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Marketing Lessons I Learned in Chicago this Week...
I was in the fine city of Chicago this week to speak at a marketing conference. And I learned some interesting things: 1 - Traffic in Chicago is much worse than the allegedly bad traffic in Atlanta where I live. We left the hotel downtown at 3 p.m. and were parked on the "highway" a few minutes later. The Lesson Learned: I am thankful - as I know many of you are - that I don't have to leave home and fight through this terrible traffic on a daily basis. Life's too short to 2 - Despite the traffic, I arrived at the airport early enough to rebook my ticket (by paying the $25 fee) on a flight leaving 90 minutes earlier than my original schedule. That was the good news. The bad news turned out to be that this flight would leave 45 minutes late so I didn't gain very much for my $25. Obviously, I can afford the $25, but that's not the point. The Lesson Learned: It's not about the money. It's about the perception of value received for the money. When I made the deal with the airline to book the earlier flight, I did so with the specific understanding that I was investing $25 to buy 90 minutes. But, I ended up only getting 1/2 that time - 45 minutes. So, I felt like I'd gotten screwed in the deal. People - like us and our customers - invest money with us based on the perception of the value they'll receive in exchange. If you don't deliver on your promise, then the customer is not going to be happy with the deal. If you deliver more, the customer should be ecstatic. That's why you'll usually find extra - unadvertised - bonuses when you purchase my products. It doesn't matter that I probably would have spent the $25 to get the 45 minutes anyway - that's not the deal I bought. 3 - When I booked my hotel reservation, the website promoted the fine history of the property. When I was standing in the lobby, they had an interesting wall display listing the famous people and many presidents who had stayed there years ago. And they specifically mentioned how they had upgraded the hotel with the latest in electrical, plumbing, etc. I'm not sure how long ago someone wrote this fiction, but it must be at least 30 years ago - maybe longer. Perhaps the reference to Diamond Jim Brady should have clued me in. I won't bore you with the sordid details about the sagging mattress and matted down carpet, but it was depressing to enter my room. Especially when I opened the curtains so I could look 15 feet across the air shaft at other rooms. The Lesson Learned: Next time I'm booking a reservation in a "historical" hotel, I need to be certain to ask if they've stayed true to their history or entered the new millennium. Of course, for $39 a night, I might have expected something like I got. But, when I'm paying $120 for the discounted conference special rate, I'm not seeing the value in the deal. For many products and services - like hotel rooms - we have an understanding of what we think we should get for the money we spend. It doesn't matter whether our preconceived notion is correct - we've got it in our heads already. As marketers, we have to deal with the public that has these preconceived ideas. When we're not going to fit with them (like charging way too much for a crummy room), we should be fair and make that clear. But we'll obviously want to do this in a fashion that will show why this is a still a fair, if not great, value proposition. 4 - But this story gets even more interesting... I was chatting with Paul Hartunian (the PR expert who once sold the Brooklyn Bridge - legitimately) and mentioned that I was not happy with my room. He remarked that other people had also voiced similar opinions, but he loved his room. Turns out he had asked the hotel about upgrade options and, for $20 more, you could get a completely updated room with a wonderful view of the city and Lake Michigan. Of course, no one volunteers this when you call to make reservations. And it's not mentioned at all on their website. But I'll bet the people that work in this hotel are wondering why more people don't choose the upgrade option. The Lesson Learned: Don't hide your light under a bushel basket! Think about this...the hotel could have turned many unhappy people into raving fans simply by mentioning the $20 option. Plus, they could have been grabbing an extra $20 a night from dozens of people for doing absolutely nothing. Sure, we're sitting here in judgment thinking how stupid this is. But...unfortunately, we occasionally make the same kind of silly mistakes and don't make the really fine benefits of our product or service crystal clear. To sum up: 1 - Don't play in traffic. It's hazardous to your health. 2 - Explain the value in your offers and deliver what you promise (preferably more). 3 - Don't hide your best benefits and offers. Put them right out front so your prospects will become happy customers. Yours in success, Shawn Casey P.S. If you missed the incredible Jeff Paul teleseminar this week - or just want to review it and take some more notes (Jeff talks fast and delivers a lot of info), you can hear the recorded version here: http://www.ShawnsNews.net/JeffPaulRecording.html (Scroll down a little when you get there) Internet Millionaire Shawn Casey's "Mining Gold On the Internet" is one of the best selling Internet books with over 85,000 copies sold. In "Mining Gold", Shawn reveals the same step-by-step strategies he uses to create millions in Internet sales => http://www.ipcgold.com/ad/100/CD3839 Benefit from Shawn's 7 years of Internet experience and learn from someone who has actually made millions online.
