Power Marketing Blog: George Torok

Power Marketing Tip 43: Oops We Made a Mistake

2012-01-27T11:21:00.002-05:00

Oops! We made a mistake

You need to include that phrase in your marketing plan. Why? Because you are not perfect and you will make mistakes.

It’s normal to make mistakes and most of the time your clients will forgive your mistakes if you admit your mistakes and apologize.

Coke
Admitting your mistake and apologizing can be a powerful marketing technique. If you handle this well you can gain fanatically loyal clients.

Coke made a big mistake with the launch of New Coke. They responded quickly and reintroduced Coke Classic. That made Coke drinkers happy again.

British Petroleum
Do this poorly and you could lose longtime clients and chase away future clients.

BP CEO, Tony Hayward, might be the poster child for mishandling the “Oops we made a mistake” message when he spoke about the Gulf oil disaster.

Your mistakes might not be that grand but you can learn from those two extremes.

Breakfast
When our breakfast finally arrived, it was cold. We were hungry and reluctant to complain so we ate. When the waitress reappeared and asked “How is everything?” we hesitated then told her the truth. She clearly didn’t expect that and responded with, “I’ll ask the cook what happened.” That was not what we wanted.

I believe I know what happened – she waited too long to pick up.

Like Tony Hayward, her first reaction was to blame someone else. Perhaps she wasn’t allowed to make mistakes and clearly she wasn’t trained on how to handle a mistake.

Prepare
List the mistakes you have made. Add the possible mistakes you might make. Then for each mistake describe how you or your staff could handle it. Include ideas on appropriate phrases to use, possible restitution and escalation if needed.

Remember your purpose is to save or gain a loyal client.

It’s amazing how “Oops! We made a mistake” can soften up mistreated clients.

George Torok
Power Marketing

PS: Tell me how this marketing tip helps you.
PPS: Forward this tip to your associates.
PPPS: Thanks for your comments and feedback.

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Why consumers prefer 70 items for $29 and not $29 for 70 items

2012-01-26T19:28:00.000-05:00

Facts might not matter as much as presentation.

You probably suspected that.
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Presenting item quantity information before price (70 songs for 29 dollars) may make the deal appear much more appealing than if the price were presented first (29 dollars for 70 songs ).”

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That's a curious result form this marketing study.

Learn more here
http://truthdive.com/2012/01/18/Why-consumers-prefer-70-items-for-29-and-not-29-for-70-items.html

Power Marketing Tip 42: Build a Marketing System

2012-01-24T13:06:00.000-05:00

Build and follow Marketing Systems

Marketing is the process you follow to get sales.

That means if you want more sales you need more control over the process.

If the process is random or you can't describe it, you have little control. To gain more control of your sales follow a marketing system. A process is only a sequence of events but a system is a planned and measured process.

Systems are the answer to success in any area of your business and life. Want more success, just follow better systems.

A System has three elements:

1. A system is based on a principle.

2. A system is a process to reach the goal. It is not the goal.

3. A system is a set of routines that are followed consistently and persistently.

It's better to follow an imperfect system than have no system at all. It's a good place to start and you can adjust it as you go.

Are you already following good marketing systems? Should you improve them - or drop them?

Describe each marketing activity in terms of the steps in the process. Then test to see if it is a good marketing system. Measure both the inputs and the outputs.

For example: You do A, then B happens, then you do C, then D happens.

Does A always lead to B? If not, what determines how often A leads to B? What can you do to improve the occurrence of B? Or how can you make it more predictable and more efficient?

For example:

A - You buy an advertisement in a magazine

B - You get some calls

A - You host a seminar

B - You get some leads

A financial planner always knows how much new business he will do six months out because he follows a repeatable and predictable lead generation system that starts with an invitation to a luncheon seminar.

If you want more new business identify the top three ways that you get new business. Then start describing the steps in the process. Where can you exert control? Can you improve that? Where do you believe you have little control? Maybe you can improve your luck - like a Blackjack player counting cards to improve odds against the house.

To have more control of your business income implement and follow two to three good marketing systems.

George Torok
Power Marketing

Tell me how this marketing tip helps you.

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How to Promote Brand You - video interview

2012-01-12T13:15:00.002-05:00

James Rick interviewing George Torok on the topic of promoting the brand that is you for the Full Potential show.

Enjoy this high energy and insightful 16 minute interview.

FP #174: How to Promote and Make Brand “YOU” Stand Out - George Torok with James Rick from James Rick on Vimeo.

Can You Read This Fine Print?

2012-01-06T15:02:00.002-05:00

While examining the DAP sealant tube I struggled to read the printing. Could you read this fine print?

I put on my reading glasses and pulled the maganifying glass out.... and struggled to read this fine print. I was looking for the directions of how to best use the product. Why did DAP make it so difficult?

1. Did DAP include the directions because they were required by law?

2. Did DAP include the directions because their lawyers suggested that?

3. Did DAP include the directions to be read by customers for ease of use?

I don't know about the first two possibililites.

I suggest that it was not for reason number three.

If DAP really wanted customers to be able to read the print - they would have made it easy to read. The print was tiny and the colours used didn't offer readable contrast.

The people at DAP might argue that they had to make the print small because of the limited space and the need to print on both official languages in Canada. I understand.

Why did they pick such dumb colours? My guess is that the branding police held sway. They might have been more concerned with form than function - which is the biggest nuisance about "branding priests" in any organizations. They focus on corporate look instead of customer experience.

The other suggestion that occurred to me was for them to include a web address on the tube where customers could visit to read and print the directions and guarantee restrictions.

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Is Your Guarantee a Real Guarantee? Not if You're DAP

2012-01-04T14:05:00.002-05:00

A guarantee is an effective way to remove some of the risk of buying. The better the guarantee, the more effective for you.

What makes a guarantee better?

Clear and easy to understand
Absence of weasel words
No or few exceptions
Clear understanding of the promise
Clear understanding of the fix
Simple claim process

I needed to reseal around my bathtub. I was impressed with the words "Crack Proof Guarantee" on the tube of DAP "Kwik Seal Plus for Kitchen & Bath"

That sounded like the answer to my needs. So I applied the sealant around the tub and felt good about another DIY job well done.

Until... five weeks later when I noticed that the sealant had cracked. My reaction was, "How could that be possible? It has a Crack Proof Guarantee. And it means that I have to do the whole job again.

Here is the reply that I received from DAP:

"If the product cracks, peels, mildews, or separate during normal use ( when used as directed) within one year from the date of purchase, DAP will refund your sales price to you. Just send the receipt to..."

Well, that is certainly clear and understandable. But none of those conditions were evident at the time of purchase.

Who would keep the receipt - for a year?

And how was I supposed to know that the Crack Proof Guarantee was only valid for one year at best? I certainly wouldn't want to be resealing the tub every year. I could find nothing on the tube that indicated or even suggested these restrictions.

It took DAP over two weeks to respond to me by email with that little policy phrase even though I completed the form on their website with my full name, mailing address, email and phone number. So naturally I had purchased a competitive brand to replace the cracked DAP sealant.

DAP product review
DAP customer complaint

George Torok
Marketing Speaker

PS: Read my Satisfaction Guarantee

55 Business Marketing Mistakes from Carol Roth

2012-01-02T12:29:00.002-05:00

Look at this latest compilation of marketing mistakes from Carol Roth on her Business Unplugged blog. The request was, "Tell us about the biggest marketing mistake that you've seen." You can imagine that there are many but these marketing mistakes are worth noting - and avoiding.

Here's my contribution.

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Others Got a Better Deal

Clients at the front of the line got a better deal than you. You’ll pay more, Ha, Ha.

An association used this approach to market its convention. Each message repeated the better deal that the early buyers got: for every 50 seats sold, the price will go up $25.
The $25 was not a big deal, nor did it motivate me. But the consistent reminder that others got a better deal was annoying. Annoy your prospects by reminding them about how dumb they are.

Apparently, attendance was down 25%.

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What other mistakes are businesses committing in their marketing?

How are You Showing Up?

The other day, we passed a window screen business. My eyes quickly diverted from the sign to their front door- a rusted door with the screen ripped and hanging off the door and the window was not much better. How you show up is everything. This business did not take time to fix their own screens, so as a customer, how could I trust that I would be cared for?

Thanks to: Charmaine Hammond of Hammond International Inc.

The Biggest Marketing Mistake

When I consult business owners about their marketing, the biggest mistake I find that they make is in not tracking the Return On Investment (ROI) for each marketing campaign.

What ends up happening is that when business slows down, they cut their entire marketing budget as a way to "right the ship". This causes business to slow even further.

Without tracking and knowing the exact ROI on each marketing campaign, they are making what I believe is the first, and often the biggest, marketing mistake.

Thanks to: Jay Estis of Massive Results Marketing.

Make a Lasting 1st Impression

The biggest marketing mistake I see is people who don’t take spelling and grammar seriously. For example, if you’re going to take the time to put your marketing message in an email blast, brochure, advertisement, or PowerPoint presentation – make sure it’s proofed carefully! A glaring spelling error or punctuation placed outside of your quotation marks may be all it takes to turn off a potential client who sees you as less than careful and therefore unprofessional.

Thanks to: Kristy Stevenson of Kristy Stevenson, Writing & Editing.

Examine the rest of the 55 Business Marketing Mistakes

George Torok

Marketing Keynote Speaker

Customer Dis-Service Summary 2011

2011-12-29T13:13:00.001-05:00

Good customer service is your best marketing. Bad customer service is your strongest marketing challenge.

Is customer service getting worse? Or are customers becoming more demanding? I think that it is both. I know that I expect more and I'm experiencing worse customer service.

Review this summary of customer dis-service reports, posts and articles.

Customer Service Sucker Punch: How Can I Help You?

Have you noticed that this phrase does not often mean what the average person might think it means.

It's a deception, a feint, a sucker punch phrase wielded by customer service managers.

A sucker punch is an old boxing term. The fighter in the red trunks lowers his right hand thus leaving an opening. His opponent, the fighter in the blue trunks notices the opening and excitedly moves to take advantage of the opportunity. But Blue fails to notice Red's cocked left hand. Blue ignores caution and springs forward for an expected easy win. But Red catches Blue with his ready left. Red destroys Blue who walked into the sucker punch.
Read the rest of Customer Service Sucker Punch: How Can I Help You?

