Exhibitor Concierge Blog

This weekend, we planned to visit Buzz’s favorite “toy” store: Harbor Freight. Because of an earlier meeting that ran overtime, we weren’t sure we’d make it before they closed.

No problem…just check it out on Safari on the Iphone. The page came up and asked for my zip code. Easy enough.

That brought up another page with the location, but instead of a local number for any of the local stores it listed an 800 number. I called the 800 number and was connected with automatic system, that once again required me to enter a zip code, before I could get the phone number. Does that make any sense?

Message: Test your systems to see how they operate from the customer’s vantage point, and don’t make them redundant.

Full-page ads in newspapers. Radio commercials. Prime-time TV commercials. Things of the past?

Nearly everyday we hear of more mass media companies having problems or closing their doors. (Well, if you’re like me and follow the trades, it’s almost everyday.) We know  of the efficiency of internet advertising. We hear from many owners of small businesses who believe that they are getting ‘all of their business from the internet” in spite of their other advertising efforts. (More on this subject will be in a later post.)

Wouldn’t you think that Apple Computer would do all of their advertising on the internet? After all, they have one of the most innovative culture-changing pieces of technology to hit the scene in decades. Arguably in history. Yet, just this week I’ve seen full page newspaper ads for Apple’s Iphone and Iphone apps. My first thought was “OK, they are going after an older demographic.” But this ad was for the college student apps from the Itunes app store. So, maybe they are targeting the parents of the college bound.

If you watch TV without TIVO skipping the commercials, you’ve no doubt seen all of the Iphone apps ads there too! Not to mention the PC vs Mac commercials, which Mac addicts just love. And, of course PC commercials are also abundant on TV.

A couple of weeks ago I heard several Google commercials. Yes, I ‘heard’ Google commercials. On the radio. Doesn’t Google “own” internet advertising in everyone’s mind? Why are they advertising on radio?

I recently attended a “tech” trade show, Search Engine Strategies. The majority of attendees were technically astute beyond anything to which I aspire. They were well versed on ‘search engine optimization’, ‘search advertising’ etc. Yet, the largest exhibitors in the show were Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo.

So why are these high-tech and internet companies using what is often deemed “obsolete media”?

Message: There is still a place for traditional advertising. There is still value in meeting your customers and potential customers face-to-face. Traditional advertising may be waning, but it isn’t buried yet!

Having finally given in and signed on with Twitter, I’m having a lot of fun  sending out information about colleagues and associates’ events  and accomplishments. (RT) It’s tough to refrain from sending out what I feel is too many Tweets. How many is too many?

I found this and thought it was fun!

20 Signs you Twitter too much!

After reading my recent post about making phone calls to customers you’d like to have, my husband Buzz (who is also my business partner) reflected on a commercial from a few years back that he really liked.

He reminded us that it’s as important to keep in touch with current customers. The commercial is a 1989 United Airlines ad by Leo Burnett ad agency. We think its even more relevant now than it was then.

You can watch it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ6Z8kcoi-E

This is a bit off topic for our blog but if you are a photographer, it’s important to know.

Marcia Remiers of Sacramento Bride and Groom magazine and I were talking with Jennifer Dunham Starr of Memory Journalists at last night’s Sacramento Chapter NACE meeting at Le Rivage Hotel. We were complimenting her about some information in the August 22 post on her blog.

It addresses the situation that releasing images too soon, can ruin the opportunity to have those images appear in print. In her blog, Jennifer references an insightful article on this topic by Inspired by This a blog by Leila Khalil.

If you want to have your work featured in major magazines, you’ll want to pay attention. Check out the links.

Inspired by This

Memory Journalists blog

CNN Reports that Scientists warn of Twitter dangers. What do you think?

See Report Here:

When was the last time a bank that was not your bank called you? Occasionally we’ll get a call from our bank offering additional services or new banking products.  Today we received a telemarketing call from a bank that is not our bank asking if there are any services that we need, and asking if are we happy with our current bank. We’re happy with our current bank. What if we weren’t?

Message: Are there customers you’d like to have that are doing business with your competitor(s) instead? A back-to-basics approach might work. How about giving them call?

I understand why many small companies don’t have user friendly marketing tools. If they’ve been around a long time, they are used to doing business in the same way they’ve done for years and just don’t  ‘get it’. They don’t know what to do, are stressed for time and/or resources or simply don’t want to change. That of course, means they may not be around for many more years. What I don’t understand is why large companies fail to take advantage of the resources available to them. They hand business to their competitors.

When I travel, I like knowing in advance where I will be sitting. So, I’m not a huge fan of Southwest Airlines’ open seating policy. However they have it together when it comes to internet marketing. Since we travel a lot on business, I’m always looking for the most convenient flights and low fares. Southwest has a program they call “Ding”. It’s an application you install your computer. Select the cities you are interested in flying to or from and when you hear an audible ‘ding’ the application displays a link for sales in those cities.

By contrast, American Airlines has an email program. That’s ok, except that when I open the email, most of the time there are no flights on ‘sale’ anywhere near me. So each time I open their email, it’s an irritant. Guess how long I’ll continue that routine. Right! Not long.

Message: Find out what your customer needs and make it convenient for them to access it. Don’t bury them down with useless information!