26. October 2011 by Frank Goad.

Before we start, I’m not trying to pick on you, belittle you or make you feel bad. This is about what you can do to improve your image and increase sales, and really good writing is a huge help. I cover this topic fairly often because I see examples daily of how people shoot themselves in the foot in the self-deluded idea that they are great communicators. Bad writing drives people away very, very quickly; good copy grabs and holds them.

Okay, back to the title: Yes, it’s sarcastic, but it’s a legitimate question: Do you really think you can write? Is it something you love to do? Have you been published more than two or three times? Have you attended workshops or webinars to improve your writing? Do you write something with at least 300 or 400 words every day, or at least several times a week? If the answer isn’t yes to these questions, you really need to think about your skill level. Writing is like any other activity – it takes regular practice to be good.

One of the things I do for a living is write and I do it for people who either don’t like writing, or don’t like it enough to want to spend the time, or they make a lot more money doing what they do best and would rather pay me. Be assured, these are smart, successful people, so their wisdom is probably something to absorb.

My point here is that if your writing isn’t really well-crafted, folks aren’t going to read it. If no one has ever paid you to write for them, that’s a sure sign you haven’t been exposed to the things that make ad copy and articles hold people’s attention and motivate them to do what you want. Good writing makes the cash register ring; bad copy does not.

By all means, though, you should write and try to improve your writing. Just as famous actors take acting lessons throughout their career, the best writers have editors, coaches and critics, too. The more you know about writing the better you express yourself in everyday life.

So, keep writing, and get help for your business needs. Yes, I’d love to work with you but, whether or not it’s me, get help. It’s an investment that pays great dividends and sets you apart from your competition.

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24. August 2011 by Frank Goad.

I find there are three kinds of questions that my clients ask: A. Those of piercing insight; B. Those of curiosity or the need for more info, and; C. Those that tax any form of belief.

A. I love, love, love getting the A-types. They make my job so much easier and the clients see much better results. Sometimes they occur when a concept I’m explaining lights up inside their head and they see the big(ger) picture; other times, they happen when they take what they’re given and come up with something entirely new. These questions (or observations) are a bit rare and usually come when I’ve been working with someone for awhile.

B. These make up the majority of questions that I get and occur during the discovery and strategy portions of our relationship. Given that Frank Communication’s modus operandi is pretty comprehensive (we look at the whole company/picture, not just a small aspect), and that we ask a LOT of questions, clients don’t always see the connections we’re working toward. As we spend time together, they see what’s going on and get excited, and then the questions come: “Hey, what if …?”, “That sounds like something I saw last week – did you see … ?”, or “Ohh, I get it … does this mean we’ve been … ?” These are exciting because these questions lead to an A question if they’re going to happen.

C. The incredible ones in this category aren’t what you might think: They usually don’t come from ignorance but, instead, come from misinformation. They can start with “Well, I’ve got a friend who said X, so don’t you think we should … ?”, or,  ”Yeah, well, I heard about X and heard about someone who tried it and X happened – shouldn’t we try that?”, or a variation of those.

C-type questions are understandable, though, because so much has changed about advertising and marketing in the last six years, and some changes are a bit drastic. Folks are often taking advice from people who are shooting in the dark (often at their foot), or they’re reading books written by someone who’s really persuasive but ill-suited to be giving advice, or who is simply giving bad advice. Sometimes it’s because folks are desperately confused and grabbing at straws or, even more bewildering and touchy, a good friend tried something that worked for them, but which doesn’t work so well for my client for one or more reasons (timing, content, budget, etc.).

When I get C-type questions, I’m glad because that means we’re making progress. It often happens that when folks have a bad experience, although they might be wary, they now have a base of information that helps them make sense of what will help.

The most important thing is to keep asking questions. Sure, sometimes the questions sound dumb, but that’s okay because that’s how we learn, and the more we learn the better off we are. A, B or C, it doesn’t matter because you’ll probably only have to ask any of them once.

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28. December 2010 by Frank Goad.

