Does the mail leave you mystified, too?

After fooling around with this true story for about a week, I finally figured out how to deposit a check directly into my vendor’s account. I used my cell phone to take a picture of the deposit slip, texted it to him from the parking lot, and he used his phone to go online and immediately verify the funds were in his account. Presto! Technology saves the day!

Hmmm. Makes me wonder why I messed with the mail in the first place.

Your postman does not report back to you. “Ms. Jones received your postcard at 3:47 pm. She read the front but didn’t read the back, tossing it in the trash can on her way into the house. Ms. Smith received the postcard on her lunch break. She read it and posted it on her refrigerator. Ms. Porter didn’t get your postcard at all.”

When you send your message electronically, you can receive detailed reports of how many people received your message, what they did with it, and if they want to hear from you again. You can also determine exactly which campaigns work and which flop. You can determine the time of day and day of the week that get the best results. You can reach out to Ms. Jones instantly and achieve an immediate reaction.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night may stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds, but that’s only the half of mail delivery. You need to know what Ms. Jones does with your message once it arrives.

Learn more at the R&A Roundtable, a 2-Day web strategy conference March 29-30. The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

Yes, Facebook is my constant companion. I use it to keep in touch with special friends – as for those annoying acquaintances, call me and I’ll tell you how to block them. As an extrovert who works from home, I use social networking as my water cooler. Others appreciate how social networks let them stay in touch on their own terms, with complete control over content and contacts.

We are not alone, as CNN Money reported last week:

“According to The Nielsen Company, time spent on social networking sites by internet users worldwide has increased from 3 hours per month to 5.5 hours per month. This is an impressive 82% increase. Nielsen also concluded that people spend the most Internet time overall on social networks and blogs, and that social web sites such as Facebook are now the most common homepages for users.

Ooooh, did you catch that? Ms. Jones spends more of her online hours on social networks and blogs than on websites like yours. Is your website a waste, then? I think not. But these statistics seem to say that static sites without a social strategy are a waste of Ms. Jones’ time.

Do you have a personal Facebook page? Do you Twitter? How many times a day do you check your social networks? Do you check in with your phone? Do your spouse, kids or grandkids have their own social profiles? How can you hook up with Ms. Jones? What turns her off online, and what makes her click on over?

Does she “like” you?

Learn more at the R&A Roundtable, a 2-Day web strategy conference March 29-30. The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

Just as fast as the page was uploaded, the criticisms about the design of the crosstour and the price tag avalanched.  Time, money and energy that were invested into this car design were quickly becoming time, money and energy to salvage their reputation.

In a Columbus Dispatch article the execs of Honda USA talk candidly and openly about how this debut went wrong.  Dan Gearino, the journalist of this story, summarizes “The two campaigns (Ford’s Fiesta subcompact debut) show some of the opportunities and pitfalls for big companies when they make the public part of the marketing” (Gearino, D1).

The news here is not that a new product seemingly failed upon debut.  The news is what this journalist is hitting upon what the business world views the consumer as–a roadblock to making sales.

All though Honda and other fortune 500 companies may have not realized it, the consumer has always been a part of marketing efforts.

In a pre-digital world, this failed design would have affected an inner circle of buyers who would tell their family, friends and co workers “do not buy this car.”  Due to the top down communication print and electronic media bring, Honda would never have believed there would be an outcry.  They controlled the message.

In today’s world–the consumer has the platform to tell anyone they want.   Facebook pages, twitter posts, personal blogs and consumer sites all allow for a conversation between brand and consumer to occur.

How are you opening up to Ms. Jones?  Are you allowing for user reviews on your website or just letting the consumer review you somewhere else?  Do you talk openly about the under belly of your industry which sometimes affects what you can get done on an everyday basis?

The ballgame has changed.  It is now a two way.  Changing the look of your ad is not going to change your reputation—talking openly about it is.

For information, education and products related to “opening up to Ms. Jones” be sure to attend the 2010 R&A Roundtable at Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center.  This two day educational event will talk about all things related to the web and how to market to today’s consumer.  Click here to sign up for more details.

Do you know the story? Della sells her long, luxurious hair to buy a watch chain for “Her Jim,” who has sold his watch to buy combs for her hair.