Apparently You, The Customer, Are The Problem

"I don't know what is going on. I was supposed to leave an hour and a half ago."
That was the first thing that our waitress said when she arrived at our table. We had arrived more than five minutes ago and quickly decided on our usuals. This was one of our regular restaurant chains. We had not been to this location before. We were on the way home after a long drive. We were looking forward to enjoy our usual, quick service and then back onto the highway for the final leg home.
Instead we were seated by a friendly hostess and quickly forgotten - or so it seemed. A stern waitress walked by us at least three times without making eye contact. A stoic waiter (who also had mastered the power of avoiding eye contact) served the group across from us who arrived after us. We were wondering if we should leave. Perhaps we were at the wrong table.
Customer service managers seem to be using this same technique on their customers. Instead of helping customers they sucker punch them.
Read the rest of Apparently You, The Customer, Are The Problem

Customer Dis-service: Have a Nice Day

That's what the cashier said to me at the end of my purchase. "Have a Nice Day."

I said nothing back. Why? Because I felt that her statement was insincere. From what I saw, her well-meaning statement was delivered because the company instructed her to deliver it at the end of every transaction. She really didn't mean it and she didn't understand why she was saying it.

The strange thing is that the cashier probably thought that I was rude for not responding.
Read the rest of Customer Disservice: Have a Nice Day

Branding Summary 2011

2011-12-27T13:39:00.002-05:00

Good time to review your branding strategy for 2012.

Check out these provocative articles about branding. Warning: You might find some of these ideas offensive - and that's what a good brand should do.

The Branding Fallacy

Your Branding might be killing your business

Beware of the branding zombies. They regurgitate meaningless mantras like "branding is good", "you need a brand" and "we can help you develop your brand." These creatures only want your life blood. Unfortunately these zombies don't look like the ones in Michael Jackson's Thriller video. They look like you and I. They call themselves branding consultants, marketing agencies or graphic designers. And they try to sell you snake oil remedies.

It's time for a branding wakeup call. This might hurt especially if you have recently succumbed to worship of the brand. Remember, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" in the movie The Wizard of OZ. I'm ripping back the curtain. You might not like what you see. But it might save your business. I'm urging you, "Pay attention to the man behind the curtain."
Read the rest of The Branding Fallacy

Five Steps to Build a Personal Brand Like Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini died in 1926 - more than 80 years ago. Yet he is still remembered as the greatest escape artist of all time. Even David Copperfield doesn't come close in terms of brand and name recognition. That is the power of personal branding. Build a solid personal brand and it catapults you to success. Build a really good personal brand and it survives your death. Will your brand survive 80 years after your death? More importantly, will your personal brand help you while you are alive?
Read the rest of Five Steps to Build a Personal Brand Like Harry Houdini

BRANDING : 7 Important Questions and the Straight Answers

Consider these important questions about branding and the brutally honest answers that could help you sell more and save you lots of money that is typically wasted on branding. If you sell yourself as a branding expert - you might not like these answers. These are frank answers that demystify branding.
Read the rest of BRANDING : 7 Important Questions and the Straight Answers

Branding Lessons from Genghis Khan, the Mongolian Marketer

What can a growing business learn about branding from Genghis Khan? He united and ruled Mongolia. Genghis is known as a strong ruler and conqueror. Some might call him cruel and vicious. But he is remembered as a strong, memorable and effective leader.
Genghis Khan provides powerful lessons for business on branding. Consider this branding challenge. Many countries, geographic regions and cultures are looking for creative ways to develop their tourism industry. How can developing countries develop their brand?
What can you do if you are Mongolia, a country that suffered almost 70 years of Soviet communism? (The Russians hated the Mongols.)
Play word association with the word "Mongolia" and you might reply with "Mongols" which would lead you to "Genghis Khan"; then you might run out of words. This is the challenge that Mongolia was facing.
Read the rest of Branding Lessons from Genghis Khan, the Mongolian Marketer

Is There a Brand in Your Stand?

Watch out for the branding gurus. Beware of the branding police who focus only on images of brand. Fire the branding consultants who feel qualified to tell you what your brand should be. Ignore the branding zealots who proclaim "brand or die".
Good, now that we have frightened off the undesirables let's address some fundamental questions about branding and offer you some probing questions to consider. That first paragraph demonstrates the three rules of creative positioning as explained below.
Should you have a brand?

Maybe. It depends on the goals of your business. You need to ask yourself some questions. Will the brand give you the return on your investment? Will you invest the resources to claim and sustain the brand?
Read the rest of Is There a Brand in Your Stand?

George Torok
Marketing Keynote Speaker
More Marketing Articles

Marketing Article Review - 2011

2011-12-22T13:36:00.001-05:00

In case you missed them or would like a refresher here are the top marketing articles that I published this past year.

Viral Marketing

Viral Marketing is so powerful because it is like a train building up speed. Once it is moving you can't stop it without derailing the train. It takes a lot of steam to get the train moving. And it is difficult to stop. The train will almost always follow the tracks. You never really know for sure where your viral marketing campaign might lead.

Viral marketing is well named because, when done right, it spreads like a virus. The term viral marketing might be too graphic for some because it brings to mind the viral spread of disease such as the bubonic plague, typhoid, and AIDS. Read the rest of Viral Marketing

Strategic Re-Positioning: Riviera Maya

My first visit to Mexico was to Acapulco on the Pacific coast. It was the seventies, disco was king and Acapulco was the singles' hotspot.

A decade later I visited Puerto Vallarta, also on the Pacific coast for a more relaxed vacation.

Cancun and the Yucatan Peninsula started to gain popularity because of the sandy beaches, warm water scuba diving and proximity to Mayan temples.

Mexico as a winter escape vacation has long attracted northerners - especially Canadians. But it has always had lots of competition from the rest of the Caribbean and even the Southern USA.
Read the rest of Strategic Re-Positioning: Riviera Maya

Strategic Positioning: The Battle for Market Dominance

The most important marketing question that you need to address in your business is "What position do you want to hold - in the market and in the minds of your clients?"

Why is that question so important to you?

The answer to that question will clarify your strategy and direction. And that answer will answer a lot of other distracting questions quickly.

This is a tough question. That's why many business owners don't address it. Think about the significance of that. If most aren't addressing this fundamental question about their business then there is a huge opportunity for you if you are willing to do the heavy lifting.
Read the rest of Strategic Positioning: The Battle for Market Dominance

Marketing Success: Lead With Success Stories

Results sell. The purpose of marketing is to make it easier to sell and nothing sells like results. To capture attention and convert more prospects into eager buyers with your marketing - lead with success stories.

Feature success stories in your advertising, on your website, in your sales calls, and in your networking. Include them on every marketing channel.

This approach is even more important during challenging times. If your clients and prospects are hoarding their money you need to attract their attention and their money with success stories.
Read the rest of Marketing Success: Lead With Success Stories

Marketing Strategy: Fight an Evil Enemy

Conflict sells. If you want to be noticed fight a powerful and evil enemy. Who or what are you fighting? While planning your marketing strategy pick an enemy. The tougher, the meaner, the more disgusting your enemy - the better for you. That positions you as the hero.

"You complete me"

The Joker taunted Batman with that phrase in the movie The Dark Knight. The public image of both Batman and the Joker were stronger because of their conflict. A champion needs a formidable villain and vice versa.

The marketing lesson from that is that the public defines you by your competition. If you are not well known maybe you need to pick a tougher enemy.
Read the rest of Marketing Strategy: Fight an Evil Enemy

George Torok

Marketing Keynote Speaker

What's Your Story?

2011-12-20T12:46:00.000-05:00

"It was a dark and stormy night"

That engaging line marked the begining of an old story. Although many of us might recognize the line few might know the author, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, or the title, Paul Clifford. It was published in 1830.

The point is that stories capture attention and good stories are remembered. Stories are powerful marketing tools.

Now there is scientific proof of the effect of stories on the brain. Read about Your Brain on Stories at the Neuromarketing blog. Note the report about how they used MRI to measure the effect of story telling on different parts of the brain.

Notice how the story about the Snow blower add on Kijiji that went viral. The well written ad captured attention because it was written in a story telling manner.

Read the Huffington Post report about Kijiji Snowblower Ad From Moncton, New Brunswick: Genius Ad Offers Chance To 'Punch Snow In The Throat'

Back to where we began. What's Your Story?

If you aren't telling your product/business/career story, perhaps it's time to start.

BMO Customer Service Shines: Kudos to Bank of Montreal

2011-12-15T18:13:00.000-05:00

The Bank of Montreal has been impressing me with their customer service lately.

I received a phone call from the bank that my line of credit was over drawn. The message requested that I take care of that differennce today.

It was my mistake. I had miscalculated. I was delighted to receive that call for two reasons.

1. BMO did not bounce the cheque that put it over.
2. BMO called to alert me to the problem.

Naturally I returned the call and corrected the overage that afternoon.

BMO did two simple things that I appreciate. Apparently it is possible for the bank to do that.

Contrast that with my experience with the TD Bank. When faced with a similar situation TD bounced my cheque and did not call me. Instead, they mailed me a noticed that arrived a week later. And TD charged me for a bounced cheque from them and the other bank plus an overdraft charge.

When I received the notice I called immediatley. I visited the bank and fixed the overage. I asked the TD Bank to call me when and if this happens again. They informed me that they didn't have time to call everybody... What that really meant is that they had no intention of calling me because I wasn't important to them.

I have been a customer of both the TD and and BMO banks for at least 30 years.

Just imagine that. There is a problem - so you call your customer and let them know. That is so easy to do. Why don't they all do that?

I know. Some of them are too busy to talk to customers.

Kudos to Bank of Montreal.
Lumps of coal to TD Bank.

George Torok
Marketing Expert
Marketing Speaker
Radio Show Host of Business in Motion

Add Some Conflict to Make Your PR Programs Pop

2011-12-09T07:46:00.007-05:00

Conflict sells. Conflict makes the news, grabs attention and gets discussed at the water cooler. If you want to be noticed, fight a powerful and evil enemy. Who or what demon are you fighting? While planning your PR strategy, pick your enemy strategically. The tougher, meaner and more disgusting your enemy—the better for you. That positions you clearly as the hero.

