Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

Those Founding Fathers! What a motley group. We (USA) wouldn’t be here, celebrating Independence if they had decided to let somebody else do it; that they couldn’t fight the establishment; that they had to have meetings to plan meetings; that they needed some team-building coaching so they could reach consensus and write a ten-step plan with metrics.

Somehow they got it together (without computers or air conditioning no less) - even when they didn’t like each other (and, in fact, some of them loathed each other.)

“Democracy is the worst form of government - except for all others.” - Winston Churchill (Technically, we’re a Republic. Discuss.)

Happy July 4th! Wave a sparkler for me.

Next week is “National Independents Week” (July 1-7). Many cities, including Albuquerque (and Santa Fe, Austin, Boulder), have Independent Business Alliances.

These alliances are to support the locally-owned businesses that make all our communities places we never want to leave. The local Mom & Pop pizza joint; the corner bistro; the specialty manufacturer that treats their employees like family; the natural living/free trade boutique; the organic markets and farmers; the cupcake bakery; the pie maker, up at 3 a.m. every morning to make crust from scratch; the spa; the architects; the designers…the people who live next door and down the street from you. (Think of your favorite places - I bet many of them are locally-owned.)

So, before you drive to Wal-Mart this weekend - think about your locally owned businesses. Sure, buy those diapers in bulk at Big Wally, but consider buying that gift for Grandma at your home town boutique.

Maybe instead of eating lunch at Applebee’s every time, eat once a week at the Mom & Pop sandwich shop (where they have daily freshly-made specials). We’ve got THOUSANDS of great little “joints” here in the quirky burque, (everything from New Mexican to Greek to Thai) and I bet you do too.

If you spend just 10% of your dollars at locally-owned businesses, it’ll make a HUGE difference in your local economy.

To find out more, visit American Independent Business Alliance

(And, if you’re in the Albuquerque area, come to our AIBA Indie Fiesta on Tuesday, July 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. We’re going to have some of that pie made from scratch by a member…and lots more!)

Tags: Independents Week, Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance, Independent Business Alliances

It grows - even thrives - where you didn’t plant it, don’t want it, don’t water it. And, it’s almost impossible to kill, if you don’t want to poison the environment.

It dies where you plant it, want it, fertilize it, baby it.

And so it goes - if a marketer starts talking about a systematic, “Word-of-Mouth” plan, complete with “targeted ads,” “social media messages” and “paid blog posts” - look for another marketer.

The key is having something worth talking about - you really have no control over those mouths doing the talking. They go where and say what they will. (That quality control problem you have in manufacturing? Guess what your customers are talking about? It most certainly isn’t your new “cool” ad.)

(And now back to working on that #%^&* patch of grass in my side yard…)

Related Posts:
Putting the “Social” In Social Media
Did You Invite Borders Marketing Staff To Your Book Club?

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, WOM marketing, social media, Word-of-Mouth

I do my best to be responsible but all this green stuff is exhausting! Even Wal-Mart is pitchin’ a brand of potato chips as “green!”

So, how - as marketers and consumers - do we separate the green goodness from the green noise? I don’t have the magical answer. However, I submit it all comes down to - ta-da! - good old-fashioned common sense. We simply can’t do everything, save everything, analyze everything to the micro degree (Are paper bags really the best choice? What’s the true bottom line costs of those hybrids? What really happens to all that glass I put in the recyclig bin?) Otherwise, we get so frazzled, we’ll just say to Hell with it.

So, here’s my own personal Greenie list:

1. Consume less. And doesn’t that sound pompous and simple-minded? But, really, I don’t need anything. I can check out books, DVDs, and magazines from the library. If I really feel I have to own a book - I can buy it used from the library. Then, I can donate others back to the system. Round and round it goes. I also have plenty of shoes; the old television works fine (and I can only watch one at a time); the car is paid for and practical; granite countertops aren’t going to make my food any tastier…and so on.

(I also use those gazillion canvas bags I’ve accumulated from years of trade shows for shopping. I’ve got all sizes and capacities. The trick is remembering to take them into the store.)

2. Drive less. Do I really need to run to the store right now? Or, can I plan my shopping route so I can hit all the places in one outing? (Yeah, I know this is hard if you’ve got a family, but it’s worth a shot. And, does everyone in the family really, truly need a car? Hmmmm…) I’m also driving slower (which, if you knew me, is downright miraculous.)

