Ask The Right Questions

Ask The Right Questions

by | Oct 27, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

9 months is the usual length of time it takes a baby to develop from conception to being born.

During those 9 months, the new parents are preparing for the future, the changes that will be occurring in their lives, especially if they are first time parents.

While each pregnancy is unique, just as each of us human beings are unique, there are several predictable events and circumstances that will be occurring and we have plenty of wisdom from our family and friends along with healthcare and other experts.

You want to know what to expect when you are expecting?  You ask.  You ask the right questions to get the right answers. It’s pretty straight forward.

I’m going to apply this to the past 9 months or so.  We were a couple months into 2020 when we started hearing about what has become the Covid-19 Corona Virus Pandemic. At first we believed it would have a limited impact on a very small number of people in our country and most of us would live our lives as normal.

By April, multiple states had stay at home orders that closed down parts of the economy, led to panic buying of toilet paper and created something that nearly no one in business had ever lived thru before.  100 years ago was the last pandemic of this magnitude and even if a business has been around since that time, the actual people are no longer here to tell us what to do.

So questions were asked about the virus.  How serious is it?  What are the risk factors?  A great political divide was created over the precautions that we should be taking and all of this in the midst of a dozen other political and social battles.

We were learning as we went along and none of us wanted to deal with a deadly virus pandemic that would upend not just our physical health and well being but also mental health, business health, and the well being of our friends, family, co-workers and neighbors.

We also thought that the impact of the virus would be short-lived.  Weeks, not months.  Hopefully not years.

It all boils down to this.

Ask the right questions.

While we rely on the health care experts to work their butts off to find the answers and solutions to halting the spread of the virus and lessen the impact on individuals health, I challenge you to ask the right questions regarding the future of your business.

This fall as the weather changes in Indiana, local restaurants are closing for two reasons.

They can no longer offer outside dining spaces like they did in the warmer weather, so they have limited capacity for social distanced seating.

They are being impacted by people in the midst, either on staff or patrons who have tested positive for the virus which means everyone needs to get tested, the building is shut down and scrubbed clean and they lose even more money.

Here are some of the questions you need to ask yourself for the future of your business:

If the business environment with strict lock-down restrictions were to return and stay in place for all of 2021, how would you adapt the way you operate to provide goods and services to customers and be profitable?

What operating procedures have you changed this year that you will continue, even after the pandemic restrictions are eventually lifted?

What can you improve upon to provide goods and services in the months and years to come that benefit you, your customers and your employees?

What can you do to invite people to spend their money with you no matter what the future holds both health wise and politically?

I know, that last question is an advertising and marketing question.  All three questions are extremely important. In the near future I’ll help you with a refresher on timeless advertising and marketing principles. and in the meantime, if you need help evaluating those first two questions, reach out to me.

I started out talking about the 9 months of pregnancy that new parents go through in joyful expectation.  Believe it or not, even though 2020 has not been as predictable as the birth of a new baby, we are all going to be better in the long run, no matter how many months it takes.

 

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The Drill or The Hole

The Drill or The Hole

by | Sep 15, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

Every year there are millions of drills sold across North America. But here’s the crazy thing…not one person who bought a drill wanted a drill! What they really wanted were holes! 

If another tool would have made the holes faster, better, easier, or cheaper they would have bought that tool, not the drill.

In most business and product categories, including yours, the same is true. None of your customers want to buy your goods or services. They only want the “benefits” those goods and services deliver. 

No one wants to buy insurance; they want to be protected.  Nobody wants an aspirin; they want pain relief. 

All of the traditional sales training courses address the need for selling benefits versus features. It’s pretty basic stuff, and yet we often expect our advertising to sell features to consumers who only care about benefits.

Here is the litmus test that distinguishes features from benefits:  A feature remains true if the customer does not buy.  For example: “John Deere tractors are built better”.  

A benefit only occurs if the customer buys.  For example: “Nothing runs like a Deere. Your tractor will have fewer breakdowns, saving you money and time”.

Here is another feature vs. benefit example for a regional auto parts store: 

Feature: “A million different auto parts and accessories”

Benefit: “You’ll get your parts in a day or less”.