The Joker taunted Batman with the phrase "you complete me" in the movie The Dark Knight. The public image of both Batman and the Joker were stronger because of their conflict. A champion needs a formidable villain, and vice versa.

The PR lesson is that the public defines you by your competition. If you are not well known maybe you need to pick a tougher, more visible enemy.

Make your enemy appear more frightening

Read the rest of this article on PR News Online

George Torok is a Marketing Expert and a contributor to PR News Online

Post Card Marketing: Good Idea - Bad Design

2011-12-07T13:31:00.002-05:00

Have a quick look at this post card. Ask yourself two questions as you scan it: What stands out? and What are they selling?

I'm a big fan of post card marketing because it is not used enough - so it tends to stand out and it is relatively inexpensive compared to other off line direct marketing. And most of us would rather receive a post card over a letter.

The first question: What stands out? What caught your attention?

Likely the first thing you noticed was "Bil Copeland" in the top left because that is where our eyes start. But who and what is Bil Copeland? Is the name a mis-spelling? And more more importantly, how can he help you?

The next place that catches your attention is the bottom right corner "RockStar".

Perhaps he is a Rockstar or wannabe Rockstar. So what? Why should you care?

Because I'm a marketer, I reread this postcard a few times. My guess is the average recepiant would not invest the same about of time or attention to this confusing postcard.

The mistakes:

No clear benefit to grab attention
Trying to promote two different services on the same postcard
Too much text, Way too much!!!
No clear understanding of what your prospects want
No call to action
No benefits to grab attention
Difficult to read text and way too much
No clear direction of eye movement

It's a colourful postcard - but a lousy marketing piece.

George Torok

With All Due Respect

2011-12-05T16:05:00.000-05:00

What does the phrase, "with all due respect" really mean?

It might mean:

"But"

"You annoyed me and I'm only saying this because you are a paying customer"

"I don't respect you or your opinion at all"

"This message has nothing to do with respect"

"Now listen to my excuse"

"How dare you"

"You just don't appreciate how hard I work"

"Now I'm going to tell you why you are wrong"

"No respect is due"

Which of those do you think is most appropriate for the use in the following sentence?

"With all due respect, I have over 190+ accounts to take care of and I with all honesty try my best to give everyone special attention..."

I received an email that started with that sentence in response to my message of disappointment and request for more specific details about a promotion that this supplier had done for my service.

Couple "with all due respect" with the phrase "with all honesty" and you have a major train derailment here.

Both of those phrases are land mine phrases. They trigger questions and feelings of just of the opposite of what they might be intended to imply. Why? Because they seem out of place and a case of Shakespeare's "the lady doth protest too much".

If you're unhappy or simply asking for better service, do you care how many clients your service representative serves? How is that relevant to you?

And if the disappointing service that you received was "special attention" what would "less than special" look like?

With all due respect (oops)

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Secrets of Power Marketing

Do You Need More of Your Clients To Complain?

2011-12-01T17:38:00.000-05:00

Maybe your business would improve if you heard more complaints from your customers.

Re-read that last statement and instead of focusing on “more complaints” focus on “heard more”.

It might not be about needing more complaints. There could easily be enough available. It might be that you need to listen better to the complaints. Those customer complaints could be an amazing free marketing research resource for you – if you listen.

I overheard a mother protest that she was tired of the school calling her about her son. Wow. Why would she not want to receive feedback from the school about her son? Good or bad news – wouldn’t a caring mother want to know how to help her son? The school was calling her because they cared and thought that she did too. Apparently she didn’t want to be bothered with bad news.

Good or bad news – you’d think that a concerned business owner or company president would want to know how to improve the experience for his customers. Listen without judging to customers and they will tell you what you need to know.

Customer complaints mostly come from customers who care about the relationship and want to improve it. Why would any business ignore this valuable constructive feedback?

Customers who don’t care about you or your relationship don’t complain. They quietly leave and buy somewhere else. They will most likely tell their friends about their negative experience.

You might not like to hear what they are saying. It might hurt. You might even take it personally.

The simplest way to reduce the complaints from customers is to tell your customers that you don’t care about them or their opinions. You can to that by making the complaint process onerous. You can dissuade customer complaints by instructing your staff to quote company policy. You can reduce customer complaints by refusing to talk to customers and instructing your staff to screen all calls.

I agree that not all complaints are valid. But you can learn from all complaints. If you are the CEO don’t be surprised if you don’t like the tone of the customer complaint by the time it gets to you. Just imagine the layers of frustration that your customer might have encountered on the uphill climb to reach you.

If you are the CEO and you are shielding yourself from customer complaints – then don’t be surprised when you get fired – by the customer or by your board.

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

The Deceptive Power of Contrast

2011-11-28T14:36:00.008-05:00

This photo surprised me.

The two men on my right were the greeters at this restaurant in Yazd, Iran. It was an Iranian restaurant. The food was terrific.

What surprised me?

When I entered the restaurant I was first greeted by the smaller man, then the larger man.
My memory recorded the second man as a giant.

But looking at this photo you can see that I'm noticeably taller than the giant. Curious how our brain plays tricks on us. I would have sworn that the giant was at least 7 feet tall and 300 pounds.

I'm about 6 feet tall and weight (still) less than 200 pounds.

Why did my brain record the facts differently than the camera?

Contrast.

The brain records new information in relation to existing information. When we learn something new our brain first searches for a way to relate that new information to the existing database within our brain cells.

Upon entering the restaurant, I first saw the smaller man, then I saw the larger man. The larger man was ordinary by himself. But the smaller man was so unusually small that my perspective was changed so much that the second man appeared massive in comparision.

George Torok

Keynote Marketing Speaker

Are You Curious? So Are Your Prospects

2011-11-17T07:15:00.003-05:00

How might you harness curiousity to attract attention?

Tell someone they can't have something and suddenly they want it.

Here's an example from P T Barnum of using both curiousity and umbrage in marketing to grab attention.

This is an excerpt from the book "The Art of Money-Getting" by P T Barnum, published in 1888.

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Some men have a peculiar genius for writing a striking advertisement, one that will arrest the attention of the reader at first sight. This fact, of course, gives the advertiser a great advantage. Sometimes a man makes himself popular by an unique sign or a curious display in his window, recently I observed a swing sign extending over the sidewalk in front of a store, on which was the inscription in plain letters,

"DON'T READ THE OTHER SIDE"

Of course I did, and so did everybody else, and I learned that the man had made all independence by first attracting the public to his business in that way and then using his customers well afterwards.

-----------------------------

Excerpt from "The Art of Money-Getting" by P T Barnum, 1888

How could you use this idea and principle in your marketing?

Tell people to do something that you know they will rebel against.

Make them pass the qualifications before they can continue to the next stage.

Tease them with the hint of what is to come.

Whisper instead of shouting.

Make them wait. (But not too long)

George Torok

Personal Marketing

Power Marketing on Facebook

50 Power Marketing Tips - free - if you qualify

Why do People Need to See Your Ad Seven Times?

2011-11-15T15:31:00.002-05:00

You might have heard that prospects need to see your advertisements seven times before they buy. That phrase is often repeated by advertising sales reps when they are selling you advertisements. "You can't expect results from only one ad" they'll scold you.

Teachers and trainers agree that new information is best remembered after repetition.

But who said that seven times is the magic number for effective advertisement - and more importantly how did they discover that magic number? What research was conducted to draw that conclusion?

Where did that wisdom originate?

Perhaps it was P T Barnum, the famous American showman, businessman, entertainer, promoter and sometimes scam artist.

Or perhaps was a real or fictitious French journalist.

Read this excerpt from P T Barnum's book, "The Art of Money-Getting" published in 1888 and you decide. Enjoy the amusing analogy that P T Barnum uses to make his point. This curious type of analogy appears several times in his book.

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A French writer says that "The reader of a newspaper does not see the first mention of an ordinary advertisement; the second insertion he sees, but does not read; the third insertion he reads; the fourth insertion, he looks at the price; the fifth insertion, he speaks of it to his wife; the sixth insertion, he is ready to purchase, and the seventh insertion, he purchases."

Your object in advertising is to make the public understand what you have got to sell, and if you have not the pluck to keep advertising, until you have imparted that information, all the money you have spent is lost.

You are like the fellow who told the gentleman if he would give him ten cents it would save him a dollar. "How can I help you so much with so small a sum?" asked the gentleman in surprise. "I started out this morning (hiccuped the fellow) with the full determination to get drunk, and I have spent my only dollar to accomplish the object, and it has not quite done it. Ten cents worth more of whiskey would just do it, and in this manner I should save the dollar already expended."

----------------------------

Excerpt from "The Art of Money-Getting" by P T Barnum 1888

Can you picture P T Barnum smoking his cigar, swirling another glass of whiskey and chuckling as he wrote these words. Do you think he dreamed that his anecdote would become advertising dogma one hundreds later?

So how many times does an advertisement really need to appear?

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Co-Author of Secrets of Power Marketing

Deception is Normal

2011-10-29T17:45:00.003-04:00

Is deception normal in your industry?

The menu listed the wines available with dinner. My wife selected a glass of wine while I chose a beer.

The meal was delicious and the service was prompt and friendly.

But, when we received the bill we noticed that the charge for the wine was double what we expected.

Naturally we asked for a correction.

The waiter “explained” (in a haughty tone) that the price shown in the menu was for one deci litre but it was common practice to serve two deci litres.

He suggested that if you only wanted one deci litre you should have asked for that.

We pointed out that that we were not aware of this practice and not given a choice - and that practice seemed deceptive.

He responded, “That is normal” with a dismissive wave and a shrug.

Apparently it was normal to deceive the customer. Instead of remembering the delicious meal, enchanting setting and attentive service we remember being deceived.

George Torok

Benefits Sell: Appeal to Emotions

2011-10-26T19:02:00.002-04:00

You’ll look cool

Those are selling words.

Are you using the best selling words in your marketing messages? Review your marketing messages with the perspective of an uninterested prospect.