The same twist of fate happens every day in America’s storefronts, as well-intentioned business owners spend hours planning something nice for their beloved customer, Ms. Jones. They scrape together every spare cent and invest it on exactly what she wants, what will make her happy, what will fulfill all her desires. They are willing to sacrifice generously to secure her love, “which is always a tremendous task, dear friends –”  says O. Henry, “a mammoth task.”

Have you misspent money on useless gifts? Have your impractical intentions ended in irony? Do you offer free financing, when she wants layaway? Do you have knock-down tables when she wants put-you-feet-up durability? Do you close early when she needs you to be open late?

Why waste good intentions and spare pennies, when we can know without a doubt what Ms. Jones wants?

All you have to do is ask. Ask her while she shops. Ask her as she leaves. Ask her three months later. Ask in person. Ask in a letter. Ask on your social networks. Ask online. Ask in an email. Send her a survey. Offer a little incentive if she tells you what’s on her mind.

A penny for her thoughts has a big pay off.

Learn more at the R&A Roundtable, a 2-Day web strategy conference March 29-30. The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

Come on, you’ve done it, too.

Between my desk and my destination, a dozen distractions make me forget why I came here in the first place. (Men, you’ll just have to take my word on this. This is how Ms. Jones thinks.) “The blinds need straightened. My friend sat in that chair last week, I wonder how she’s doing? There’s the book I’m reading, I wonder what happens next. Is it overdue from the library? When I go downtown to renew it I should stop at the post office and get stamps to mail my grandmother’s birthday card…” Is it any wonder I forget why I went to the kitchen?

When Ms. Jones sits down at her computer, she might have a clear objective and an obvious mission. She may have just seen your television commercial, heard you on the radio, or flipped through your flyer. But here in her online world, you might as well forget “dozens of distractions” – there are millions of megabytes competing for her attention. By the time she gets past the fancy flash on her home page and types in her query, we’re lucky if she remembers what she was looking for in the first place.

How can you make it easier for her?

First, be findable. Is your website optimized so the search engines can find it fast and first? (You do have a website, right?) Just like you pay to be above the fold, you can also pay to get on Page 1 of Ms. Jones’ search results. It might be time you brought your advertising budget into the digital 21st century. I’m just sayin’…

Second, be consistent. Your online message should match your offline message. If you’re talking about tables on TV, your website should show tables. You spent a lot of money on that offline marketing. Are you maximizing it online? Your image should also be consistent: If your TV ads are classy then your website should be classy – just like your store should be classy.

Ms. Jones mind has been compared to a plate of spaghetti. Each thought crosses over and under and around many others as she processes information and makes a decision. Your job is to be findable and logical once she remembers why she’s standing at the kitchen sink.

Learn more at the R&A Roundtable, a 2-Day web strategy conference March 29-30. The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

Maybe you scoff at waist-high snowdrifts in your part of the country. But none of us are in the clear from calamities big and small, be they blizzards, mudslides, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes or wildfires.

Do you have a disaster plan? How will you reach your employees? More importantly, can you call your customers? Can you access your banking electronically? What if it happens on payday? Will you still make payroll? Do you know what you were scheduled to receive today? How will you contact your carriers? How will you make up for lost revenue and lost opportunities? Remote access to your office and internet-based operating systems can be a real lifesaver.

Ms. Jones is digging out right next to you. While she’s got some pent up demand from her snowbound days, she might have lost some payroll, too. An unexpected day off without pay is a real bummer.

You’ve got about 48 hours to figure this out before the next snowstorm hits: five more inches are expected tomorrow.

The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

Larry rode the trash route as part of a new CBS reality show called Undercover Boss. But you don’t have to wait until February 7 for the premier, because you can play along right in your very own workplace.

Spend an hour in someone’s shoes this week. Literally.

Pick someone, anyone, and spend an hour doing their job. Sit in their seat. Is it comfortable? Can you see? Do you have the tools you need? Perform their role. Is it harder than you thought? Do the systems hold you back or help you? Take their break. Can you eat in that amount to time? Are your facilities adequate? Imagine you had to take home their paycheck. Could you feed your family, pay the doctor and go to a movie?

