If any aspect of market has come under attack in recent year it’s direct marketing. It often associated with junk mail, spam and broadcast faxing, etc.  I’m also going to have to admit that I have been putting off writing about this aspect of marketing  because it is my least favorite.  I realize some involved in the direct marketing field may read this, react and defend their industry.  As a business person I am tempted to use the form of marketing but as a consumer I am more often than not annoyed by it and it’s one reason I haven’t bought into such a campaign despite the fact it may bring a good return.

We have at times sent out postcards or similar media to potential customers within industries we have experience working to let them know we are here but other than general awareness I don’t beleive in intruding people’s live even if it does mean losing potential money.  We have received better response by making personal contacts, adding value to our web site via this blog and referrals for satisfied clients.

What do I do with most of the direct market efforts that are “directed” at me?

• Stand over the trash can tossing right after I get the mail, actually I have transitioned into standing over the recycle bin
• Right after I wrote the above point I received a phone call on behalf of a congressman. It was for a cause I believe in.  I hung up.  I knew they were going to ask for money and I didn’t want to get on a  list that would keep asking for more money.
• Constantly hit the delete button in my e-mail program but thankfully my e-mail programs junk mail filter and a new server based filtering program my company is now offering cuts about 98% of that stuff out.
• I never keep my fax machine turned on except when I’m faxing or someone I know is sending me one so that is a non-issue.

At one time direct marketing via the mail or print advertising was about the only way to get the message out to the masses but today we have so many more tools to more efficiently interact with current customers and to selectively develop relationships with new ones.  Sorry, direct marketing is not one of our favorite means of doing business.  Sadly I find the term, “Direct Marketing” to be misleading.  I never feel as if it’s truly directed at me personally.

Ever now and then something finally clicks. For quite some time I have been thinking about the term, innovation as it seems to be one of the big buzzwords going around in the business world. At the same time I have also been extremely bothered by the the lack of commitment to optimization in the areas of design, programming and media in general. The term optimization doesn’t sound very exciting but when you are talking about true innovation it’s my opinion that it’s all about optimization instead of change for the sake of change.  In the world of sports and in particular, racing it’s about optimization, how the engine can be fine tuned, how much weight can be removed, etc.

Why do we seek innovation? We seek innovation to make our lives and business more productive. A bigger bang for the buck if you will. One of my companies products is web site design and often I hear the phrase from potential customers, “We need to redesign our web site.” That may be true but if your desire for a new or redesigned web site is to just look cool then I recommend you take a little more time to think about the reason for the change. Obviously a site should be considered for redesign if;

• It need a way for content creators to add new information to the site
• Update security
• Usability issues (are people have a hard time navigating your site, etc?)
• Optimizing images - (I see way too many sites created with “cookie-cutter” programs that don’t optimize the images for faster downloads, etc.
• Search engine optimization
• Consistent branding - does your web site match your companies or organizations other marketing materials?

If you are going to get your site redesigned I would definitely talk to you about the above topics as well.
This post was targeted to web site design but I could probably name just about any other product line or service. Can you share some examples of products or services that have changed but didn’t really optimize and thus were truly innovative even though it was marketed as “New and Improved”? I’m a little tired of hear innovation as a buzzword for “new stuff” but rarely is the conversation mentioning how products and services can be optimized. What’s your take?

I’ve been wanting to write something that is a bit off topic from the typical business talk of this site but on a subject that is of interest to me and will probably be to you as well.

One of my weekly activities is to go to my local library branch and see what movies, concerts, or TV shows are available to check out in the DVD format.  You never know what you are going to find but I will have to admit most of the offerings are either old, serious or depressing.  Yes, occasionally you will find a comedy or blockbuster film but for the most part I get the feeling they want to have things on hand that “teach us a lesson.” Yes, I know the library is not supposed to a great entertainment venue. It is supposed to be a storehouse of knowledge but many of the so called, “classics” don’t do it for me intellectually or inspire me.

Another thing that has me scratching my head is the odd assortment of choices between the different branches within my local library system.  I find it sort of odd that one branch will have nothing but Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes which yet another branch will have nothing but Star Trek: Voyager episodes on DVD.

Is their a rhyme or reason to this? Do they study the local demographics and some wise sage in a back room who determines which parts of town will have access to certain DVD’s?  I don’t know but for some reason the Berea Branch of the Greenville Library System has on Next Generation DVD’s while just a few miles to the north the Travelers Rest Branch has nothing but Star Trek: Voyager Episodes.  Why can’t the library system rotate their collections among the branches instead of making me drive to different places to find new things to watch?  Needless to say I have pretty much exhausted the offerings at the Berea Branch and I refuse to check out “serious films” especially in the winter months when I need an emotional pick up.