What is the first response that prospects might have to your message? Is it “So what?”

That will happen when you describe features.

We are open 9:00am to 7:00pm
We have 24 flavours
Backed by 25 years of service

Yeah, so what?

When I was signing the contract for my new car – the sales rep asked me if I wanted tinted windows.

I hadn’t given it any thought and I didn’t want to spend any more money.

But, when she said the magic words, “Tinted windows will make you look cool, I decided in an instant. I happily ordered the tinted windows.

George Torok

Canadian Business Speaker

Move Up-Market to Differentiate: Burj Al Arab

2011-10-25T16:07:00.005-04:00

If you are in a commodity market there might be room to move up-market for new products.

For decades the hotels of the world worked on a rating system of 1 to 5 stars. A 5 star rating meant the best in terms of service, luxury and amenities. That high rating was accompanied by the highest prices.

So if you were developing a new luxury hotel you would be competing in a crowded market even with a five star rating.

What’s the answer? Differentiate your hotel by creating a new category.

The Jumeirah Group differentiated the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai by designing lavish luxury into the property and exquisite service. The look and feel was so superior to any other hotel that it was labeled as a Seven Star Hotel.

Once granted an imagination-capturing label like that – the label sticks.

Leaders will always have followers. It seems that at least a half dozen other new hotels around the world are claiming Seven Star Rating.

Apparently, (I haven’t been there yet) the Burj Al Arab offers check-in desks on every floor and Rolls Royce limousine service. Rooms start at $1,000 a night and run up to $25,000.

With luxury like that I don’t expect to hear about an eight star hotel anytime soon. But maybe I’m not thinking big enough yet.

If you are fighting for scraps in the middle of your market maybe it's time to move up-market and claim your Seven Star rating.

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Market to your Peers

2011-10-06T16:41:00.003-04:00

Why? The email offered an advertising opportunity to buy an ad in the issue of the magazine that would be distributed at my association convention.

Why would that motivate me to buy an advertisement? Why would I pay to promote my services to 400 of my peers and competition? They aren’t going to buy from me nor promote my services.

It didn’t make sense to me. Yet that was the lead point in this sales message. It turned me off quickly.

Your first point in any marketing literature or sales letter should be your strongest point. You want to grab your prospects quickly and get them to buy.

You don’t want your first point to offend your audience by appearing frivolous or ridiculous.

Always lead with your strength and preferably a success story.

I have asked this magazine sales rep for a success story and she had none. Instead she chronicled an imagined scenario that was based on her fantasy. But that’s another story.

The closing message in this promotion was:

"Be the envy of all your peers and be in the convention issue as its distributed at the upcoming conference."

That's a clever appeal to pride. Appeal to emotions especially when you can't compete on substance.

Be clear on who you are marketing to and why.

George Torok
Marketing Speaker

Marketing Like Picasso not Like Van Gogh video

2011-09-26T08:29:00.004-04:00

First World Advertisement Forum - keynote marketing speaker, George Torok, points out the marketing lessons from great artists, Van Gogh and Picasso. Video Clip.

Market like Picasso - not like Van Gogh. George Torok delivering keynote marketing speech at the First World Advertisement Forum.

More videos from George Torok at YouTube

Being Pleased with Your Announcement is not Enough

2011-09-19T17:35:00.004-04:00

Read this ineffective email announcement and beware. It was sent by a local non-profit organization. Read it and see if you can decipher what they want from the receiver.

Check your interest level, thoughts and emotions as you read this. Of course that’s what you need to do before you ever send an email like this. Certain words have been edited out (substituted with xxx) to protect the guilty.

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It is with great pleasure that we announce the launch of the xxx xxx webpage on our website.

We are fortunate to have some amazing xxx in xxx who have agreed to share their views on what it means for them to be a xxx.

We are pleased to showcase these individuals who have made it their priority to instil work ethics and essential skills, by providing valuable xxx opportunities to our future workforce across a variety of economic sectors.

We invite you to read their stories and hope that you will be inspired to join the thousands of xxx, who believe that knowledge-transfer and xxx are the key to the growth of our economy and our community.To view the xxx page please visit, xxx

Thank you
Name
Title
Organization

What do they want the reader of this message to do? Do they want people to visit their webpage? If so why? What’s the benefit to the reader? If that was the desired action why was it in the fourth paragraph after four boring and send focused paragraphs?

Let’s examine the lame language in this announcement.

“It is with great pleasure that we announce”

Boring, cliché and lame. Why would the receiver of this message care about the sender’s pleasure or announcement?

“We are pleased to showcase”

Why would the receiver care what pleases the sender?

And I left the typo “instil” as it appeared.

“We invite you”

Invite might be a good word to use but the rest of this run-on sentence/paragraph is vague, confusing and boring. What does it mean “to join the thousands”? Do they want money, a signature on a petition or a like on Facebook?

This non-profit organization might end up complaining that people are complacent. I wonder if they will ever consider that perhaps, they haven’t done their homework. They haven’t learned what motivates their market and they haven’t stated their message clearly.

The message needs to be about your audience - not about you.

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Sponsorship Marketing: Five Criteria For Success

2011-09-15T19:12:00.002-04:00

Sponsorship is a friendly way of marketing. It’s friendlier than advertising.

When prospects are on the receiving end of your advertising they know that you are trying to sell them something. So naturally their guard goes up. They prepare to deflect your advertising assault. And they are looking for the fine print. They are searching for the lie in your claims. Mass market advertising can be the least effective form of marketing and it’s very expensive.

Sponsoring is perceived as a good thing. When you sponsor an event, community group or cause that your prospects like – they are more likely to like you. And they are more likely to trust those that they like. Trust makes it easier for prospects to buy from you. You don’t need to say a thing about yourself. By sponsoring you are indirectly saying that you support the cause.

For that reason be sure to include sponsorship in your marketing. But, choose your sponsorships strategically. The next questions are, “What should you sponsor?” and “How do you know if you are getting a good return on your sponsorship?”

What should you sponsor?Pick your cause – a charity, social issue or community group.Pick an event – a fundraiser, community event or gala.Pick a group – a business association, team or social group.From a marketing point of view the question is, will the people who participate reward you with enough referrals, business or good will? Some of this payback is long term. So you need to test your personal convictions. Do you support this cause enough to loose money on it in the short term?For example: I sponsored my daughter’s soccer team. Did I expect a full return on my investment? No – not really. It was a small amount of money, much less than the cost of a traditional advertisement. I needed less than one sale to pay back. I was happy to support my daughter and proud to appear as a sponsor. Any business that I got would have been a bonus.Sometimes you sponsor just for the exposure to the right group. For years I was a wine sponsor at the Chamber of Commerce President’s Gala – a black tie affair. I did not expect direct business from it – just recognition and profile. It was a relatively small amount of money, only a few hundred dollars. Yet I received almost as much profile as the event major sponsors who invested thousands of dollars. It also provided a good conversation opener because folks thanked me for the wine.
Test your sponsorship opportunities against these five criteria:

A negative rating for any one of these criteria could be enough to disqualify this particular sponsorship.

1. Relative cost to exposureIs the cost relatively small compared to other venues of reaching this group? Are you getting more exposure or better targeted exposure from the sponsorship compared to other marketing avenues?

Related to this point, is how well can you leverage the sponsorship? Can you get a list of names? Can you market to them before or after the event? Will it help you to list this sponsorship in your other marketing materials?

2. Audience targeted to your best prospectsThe best prospects for my marketing training and consulting are business owners of mid-size companies. So, I would rather sponsor a forum that reaches 100 business owners versus 1,000 front line customer service reps or 10,000 students. Be clear on who your sponsorship message will reach.

3. Your relative exposure among the sponsors
How many sponsors will there be? How well will you stand out and be noticed among the other sponsors? Being one sponsor among three is much better then being one among 20 sponsors. Don’t get lost in the mob.

4. Do the other sponsors lift your profile?Will you be in the company of other sponsors who make you look good? If you are a small business you might want to be seen in the company of large well known corporations that elevate your influence. You might choose to be associated with fellow sponsors Microsoft, Chase Manhattan Bank, and Coke over Unknown Consultants, Everyday Franchise and Local Taxi Cab.

Even the cause you sponsor can help or hurt your image. We judge you by the company you keep. Whose company are you keeping?

5. Do you support the cause?
If you don’t believe in the program, group or their battle cry – then stay away from it. If you fake your support you will be uncovered and it will haunt you and hurt you.

Sponsorship can be an important element in your marketing activities. Sponsorship can provide you with a profitable return if you have clear expectations of the results and your motivation. Use the five criteria described above to help you make smarter choices in your sponsorship marketing.

© George Torok is co-author of the national bestseller, "Secrets of Power Marketing". To receive your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" and your free subscription to Power Marketing Tips visit www.PowerMarketing.ca
George Torok is a motivational business speaker who speaks to entrepreneurs, corporations and associations. www.business-speaker.biz/

For more business insights, comments and tips visit the marketing blog at http://georgetorok.blogspot.com/

Sponsorship Marketing: Five Criteria For Success

Seven Marketing Myths that Devastate Business

2011-08-17T17:47:00.003-04:00

What marketing myths have you “learned” or are you being fed? Marketing has its own dogma - outdated beliefs and mumble jumble all intended to protect self-declared marketing mandarins. Marketing should be helping you get your key messages out - so you can grow, sell more and win more business.What should marketing do for you? Help you sell more. Period! Don’t get fooled by the self anointed marketing gurus who try to sell you blood letting marketing mythology.

Watch out for sacred marketing rules that only seem to protect the marketing mystic without helping you grow your business. Beware of the marketing bureaucrats who seem to be missing the point of marketing. Depending on what business you are in, marketing must help you sell – product, service, membership, investment, participation, and/or support.

You can get past the myths of marketing. You must get past the myths if you want to out-market your competition.Where do you start busting marketing myths? Study these seven marketing myths. Understand them and grasp it as bane against those marketing zombies and business blood suckers.Business killing marketing traps myths you must avoid.

1. The “talent” trap

The myth is that you should hire “talented” people.The reality is that you should never rely on talent. It runs hot and cold. It subjects you to the whims of prima donnas. Instead – build your business by following systems.

