Honesty is the Best Policy

I watched a lot of Leave it to Beaver and Bonanza growing up with my dad. Two things that came out of watching those shows were 1. I had my first crush on June Cleaver and 2 Honesty is the best policy!

My dad always referenced the term "I'd rather hear bad news from you than the teacher/principal/neighbor. Gosh that is so true, even in the business world.

Too often we find out our advertising partners run something wrong, didn't run it or made a mistake by someone telling us or us having to find out ourselves.

Even worse, everyone has a million excuses. As we all know and come to appreciate: If someone simply says "it was my fault and I am sorry" wow that means a lot. Simply because it is the truth and you don't hear it anymore!

Long story short, if you screwed up, admit it right away, take ownership, apologize, and fix it. That simple.

Thanks to Ben Cartwright, Haas, The Beaver, my dad, and June Cleaver for the correct advice!

Boo from Boone

Wow, where to start? Well let me give you a re-cap of the last10 months or so.

So I became a father, which has been one of the best things to ever happen to me. On May 7th of this year my wife Nicole gave birth to Boone Wells Edens. Our lives have been better every day with him in it. The pic above is a recent picture from him in his Halloween costume.

Also in March of this year I was able to open my own marketing company named Hard Knox Marketing. I have a handful of clients who trust me with their marketing decisions. I absolutely love it. I deal with Marketing all day, rather than paperwork, sales, and a little marketing in my past TV sales jobs. Also with the new company I am able to stay at home 2 days a week with Boone and we do everything from watching cartoons to sending out emails together...It is great!

Now that I am back to a normal schedule I am going to continue to write. One thing that continues to get me upset is the lack of Customer Service in all industries. Going forward this will be a theme for me.

Thanks for your patience and continuing to listen to this old man blabber about marketing.

PS. I need you to like me.... on facebook, search Hard Knox Marketing

My 15 minutes are over... As seen on Good Morning America!

So if I haven't told you yet I was famous for a little while. My co-worker and I were featured on a segment during Good Morning America.

Here is a link to the video
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/work-spouse-real-spouse-12959290

I did enjoy my 15 minutes while they lasted!

Marketing Vs. Advertising

Do you think in Marketing Terms, or simply in Advertising terms?
You should be looking at your Marketing. Advertising is simply a part of your marketing plan. Let's look at an example.
You buy a TV commercial (Advertising) However the creative in that ad is based on your overall marketing plan. Then that person calls you, how do you answer the phone call (marketing/customer service) How is their business routed through your sales process (marketing/customer service) all the points of contact during the buying cycle (marketing) how your salesperson talks to them and about what (marketing/sales). So they just bought from you, how do you thank them? (marketing/follow up)
So advertising gets them in the door and a great marketing plan gets them to be your long term customer and refer others!
That is why I have decided to open a Marketing Firm called Hard Knox Marketing starting March 15th. www.hardknoxmarketing.comMy goal with my clients will be to look at their overall marketing plan to ensure all points of contact with a customer is consistent with their overall plan. Feel free to contact me at hardknoxmarketing@gmail.com or via phone at 920.265.2255 This is not a solicitation, it's just that I am very excited about the opportunity to help others strengthen their business!

What's my name?

OK, it's a small thing to some people however it's a big deal to me! I go to local bank and usually use the drive through. Well about a month after I have been going there they said hi to me, more importantly they said Hello Andrew. Wow they know my name! Seriously they know my name. I realize that is the way banks used to be, but it's definitely different to get a hello with my name! I can go to a different branch in another part of town, but i purposely go to the bank that remember my name now.
Just think if you could remember the names of all your clients, or at least the top spenders, and say hi to them by name. It makes a difference to me and i am sure it would make a difference to your customers.

Your Plan: Remember the name of one of your current customers. Oh yeah, call them by their first name, much more personal. And how about a buisness owner telling me " I realize you have a lot of options out there, and sometimes cheaper options, I just want to let you know we appreciate your buisness" May sound cheesy, but it's honest and I gaurantee you will remember it and maybe give them the benefit of the doubt when competing on price!

No Update is an update

So lets say I am applying for a mortgage. As you know it's not always a great process, however there are times where you are waiting for numbers to come back in or something very important.

Well, it gets close to the end of the day and you have not heard back from anyone, so you call to find out what is going on. They tell you well nothing has happened.

This is super important to me, but just another transaction to them. How easy and nice would it have been for them to call me back and simply say "There is no update and we will keep you posted". Wow, 4 seconds, but a world of difference to me, the customer.

Your Job: If you are in the service or sales buisness and you are working with someone on a multi-day project, give them daily updates, yes even if there is no update. Remember this is probably more important to the other person. Plus it gives you another point of contact with your customer. Also, please don't email, call them like a real person, don't send them an email like a robot!

One call a day will make the difference!

When is the last time you got a thank you call from someone you did business with?
If you have recently I am sure you remember it, because it was ABNORMAL and pleasant.

Make this a new goal for your business: Make one, yes just one follow up call or thank you call to a customer. Here is what the goal of the call should be: First thank them for the business and tell them you appreciate it. Secondly, don't sell them anything, ask them what they liked about the experience and what they would do differently if they owned the business. It's a great way to find out what you can improve!

Everyone says Word of Mouth is the best form of advertising, this is a great way to create your own Word of Mouth Advertising. And what does it cost you? Don't be lazy, just do it daily, and it will work!
Think about it, after one year, you have over 300 people you contacted! More than likely they will have a better opinion of your business. Plus it's another point of contact with them, and you just created your own POSITIVE WORD OF MOUTH!