What are your library DVD experiences and thoughts? What do you wish the library stored more of? What do you wish the stored less of?

Almost all of my life I have been exposed to some form of multi-level network marketing. The most famous or rather infamous networking company is Amway which I think is know today in the United States as Quixtar under their holding company.  In recent years network marketing has become the venue of many companies that sell health food, cosmetics and telecommunications, etc.
Despite the complaints I have had over the years about this method of marketing I am not opposed to the idea it’s just that too many of these ventures fail in their approach. The most obvious disturbing thing to me about Amway/Quixtar is a “cult-like” devotion they expect from their distributors.  That’s the most obvious but it hit me the other day what disturbs me more than anything about almost any company that tries to market their products this way.  Are you ready?  They are not focused.  It seems that before I have had any chance to start using or buying a product on a frequent basis the distributor is trying get me to sign up as a distributor myself!  The reason for this is they will get a cut of any sales their down line makes.  Once again I am not opposed to this method of marketing.  I’m opposed to trying to be sold on selling a product before I have had the chance to be a consumer that is advocate of the product.  It’s like asking someone to marry you on the first date. If you product is as great as you say it is then give me some time to fall in love with it.

Now before you think I am being overly negative I want to tell you about a company that does it right.  Avon.  My grandmother sold Avon for many years after she retired and did very well.  She had many customers all over town and even had the guts to sell Avon to an annoying telemarketer who interrupted her on the phone one day!  Avon is great about cultivating customers who love their products and from what I have seen their distributors don’t make creating a downline the priority. They make their products the priority.

I just finished a series on branding and this is definitely a “branding” issue. Are you selling people on the opportunity of promoting your company or are you focused on your product? Is your product or service so compelling that others will want to sell it for you or woud desire to be your employee?

Why do so many “multi-level network marketing” companies put so much energy in selling the opportunity to sell their product and less in actually selling the product?   Do you sell and innovate your products and services that can “sell themselves” or are you putting more energy in “selling your company?” Even if your business is not using a network marketing model do you you use the same strategies when talking to other?  Do you talk more about your “business” or do you extol the great products and services your business provides?

If you know me I am a very positive person who rarely complains and always like to take the positive view on things and people.  If I hold a grudge it just makes my life miserable but they are times when I feel it’s important to publicly announce when companies have given bad service or put up stumbling blocks in the path of the success of their resellers. We complained more than once and still we’re on the receiving end of rudeness and bad customer service. I do not post this lightly.

SpinningSilk Multimedia was recently presented with the opportunity of selling a managed service that will bring greater value to our customers internet experience. To sell this service the default method was to go through a company called, Ingram-Micro. I had heard of Ingram-Micro but up until a few weeks ago I had never had any direct experience with them. The following is a short list of road blocks we dealt with in regard to this company.

1.) Ingram Micro does not accept American Express
2.) According to our recent correspondence Ingram Micro’s Net Terms requires a regular purchase of $25,000 or more to qualify.
3.) The only other payment option available with Ingram Micro is an automatic monthly checking account draft–as a small business seeking to grow, this is a difficult proposition.
4.) Ingram Micro’s customer service is just about the worst we have experienced in memory. We received a confusing mailing which consisted or a torn and ripped Hewlett-Packard ink catalog instead of an Ingram-Micro services catalog that was supposed to come in a mailing. We then received a phone call from a rude Ingram Micro representative to explain the mailing and the”customer service” person on the phone said they put those HP catalogs in every mailing but if we “really wanted” the other catalog they would take our name and send us one when they had them in stock!  Why the heck did they send a letter saying otherwise?

Thankfully the service we are looking to resell has agreed to let us work directly through them instead of going through the bureaucratic channel of Ingram-Micro. I realize publicly writing this complaint may prevent us from doing business with Ingram-Micro and working through another another company like Ingram-Micro has put us off from dealing with these kind companies but if a competitor to Ingram-Micro wants show us they can be friendly to a small business who has the potential of becoming a large business one day and puts quality customer service ahead of  bureaucratic roadblocks we will be glad to listen.

If you’re a small business and trying to get to the “next level” be aware of these kind of crazy road blocks. Companies like this should make it easy for rising companies to succeed, not the other way around.  Needless to say the Ingram-Micro “brand” is not on the top of our list. Even if we found out that companies our size were not their target we should have received more courteous treatment. What are your experiences with working with companies like this? Is ours a rare case or coming into contact with a chain of bad customer experiences or is this typical?