

I’ve lived through the financial hiccups of 2008 and saw smart business people surviving while those that were scared shut down.

Or maybe they weren’t smart, they were just stubbornly determined to keep doing the right thing and they pushed forward while others dropped out and as the saying goes, the strong survive.

One more bit of info from that article:

The top three issues facing small businesses, according to Borrell’s survey, are the cost of labor, mentioned by 40% of those surveyed, followed by the cost of technology (39%), hiring and attracting new employees (31%), taxes (28%), and keeping up with technology (18%).

Valid points.

Still you need customers so please continue to invite us.

Is Your Brand Identity Correct?

by Scott Howard | Oct 28, 2024 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

My favorite carbonated beverage is changing their branding.

So I’m going to stop drinking it in protest.

Just kidding.

Mountain Dew is changing their labeling to Mountain Dew.

I know, that sounds weird but it’s a visual change, not a verbal change.

Here’s the story from Mediapost titled:

Mountain Dew Unveils New Logo, Visual Identity

After around 15 years, Mountain Dew has found its vowels again.

The brand unveiled its new logo — eschewing the “Mtn Dew” stylization officially introduced in the U.S. market in 2009 –– in favor of the full brand name, while tying the brand’s visual identity back to mountainous peaks portrayed in the background as it approaches its 75th anniversary. Mountain Dew’s new logo also includes small text reading “Est. 1948” over the “W” in its brand name, a nod to the year the trademark was officially established.

I know, it’s shocking. I say that with a ting of sarcasm.

Because honestly, I don’t recall them dropping the vowels out of Mountain in 2009. I didn’t change my buying habits and I won’t now, or when the new logo comes out in 2025.

I was trying to recall when I started drinking the Dew, and I’m guessing it was in the 90’s as an alternative to coffee. Nothing wrong with coffee but the Dew also replaced Pepsi as my go to cold beverage. I recall having a conversation with my kids when they questioned my drinking Mountain Dew in the morning and I pointed out to them that the second ingredient on the label was concentrated orange juice. Let’s be honest, besides the taste and the O.J. Mountain Dew had more caffeine than Pepsi or Coke and that was the main reason I drank it. Also a little over 20 years ago I switched to the diet versions of soft drinks.

What I just shared was my own story and reasons for drinking Mountain Dew.

It has nothing to do with the name, or the logo. Yet someone in their advertising agency was paid big bucks to revamp their visual image.

I’m not against updates. One of my favorite advertising partners on WOWO radio has done an internal name change this year and we’ve updated his ads and also the visual elements. There was nothing wrong with the previous name, Moore and Associates, but it really didn’t identify his brand. Unless you knew from the advertisements that have aired on WOWO for over 29 years who Chris Moore is and what he does, Moore and Associates could be a law firm, or a plumber or nearly anything.

His new name is much more clear and a much stronger branding statement. Moore Wealth Management. Chris and his team have grown over the past 3 decades and the new name is accurate as it reflects what they do now and what they’ve been doing for years.

With all do respect to my friends who specialize in graphic design and understand the subconscious influences of color and typography including font selection, those are secondary to having a good product and service that people will talk about positively. As a side note, I like Comic Sans. Time to crack open a Diet Mtn Dew.

Success in Sampling

by Scott Howard | Oct 21, 2024 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

Debbie Fields was only 21 years old when she opened her first Mrs. Fields Cookies store in Palo Alto, California in 1977. Seven short years later, in 1984, the marketing “novice” had 160 stores selling more than $45 million worth of Mrs. Fields Cookies.

There are a lot of lessons we can learn from Debbie’s marketing success. Her passion and determination caused her to succeed even though she had no experience, and was told by friends, family, bankers, and others that her “idea” would not succeed.

The marketing campaign that drew customers to her stores consisted of simply going out into the streets with trays of free cookies for people to sample. If you have a great product, consider finding a way to offer free samples to your customers.

Car dealers know the value of the free test drive, and vendors at local farmers’ markets have learned they sell more produce by offering free samples.

Advertising that you offer free trials or samples also speaks volumes about the confidence you have in your products or services. Mrs. Fields did not wait for customers to come into her store to offer them free samples, she went out into the streets with trays of goodies.

“Free” is one of the most powerful words in advertising and giving samples of your product engages “psychological reciprocity” in the minds of your prospects.

Psychological reciprocity is defined as “a deep-rooted subconscious need to do something for those who do something for us”.

FREE! If you have a product that customers will love, click here to read the 8 Keys to Successful Sampling.

Mrs. Fields Cookies was one of the first franchised cookie shops in the country and we use to have a couple of them here in Fort Wayne Indiana. We don’t anymore due to the changes in consumer behavior and decline of major malls that was going on for awhile but then took a big hit in 2020 with covid.