3. Buy used. Sure, some people turn their noses up at flea markets and thrift stores…and then turn around and pay Pottery Barn for a ripoff of something that sells for next to nothing at the Salvation Army. My personal example: My solid wood swivel chair. I paid $12 at the S.A.; a much lower-quality imitation is now “on sale!” at P.B. for $379.00. Anthropologie (which I love to browse, I admit) is nothing more than flea market stuff newly made at jaw-dropping prices (chenille bedspreads, pottery, etc.)

4. Give myself permission to say “to Hell with it” sometimes. It’s impossible to be perfect. So, yep, sometimes that glass jar goes right into the trash, unwashed. (I feel equal amounts of guilt and glee when I do this - my ego, id, and superego all do their little dances.)

As for green marketing, here’s a wacko idea - tell the truth. Don’t slap the green paint and buzzy words around and call it good.

Happy Friday! I’ll be hitting the flea markets tomorrow looking for patio furniture.

Related Post: Earth Day And Why Bother?

Tags: green marketing, green wash, green exhaustion

Sign seen on various street corners around town:

CEO Pay Working At Home

Don’t Believe, Don’t Call
800-xxx-xxxx.

Now, I KNOW that this is some new riff on the old “stuff envelopes at home” or a network marketing scheme…but that last line…hmmmm…really tweaked my curiosity.

In any marketing pitch, you’ve only got a couple of seconds to grab someone’s eye (or ear) - in any type of media. You can’t tell people everything, but you can make them curious to know more.

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, advertising,

The following is based on a press release I recently received. Names deleted to protect the clueless. I’m snarky, not mean.

1. Look at their work. Is it cookie cutter? If they start every press release with the sentence, “(name of client), a leading provider of (insert industry) solutions today announced…” - keep looking, for somebody that can actually think. (Tip: Not every company can be “leading” - particularly in start-up mode. You’re not kidding anyone. Ditto “global provider” Having one guy with a phone in Singapore doesn’t a global company make.)

2. They sprinkle the release with the CEO corporate speak that we’ve all seen at least a thousand times before (and the media has seen about a gazillilon…yawn….) Example: “Joe Smith, CEO of Acme, said, “We’re thrilled to partner with (Name of Client), a leading provider of (industry) solutions. They will be an integral part of providing best-of-breed, world-class solutions to our market.” Zzzzzzz….(Yes, people love quotes, but they should say something.)

3. They - um - forget to put contact info on the releases they send out over PRWire. So, what happens if - by some wild stretch of the imagination - a reporter is simply dieing to talk to yet another “leading provider of solutions” Hmmm…oh well…

4. They tout they can send the release out to thousands! Yes - and get blacklisted by editors and bloggers…and greatly damage their client’s credibility. You can blast out to the world with a push of a button, with services such as PRWire, but does the world care?

4.5. They are clueless about online media rooms. If the press release makes it on the client’s site at all…it’s buried. You have to want to find it…and then you’ve got to download a PDF file (not knowing the length or size) before you can read the thing.

Also see, Four Red Flags When Hiring A Web Developer

P.S. PR is NOT “marketing.” It’s one tool in your kit and should be used intelligently - or not at all.

Read More:
Susan Getgood, Good Pitch, Bad Pitch
Stowe Boyd, The Growing Backlash Against PR Spam
Rick at Blogworld, Should Bloggers Blacklist PR Firms?

Related Posts:
Why I Don’t “Do” PR.
Grab ‘N Go Marketing (Why you should have a good online media room.)
Wasting Your Time on “Thousands.”

Tags: entrepreneur success, online media room, public relations, press release, marketing troubleshooting

Tom Peters latest rant about customers, service, and such has stirred up quite a few people. What it all comes down to - is forget being so focused on “the customer” (who the heck is that anyway?)

Focus on the people, starting with yourself and your employees. After all, as has been said in a bazillion self-help books - if you aren’t jazzed about yourself, it’s impossible for anybody else to be so.

Forget the high-dollar, fancy-schmancy “customer relationship management” systems and methodologies. Focus on the real live human being. THEN you can look at the systems that will help make the relationship easier for everyone, including - yep - the employees. If the relationship doesn’t work, $30,000 worth of software ain’t gonna fix it.

Related Posts:
Service Stupidity
The “I’d Take A Bullet For Them List
People Who Need People

P.S. The more company’s blah-blah about their “commitment to customers” - the less likely they are to care about the people. All those big companies natter on and on…while they cut heads and treat customers like walking wallets.

Want to browse through all my posts? Go to The Idea Pool. Everything I’ve written since I started blogging.