2. The “build a better mousetrap” fallacy

The myth is that you should build a better mousetrap – then wait for the crowd to arrive.This is an old myth. The reality is that you need to market. The difference between the financial failure of Van Gogh and the success of Picasso was marketing.

3. The “find a need and fill it” myth

The myth is that you should find a “need” and fill it.This myth is still taught by many business schools. The reality is that people don’t buy what they need. They buy what they want. Your marketing challenge is to make your customers want what you sell or to sell what they want.

4. Myths about the media

Too many business owners believe that the media hates business.That is not true. The media is a business. The media will help you if you help them. What they need is information and stories. Your marketing challenge is to convey your stories to the media in a way that they find interesting and worth repeating.

5. The myth about “how to be number one”

It is surprising that whenever I ask this question of business owners many answer, “Deliver the best product or service.”The reality: To become number one, create your niche. Your marketing challenge is to find and claim your unique niche.

6. The fallacy about value

Value is not what your engineers create or your accountants can measure.There are two elements to total value – real value and perceived value. Your marketing challenge is to maximize the value you deliver from both elements. Be very clear on the importance of perceived value to your clients and the growth of your business.

7. The “lucky break” myth

Stop hoping for the lucky break.Success is never the result of the lucky break. I learned this lesson from the hundreds of entrepreneurs and CEOs that I have worked with and interviewed over the past decade.The reality is that success results from following good systems. Even an imperfect system is better than none. This is especially true of your marketing.

The above might be the most dangerous marketing myths that you must be aware of, and prepared to avoid.The Greek and Norse Myths make for wonderful fantasy. But if you base your marketing on myths – your business will soon be a forgotten fantasy.

© George Torok is the co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing. Get your free copy of “50 Power Marketing Ideas” at http://www.PowerMarketing.ca George Torok works with business owners to give them an unfair advantage over the competition. He helps you unlevel the playing field. Arrange for George Torok to work with you by calling 905-335-1997 or visit http://www.Torok.com

Customer Service Sucker Punch: How Can I Help You?

2011-08-12T13:55:00.003-04:00

Have you noticed that this phrase does not often mean what the average person might think it means.

It’s a deception, a feint, a sucker punch phrase wielded by customer service managers.

A sucker punch is an old boxing term. The fighter in the red trunks lowers his right hand thus leaving an opening. His opponent, the fighter in the blue trunks notices the opening and excitedly moves to take advantage of the opportunity. But Blue fails to notice Red’s cocked left hand. Blue ignores caution and springs forward for an expected easy win. But Red catches Blue with his ready left. Red destroys Blue who walked into the sucker punch.

Customer service managers seem to be using this same technique on their customers. Instead of helping customers they sucker punch them.

I recall the times that I have been approached recently and asked, “How can I help you?”

At the grocery store I explained the overcharge at the customer service desk. I explained the math on the precise refund that I expected. They had different math. One of them searched for the store manager. I waited while I noticed the two of them conversing for several minutes. When the store manager approached me she said, “How can I help you?”

Come on. She already knew. What else where they talking about? She did not help me. Instead she preached company policy. She even chastised me for not listening to her every word. She wasn’t there to help me. She was there to get rid of me. Why pretend that you are offering to help me? Why say such misguiding words?

We presented the coupon at the restaurant and the server refused to honor the terms. So we asked to speak to the manager. Several minutes later a grim looking man approached our table and stated, “How can I help you?”

You guessed it. He was not there to help us at all. He did not introduce himself or even try to be friendly. He also refused to honor the coupon for his franchise restaurant. He complained about the franchisor. He was never there to help us. Why did he open with that deceptive phrase?

I called about my cell phone account. After speaking with the first company representative I indicated that I was unhappy with his answer. He offered to connect me with someone else who could help me. I waited several minutes. Finally the second person came on the line and said, “How can I help you?”

I responded, “You already know what I want.” Her quick response was to tell me what she could not do and repeat company policy. She was less friendly than the first representative. Clearly she already knew what I wanted and did not need me to explain it again. Her responses to my questions were either, “I would not”, “I’m not allowed” or “I will not”. She didn’t help me because as she pointed out, “Nobody can.”

Why are customer service people asking, “How can I help you?” when they don’t mean it?

Perhaps the words have no meaning to them. They’ve been trained to parrot the words without understanding and internalizing the meaning. Like the service staff that say “Have a nice day” but say it without warmth or conviction. Maybe like the cashiers that say, “Did you find everything that you were looking for?” I once responded, “No” and proceeded to tell her what I was looking for. She looked at me as if I was a leper. She made no effort to help me. Instead she mumbled something about “maybe next time”. Of course, I’m now trained to ignore that question at that store. I mumble something in reply.

Maybe customer service people believe that they are actually helping the customer by stating company policy. Perhaps they believe that customers only complain because they aren’t aware of company policy. Once the customer knows the policy the customer will feel helped and enlightened. Hmm, not sure I want to smoke that drug.

Or those customer service managers have been encouraged to process customer complaints as bothersome fleas. They might be rated and promoted based on the lessening of official customer complaints. Head them off at the pass and they never become official complaints. Then, the answer to reduce official customer complaints is to work on your sucker punch.

“How can I help you?” Ha – ha! Got you sucker!

© George Torok is the co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing. His book is published in seven countries. To receive your free copy of “50 Power Marketing Ideas” visit http://www.PowerMarketing.ca To arrange a presentation for your team visit www.Torok or call 905-335-1997

Customer Service Sucker Punch: How Can I Help You?

More Customer Service Articles

The Van Gogh Marketing Syndrome Can Kill Your Business

2011-07-21T16:29:00.002-04:00

Vincent Van Gogh was an artistic genius. His work is an inspiration to artists and coveted by art fanciers. He was a superb artist. He challenged the norms and created powerful art. Van Gogh was unique. He was a master of his craft. He was a prolific artist. Today many of his paintings sell for millions of dollars. However, he was a failure as a business owner.

If you fancy yourself an expert, a genius, or a Van Gogh of your field – wake up before you’re dead. Don’t base your business model on Van Gogh. Don’t get lost in your art. Van Gogh believed that his magnificent art would sell itself. He didn’t like to sell. He didn’t believe in marketing. Look at what happened to him. He died a penniless man.

Today Van Gogh’s art sells for millions of dollars. However he never saw a penny of that money. Poor man, he died a pauper. His tale is one sad example of a financial disaster. And it’s one from which you can learn. A business that neglects selling and marketing will soon be out of business.

If you consider yourself a professional, technical expert or artist, learn from the mistakes of Van Gogh – quickly – if you want to grow your business. When I research and work with these folks I often find that their business is suffering because they are reluctant and uniformed in marketing their business. They mistakenly believe that being good at their craft is enough. Poor fools.

During his lifetime Van Gogh was not appreciated for his work. Apparently he sold only one painting while he was alive – and the purchase was secretly made by his brother. His brother bought the painting to encourage Vincent. As the story is told, it had the opposite result. When Vincent Van Gogh discovered his brother’s well-intentioned deception – Vincent was angry and became more depressed. He probably blamed everyone else and failed to realize that like it or not he needed to improve his marketing and selling.Instead of being encouraged by his brother’s support, Vincent Van Gogh was more depressed at the lack of public appreciation for his art. Sometimes those who care about you will encourage you because they believe that is what you need. Maybe what you really need is to be told the truth. You need to improve your marketing.If you are in business for public adoration, get out of the business fast. Because, public appreciation comes and goes. And media appreciation is most fickle. One day you are the rose – the next day you are the thorn or plant food.Vincent Van Gogh never realized that he was first a business owner. He didn’t understand that his number one job was to sell his art. His number two job was to market his value. His number three job was to paint. That’s a tough lesson for creative artists to understand. Be clear on your job priorities in your business.Now he is dead and his paintings sell for millions of dollars. Don't let your business fall victim to the Van Gogh Syndrome. Don’t cut off your ear or wait for your death to be your greatest marketing event. Make more money while you are alive by learning how to market and sell better. Don’t count on the art to sell itself.

If you want to paid to paint you first need to market and sell your art.

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©George Torok is the co-author of the national bestseller, Secrets of Power Marketing. The book is published in seven countries. Get your free copy of “50 Power Marketing Ideas” at http://www.PowerMarketing.ca Find more marketing tips and insights at
http://www.facebook.com/PowerMarketing1 To arrange for George Torok to speak to your next business meeting or conference call 905-335-1997

Publish

2011-07-04T13:55:00.004-04:00

Publish and you will prosper.
Writing and publishing your words can be an effective way to market yourself. These days it is so easy publish. You don’t need to write a book to be published. It could be as easy as publishing articles on your blog, FaceBook or the article directory sites.

Publish to position yourself as an expert.
Even though it is so easy to publish – many are still unpublished. That means we respect those who are published. Being published suggests that you have expertise. That might mean knowledge, experience or simply opinion. The three of those together qualify you as an expert. Consider that there are very few experts who are unpublished.

Publish to enhance your perceived value.
The ability to write is a valued skill. In order to be published you must first develop your writing skills. If you are published we assume that you have the writing skills. If you have the writing skills but aren’t published then no one knows or appreciates your skill.

Publish to generate leads.
Write and publish enough and you will receive business leads for your service. The more informed you appear, the more practical you sound and the more controversial you seem – the more likely you will generate real business leads with your writing.

Publish to provide additional value to your clients.
Help your clients better understand your product, your service and how those can them. The extra clarification, tips and idea will be appreciated as follow-up added value. Send them the links or print and send hard copy via snail mail.

Publish to think about and explore new ideas and perspectives.
The more you write and publish – the more you will be forced to explore new ideas and add substance to them. In fact a wonderful way to improve your understanding of your topic is simply to write about it. You will need to understand the concepts better to put them into print. If you want to trigger your brain for new articles, just start asking yourself probing questions about the topic.

Go ahead – write and publish.

Published on Facebook

Published on Article Ezines

Small Print Does not build Good Relationships

2011-06-29T16:15:00.002-04:00

Bell Canada was fined $10 million for their deceptive advertising and excessive use of small print.