Your benefit statement should always answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” from your customer’s perspective.

Look at your next radio script or ad proof. Are your ads only talking about features (you) and not telling what’s in it for them (benefit)?  They don’t want a drill; they want a product that makes a hole!

Click here if you would like me to work with you to uncover the best possible benefit statements for your next advertising campaign.
And if you would like more business and marketing tips like this, sign up for my Sound ADvice news letter in the box below.
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Forget Plan B, It’s Time for Plan C

Forget Plan B, It’s Time for Plan C

by | Apr 14, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

An Opportunity to Evolve…Create a Category

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

Right now, lemons are definitely being thrown at many businesses.  Are you open to making a different kind of lemonade?

Just a few short months ago, at the beginning of December 2019, I wrote and published an article and podcast with the title, What’s Your Plan B?

Not that I was foreseeing the future, I just knew that the spiraling success of economic growth and consumer confidence would one day have a flip-side and you better start getting prepared.

If you created a Plan B for your business operations, congratulations.

However now it’s time for Plan C. Yes, you may be working thru a Plan Coronavirus or Plan Covid-19 or whatever nickname you want to use for the here and now.  Also the Plan C I’m talking about has nothing to do with Medicare supplements or abortion pills.

But this Plan C is taking the past Plan A when everything was great, mixing in your Plan B which was designed for an economic slowdown, adding in the things we are learning each day in the middle of this pandemic and how we are adapting and creating a new recipe for success that we’ll call Plan C.  If you pretend we can just go back to Plan A when the stay at home restrictions are lifted, you are wrong.

If you simply put your Plan B into action, you are missing out on some of the great things that we are learning in the middle of this history lesson.  Here’s more timeless tips from my most recent Sound ADvice newsletter:

For many business owners, this is a perfect time to re-evaluate their business and potentially re-position their company.  What is it that you’re currently “known for”?  Are you known for having the lowest prices, best selection, highest quality, the fastest service? Or, are you not really known for anything specific.  Is there something different that you would like to be “known for”?

If you are looking to re-position your business, NOW is a perfect time to start planning and potentially implementing your NEW position. Many brands have been born during or immediately following a major crisis!

Do we really believe that a business can consistently offer the highest quality and the lowest price?

Many marketers make the mistake of trying to be all things to all people. Consumers’ minds won’t allow a business to own both the quality position and the discount position.

Very often the position you own is not that of a particular product or service, but rather it is an experience or demographic.

For example, Michelin doesn’t own the tire category, they own safety, while Pirelli owns the performance experience. Both come with a higher price tag and both have plenty of consumers who value their product.

GEICO doesn’t own the insurance category, they own “saving you time and money”.  They never speak to how well they pay claims.  On the other hand, if you want an insurance company that you are confident will pay your claims, even the crazy ones, you’re more inclined to lean toward Farmers Insurance. “They know a thing or two because they’ve seen a thing or two”.

In their groundbreaking book, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Al Reis and Jack Trout state law #2 as: “If you can’t be first in a category, create a category you can be first in”.

Through marketing and advertising, a business can create its own niche or demographic category.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending upon whether you want lemons or lemonade, now is a good time for many of us to re-evaluate the position your business holds in the minds of your customers, potential customers, and your community.

Former Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, said this about a crisis, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.”

Being known for something specific is far more profitable than trying to be all things to all people!

If you’re looking to create a category you can own, click here to see The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.  If you’d like to further discuss creating a category for your business to own, contact me.  Also subscribe to my weekly Sound ADvice business tips and marketing email newsletter by filling out the form below.

Stay Safe – Stay Healthy – Stay Strong!

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Learn From The Best

Learn From The Best

by | Apr 7, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo Sales Tips, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, Uncategorized, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

It’s a weird and wacky world out there right now.

We are hearing stories about the record number of people who are filing for unemployment, the devastating stories of people dying from this mystery virus that we have yet to get a handle on because it is new to the medical and scientific community.

Some of us are working from home, other are at home trying to figure out how to occupy their time.

