Intrepid LLC

Be An Intrepid Marketer, Recommendation No. 16

Andre Agassi made the phrase “Image is everything” popular. But he is right – image is important – and fun. Remember, we at Intrepid believe it is OK to have fun with marketing.

Being Friday night, two fun tips on how to have fun marketing yourself:

1. Use Moleskine notebooks to take notes at client and prospect meetings. I have used every type and form of notebook in my growing years. Nothing has been more satisfying than my Moleskine. It just looks cool. It just makes you feel hip. That makes you confident. That makes you a good marketer.

2. Order business cards from Streetcards. If you read this blog, you know I am a fan of GapingVoid. Ordering and distributing edgy and unique business cards is fun. Have you noticed that having fun gives you an edge? I recently came to that realization. The image above is the backside of my new business cards. It will be priceless to observe the double-takes from those given this business card. That alone is worth it.

I recommend these two tactics to enjoy presenting yourself to the world. It will allow you to have fun. In this day and age – that is important…

Be Intrepid.

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[Updated: Tuesday, 11 MAR, 100PM]

Blogging & Social Media Workshop conducted by wonder twins Todd Schnick & Russell Fair.

What you will learn:

You’ll learn about BLOGGING: How to set up a blog – Which blogging platforms are best – Strategies to get the most SEO pop out of your blog – How to drive “meaningful” traffic to your site.

You’ll learn about SOCIAL MEDIA: Understanding what social media is, and how it might apply to your business. Learn how to build community – Build relationships – Build awareness about you and your expertise – Distribute thought leadership. There will be a deep discussion about what tools and applications make the most sense to help you and your marketing effort.

Saturday, 14 MARCH 09. The session will run from 1000AM-300PM. Fee will be $100, and includes lunch, and probably not a healthy one at that. Call me 404.931.0969 or email me at todd@intrepid-llc.com to reserve a spot.

DETAILS:

1. Bring a laptop. There will be wifi.

2. Lunch is included.

3. Location is Blank Stage Productions. 585 Cobb Parkway S., Marietta GA 30060. Blank State is located in the Artisan Resource Center, behind Easy Rental, and next to Marietta Bowling Lanes.

4. Session runs from 1000AM to 300PM.

Questions? Post a comment below!

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The key to a successful marketing campaign is one that changes the status quo – changes customer behavior – and stands out in the marketplace. Or in other words, innovative.

I have a client that is opening a new restaurant. I am on the team in a marketing capacity – helping them put together a program to reach, interact, and build community with our targeted customer profile. It’s going to be a lot of fun. And an exciting challenge!

Today I wanted to share an innovative marketing idea by my client. I think it rocks. And it is up to me to help make something happen with it! I am calling it our Marketing by Mona Lisa strategy.

They are about to begin construction on the place – and from what I’ve seen of the initial interior design plans – it is going to be a cool & hip environment to have a memorable meal.

But here is where my client is being clever. To add to the uniqueness of the interior design – she is dedicating an entire wall in the establishment to hang artwork by locals artists. And she plans to rotate a new artist and new art once a month.

I think this is really cool – innovative – and full of possibilities.

Why? Well, not for the reason that might immediately come to mind. Yeah, it will be neat to have unique artwork hanging in the place – not the “typical” stuff you might see in a restaurant like this – but artwork from some unique and engaging personalities – whose art will undoubtedly add style and pop to the look and feel.

But this is where I think it is brilliant and innovative:

These artists will want to promote this. They will promote the showing on their Facebook page, MySpace page, Twitter, etc. They will blog about it. They will inform their friends and fans – they will ask their friends, fans, and family to visit the place. This will bring a whole new community of patrons to the place – without really costing us. These artists will become an adjunct marketing team.

And here is what we will do in return:

1. On opening night of the new artist’s exhibit, we will comp a table for the artist to invite their friends & family to have dinner on us. Give the artist a chance to celebrate the new showing with their closest friends [and newest customers of the restaurant!]