The response from the Bell Canada spokesperson was along the line of - well everyone else does the same thing. This is normal in the industry. In other words, we were no better or worse than the others.

Maybe the industry needs to clean up it’s act.

Maybe Bell Canada could decide to be the industry leader by setting new standards of honesty and clarity in advertising.

Maybe the shareholders of Bell will demand repercussions, executive resignations and public floggings.

Maybe the other players will smarten up and leapfrog Bell by coming clean with new and transparent advertising standards.

Maybe new entrants in the industry will mock Bell and position themselves as the honest ones.

Maybe other industries will take note of the fine and realise that we are tired of being lied to.

Are you the same as or better that the other thieves?

George Torok

Marketing is everything you do

2011-05-26T18:06:00.003-04:00

Marketing is about sending messages. Think of all the ways you might be sending messages – whether you intend to or not. What could be critical is the unintended messages that you might be sending.

The way you look
Your dress, manner and character say the most about you and your business. It is not so much how you look and sound but more importantly how people feel about how you look and sound.

Phone
What message do you want your phones to say about you and your business? Now go check to see what it really says.

Your staff
Your staff is a reflection of you. So if you think that you have ignorant, lazy and sloppy staff – look in the mirror.

Your material
You are not your business card. But if that is all we have – you are that business card – at least in our mind. And what could be more important than the image in the mind your prospects and contacts?

Website
How do people check you out? The Internet. They use their favorite search engine. They might wonder why you are so hard to find. The might wonder why your site is so difficult to navigate. They might wonder why it is so cold.

Check out the messages you might be sending.

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Power Marketing on Facebook

Richelieu Hardware: Disatifaction Review

2011-05-24T10:44:00.003-04:00

Sometimes using a product can be frustrating. We report our complaint to the seller. It's reassuring when the seller actually acknowledges our complaint and responds. I'm pleased to report that Richelieu Hardware responded quickly and pleasantly to my complaint.

Below is a copy of my complaint submitted via their website and below that is their response. I don't expect the world to be made perfect. Sometimes an acknowledgement is all we frustrated customers want.

George

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To Richelieu Hardware:

Today I bought a set of Shelf Sides for a kitchen drawer. Your product number :TP10250030

The product appears to be good. After alot of work, the drawer is opening and closing smoothly.

However there were some problems.

You might want to change the things that annoyed me with this purchase. They are detailed below for your understanding.

1. Screws were not included with the hardware.

This is the first time I have run into this problem. Imagine selling hardware without screws! Ridiculous. Of course there was no way I could have known about the missing screws. So you can imagine my frustration when I opened the package at home and discovered that the screws were missing.

Upon returning to the store (Home Depot) to exchange for a package with screws I was informed that this particular hardware from Richelieu did not come with screws.

Annoyed I purchased your brand of screws to ensure the correct installation of your product.

The packaging mentioned that "installation instructions" were on your website. The packaging did not say "Screws not included".

2. So I went to your web site and look for a tab or link that said "Installation" or "Instructions". I checked all the menus and could find no such link.

If you are sending people to your site to find instructions - perhaps you could show them a link that says that.

Then I put the product code in the search box and found the product page.

3. No sign of installation or instructions there. There were two tabs at the bottom of the page - Overview and Technical Documents.

If figured that Overview would have what I was looking for. When that didn't work in ongoing frustration I figured "well let's see what the technical documents are". I wasn't looking for technical specs but who knows what I might discover.

Surprise - here are the instructions under technical documents.

4. The instructions didn't help me much. More frustration.

They refer to Slide A and Slide B but did not show which was which. They referred to "the screws" but did not mention that the screws were not included or what type of screws should be used.

There are three different types of holes in the slides. There were no comments about the purpose of each type or suggested use.

I first attached the slides to the drawer by fastening the screws on the side. Then when I tested the drawer I discover that the screws interfered with the movement of the drawer. So I needed to remove those screws and fasten them on the bottom. If you told me this - I would have saved time and additional frustration.

What should have been a simple and quick DIY repair turned into a frustrating and very long job. What I thought was going to be a 30 minute task stole more than half my day.

I look forward to your reply.

George Torok

PS: In full disclosure, I will be posting this email and your reply on my Marketing Blog.

-------------------------

Thank you for your email, I am are sorry about the delay of my answer, but I tried to call you a few times to give you the information and got no answer, I did not leave a message as I thought that it would be best to talk to you directly.

Richelieu hardware distributes hardware according to our distributor’s specifications. In this case part TP10250030 is not supply with screws as it is virtually impossible for us to know which material the slide will be installed in. As you might know, there are various screw types and lengths used to install drawer slides.

The types of holes in the drawer slides also have to do with the type of screw used for installation. The larger holes are used for “Euro screws”. These are mainly used by kitchen cabinet and furniture makers that pre drill the drawers before installation.

Your recommendations concerning item packaging, instructions and specifications have been forwarded to the product manager; we will keep them in mind for further web and product development.

Have a nice day

Regards

Vanessa Bureau

Richelieu Hardware
Services Web / Web Services

toll free CANADA : 1-866-832-4040
toll free USA: 1-800-619-5446

Google Your Key Words and Phrases

2011-04-27T16:17:00.002-04:00

Google is King of search on the Internet. If you want to be found you better be found in Google. That includes both pay for click and search engine optimization.

At least once a year and perhaps every quarter you should Google all the words and phrases that might be important to your business.

For example those words might include:

Your name (person and business)
Your product names
The generic name for your product
The pain or problem that your product fixes
Your trade marks
Your slogan
Your competitors’ names
Your competitor’s product names
Your competitors’ trade marks
Misspellings of the above
Your industry + the word “expert”
Your industry + the name of your city or geographic area of business
The names of your best clients
The names of your key suppliers

Study the results and look for patterns, insights and opportunities.

Google is the King of Internet Search – but Google is also a servant King. Ask the right questions and it will answer. But you need to ask and listen.

George Torok

Marketing Expert

Marketing Speaker

Canadian Business Speaker

Sell to the Greedy – not the Needy

2011-04-23T15:15:00.004-04:00

Business Lessons for New Entrepreneurs

I spoke to a business class at Mohawk College recently and gave them several lessons about marketing, business and life.

This point might have been unpleasant to hear.

Sell to the Greedy – not the Needy

That was the advice that I heard from my mentor and co-author, Peter Urs Bender. It might sound mean spirited at first. When you think about it you might see the wisdom. As a business owner you can save yourself a lot of grief if you follow that advice.

You will waste much time and money trying to convince the people who need your product to buy. The reality is those who need you the most are too stupid to buy. That’s why they are so needy. They are looking for a magic pill to cure all their problems.

I have talked to many business owners who need help with their marketing. I know that I can help them tremendously. But they can’t see the value and they only see hiring me as expenditure. They can’t see their marketing as an investment for which they can increase their return. They really need what I’m offering but aren’t willing to invest.

Instead the business owners who hire me are already leaders in their field. They’re looking for incremental improvements and they are willing to invest in that.

Sell to the greedy – those who want what you are selling. They recognize that they only need to gain a few inches or seconds to beat the competition and are willing to pay for that competitive advantage.

If you want to help the needy, make a good profit and donate generously to chairity.

Don’t waste your time and money trying to convince people that they should buy your product. Instead find the educated souls who already want it, appreciate the value and are willing to pay.

Your marketing then becomes a process of search, qualify and sell.

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Canadian Business Speaker

The Purpose of Marketing is not to Build a Brand video

2011-04-22T13:55:00.003-04:00

The purpose of marketing is to sell. Yet, when the marketing fails to product results some marketers claim that is was good branding. Who cares?

If you are small business you should not be wasting your money on branding. Instead you are better off investing your marketing in building more profitable relationships. You are not Coke or Nike. You are "insert your name here".

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Canadian Business Speaker

Cheeky TV ad from First Bank

2011-03-30T14:06:00.004-04:00

I like this TV ad from First Bank. It's cheeky, funny and memorable.

It also pokes fun at self annointed experts and motivational speakers. Those are easy targets that very few people will get upset about. I'm called a marketing expert because of my bestselling book and satisfied clients. And I've been described as a motivational speaker so many times that I finally just accepted the label. Yet I wasn't offended by this ad because I recognize the truth in it. The lesson for marketers: It's effective to take a position and be cheeky. And stating the obvious can be a refreshing marketing approach.

Notice that this ad didn't say anything about the features and benefits of working with First Bank. It simply implied that they have a sence of humor, are down to earth and easy to deal with. Hmm, pretty distinctive for a bank. Two thumbs up for this advertisement and the First Bank.

Stop Branding and start marketing - video tip

2011-03-24T16:39:00.004-04:00

Kitchens or Bridges: What are you selling?

2011-03-22T19:19:00.003-04:00

Customers don’t care about your internal process – until it goes wrong. Customers don’t care about how many trucks you have until it arrives late. Customers don’t care about the ingredients until they decide they like it.

Concrete Formations
Here is a company that didn’t get it. Guess what this business sells? Not bridges. Not curbs. They sell custom shaped kitchen counter tops.

Who would have guessed that from the company name? When I pointed this out to the business owner he seemed distressed that I didn’t understand him.

He was selling kitchen counter tops that could be shaped as the customer wanted. It would look like marble at much less than the price of marble. But he was a concrete guy.

What might prospects be looking for – in the yellow pages and online? Something about kitchens and customer shaped counter tops. I suggested that he rename his company or product with kitchen counter tops in the title. He looked at me as if I was strange.

If this was an affordable alternative to marble counter tops call it Faus Marble tops.

Looks like marble
I can’t believe it’s not marble
Why pay for marble?
Kitchen counters shaped the way you want
Beautiful counters in your kitchen

Anything but Concrete!

Google “Concrete formations” and you will find bridges not kitchen counter tops.

Google your name and see what you find.

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Business Speaker

Marketing is an Imperfect Science

2011-03-20T15:46:00.003-04:00

Marketing is not art. It is a science. However it is a behavioral science and therefore an imperfect science. Anything dealing with human behavior is imperfect at best. Yet it is still a science. You can predict and measure cause and effects.

Marketing is not art and it is not magic.

In order to be an effective marketer you must understand people and how to influence their behaviors.