As business owners and managers, I understand you want some answers, but the answers to the questions you really want aren’t available yet.

We don’t know what the final tally will be healthwise or financially. We are living in the middle of a movie and this is not your typical romantic comedy or action flick where we know the good guys always win.  This is real life, your life, my life and the lives of the people we work with and live with.

You want answers, you want solutions, and while I wish I could give you a road map to follow exactly…

I can’t because each of you have different circumstances and variables that will determine the steps to take.

Instead I am going to take a moment and share with you some resources that I shared with my team.

Near the end of February, I was offered and accepted a promotion to become the General Sales Manager of WOWO Radio. WOWO is one of a dozen stations owned by Federated Media in Indiana  and the past few years the WOWO Local Sales Team has been the largest producer of revenue for our company.  I’ve been part of that team for nearly 7 years.

Less than 4 weeks after the promotion to lead, manage and coach our team, Black Friday hit.  It was my wife’s birthday March 13th and the orders to stay at home were causing businesses to scramble and try and figure out what to do next. 

One of the things I prepared for my team was a list of some resources that have helped me over the years. With the extra time you have and your desire to find some answers, this list of resources could spur your thinking and creativity.

In 1986 I made the switch from having fun and being creative as a radio personality in the programming side of the business, to needing to learn how to apply that creativity and fun to the money making side of the business, the advertising, marketing and sales side.

Roy H. Williams:  https://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/  I subscribe to this and have fun digging into the “rabbit hole” in each memo.

 

https://harveymackay.com/ Has a bunch of resources and I’ve read and recommend his first two books, Swim and Naked.

 

https://www.gitomer.com/ has free stuff you can sign up for.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Al-Ries/dp/0071373586  Is a book I bought when I first started in the advertising side of radio in Detroit.  Great stuff.

 

I subscribe to Art’s emails: https://businessbyphone.com/

 

And circling back to Roy Williams, some of his partners also write great stuff that you can subscribe to: https://wizardofads.org/articles/

 

I  also have over 1400 articles and over 150 podcast episodes that I’ve created at my own website: https://www.scotthoward.me/ and I update with fresh material every single week.

I have been learning for over 30 years and continue to soak up wisdom from others.

I also have a weekly newsletter called Sound ADvice that is free and delivered to your email Wednesday mornings if you sign up for it.

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3 Ways To Grow in 2020

3 Ways To Grow in 2020

by | Feb 25, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice

Three Ways to Grow a Business

As owners or managers of a business, it’s our responsibility to not only figure out how to keep our business functioning properly and effectively, but also how to GROW our business.  Staying level or going backward are not options.  Profit and growth are key!

So how do you grow a business?  It’s more complicated than just increasing sales.  If you’re trying to grow your business, start by understanding that there are only three ways to grow a business.

1.) Sell more of what you are currently selling.

2.) Sell what you are currently selling for more money.

3.) Add additional product(s) or service(s) to what you are currently selling.

Regardless of how you slice this, nearly everything you can come up with to grow a business will fall under one of these three headings.

While discounting and sales events can help grow a business, lowering your profits is not the fastest nor the most efficient way to grow.

And if you think you can just rest and coast and all will be fine, remember the words of my mentor Ron who told me years ago you can only coast downhill.

I have a list of Eight Critical Profit Factors, factor number two is, “Have an up-sell, cross-sell or add-on sales plan”.  Include a staff incentive with every promotion and train your staff to up-sell, but not hard-sell, every customer.

Attracting a customer and getting them to open their wallets can be a difficult and costly process.  But once they’re in your showroom and have their wallets open, an accompanying up-sell is relatively easy.  Once the customer has chosen a bed, selling the matching nightstands can make the difference between profits or break-even.

This was taken from my weekly newsletter that you can have delivered to your inbox Wednesday mornings. Just fill out the form below. SoundADvice is designed to offer you meaningful and helpful tips to help you run your business more smoothly.  The issue  this was based on will help you increase your sales at a profit.  Click here if you would like to see all 8 Critical Profit Factors to improve your bottom line.

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