One of the Seven Great Mysteries of Business: Why is it that happy customers rarely provide referrals?  I’ve never met a business owner who was pleased with the number of referrals they receive from their satisfied customers.

Why is happy rarely enough?

The Price of Entry: Many of us believe that providing a great product and superb customer service buys instant and never ending referrals.  Sometimes, but usually not.   A great product and excellent service is the just price of admission.

People Forget: Do we really believe that our business is always top of mind even with our happiest customers?  In spite of our notes, business cards, pens and stickers, they’re just not thinking about us as much or as often as we would like.

It’s Too Hard.  We are overwhelmed just running our own businesses.  How often will we take the time to talk about someone else’s business?

The art and science of gaining referrals is one of the key survival skills in THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE.

Does your business have an effective referral system? Most business owners tell me they do, but after a little probing, we find out they don’t. Your referrals will be only as good as the discipline with which you work your referral system.

Let THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE website help you make every happy customer a walking, talking billboard for your business.  It’s not easy but it can be done.

THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE website is all about referrals.  Sign up now for our free stuff and emails.  We’ll let you know how to get involved.

It’s 7 PM.  Your phone rings. An 800 number.  Unknown caller.  You’re in the middle of dinner.  Do you answer?

Same scenario, but it’s a family member or a close friend.  Do you pick it up?

In the office, your receptionist/secretary/assistant informs you of a call from someone you don’t know.  Later, it’s your best client calling. What do you do?

You get an unsolicited e-mail.  Do you delete or respond?  A voice mail from an unknown person.  Do you return the call?

There are some calls we always respond to:  the boss, a spouse, your top client, your banker, the IRS.

There are some calls we never respond to.  Junk messages, spam, salespeople, irrelevant or unknown senders.

The most frequently asked question I get from those who sell B2B: how do I get a response?  How do I break through the gatekeeper?  How do I get to the real decision maker?

FIRST RULE: Why do so many of us in the B2B world think prospects are going to stop what they’re doing and engage with us just because we decided to make contact?  A bit arrogant of us, right? Most people don’t respond unless they believe it’s relevant and most of the stuff we dish out to them is not.

SECOND RULE: Most people who are trying to solicit us are wildly enthusiastic about what’s in it for THEM but come up a little short when they have to describe what’s in it for us.

THIRD RULE: Don’t even waste your time making contact until you can describe in 25 or 30 words what’s in it for them to engage with you.  Hard?  Try it.  I’ll bet you can’t do it on your first try.

Not happy with your lack of responses from decisions makers?  Need help and practice?

THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE feels your pain.  There’s an entire section about perfecting these skills.

Interested?  Sign up today for our pre-launch e-mails with information about how to get involved.  No risk.  No obligation. Nothing to lose.

The new, tougher economy has not only impacted retail sales, real estate and the stock market, but nonprofits are also feeling the pain.  Giving patterns, just like spending patterns, have changed forever.

What lessons can be learned from THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE?

1.  Just like in the for-profit economy, doing nothing is not a good strategy. Donors are looking through different lenses.  Do you know what they are? Have you adapted to their new perspectives?

2. How’s your message? Is it compelling? What do you want prospective donors to remember about you?  Are you communicating your value to your community?

3.  How well do you know your donor base? Those who’ve supported you in the past will probably support you in the future, and may even expand their support in time of great need. The trick is:  some organizations avoid this or do it poorly because they’re afraid to bother these loyal supporters.  There’s a way to do it that works, and THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE will show you how.

4.  Add new volunteers.  One upside of the tough economy is the number of very talented people now available to volunteer because of layoffs and cutbacks.  Do you have a program to attract and grow them?  There’s a lot of talent out there now.  Are you tapping it?

As you can see, there are many parallels that can be drawn between the for-profit and nonprofit worlds.  Replace the word “customer” with “donor” and the tasks are surprisingly similar.

THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE is your one-stop resource for learning all you need to know to survive and thrive in our new economy.

Even if you don’t follow tennis, you’ve probably heard about Melanie Oudin. She’s the 17 year old Georgian who has taken down four formidable Russian tennis players, three of whom were picked to win the U.S. Open.

She earned a spot in the semi-finals later this week, but no matter what happens, she will go down in tennis history.

