The Justis Group, a training and leader education company, just launched their new website! In honor of their new site, The Justis Group is offering two free Webinars in May!
If you are interested in one or both of the webinars, visit their site: www.justisgroup.com and look under their events section.
May 14th, 2009
“The Four Traits of Highly Successful Sales People”
8:00-9:00 AM
May 21st, 2009
“Performance Management Coaching: Why it is Critical Now!”
8:00-9:00 AM
So this article caught my attention because, I LOVE Pinkberry for many reasons. Not only do I enjoy the delicious frozen yogurt, I enjoy their entire brand. This is a great article about how Pinkberry got the start to their success.
Provided by Fast Company: www.fastcompany.com
With a personality every bit as sweet as a serving of pomegranate frozen yogurt topped with Fruity Pebbles, Pinkberry creative director Yolanda Santosa charmed the audience at the Y Conference with her secret recipe to branding the great small business phenomenon of our time.
Santosa wasn’t always the Queen of FroYo. She worked for years in motion graphics at Yu+Co, on a team that designed the opening titles for Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty. But Santosa (who everyone just calls “Yo”) was also “obsessed” with branding, namely Apple. When she found out she had the same birthday as Steve Jobs, that got her thinking she might have a higher calling.
One day she walked by a tiny West Hollywood yogurt shop. She was so entranced by the experience (and she loved the puckery sourness that’s signature of Pinkberry yogurt) that she took a week off her motion graphics job to prepare a 90-page branding pitch for their business that included her personal branding heroes. She got the job on the spot. Two years later, Pinkberry has grown from that one shop to 70 locations nationwide.
Pinkberry was unusual in that the branding was actually defined by the look of the store design, not the other way around. Santosa’s work played upon the colorful transparency of the plastic Philippe Starck chairs and the sleek, space age countertops. The website is extremely minimal, accenting this white yogurt-on-white background, with only the colors of the toppings punctuating the space. It made the yogurt the hero; almost a character.
The fans loved it, obviously, so Santosa proposed creating the Pinkberry Groupie, equating Pinkberry to a rock star. Her choice to describe the yogurt as “Swirly Goodness” represented a more fun way to communicate what exactly was happening inside. They even have Groupie events where hard core fans get free Pinkberry for five hours to create masterpieces out of their yogurt (cue yogurt snowmen and Christmas trees). Pinkberry’s story is so legendary, Santosa actually created supergraphics for some of the stores that show its history in visuals. Santosa’s site has more about the Pinkberry case study.
It’s hard not to think that Santosa’s enthusiasm is responsible for some of Pinkberry’s runaway success. Her joyous embrace for the design work wouldn’t have been possible if she hadn’t started out as a Pinkberry fan. Her secret to branding? “You want to design something that you yourself is in love with.” Spoken like Pinkberry’s #1 Groupie.
Check out the article at: http://www.fastcompany.com.
If you are like many business owners I come across, you probably are unsure about this whole online
social media world. Many business owners are not sure what the purpose and benefits are for these campaigns as well as what they actually look like.
I found this website with a list of resources that share social media case studies. There are hundreds of companies that are having success using social media as a marketing tool. This site gives access to these stories.
I suggest looking through them and getting ideas for your own campaigns. Notice what you like about each campaign and what you don’t like. Check it out: http://www.interactiveinsightsgroup.com
My friends at Reach Group have released their “Resource Guide’ for free! This guide, which is full of free resources for the modern entrepreneur can be found here.
There is an exciting underground world of useful (and often free) applications, communities, software and tools that cater to the freelancer or entrepreneur. This guide is an aggregated list of over 200 of the top low- or no-cost services on the web.
I came across this story about how Robeks Smoothies understands during these tough times, they need to step up their game. They know the one thing they can control is how their customers are treated. So, they decided to turn it up a notch.
At Robeks Fruit Smoothies and Healthy Eats, owner Michaela Higgins concentrated on customer service to boost her business, which she says is up a little over last year.
“These people come in and spend their money on something I want to sell them. I love it, and I love them,” Higgins said.
According to an article in The Portland Business Journal,
Customer service at Robeks means greeting customers by their first names, explaining to them that the smoothies are all natural with no syrups or sugars added, and doing everything to make the customer want to return.
Higgins, who has been in business for three years, says her customer base is growing.
“I have done some radio and print ads, but most of my business has come through word of mouth,” Higgins said.
I love what Higgins has decided to do with their smoothie shop. She understands she cannot control the economy, but she can do her best to make sure she stays in business.
The question I ask is, ‘Given this economic climate, how is it that you still find awful customer service?’
To read the article go to: www.washington.bizjournals.com
I came across an article this morning about a little cigar shop on San Mateo Boulevard in Albuquerque. This was inspiring so I thought I would share it!
Cigar shop owner, Larry Monte Jr. shared his strategy for this recession: expand his store, market aggressively and listen to what his customers want. The payoff—20% increased revenues over 2008 for the year so far.
“Half the people I know told me I was crazy for moving and expanding,” Monte said. “But being in business is about risk, and you have to manage that risk. I have watched so many businesses retreat and fail. I think you need to be aggressive in tough times.”
Monte didn’t let the overwhelming news about the economy stop him. He threw grand re-opening parties. The parties featured free Cuban coffee, food, chocolates and some complimentary cigars. The cigar club opening was advertised with a live broadcast from a local radio station.
His attitude is exactly what we need more of! As small business owners we have no choice but to stay in business. We need to think about what we can do to make our businesses more valuable to our customers. Want can we do to re-energize our businesses? What can we do to create excitement? We need to think about things we have control over and go for it!
To check out the entire article visit: http://washington.bizjournals.com
Understand What Makes Your Business Special:
More often than not, when I sit down with a company and ask the above question, I receive a blank stare. This is a very loaded question, so it can seem overwhelming! It is critical to really figure out why your business is special and why customers come to you specifically.
Here are some questions to help you through this process:
Why do customers come to your business?
What do you offer that is unique? (Products/Services/Atmosphere?)
What products or services do you offer than larger companies do not or cannot provide?
The key is to understand you don’t have to be everything to everyone. Think about what you do best and capitalize on it! After you have answered these questions, think through how you are going to communicate these values to your clients and prospects. You may have an average product but AMAZING service, so you need to market that your customer service is the best!
A few tips to leave you:
Go out and tell your customers your special!
I was doing some research and I stumbled upon this website www.seoptimise.com. Here are the Free Downloads:
Check out : www.seoptimise.com for other great resources!
In working with small companies in this business environment, I find many have the tendency to want to pull back on marketing right now. Many feel time and money would be better spent elsewhere. I want to challenge this idea and offer a different way. When companies fall out of customer’s radar, customers will assume the company is weak and unstable. This is especially true in times like these where banks are even going under!
My challenge to all small business owners is: Now is the time! Now is the time to start that marketing campaign, re-brand your business or makeover your website. Now is the time!
I have put together FIVE strategies for small companies to use right now. I will share the first strategy today, but you will have to come back to hear the rest!
1) Check out your competition:
Every business owner should be doing this, there is no excuse. If you are a service organization and your competition does not have an actual “store-front”, check out their virtual “store-front.” Check out their website and social networks to find out what customers are saying about their brands. Go to Google Alerts (which is free) and have alerts sent to your email when their name is mentioned in blogs or news stories.
Notice what your competition is doing. Notice what they are not doing. Find out what new products or services they are offering. Once you have a good idea of what they are doing, think about how you can do it better. Small business owners have the advantage that they can look to their corporate counter-part and learn what works and what doesn’t work.