Tags: management, leadership

As regular readers know, I’m totally, hopelessly addicted to reading - pretty much anything and everything (In a pinch, with no other choice, I’ve even been known to read software documentation!)

So, here are some recommendations of oldies but goodies for you to try. No socially-redeeming or biz value whatsoever. Simply great reads.

1. Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. Story is instantly engaging, and the opening and closing pages are some of the best ever written, in my bookoholic opinion.

2. Dinner at Antoine’s, by Frances Parkinson Keyes. If you love intelligent yet entertaining writing and New Orleans, check this out. Your local library is sure to have a copy or you can pick up for bupkas at a used book sale somewhere. I got my copy for 50 cents at the Albuquerque library, complete with the original 1948 dust cover. (Personally I prefer Arnaud’s for dinner, but that’s me. I was there earlier this month and they’ve recovered completely from Katrina.)

3. Endangered Pleasures, In Defense of Naps, Bacon, Martinis, Profanity, and Other Indulgences, by Barbara Holland. Title of this book of essays pretty much says it all. Ms. Holland is one of my favorite authors - with a long list of published essay collections - most of which I own.

4. The Journey’s Echo, Selected Travel Writings, by Freya Stark. First published in 1936, this book of observations and essays is one of my favorites.

To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one the pleasant sensations of the world. You are surrounded by adventure. You have no idea of what is in store for you, but you will, if you are ise and konw the art of travel, let yourself on the stream of the unknown and accept whatever comes in the spirit in which the gods may offer it.

One of my favorite quotes by Dame Stark: “I dislike being the anvil for the hammering out of other’s people’s virtues.” (and to think she never voted in a U.S. election…;-)

5. The Collected Stories of Evelyn Waugh. I keep this one on my bedside table bookshelf for easy dipping.

Keeping Waugh company are Saki, O. Henry, M.F.K. Fisher, P.G. Wodehouse and Ludwig Belemans (Beleman’s La Bonne Table is a classic collection of stories about eating and restaurants. Utterly charming, with illustrations by Belemans.)

Mary Bob says “check it out! Have a great weekend…I’ll be hitting the monthly Albuquerque library book sale…so many books, so little time.

(Want to read something biz related? Check out my guest post at Lip-Sticking, Marketing to Women, Fallacies and Follies.)

Related Posts:
Way Outside The Box (and Office) Weekend Reading
The Friday Reading List

Read More: All my Friday Martini Time posts - in which I talk about pretty much anything but business. It’s Friday, after all.

While the big boys are thrashing and crashing…small businesses just keep going, as they always do. Here in New Mexico small businesses account for 85% of the jobs, and a large chunk of state tax revenue.

Yesterday, I attended the SBA luncheon honoring New Mexico businesses. Bright spots all over the place! The New Mexico Small Business Person Of The Year is Sergio O. Bermudez, El Mezquite Market. Mr. Bermudez, a Mexican immigrant, started with one small market…he now has five as well as real estate investments. Four other award winners, including Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year, are women.

So - amidst all the doom and gloom about the American economy - look for the bright spots…and help create more. (I’ve been meaning to drop by El Mezquite for months - they carry a lot of items you simply can’t get in many American markets…I’m hoping to find Coca-Cola bottled in Mexico. They use real sugar and it comes in those great old glass bottles…)

Happy Friday - and if you do any shopping this weekend, shop local! You’ll help those bright spots to keep glowing!

And now for a break from our regularly scheduled programming…

I trudged home yesterday, after a full day of trivia and meetings, feeling drained, cranky and blah. Then, as I was flipping through a magazine, waiting for the bubbles to settle in my G&T, I saw the sentence, “And what wonderful adventures did you have today?” I look up - and out the window were my big, beautiful rose bushes, hummingbirds, and a clear blue New Mexico sky. Hmmm…those meetings were - well - meetings, but they were also with a long-time client, talking about new programs that could really make a difference for our state. And, I had a absolute killer commute of - um - about 10 minutes home from their office, with a gorgeous view of the volcanos and mountains all along the way. So, hey, whaddaya know! I had adventures!

We all too often take where we are and what we have for granted - even people that live in the great cities such as Paris, Rome, New York, or London. What’s an adventure to us is normal humdrum life to them. Traffic. Lunch. Grocery-shopping. Sure, they walk by wonders every day…but they do it every day…Then, these same people travel here to New Mexico to have - yep - adventures.

Adventures don’t have to be Indie Jones movie plots. Some of the smallest things can be adventurous, if we choose to see them as different, fun and energizing.

So, what adventures did you have today? What ya got planned for tomorrow?

Tags: perspective