Definition: “Delight - To take or give great pleasure or joy.”  You often hear companies being told to “Delight your customers.” You definitely should do that, but let’s go over the definition of “delight” as it is a bit overblown in some of the things I’ve been reading, especially in light of the definition I use and how it relates to brands and marketing.

Going over the top with offers and special deals is for the 20% of your customers in the 80/20 rule (80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers). Most folks don’t have the time or resources to lavish great attention on every customer, much less get employees to really care enough to do it (the last paragraph address this).

My personal definition of a brand is, “A brand is a promise of repeated delightful experiences based on a history of delightful experiences.” Given that the customer owns your brand, and you or your clients do not, it’s up to them to decide what’s delightful or not.

There are so many times when we go to see, buy or do something and the experience falls short of what is promised in ads. Consistently good results for our investment of time and/or money makes us happy - delighted, if you will - because being disappointed is so common. Getting what we feel is fair value for our time and money is delightful.

Customers should be delighted every time they do business with you or your client; i.e., they should be quite pleased or feel a bit of joy. Coke and McDonald’s delight customers with every purchase. How so? Well, water, bread and lunch meat will satisfy hunger and thirst but, on a hot, dusty, day, a cold Coke is (say it with me) delightful. When you’re pressed for time, a hot, grilled chicken sandwich on a whole grain bun with lettuce, tomato and mayo is a damn sight better than a pack of cheese crackers from a gas station, especially if an ice cold Coke is served with it. If I’m really, really hungry and an hour from anywhere that sells food, finding a pack of cheese crackers is - you guessed it - delightful. I’m not overjoyed by my discovery (unless it’s my first meal in days), but I am delighted.

Let’s say I own a junk yard and a person calls me looking for a part after calling five other yards. I have the part and they’re delighted, and I was simply doing was my job. That puts me at the top of their list for next time. When they call again - and I’ll likely be the first call after being their part savior before - and I don’t have the part, I offer to locate it for them, and that makes them happy. To go one further (and keep the business), I offer to get it sent to my store, they’re delighted and, again, I’m just doing what I do. Even junk yards can delight customers.

I’m delighted when:

• I can help my clients set higher marketing and advertising standards

• We educate all  their employees about the value and importance of those standards and how their contributions help everyone (”A rising tide lifts all boats”)

• We put systems and rewards in place to ensure that measurable goals are achieved and perpetuated

• They make excellent internal and external communications about their products, services and company the rule

Why am I delighted and not overjoyed? Because what I described is my job as a marketer. I’m overjoyed when they come back and have added ten, twenty or thirty percent to what I set out. Now, THAT’S some serious, overwhelming, tear-jerking joy! 

Posted in retail, Branding, building business, Success, delight, FrankyGee3, Frank Goad, Frank Communications, business relationships, business, advertisers, responsibilities, Advertising, Frank, "The Frankifesto", training, business plan, Marketing | Print | No Comments »

28. December 2010 by Frank Goad.

This video contains words of wisdom for anyone. He talks about the character and qualities of men, but what coach Lombardi says applies to anyone, anytime, anywhere. Suggestion: Copy this link and watch this often.

Posted in Winning, Discipline, Success, Frank Communications, FrankyGee3, Frank Goad, Character, Friends, relationships, Frank, business relationships, building business, leadership, responsibilities | Print | No Comments »

24. May 2010 by Frank Goad.

If you are in business for yourself or own a business, you have to be promoting yourself all the time. There is increasing competition for an ever-shrinking pool of business. It’s tougher today than a decade ago if for no other reason than advertising and marketing is so fractured. As I’ve written before, these days, it comes down to time or money. That is, if you don’t have the money to do a big, sustained advertising campaign, then you have to invest the time to do it yourself.

Advertising today is a lot like megaphones:
• If you have a lot of money, you can buy a PA system and hire someone to run it for you. You can even hire someone to do the talking.
• If you have some money you can buy a large electronic megaphone that even has a horn or siren to get folks attention.
• If you don’t have any budget, you pick up the nearest thing that looks like a cheerleader’s megaphone and start running around and yelling. Hello Facebook, blogs, meetings, etc.