Marketing is about guessing that if we do this, people will do that. The guessing part is important. The significant part is guessing how many people will do that.

What do you do? Predict – test – measure and adjust.

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Motivational Business Speaker

Crazy People: Movie about Advertising Truth

2011-03-14T18:00:00.003-04:00

This old movie with Dudley Moore might offend some of you with the language - but it is a real look at advertising.

Life Insurance is not Life Insurance

2011-03-13T18:49:00.002-04:00

Sometimes effective marketing means misinterpreting words. Sometimes the truth doesn’t sell as well as misleading words.

Life Insurance is not life insurance. It is really death insurance. Fire insurance protects you against a fire. Accident insurance protects you against an accident. Theft insurance protects you against theft. And we could reassembly assume that flood and earthquake insurance would protect you against flood and earthquakes.

The truth would to be to say that you are selling death insurance to protect your survivors upon your death.

If they were truthful would my Dad have purchased Life Insurance when I was born? At the age of 18, I received a payment of about $1,800. During those 18 years he contributed much more than that amount. What was the purpose? If I died, he would have received a payment to pay for my funeral. I didn’t die so I got a modest payment.

By buying the “life insurance” he was betting that I would die young. It was not a profitable bet on his part. I appreciate the money I received at age 18. It could have been so much more if he simply put the monthly payments in a bank account at zero interest.

I’m sure that my Dad did not think about the investment in those cold terms. He was likely pressured by the emotional aspects of buying Life Insurance.

There is nothing wrong with buying Life Insurance – if you understand that it is really death insurance.

You buy fire insurance to protect you against the loss of fire. You buy life insurance to protect your loves ones against the loss of your death.

Death is the logical end of life – but let’s be clear on the difference and the intended deception.

Life insurance is really death insurance.

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Business Speaker

Make Your Prospects Angry?

2011-03-10T17:40:00.004-05:00

To Win People’s Hearts, Make Them Angry
on Forbes

That is the implication of a paper presented this past weekend at an annual Experimental Political Science Conference put on by New York University’s Center for Experimental Social Sciences. Timothy Ryan, of the University of Michigan, did “a new type of field experiment” in which “I induce feelings of anger and anxiety and passively measure the effects on information seeking. Across three studies, I find anger to increase information seeking, a result inconsistent with some standing theories. When anger is evoked along with anxiety, however, information seeking does not increase relative to an emotion-neutral control, a result at odds with past findings that anxiety motivates attention and interest.” In other words, make people angry and they’ll pay attention and want to know more. Make them anxious at the same time, though, and you won’t do nearly as well.

Read the rest of this article on Forbes
-----------------------

We know that emotions move people and we know that anger pushes people to action. Have you considered using anger as a marketing tool?

If you make them angry at the clearly defined enemy, that might be an effective marketing strategy. It works for political campaigns.

But be careful. Make them angry and confuse them and you better duck.

I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore.

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Business Speaker

Says Who? Not Anonymous Again

2011-03-01T12:56:00.004-05:00

Anonymous gets credit for saying many things – both good and bad. But who really knows if any of it is true?

How much faith do you place in anonymous?

If you keep receiving adoring love notes from anonymous at some point you might question the truth of those welcome words.

If you receive customer service complaints from anonymous how serious will you take the complaint?

In a court of law a person must state their name and swear to tell the truth. So when the source is anonymous why would we even consider listening?

Customer testimonials are powerful marketing tools - but only powerful if we know the source. A testimonial from anonymous is highly suspicious. Initials for the name is just a small step above anonymous.

Use a real person's name and your message has personality and becomes more believable. If you want the words to count attach a name to the words. Indentify the source or remain quiet.

George Torok

Marketing Author

Business Speaker

Secrets of Power Marketing - video

2011-02-19T12:28:00.001-05:00

Follow systems in your marketing - and advice from Muhammud Ali

George Torok talking about Secrets of Power Marketing

Those darned customers!

2011-02-18T09:55:00.003-05:00

Guest post from Jeff Mowatt

"It infuriates me." A manger, frustrated about boorish behavior of some employees, explained to me, "After a customer leaves the room or hangs up the phone, some employees ridicule how the customer looked or that they asked 'stupid' questions." He asked if I knew of a statement that he could post that would remind employees of the vital importance of customers. I sent him a version of a timeless manifesto by L.L.Bean that I condensed and edited slightly. Feel free to pass it to your team.

Who are Customers?
Customers are the most important people ever on these premises.
Customers are not dependent on us. We are dependent on them.
Customers are not interruptions to our work. They are the purpose of it.
Customers are not people to argue with, match wits with, or insult behind their backs. Nobody ever won an argument with a customer.
Customers bring us their needs. It is our job to handle them profitably for them and for ourselves.

Click here for a printer friendly version of this to post for your team

About award-winning speaker, Jeff Mowatt, BComm., CSPJeff Mowatt is the best selling author of the books, Becoming a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month (for mangers), and Influence with Ease (for professionals who interact with customers). As a customer service strategist, Jeff's Influence with Ease© column has been syndicated and featured in over 200 publications. To help professionals put ideas into action. Jeff heads his own training company and has produced 4 multimedia training kits. An award winning international speaker, Jeff is among the top 7% of professional speakers in the International Federation for Professional Speakers to achieve their highest designation - Certified Speaking Professionals (CSP). For more Influence with Ease tips, training resources, and information about engaging Jeff for your team, call 1-800-JMowatt (566-9288), or visit www.jeffmowatt.com.

CYA is Not Marketing

2011-02-12T16:18:00.004-05:00

The letter from the association membership director stated “after all our efforts” it looks you are leaving us.

That phrase jumped out at me and the immediate question in my mind was “What efforts?”

I had been a member of this association for at least seven years and during at least the first four years quite active. I attended monthly events, contributed to the publication and completed surveys. Curious that no one noticed my diminshed participation.

And like every association membership at some point one measures the investment against the return and decides to leave. When the annual renewal invoice arrived I ignored it. I didn’t renew. As a marketer I was curious about their member retention program.

I expected to hear from someone about my renewal. I did, but not in the way I expected. The following month I received another invoice – and every month after that.

Finally after month six I received a phone call from the membership staff person. I immediately returned her call and advised her that I was not renewing because I was no longer seeing a return on my investment. She thanked me for my call.

Shortly after that call I received the “after all our efforts” letter. There was no acknowledgement of our phone conversation. There was no promise of a phone call or request to complete an exit survey. No invitation to meet for coffee or lunch.

So I wondered why this letter was so cold.

Then I saw the answer. This letter was copied to the Executive Director (chief of staff) of the association. This was a CYA letter. The purpose of this letter was not to retain me as a member. It was to suggest to her boss that she had exerted “all her efforts” to retain me as a member.

A month later I received another invoice.

No phone calls from satisfied members or board members. No reminder of benefits.

I guess they aren’t bleeding members fast enough.

What are you doing to retain members for your association?

CYA = Cover Your Ass.

George Torok

Former member of ....

How much do you charge?

2011-02-03T19:56:00.002-05:00

Do you get that question often? It can seen like a silly question. Imagine walking into a restaurant and asking the doorman, “How much do you charge?”

The most likely response is,
“Do you want hamburger or steak?”

Would a person walk into a store and start the conversation with:

How much to buy a computer?
What does a TV cost?
How much for a vacation?

When a person is going in for open heart surgery they don’t ask, “How much is this going to cost?”

So, why would that question be part of an opening conversation?

Perhaps they don’t really want what you sell.

Perhaps they see your product as a commodity.

Perhaps they are simply collecting prices.

How can you respond?

You could ask, “What’s more important, fixing the problem or staying in budget?”

The answer is, “Both”.

You follow up with, “Okay, then tell me about both of them.”

Shopping for a Fireplace Insert: Cold Customer Service

2011-01-20T19:05:00.003-05:00

While shopping for a fireplace insert we visited a store that we had noticed because they advertised a lot on the radio and in the paper. It was a family run store so naturally I expected warm and friendly service.

Instead they greatly disappointed me.

We weren’t tire kicking. We had already decided that we would buy a fireplace gas insert. We had a beautiful fireplace and enjoyed sitting in front of a roaring fire. But we preferred the convenience of gas instead of logs.

We were willing to spend between $2500 - $3500. All we needed to decide is where would we buy and which model.

So how was our shopping experience at this particular store?

In short – horrible.

First, we were kept waiting about 10 minutes before anyone even acknowledged us. One sales rep even pushed by us (without apologizing) without offering to help.

The sales person who eventually talked to us - yapped and yapped.

I showed my displeasure with her approach and tried to ask her some questions. This is how she responded.

She defended - "No one told me about the special"
She made excuses, "I know my product - but I forgot that information"
She lied "everyone does it this way" when we had learned differently the previous day from a major competitor.
She interrupted me a few times while I was asking a question.

And the big trust stealer was - they wanted full payment before the work is completed. Their competitor only required a 50%`deposit.

I finally muttered "Never mind - we are leaving."

That sales person didn’t know what she did wrong. And that business owner didn’t know what they were doing wrong. They’ll probably blame somebody or something for their lack of business.

Curious that we next stopped at a Dollar store and spent $4. The cashier (who I assumed was the owner) was pleasant to both of us - even though I impatiently hovered while my wife bought. He spoke and looked friendly at each of us in turn and asked us both to come back.

I wanted to ask him if he had any fireplace inserts.

We eventually found a store where we bought our fireplace insert.

All the expensive radio and newspaper ads in the world will be defeated by poor customer service. Where should you invest your time and money first?

George Torok
Marketing Speaker

Pigs or Prudes - Who are your customers?

2011-01-14T17:32:00.007-05:00

Are They Pigs?

This is not about passing judgement. This is about having a clear picture of your best customers. Who are they? What do they look like? What are their values? What makes them laugh? What annoys them?

How can you package your product to fit their values?

For example:

If they are pigs you might rave about the latest fart app. You might have it on your phone. You might review the top ten.

Consider that one of the biggest selling iPhone apps is a fart app. For $0.99 you can make your iPhone make a fart noise. Disgusting to some but shear joy to pigs. If your customers are pigs, they will love the fart app. It's selling over 10,000 downloads a day.