Now invite someone to walk in your shoes for an hour. Can they feel the pressure? Do they switch from running shoes to dancing shoes to steel toed boots with ease, like you do as you switch roles with every interruption?

In ancient civilizations, covenants were sealed by exchanging a shoe. This personal, valuable, malleable article was essential to nomadic travelers. Exchanging shoes represented sharing part of yourself and walking alongside someone on your journey.

Would you trade shoes with your staff?

It wasn’t long after that a passing storm knocked out power to the new sump for 24 hours, just long enough for the basement to fill up with 14” of water. In the meantime, the space had been finished into a home office. Out went the new sofa, rugs, bookcases, printer, speakers, books and countless pounds of priceless paperwork into a 40 yard dumpster.

Several months and several thousand dollars later, the office is re-renovated and another workspace is added. A worker comes to install a network and run some cables. In the tangled mess of wires he doesn’t notice one dangling cord, and the sump pump is left unplugged. We consider ourselves lucky to discover the small pond before it crested the lowest shelf.

It’s OK, you can say it: We were stupid. A few hundred dollars for battery backup or a generator would have paid for itself many times over. It is being installed this afternoon.

Do you have a perennial problem? What keeps popping up that you keep pushing aside? Are you using Band-Aids when surgery is needed? Do you put out fires instead of fireproofing? What does Ms. Jones constantly complain about? Where does your system fail over and over? Who is the weak link who drops the ball every time it’s passed to them? How can you fix this once and for all?

You know the old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!”

Well, at thrice, you move beyond simple shame to slap-yourself-in-the-forehead stupidity.

The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

A judge wouldn’t buy this defense, but do you try it with Ms. Jones? Do you try to persuade her with generalities?

“Lowest prices of the season…”
“Great service…”
“Unbeatable selection…”

It’s quite another thing to speak with specificity –

“Our bestselling sofa is marked down 18 percent.”
“We have a 98% customer satisfaction rating, and three out of five customers have shopped with us before.”
“With 37 recliners in-stock for you to sample, your butt will wear our before your options do.”

Ms. Jones writes off generalities as puffery and pomp. Frankly, she thinks you’re lying. Prove yourself with specific, quantifiable, reliable and credible facts.

Think like a lawyer questioning a suspect when preparing a specific statement: Who? What? Where? Why? When? How much? Why should I believe you?

Ms. Jones is your judge and jury, and she’s waiting for you to make your case.

The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

The most important marketing advice I learned from him was at a grocery store in Hazard, Ky. He had just constructed a display of baked beans. There must have been 1,000 cans in front of a barn my mother had drawn for his baked bean ho down. They were priced at 6 cans for 50 cents or 10 cents each. A lady with four kids came up to the display. She said to my father, “I want to buy 6 cans to get the price but I only need 3 cans on my weekly grocery budget”. My Father told the women, “Take this paper with my name on it to the cashier. She will sell you 3 cans for 25 cents, and here is another piece of paper for 3 more cans at 25 cents for your next trip.” That was the reaction I expected from my father, but the words he spoke to me that day still ring true today. “What a customer wants is very important, but meeting their needs makes a customer for life.”

Meeting the needs of customers in good times and bad times is important for all retailers. Our customers’ needs have never been greater than in today’s economic environment. Here are a few examples:

• We know you need a good night’s sleep after working that second job just to make ends meet! That’s why you can save an additional 20% off the sale price on our complete selection of mattresses!
• You need to replace that washer that sounds like a cement mixer but you have no cash and can’t afford the interest charges on your credit card. That’s why we’ll pay all the interest charges for 2 years with a low monthly payment. You don’t even need any money down.

You get the idea….you are not holding a sale to just shove product down your customers’ throats. Think of it as benefit you are offering customers by meeting their needs, and you may just win a customer for life.

As a side note, my father was a member of the “Greatest Generation” or what is referred to as the Civic Generation. The Civic Generation repeats itself every 80 years. That means my sons are also the Civic Generation, or as they are commonly called, Millenniums. To find out how the transfer of leadership to the next Civic Generation will be one of the most exciting times for the world of retailing, I encourage you to contact an expert in the field of generational transfer, David Lively. David can be contacted at www.thelivelymerchant.com.