Tag Archives: Marketing

Abercrombie &Fitch CEO – Brilliant or Bastard?

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a&FIn recent news, outraged critics have been blasting Abercrombie &Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries’ comments about what the A&F brand stands for.  Here’s what he said:

“Candidly we go after the cool kids.  A lot of people don’t belong (in our clothes) and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.  Those companies that are trying to target everybody young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody either.”

The Good

1. Clear Brand Character

You really know what this brand looks like, sounds like and thinks.

2. Clarity Around Who The Brand DOESN’T Attract

Anyone that has issues with polarizing statements or can’t naturally fit the clothing need not apply.

3. Standing For 1 Thing

The CEO is very smart when he says that standing for ALL things makes brands “totally vanilla”. Amen to that.

4. Being Controversial

I’d never even heard of Mike Jeffries before. Now me and millions of others have and the A&F brand is big news as well as a viral sensation.

The Bad

1. Alienation

When you’re teeing off a percentage of the population just make sure that the remaining portion is big enough to keep your biz afloat.

2. The Inhumanity

Hey, I considered myself a “Fat Chick” in high school so need I say more about how hurtful just the words are?

3. Botched Positioning

One could argue that the same point could’ve been made with more tact and finesse by stating that the A&F brand embodied natural young leaders who attracted attention and liking based on their God given talents, abilities and personality. To me, that still describes ‘cool kids’ but in a much more empowering way.

So there just might be a few marketing lessons to be learned from this dude, even if said dude will never win any Nobel Peace Prizes.

As a small business coach, I ask you the small biz owner, what’s the lesson in this for YOU and your brand?

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk

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3 Best Ways To Get Shopped On Price

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As a small biz marketing coach, I’ve run into some doozy prospective clients in the past.  At the beginning of my practice, I once had a client who actually haggled with me about the payment date. She devised payment plans that didn’t exist! So I decided to give you some great tips on what to do if you want to forever be attracting clients who haggle with your price, go to a competitor at the drop of a penny’s difference and who nickel and dime you to their last breath.

1.  Blend in

If you want to attract el-cheapo clients, then go ahead and blend in with your competition. When there’s nothing different or special about what you offer, the only information potential clients have about what you stand for is your price. If you were offered the same thing for a cheaper price, what would you do?

Instead, I’d rather you got a good strong Brand Voice that’s based on your personality.  Because if your brand is based on YOUR unique personality – you have NO competition.    I’d love to see you make it a BIG part of your marketing message so that you really stand out.

2. Sell Everything To Everyone

If you want to be shopped on price, don’t you dare get a niche. Be a generalist. Offer all things to all people. Only experts get paid more so if you don’t pick one thing to be an expert–sure enough, the penny pinchers will find you.

When I hunted in desperation for a pediatric nutritionist for my adorable but stubborn baby who refused to eat, you can believe that I was ready to do anything to find the exact specialist who could help. I would’ve (and did) pay her way more than regular nutritionists and I recommended her to all my other mom friends who had the exact same problem. That couldn’t have happened if she hadn’t been niched and was a generalist like most others in her industry were.

3. Undervalue Yourself

You’re 30% cheaper than the entire industry because you’re new? You offer twice as many hours in the same contract size as your competition? Wow, not only will you attract people who are hunting for deals but they won’t even buy your bigger programs. They’ll buy it from the guy who’s got way higher pricing than you. What’s that all about?

Remember, your price is an indication of a lot of things: your quality, your confidence, your competence and your existing client base. Like attracts like.

These are the most surefire ways I know of how to get shopped on price and make your small business a nightmare to market. So PLEASE read between the lines and take my tongue-in-cheek advice.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk

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Are You Deciding To Be A Success Or Not?

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I was exhausted.

I had worked non stop talking to clients all day and still had an article to write AND a networking event that night to go to. I was also nursing a cold.

At that moment I understood that I was standing at the precipice of a decision. An even bigger ‘AHA’ came to me as I followed that train of thought.

We’re the results of our series of decisions throughout our lives but especially in our businesses.

 You Are What You Choose

So did I push myself to pour myself into a dress and heels and hit the event that night even though I felt like death warmed over? I decided it’s too easy to stay stuck in the house, behind the phone and behind my computer. I decided I actually get clients out of meeting new people.(and so do you!)

How Are Your Choices Adding Up?

My hero Dr.Wayne Dyer has a barometer by which I measure all things. He says if you look at the state of your life right now, it’s a mirror for what’s going on inside you.

So if you’re sick and in despair or can’t get any clients, what’s happening inside you? Remember, the sequence of events in your little body are: thought, feeling, action. Not the other way around.

Lump It Or Like It

If you don’t like the results of the decisions you’ve been making lately, how do you change? Do you accept that that’s the way the cookie crumbles or make a DECISION to change?

Proof Is In The Pudding

Another hero of mine, Anthony Robbins says that the only indication of a decision is an action step that you take. Otherwise (and I vehemently agree with him) you’re just talking to yourself and fooling yourself. When you consistently make the decisions to be successful, you will BE successful.

If you want to change your results, change your thoughts and most importantly AND  change your decision.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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Don’t Talk About Your Hell While You’re In It

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You are human (right?) and while as an entrepreneur you help solve your clients’ pain, sometimes you are also in pain. Sometimes, that pain that you make your living helping clients with is also, for a brief moment in time, your pain. Do you feel like a fraud every day and go on as if nothing’s happening?

While at the WIBN conference this weekend, the dynamite Danielle Laporte, channelling my hero Dr. Wayne Dyer in a tight leopard outfit talked about this very topic. She said that while she was going through her divorce, she was selling books and advice on how to sort out other people’s lives. Similarly when I first launched my coaching practice, I had nightmares for 2 solid months trying to think of ways to get new clients.

Are You A Fake?

When what you teach ain’t helping you, do you stop the teaching? Well, I think that what you’re teaching (and selling) wouldn’t have an audience if there was no need for it in the world. No matter the source of the message, doesn’t the message still help those who don’t know what you know?

Hell Strategies

What do you do when you’re a money coach and you’re in debt or a biz development consultant and can’t get clients? Well, first and foremost you DON’T TALK ABOUT it WHILE you’re in it.

Another thing that you can do is to get some help. There’s a reason you’re in the situation you’re in so fix it. That, in my mind doesn’t negate your power in helping others.

When’s It Ok To Share?

Hopefully the mess will have moved far far away from your current everyday reality and you can (as Suzanne Evans says) then “make your mess your message”. You gain instant credibility and liking with that kind of authentic honesty.

What’s NOT Ok To Share?

Don’t share details that will hurt others. Don’t close doors you can’t open. Don’t bring judgement into your message. Bring hope and courage. Then use the lessons you’ve learned to help even more people.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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Listen To My ‘Gentle Marketing’ Radio Interview

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Are you a shy marketer? Do you hate in-your-face-marketing? Don’t you think it’s 100% better to have clients be attracted to YOU? I believe so strongly in this topic that I wrote a book on it (coming in May!)

Listen to my hilarious radio interview with BizRadio and BizTV host David Wojcik on this topic of marketing on a shoestring budget while being authentic, attractive and generous.

It’s all about being clear on who you are as a business, who your ideal bullseye target customer is and how to get in front of them with the right message. It’s also virtually free because you were born with the best marketing tool and that’s your personality.

Picking the right niche is also free since all it takes is talking to your potential target groups to find out if you offer something of value to them.

Once you get those two things right, then you ask them where they hang out and go hang out with them! Simple, isn’t it?

I want you too to be a Gentle Marketer. It’s easy, cheap and best of all, it’s effortless.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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