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news News and notes on the PGA Tour's top 20 golfers (USA Today) Get the latest news and notes on the top 20 golfers on the PGA Tour. These rankings are based 2008-09 PGA Tour results. Valassis shares jump after News Corp. settlement (AP via Yahoo! News) Shares of Valassis Communications Inc. skyrocketed Monday after the direct mail provider said rival News America Marketing would pay it $500 million to settle antitrust charges. Valassis Climbs Most in 2 Months on News Corp. Settlement (Bloomberg) Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Valassis Communications Inc. , the distributor of advertisements through newspaper inserts and mailings, rose the most in almost two months in New York trading after it said it settled a federal lawsuit against News Corp. Bengal's 'Ochocinco News Network' will be on the scene in Miami (NFL.com) Chad Ochocinco, the media-savvy Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, plans to attend news conferences and parties leading up to Sunday's championship game in Miami, gathering insights from coaches, players and celebrities for his array of social networks. Valassis to News Corp: Show Me the Money (TheStreet.com) News Corp.'s News America Marketing division has taken a hit following its settlement with Valassis, but the losses will be absorbed with relative ease by its parent company, according to market watchers. UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News (UPI) Police: Man terrified ex-wife with mice ... Man yells at parrot, jailed for weekend ... Famous parrot named N.Z. 'spokesbird' ... Chicken causes traffic woes in Calif. ... UPI Quirks in the News. Valassis Shares Jump After News Corp. Settlement (ABC News) Valassis shares climb after $500M antitrust suit settlement with News Corp. division News Corporation - Competition law - Business - United States - Valassis Communications SUBSCRIBERS: FDA, Bristol-Myers News Already Reported (Fox News) SUBSCRIBERS: FDA, Bristol-Myers News Already Reported UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News (UPI) Beyonce, Swift win big at Grammys ... 'Transformers,' 'Lost' lead Razzie nods ... Tyler's lawyer fights replacement plans ... Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard get engaged ... News from United Press International. ews America Unit of News Corp. Settles Marketing Dispute (New York Times) News America Marketing, a division of the News Corporation that publishes coupon inserts for newspapers, settled lawsuits by Valassis, a competitor in Michigan. Site: news - Google News Stephanie Birkitt, David Letterman, and Joe Halderman in the news - San Francisco Chronicle (blog)
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for advertising CBS sells out advertising for Super Bowl XLIV broadcast (ESPN) CBS has sold all the advertising spots for the television broadcast of this Sunday's Super Bowl, the television network said on Monday. CBS Sells Out Super Bowl Advertising Spots (CNBC via Yahoo! Finance) CBS has sold all the advertising spots for the television broadcast of the National Football League's Super Bowl championship game this coming Sunday, the television network said Monday Mobile Advertising Ready to Grow (New York Times) Every year, forecasters predict that mobile advertising is going to be the next big thing in marketing. This year, there may be some reasons to listen. Stroke Magazine appoints new deputy editor and advertising manager (Fullnoise.com.au) Stroke Magazine has appointed Victorian Mark Willingham as the new deputy editor and advertising manager. Willingham comes from a strong motorcycle background having started racing in 1991 as an 11-year-old. After finishing racing a few years ago he moved into coaching were he is currently a Level 2 accredited coach. Most recently it took him to Taupo, New Zealand last August for the 20... Newspaper wins 23 advertising awards (McComb Enterprise-Journal) First-place honors for printing quality and overall advertising excellence were among 23 awards the Enterprise-Journal received Saturday from the Mississippi Press Association. CBS sells out Super Bowl advertising spots (Reuters) CHICAGO (Reuters) - CBS has sold all the advertising spots for the television broadcast of the National Football League's Super Bowl championship game this coming Sunday, the television network said on Monday. Your Pre-Primary Non-Andy-Martin Political Advertising Update (Chicagoist) We've taken our shots at the Andy Martin campaign for their spots, but believe it or not, there's other outlandish and just plain awful political advertising out there. In an age where you've got programs like Garageband and Audacity and any number of other DIY audio and video (not to mention underemployed sound guys), it's hard to imagine that you could come up with spots that are just plain ... Local Online Advertising Leader Yodle Announces Completion of $10 Million Series D Financing (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) NEW YORK----Yodle, a leader in local online advertising and lead generation, announced today that it has completed a $10 million Series D funding round. The round, raised from existing investors, was led by JAFCO Ventures and joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth. Brand.net Launches Video Advertising Solution (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) SAN MATEO, Calif.----Brand.net, the leading network provider of online media solutions for the world?s largest brand advertisers and media agencies, today announced the launch of its Video advertising solution with a campaign for Unilever?s I Can?t Believe It?s Not Butter!® Brand.net?s video solution leverages VAST 2.0, the IAB?s newly released online video pre-roll advertising standard, to ... AdSafe Releases Q4 2009 Online Display Advertising Safety Review (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance) AdSafe Media, the rating standard of online media, today released its fourth quarter analysis of the online display advertising industry. The report, available at www.adsafemedia.com, provides a comprehensive review of the trends and issues in the display advertising industry observed across the AdSafe platform. Site: advertising - Google News Print Magazine Advertising to Grow in 2010 Despite Popularity of Online - Folio Magazine
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