Her post-match, on-court TV interviews have been priceless.  Spontaneous, real, unscripted, unbridled joy.  Refreshing.  Untouched by handlers, agents, PR hacks and sponsors.  I guess that comes later.

“I know I can compete with the best in the world.  I have a chance against anyone.  I’ll know that forever.

She and Adidas customized a special pair of pink and yellow tennis shoes.  On the heel where her name would normally go, she had them put “BELIEVE.” The story is that Adidas was not planning to sell these to the public.  How long do you think it will take them to re-think that?

I believe it’s the funky shoes. An unlikely outcome. A too-short, unheard of tennis player who works hard and believes and makes it to the top of her profession on the biggest tennis stage of all.

I’m getting some new shoes.

The experts are coming into agreement.  Consumers are not spending like they used to and it probably won’t change soon.

Even as the overall economic news seems to be getting better, consumers still have their wallets sealed shut.

“Not only have people lost money but they don’t expect as much appreciation in what they do have and that should affect consumption.”

–Andrew Tilton, Economist, Goldman Sachs

We felt rich. We’re accustomed to ever-growing stock portfolios, massive equity in our homes and easy credit.  Now we must depend more and more on our paychecks to pay for the lifestyle, and that’s not working out too well.

“It’s simply less fun pulling up at the stoplight in a Hummer than it used to be.  It’s a change in norms.”

–Robert Barbera, Chief Economist, ITG Research and Trading

Many experts say that as households gain wealth their spending tends to go up.  The reverse is also true.  As wealth goes down, spending goes down too.

Even people with high incomes are reluctant to spend.  There’s a feeling that we need to be conservative–to save, to watch the stock market, to worry about layoffs and falling real estate prices.

It’s truly THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE. Money is being spent, but all the rules are different.  Do you know the new rules?  What will today’s consumer buy? Why and when will they buy it? Are you still wishing and hoping that things will re-set to the way they used to be?  Let me know how that works out for you.

Join our community at THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE.  It’s better to take one step in a new direction that to waste time chasing the past.

Register today.  No risk.  No obligation.

I borrowed the headline from an Ad Age article (8/24/09) by Ken Wheaton.   I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately and his article spurred me to action.

Barack Obama and Team Obama–2008 Marketers of the Year

Put aside  your political views about Obama and his policies. No observer of  marketing will soon forget the brilliant marketing campaign that took a virtually unknown, long-shot candidate and got him elected to the highest office in the land.

It’s been described as a well planned, skillfully executed, well disciplined campaign that combined the best of the old and the new techniques.  They were known for message discipline, staying “on message.”

You’re in The White House Now

It’s different when you’re no longer on the outside looking in.  Obama’s campaign rhetoric–his big picture, broad brush, generic and very articulate emotional appeals and criticisms of the Bush administration won’t work any more.

Now, Obama is the government that he was campaigning against just a few months ago.  We are his constituents. We expect more than a continuation of the campaign, no matter how successful it was.

What Happened with Health Care?

It’s still hard to believe how badly the marketing of health care reform has been mangled.

1)  There’s no single plan or bill.  No clarity, no unified message.

2) It’s a complex, emotional issue that’s even hard for the so-called experts to understand.  How do they expect the rest of us to get it?

3)  An interesting tactic:  blaming the recipients of the message, the public, for not understanding when the message discipline has been chaotic at best.

Lessons to be Learned

If you think message clarity is important to getting elected, it’s probably ten times more important when you’re in charge.  You are now accountable for clarity and results, not criticism and broad generalities.

Public opinion can’t be ignored.  It makes a difference.  The people will be heard, and smart marketers (and politicians) will make sure they are dialed in and listening all the time.

THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE is all about message discipline and clarity.  Come join us.  Register now.

Have you been watching the town hall meetings conducted by our Members of Congress?

No matter what your personal or political position is on health care, you must admit there’s been some loud and lively debate, and a lot of heat, aimed directly at our Congress people.

Why are people so angry?

Here’s a clue.  According to a recent Gallup Poll, almost two of three Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job.

Not that it hasn’t been worse.  At the end of 2008,  80% of us thought they were doing a lousy job.  Yes, they’ve improved, but do you consider a 30% job approval rating a success?

Most of us have disapproved of them for a long time.  Their average job approval rating has been in the 30% range for many years.

So another way of saying it is that we just don’t trust them.  We don’t trust them to do their job. We don’t believe what they say.  When they start messing with our health care, we’re angry because we just don’t trust them to do the right thing.