When Mrs. Fields started in the malls around the country, that was a strategic location move. See, the rent in a mall was usually higher than a smaller strip shopping center. Just the mall itself was a destination, not just specific stores.

So the Mrs. Fields cookie stores took advantage of the foot traffic created by the other well known stores and built their brand that way.

Some of my radio advertising partners have used a free offer that was in response to a genuine need to create increased business in the past few years. Let’s talk and see if there’s something that might be appropriate for your business.

Phone Etiquette!

by Scott Howard | Oct 14, 2024 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice

They say first impressions say a lot about your business. For many potential new customers, they first interact with or meet your business when they call on the phone.

In today’s tech-savvy society, it seems a machine rather than a human answers more phone calls to businesses. The entire process of answering company phones, from how quickly you respond to how you conclude the call and what is said in between, either with a live person or a voice recording, can determine whether potential customers choose to do business with you… or not!

There’s a saying that goes, “Little things mean a lot”. Far too many businesses take answering the phone for granted. After all, what is so hard about answering the phone? However, having a set policy and procedure for answering the phone not only ensures the phone is answered the way you want it to be, but it also implies to ALL employees that you are a professional organization in ALL areas of your company.

With today’s business climate of limited and multi-tasking staff, there is often little time to answer the phones appropriately. In this case, a professional voicemail should be used in place of a live voice. Just because a customer isn’t able to reach you does not mean they cannot be greeted with a message and feeling that creates a positive impression.

Remember that when someone calls your business they want something and it’s typically an answer to a question. In the 15 Rules to Phone Call Etiquette, Rule #5 is, “Take Notes”. Even if you use a voicemail system, ask the caller if they would prefer to leave a message or be sent to the person’s voicemail. “Little things” do mean a lot!

Having a policy and set procedure on how you expect your phones to be answered is a small but important part of operating a professional business.

If you’d like to see the 15 Rules to Phone Call Etiquette, click here.

What I just shared was from my Sound ADvice email newsletter that subscribers receive nearly every Wednesday. If you’d like a free subscription, drop me a note to Scott@ScLoHo.net

By the way, back in 2003 when I was starting my advertising career in Fort Wayne, I was invited to speak to a group of building contractors at their weekly breakfast meeting. They thought I was going to pitch them on radio advertising but instead, I helped them with the way they converted leads to build trust over the phone and the advice I gave them was very similar to what I just shared with you.

These were small contractors, maybe two or three, perhaps just a solo entrepreneur and caller ID wasn’t standard on cell phones two decades ago. I asked them, “What do you say when you answer your phone?” Most of them said, “Hello”.

My simple advice was to answer it professionally.

Hi, this is Gene from Gene’s plumbing, how can I help you?

This tells the caller that they’ve reached the right number and they are talking to the right person too. 6 months later I visited that group again and asked how many of them changed the way they answered the phone and what the results were.

Those that followed my advice saw an increase in business because they were converting more incoming calls or leads.

Even if you are not a business owner, try that with your own phone too. If you call me, I’ll usually say my name and ask how I can help you.

This advice also applies to your voicemail message too.

POSITIVE Lessons from Political Advertising

by Scott Howard | Oct 7, 2024 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice

This was sent to my Sound ADvice Newsletter subscribers last week:

The world of political advertising is in a “world” all its own. The rules of traditional advertising are thrown out the window.

It’s a high-stakes game. It’s estimated that during the 2024 presidential election, candidates will spend nearly $12.32 billion; that’s an increase of almost 30% from the 2020 election cycle.

While I have never met anyone who likes political advertising, there are some proven, and yes positive, tactics that can help you win the vote of public opinion in your business category. First, you must win their hearts and minds. Once you’ve accomplished that, you’ll win their wallets and purses.

Presidential Marketing Tactic Number Ten is to Develop a Proprietary Slogan. In today’s competitive landscape, simply promoting your name is no longer sufficient to develop customer loyalty or attract new business. Your name must stand for something and be associated with an easy-to-remember benefit statement or slogan.

In a few short words, a slogan describes what your business stands for. Whether they were your preferred candidate or not, Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again”, and Kamala Harris’ “We’re Not Going Back” or “When We Fight, We Win” are all compelling slogans.

There is, however, one tactic your advertising needs to adhere to that most political campaigns do not…Tell the Truth!

Don’t make promises you can’t keep if you want to be in business for more than one term.

Click here to see all fourteen Presidential Marketing Tactics that can help place your business at the top of your business category.

If you would like to receive my free Sound ADvice newsletter in your inbox every week, email me Scott@ScLoHo.net