1.5 As part of the unique style and design of the place, there will be a large community table that will seat at least 12. This is the table we will comp to the artist and their crew…

2. We will also promote this with our social media tools, such as here.

3. We will write posts about it on our restaurant blog – that will ultimately be found here.

4. We will use the opportunities in a coordinated PR strategy – with the local food section – the people section – the art & style section – whatever “section” of the local paper that might be interested.

5. We might even incorporate this into a precisely targeted direct response campaign.

This strategy should bring in new customers – and once they enjoy the customer experience of the environment AND good food at a good value – they will keep coming back.

I applaud my client for having the foresight to conceive and implement this innovative concept. It is up to me – as their marketing consultant – to take full advantage of the opportunity.

The lesson for you is to be different with your marketing. Think outside-the-box. Think innovative. But then execute. Apply the lessons here to your business. As Seth Godin says, the ideas are in you. Let them come out!

What unique edge can you give yourself to help your business stand out from others?

Be Intrepid.

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Be An Intrepid Marketer – Recommendation No. 15

You don’t need me to tell you that you have to have a written plan. It’s been said time and again.

You also don’t need me to tell you that you should take a few minutes the night before and sketch out tomorrow’s “To Do” list and work flow schedule.

But I will anyway.

These simple tasks make all the difference in having a productive day. And it seems that too many people aren’t making the necessary time to plan their day and thus, improve their efficiency.

Here is what I do: I run my own production meeting.

I go through each client project, and determine the key next step to move the project forward. I then determine who is responsible for that key step. Me? A vendor? The client?

Once I determine which steps are critical to move forward – and then achieve understanding of who is responsible to get it done – I add the item to my “To Do” list – and then do whatever it takes to see the task completed. I will even prioritize these items – usually by order of greatest impact – I don’t mind admitting – to my cash flow.

If I do this for each client project – each day. I have made significant progress in keeping my projects moving forward. Do this EVERY day – and you will be able to achieve a great many things.

What is your system?

Be Intrepid.

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I work out of my home. I am not much for setting up at a local coffee shop – to work anyway. I need peace, quiet, and a little jazz to concentrate on my work.

But in my home, I have identified a series of places I set up shop:

• My actual office
• The den
• Family room by the fire
• My wife’s office
• In bed
• The back deck overlooking the woods
• Kitchen table

All of these place serve different purposes. And I actually use each location for different tasks. I can’t settle in one place. I need a change of pace – of scenery – of mood.

I read blogs in bed, read news at the kitchen table, create by the fire and in the den, etc. You need to identify a place where you can feel good about working – achieving – creating – decompressing – clear thinking.

Some of you work at an office or in a cubicle – and perhaps you don’t have a place you can escape to be creative. Figure out a way to make your work space compatible to being creative. Remove distractions, add inspiring art to your walls, add soft music, clean your desk. You get the point.

To those of you who are mobile – maybe you can find a local coffee shop – a park or green space outside – use the conference room – or go to someone else’s office to collaborate.

The point is – you need to find your creative space – a place where you feel good and comfortable to do your best thinking and creating. And protect the integrity of that space – keep it simple – don’t let other things creep into that space and contaminate your ability to do what you do best there.

Got any creative ideas about how you can find your creative space?

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Life is too damn short not to have fun at what you do. And if you are in sales and marketing, you better have fun – or you will not succeed. The great thing about marketing in this day and age is the same old boring rules of the past no longer work. And you are encouraged to break them!

Thus, you need to do things differently. Katherine Hepburn famously said “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” She was right.

Want an example? I have a lot of fun watching Hugh MacLeod’s marketing campaign for Stormhoek, a South African winery. Click on the image above – that’s Hugh’s blog. He’s doing things a little differently there. And I bet he’s having fun.

“Most business practices repress our natural tendency to have fun and socialize. “  –George Zimmer

Why do so many people insist on making this stuff feel like work? Ask yourself seriously – are you having fun with your marketing campaigns? Where else can you be creative? Where else is it ok to fail – and relish the lessons learned from those failures? Where else can we strategically move chess pieces on message, design, and targeting – all to achieve stronger response rates and change behavior of customers?