If Congress was a for-profit business competing in THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE how do you think they would fare:   survivor or  casualty?

What would happen to your business if two thirds of your customers disapproved of what you do?

Today’s consumers don’t need to and will not do business with someone they don’t trust (but I guess we’re stuck with our Congress for now).

Members of THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE community will learn how to buy and continue to earn trust with today’s consumers.  Trust is hard to win and easy to lose, but in the new economy, it’s the very essence of your business.

We’re looking forward to welcoming you to THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE.  Register today.

How do you know if your $300 million ad campaign is working? One way is to get a call from your competitor threatening legal action if you don’t pull it.

According to an Ad Age article, this happened recently when the legal eagles at Apple called Microsoft COO Kevin Turner demanding that MS pull its “Laptop Hunters” TV campaign.

Really? Turner is quoted as saying “It was the greatest single phone call I’ve ever taken in the business.” I guess so.

How un-Apple-like. Definitely not the “cool” that the Apple cult likes to project.

So how bad is Apple hurting? According to the latest NPD Research stats Windows PC sales are up 22% and Mac sales are down almost 17% over the past year.

According to recent data from BrandIndex, since the Microsoft campaign began, Apple’s value perception has fallen considerably while Microsoft’s has risen, especially among the 18 to 34 population.

There’s an old saying “Never let them see you sweat.”

Apple guys, it looks to me like you’re sweating.

Is it possible that Apple is missing the message of THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE? We’ve been saying for a while that the era of badges, status symbols and conspicuous consumption is over, maybe forever.

Mac computers have always been positioned as the cooler but definitely pricier choice with the mantra that to get more you’ve got to pay more.

But if  “I can get just what I wanted” (as all the characters in the TV campaign did) for under $1000. and it’s not a Mac, what do you do?

Some thoughts for the gurus at Apple:

Apple folks, don’t sweat. Don’t panic. That’s not your brand of cool. Remember, you started this with your Mac vs. PC campaign. It just took Microsoft a while to respond.

Now they’ve hit a nerve, not only with you, but more importantly with computer consumers. Cool has changed. It’s now OK and cool to get the best value for the lowest price.

Get back to the drawing board. Fight back. Win the real battle, the battle for consumers’ pocketbooks, not a legal battle that will make you look weak.

It’s all about image, and this battle is really about your image.

My wife  handed me the six-month invoice to renew our car insurance.  She spent the next half hour scraping me off the ceiling.  A 30% increase from just six months ago. The same cars, the same exact conditions.  No tickets, no accidents, no claims, no new cars, no changes. A 30% increase.

I called my agent.  They looked in to it.  They agreed.  There’s no reason for this.  We’ve been excellent customers for many decades.  We’ve paid on time. Never any major claims.  We are low risk customers who most companies would be glad to serve.  So why the unwarranted increase?

It seems that there is some little understood, rarely talked about language in their contract that has caught me.  I had the audacity to help my daughter buy her first car by co-signing with her (she’s not on my insurance) and I applied for a new credit card that I use mostly for my business.  Under the rules of this major national insurance giant, I have now put myself in a high risk category, at high risk of having a major insurance claim.

What kind of tortured rule is this?  I have an excellent Beacon score and excellent credit and have for a long time.  You can bet that I will do everything to avoid renewing this policy.  Bids are coming in from all over, and I can’t wait to give them the bad news.  They are about to lose a valued customer.

Case Two:  DirectTV.  I was an eight year continuous customer.  Bought all their HD and premium stuff.  Spent over $15,000 with them over the years. I got tired of being solicited by direct mail with their discount offers for new customers.  Special rates.  No installation.  Wire up every TV in the house with DirectTV for next to nothing.

I called.  I would like that deal.  I have some TV’s that are not wired in. 

“Well, no sir, you see that’s for new customers.  You been with us a long time, and we really appreciate your business.”

What?  Then why are you sending me these solicitations as if I was not a customer?  And when I call you on it, all you can say is I appreciate your business?

How long do you think it took me to cancel?  As much as I dislike cable companies, they came out, hooked me up, and everything’s been perfect.  So sad DirectTV.  All I’ve received from them are the standard, automated “We Wnat You Back” mail peices.  Maybe now I qualify for their lower rates.

What are these people thinking?  Stay tuned for Part II.