Most of us fall into category two or three. That means we have to find publicity wherever we can. Want to get some attention from the media and burnish your reputation? Do something for the community. Don’t just run out and have a bake sale - have a cause you believe in first. In this day and time, many agencies are going wanting due to thin budgets and thinner staffs and will welcome any help they can get.

No, this isn’t some cynical operation that you do because it’s good for business – you do it because people need help. Still, the glow from a charitable act will net you good will and you’ll make some new friends. Friends are about the most important asset for any business. Beyond that, will it make a lasting difference in one person’s life? Yes? Then that’s all you need to know.

Pick something you feel strongly about like cancer, autism, the environment, education, the arts, women’s rights, animal welfare, inner-city programs, youth in music (one of my favorites) or whatever pulls strongly at your heart. Write a mission statement that says what you want from the event, why you’re doing it, who it will help and how much you think it might help and how. Update the mission statement often as you’ll find new things as you go along – the ending will likely be different and better than you planned.

From this planning, you’ll have an idea of what you can raise or do for the event. Is the goal to raise money? Raise awareness? Get material or goods (e.g., pet food for the Humane Society)? The sponsoring agency will give you guidance as to what is most helpful. Plug this into your mission statement.

Once you’ve written down your goals and plans, then go to an organization who is usually attached to these causes (if there is one), share what you’ve written and see what kind of help they’ll give you. Try to find a co-sponsor who’ll help, too, before you go; many hands make for light(er) work.

Next, plan your event and pick a theme. Get help and figure what it’s going to cost, where to have it, etc. This is where an event planner comes in handy. You’ll have to think about everything from sanitation to seltzer water. Whatever the event, you’ll likely need at least a few months to plan and execute.

What event should you plan? That’s up to you and your planner. Stage a fishing or golf tournament, a picnic or barbecue, a pool party, cookware event, a gourmet hors d’oeuvres party, a wine tasting - something that helps folks walk away happy (and not just because of the wine). Since it will likely start with friends, you know what they like, so plan something you’re familiar with and it will be easier for you.

Then, build your list of people to invite and determine how many you realistically think will come. If you’re not sure, call a bunch of friends and ask them to see if they’d be interested. You might get a volunteer or two calling their friends. Check with the organization you’re doing it for as they’ll likely have an idea, too. If all your friends invite their friends, and their friends invite only half their friends, that could be a good number.

Then go back to your mission statement and use that to create your publicity plans and your press releases. It will inform everything and everyone about why you’re embarking on this madness. Try to find one person in the media (reporter, DJ, public relations agent, etc.) and get their advice and names of helpful folks. The agency you spoke with can usually help you with that.

After that, when you’re about three months out, send press releases out to all the media you can think of and follow up regularly with with new items (don’t rehash the old - make it new). Again, work with the sponsoring agency (if there is one involved) and get help on publicity from them - they might be able to  accomplish many times what you can. Keep calling and get help arranging for any publicity you can find. There’s no shame in attaching your company’s name and your co-sponsor’s to this whole thing. (Alltech has their name all over WEG, and rightfully so, thank you Dr. Lyons.)

This is just a snapshot and, realistically, doing any public event is tough. It doesn’t have to be something with thousands of folks. Sometimes small events with a unique or outrageous flavor get more attention - be creative.

If you handle it well the rewards you’ll feel as an individual will be huge (food for the soul), the benefit to the community will be greater and, who knows, you could start an annual event that becomes legendary. You’ve heard of the Kentucky Derby, right?

Want some more ideas? Need help with marketing or advertising? Call me or use the contact form at the bottom of the page at the Frank Communications website.

Posted in delight, Success, Character, Branding, creativity, Frank Communications, Social Media, FrankyGee3, Frank Goad, building business, business relationships, PR, Frank, blessings, responsibilities, Public relations, "The Frankifesto", relationships, business, business plan, Marketing | Print | 1 Comment »

27. April 2010 by Frank Goad.

Hi! If  you like this blog, send this web address to a friend. This is meant to be a conversation, not a soap box, so spread the word and let me hear what you’re thinking. Send me links to frank(at)frankcomlex.com, or post them in the comments. Retweet the posts. I’m hoping to learn from you, too, and I will if you speak up. Thanks!

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