“When people aren’t having any fun they seldom produce good advertising.” –David Ogilvy

Am I having fun, you might ask? Let’s see: I serve a great company that provides security and safety to thousands. I market for an abstract painter. I market for a real estate company that is actually growing – and having fun – in this economy. I market for a successful old school company wanting to break into new media. I market for a new hip restaurant that – despite the economy – plans to charge full steam ahead and build franchises. And I am working with a guy who’s life is centered on helping people innovate.

These are a few of my clients. How could I not have fun with this? Sure, my clients and I debate message, we go back and forth on design, we argue tactical budgets. But at the end of the day, we are having fun with our interactions. And the mutual joy we feel when something works – or when a new concept gels – is magic.

The interesting thing about the clients listed above is that they’ve all achieved some degree of success using traditional marketing approaches. But now they want to explore new frontiers. They want to learn, they want to test, they want to try new things. This makes things fun.

Trust me, as a small businessman myself, I’ve had my share of challenges and frustrations. But you’ve got to force yourself into a mindset where you look at your daily challenges, projects, To Do lists – as opportunities to have fun. Social media, while it is great at promoting awareness about yourself, helping others, learning, and building relationships – it is also a lot of fun!

The strategic side of developing a marketing plan that is successful – is fun. Deploying tactics and testing and measuring their success – is fun.

I’ve discovered that the people that don’t look at these things as fun – are the same people who are fussing about the economy. So now’s the time to break rules, try new things, be bold, but most importantly – have fun.

So, are we having fun yet? Please share ideas on what you’ve done to both succeed in business – AND enjoy yourself along the way!

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Be An Intrepid Marketer – Recommendation No. 14

BY REBEKAH LOVELL, Guest Contributor
 
From the time-tested business book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie notes the character of successful business giants of the 20th Century. He writes, “The world is full of people who are grabbing and self-seeking, so the rare individual who unselfishly tries to serve others has an enormous advantage. He has little competition.” 
 
As a business owner, it can be easy to focus head-down and bent over your goals and daily operations. The last time you came up for air, did you notice your lunch schedule seemed a bit too wide open? When’s the last time you served a friend or business acquaintance of yours?
 
Connecting with your clients, colleagues, and community isn’t a good idea or something you need to get around to – it’s essential! Your business, any business, can profit from being plugged into what’s happening around you and being an active part of the people’s lives you’re in contact with by helping them in whatever they may need a hand in.
 
This ability to surround yourself with great friends, mentors, partners, and inspiring clients is profitable both personally and in turn, financially. You’re growing your abilities and offerings through collaboration and your bottom line by referrals and word of mouth. What have you got to lose?
 
A client of mine recently said, “I seem to have surrounded myself with so many great people, and that’s what I love to help others do too!” This client isn’t one that keeps to herself. She meets someone new and spreads the word about them and their business or endeavors to everyone she meets. She is genuinely interested in promoting her friends and colleagues because she believes in them and their cause. I’m sure we all want to be around more people like this! Start today by becoming this kind of person for others, and the rewards will be ten-fold.

[Publisher's Note: You can find Rebekah here, and follow her on Twitter here!]

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I know the book Purple Cow, by Seth Godin, was first published in 2003, but I just read it for the first time this past week. And wow. Remarkable. Although a short, fun, easy read – it is no less a profound read that will change the way you view your marketing – and certainly how you approach your marketing.

“Are you obsessed or just making a living?”

The quote above is one of the lines that rung in my ears, and is part of the driving message behind this book. That to create a marketing message that is so extraordinary, so different, and so powerful, YOU have to be obsessed, passionate, a true believer.

Seth Godin makes it quite clear there are no easy answers. And there are no guarantees. You might fail, and fail big. But when you hit on that purple cow, that magical marketing phenomenon that changes how markets and customers behave, it only happened because you believed – and gloriously took the risk!

Enjoy the book!

You can find it here!

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