Marketing Profs Daily Fix:

Holly Suttmann, a former schoolteacher, started the Black & Light Candle company. Holly really understands word of mouth. She’s proof that every business can master these inexpensive techniques.

Lessons from Holly:

1. Cultivate key talkers. She’s sent me two personal notes and really built a relationship with me.
2. Use samples. People can’t talk about a product they haven’t seen.
3. Make it easy to spread the word. Holly sent me a stack of postcards to forward to friends.
4. Make your talkers look good. She gave me a discount code to share.
5. Add remarkable features. Sometimes you need a reason to talk that is more than the product itself.
6. Create a fantastic product.

The lesson: High-touch, high-quality word of mouth is effective and inexpensive. Are you spending more on cold sales letters and glossy flyers than it would take to get real word of mouth?

by Kelley Robertson at businessknowhow.com

It never ceases to amaze me how few sales people make the time to follow-up after they have made initial contact with a prospect or customer.

In the last few months, I can think of at least eight different situations in my own life (business & personal) when a salesperson did not bother taking this initiative. These included a landscaper who designed plans for our property, two different people who spoke to me about creating a promotional piece of literature for my business, a sales rep for a pool company, and a men’s fashion salesman who was asked to send information. In each of these situations I was very interested in the product or service offered by the vendor. This got me wondering, why don’t people follow-up? I think there are several reasons.

1. They don’t want to appear pushy
2. They forget
3. They make false assumptions
4. They think that the customer or prospect will contact them
5. They have never been taught
6. Follow-up should also be completed after the sale is completed

Read full text.

If you want loyalty, you have to give it. Make a list of your most important customers or clients. For your general customers or clients, demonstrate your commitment in general terms and especially when they need you. For the most important customers, demonstrate your commitment and let them know how much you appreciate them. Sometimes loyalty takes sacrifice.

1. Communicate
2. Understand Your Customer’s Goals
3. Be Consistent
4. Build Credibility
5. Cracker Jack Surprise
6. Cracker Jack Surprise

Can you check all of these items in one week? Are you actively practicing the commitment that you desire from your customers?

businessknowhow.com

A layer of ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookies. A good idea, huh?

Richard LaMotta thought so, and in the 25 years since he invented the Chipwich, a billion have sold.

The Chipwich didn’t become a sensation because of TV ads or marketing, but because LaMotta used an army of college students to hawk it on pushcarts on street corners - going directly to the consumer.

Now LaMotta, a resident of Mount Kisco, is promoting another new idea that again bypasses grocery stores and other traditional venues.

His new venture is called myStudentBiz. And, once again, students are the centerpiece of his marketing plan.

LaMotta intends to recruit high school and college students from around the country to distribute novelty snacks in neighborhood businesses, such as Laundromats, dry cleaners, car washes and bridal shops.

The students make $5 for every box they sell. The retailer gets a 45 percent profit, and LaMotta gets a way to put new products into the public eye without spending a penny on advertising.

The students can also win a $10,000 bounty if they discover a food item that myStudentBiz can market.

LaMotta said he has personally invested $3 million in myStudentbiz.

LaMotta, who is 54, said that when he was a young man, he spent 15 years attending college at night. He wants to help today’s students make some money to avoid his experience.

“It harkens back to my own childhood. A lot of this comes from being a poor kid growing up in Brooklyn,” he said. “I want every kid who is interested in this to have an opportunity.”

thejournalnews.com

Question: I specialize in handling discrimination and harassment investigations for small and midsize companies. What is the proper etiquette for asking other consultants that I refer significant work to for a percentage of their fees? Are there ethical considerations I should be thinking about?

Answer: See answer at Startup Journal