I guess that I'm a prude because I would not want that on my smart phone - and I would never have thought of that as a product.

Read more here:
http://venturebeat.com/2008/12/23/iphone-fart-app-pulls-in-nearly-10000-a-day/

Go ahead - pull my finger.

George Torok

Marketing Expert & Speaker

Bell Mobility - a new adventure

2011-01-11T19:53:00.003-05:00

I bought a new Blackberry from Bell Mobility.

Two day’s later I receive a message from the store manager that they had accidently charged my credit card twice for the purchase.

He said that I needed to contact my credit card company and ask them to “dispute” the charge.

I experienced mixed thoughts. Why did they screw up? Glad that they noticed their mistake. Glad that they notified me. Why did they expect me to fix it? It was their mistake. Why didn’t they fix it?

Naturally I called him back.

During the short and apparently inconvenient conversation these statements from the store manager stuck with me.

“I don’t have time to talk about this now.”

“Finance emailed me and instructed me to call you to tell you to “dispute the charge with your credit card company.”

“One other customer also asked me why we don’t credit the extra charge and I don’t know.”

“I’m surprised that finance asked me to call you about the double charge. The company I worked with before simply waited for customers to notice the extra charge on their statement and expect the customer to dispute the over charge.”

Naturally, I responded to that last statement with, “Who did you work for before?”

His answer, “Rogers.”

I thanked him for notifying me of their error. I also pointed out that because it was their error I expected them to fix it by crediting my account. He claimed that he was unable to do that and repeated the instructions from “Finance” to dispute the charge. I pointed out that this would require time and effort from me to fix their mistake.

He was clearly out of his depth, ability and level of corporate trust.

I wondered, “How will this store manager ever learn about responsibility to customer service?”

He conveyed the message that he was doing me a favour by calling me and telling me what to do.

I called MasterCard and explained my strange request. The woman readily complied. I asked her if this was normal. “Wouldn’t it have made more sense for the seller to credit me for their mistake?” She agreed that “disputing” the charge required much more paperwork “but because this was Bell they would do it this way.”

Hmmm, I just signed a three year contract with Bell. I hope that I don’t regret it.

George Torok

Year End and New Year Marketing

2010-12-30T19:06:00.002-05:00

The Past Year

This is the time to review your past year of marketing.

What worked well and why? Can you do that again?

How can you connect with your market one last time this year to remind them of the good times?

The New Year

Plan your calendar of promotions for this new year.

What ideas from the past year will you use again?

What missed opportunities will you pursue this year?

Write your marketing plan now because time will fly again.

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Power Marketing

Power Marketing Tip 41: Pulling the Emotional Triggers

2010-12-23T12:01:00.003-05:00

The Christmas season drives a spending frenzy, especially in North America. Many if not most retailers depend on the Christmas shopping spree to make their year profitable.

What can marketers learn from this buying madness?

The buying is driven by emotions not logic. Most buyers will apply some logic to parts of the shopping process, but without the emotional triggers, Christmas shopping would be a bust.

This buying fever is viral. Marketers don’t need to convince people to spend money. They simply need to offer choices for how to spend money. That’s a much easier marketing task. Instead of shouting “spend your money” retailers simply need to sing “if you’re going to spend it, you might as well spend it here”.

The predominant mindset of the public is “you have to buy because it’s Christmas”.

The deal killing logic of affordability is often easily sidestepped with the use of credit cards and other “buy now – pay later” plans.

The holidays are a time of many emotional highs and lows. Although love is one of the emotions that fuel the spending and gift-giving, take note of other emotions that contribute strongly to the mix. That might include guilt, pride, greed and fear.

Those emotions are neither good nor bad. They are simply part of what makes us emotional beings. We usually find it easier to see those traits in others.

As marketers, I suggest that you observe the actions of both sellers and buyers. Take note of the approaches that seem to be more successful. Isolate and identify the dominating emotional triggers.

Then analyze your own market. What are the emotional triggers that tend to drive or prevent your prospects from buying from you?

What can you do to enhance or mitigate those triggers?

Think about these questions while you enjoy and witness the Christmas season.

George Torok
Marketing Speaker

Power Marketing Tips

Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" when you register here

Marketing in Turbulent Times

2010-12-14T19:03:00.003-05:00

May you live in interesting times.

Is that ancient expression a curse or a blessing? I think it depends on how you define “interesting” and more importantly how you adapt to it.

If you define interesting to mean unpredictable, challenging and threatening then clearly we are living in interesting times. Business these days is more like shooting the rapids in a rubber raft than canoeing in a duck pond.

It’s too easy to be mesmerized by the danger of capsizing. If you focus on the rocks, that’s where you will go. The secret is to look for and steer to the high water and paddle like a fiend.

Survival is not the goal
If you set your sights on surviving you could slip and sink. If you set your target as thriving then you might flourish.

How do you thrive in these turbulent waters?
Marketing is the result of all the messages that you and your staff send. In fact your staff sends more powerful marketing messages than all the advertising you ever do. Therefore marketing becomes the end result of almost every business decision you make.

Think long term
Don’t make knee-jerk decisions especially about business strategy. Gather as much relevant information as you can. Seek the advice of people you respect. Be clear on your purpose. Examine both the short term and long term effects of major decisions. Once you decide, act quickly and confidently. Your staff will be looking to you for leadership and hope. Be open to course corrections when and as needed while clearly focused on the objectives and purpose.

Prepare for disaster
The fire department prepares for disaster – they don’t focus on it or obsess about it. They think, plan, acquire the best tools and rehearse their response so they can move swiftly when and if needed. Where are you exposed and how can you protect yourself? When you are shooting the rapids it is foolish to save money by not buying life vests.

Review expenditures
Don’t make across-the-board cuts. That’s a political response and just dumb. Instead categorize expenditures and investments into four categories.
Items that are needed because of the turbulent times to keep you above water or deal with disaster. Plus items that generate a good return. These are new or increased expenditures.
Items that are mission critical and need to be maintained as is.
Items that provide variable return. Peg the expenditure level to the conditions and vary as conditions change. Treat it like an exchange rate.
Items of questionable value. Eliminate them or phase them out.

Review training
Review does not mean reduce or eliminate. Training can be more important during turbulent times. This is when your skills and those of your staff should be at their best. You don’t want to be losing sales because of poor customer service or quality control. Categorize your training needs into three categories.

Key individuals that will steer you through the turbulent times. Provide individualized coaching or training to them. Invest strongly in your best assets.

Departments that need to stay sharp and ahead of your competition. Provide group training, tele-seminars or your own attention to improving skills sets.

Staff that need to be motivated and reminded of purpose and the little things that make the difference. Buy them each a copy of a book that best conveys that message. Ask each person to report at weekly meetings on an assigned chapter in that book. Make everyone feel important.

It only takes one person’s mistake or sabotage to sink your raft.

Review advertising
Too many companies stupidly make major cuts in advertising during turbulent times. My guess is that they did not review their advertising during the good times. Categorize your advertising into three categories.

Advertising that is measureable and has demonstrated a profitable return. Continue to measure as you increase your investment in this profitable avenue. Unfortunately too many companies don’t measure their return on advertising or they don’t design their ads in a way that allows the results to be measureable. So they have nothing in this category. A shame.

Advertising that has gained market recognition and that you believe to be working. You just don’t have a clue how profitable this venue is. Start to build in some measurement indicators. Vary the ads and measure. Then increase or reduce investment appropriately.

Advertising that is merely “me too” ads. You bought an ad because your competitor did. It might be a waste of money but you don’t know. Reduce the expenditure or eliminate it.

Build relationships
In turbulent times nothing is more important that relationships. We will warmly remember those who suffered with us or helped us through the turbulent times. Invest strongly in strengthening the relationship with your best clients. Segment your clients into three categories:
Best clients. Divert more attention to their needs. Instruct your staff accordingly. Jump through hoops for these clients. Offer them additional value and services to help them. Communicate with them more often.

Average clients. Maintain service levels and pricing. Attempt to upgrade them to A clients by introducing additional services.

Pain-in-the-ass clients. Don’t let them bully you into reducing your prices. Instead you might reduce your level of service to them. Offer them the choice of upgrading or leaving. You’ll have less stress in your life.

Important note for you
Relationships are more important that branding – especially during turbulent times. When you have the choice to invest in branding or invest in relationships – choose relationships. It is the far more profitable choice for small and medium sized enterprises. Remember that big business invests in branding because they cannot build relationships. Don’t be fooled by the branding hype.

Online Social Media
Don’t hide. Use the Internet to keep your message and name in front of people. If you haven’t yet created your blog, this is a good time to start. Post regular tips, news and positive messages. Register and maintain your accounts on social networking sites like Linkedin.com, Plaxo.com and Facebook.com. Explore the use of YouTube.com and Flickr.com to publish product news and demonstrations. Barack Obama, the US president used these tools to successfully promote his presidential campaign and he plans to use them to convey his messages to the American people and the world.

May you thrive in interesting times.

© George Torok simplifies marketing for the confused and stressed entrepreneur. He clarifies fundamental marketing principles and offers practical techniques. Get your free copy of “50 Power Marketing Ideas” when you register for your free Power Marketing Tips at www.PowerMarketing.ca. George Torok is available for media interviews and speaking engagements. Call 905-335-1997.

Marketing In Turbulent Times

2 Banks, 2 Mistakes, 2 Entirely Different Responses

2010-12-11T17:52:00.002-05:00

I visited two banks in the same day with two difference problems and the reception was very different.

Both banks had made major errors with my accounts. But they seemed to approach things differently.

The teller at the Blue bank searched her records on the computer. She asked me a few questions and then stated, “I think I see what happened.” She then asked me to wait a few minutes while she went to speak to a loan’s officer. She apologized.

She returned a few minutes later and said that the loan’s officer asked for me to wait a few more minutes because he wanted to see me.

Sean, the loan’s officer, invited me into his office and explained what had happened and how he would fix it. He apologized. He showed what he did on the screen and gave me a printed confirmation. He handed me his card and suggested that I call him if there were any further questions or problems.

I left the blue bank thinking, Wow. They fixed their mistake quickly. They apologized. And I felt like they were on my side.

Contrast that with the red bank.

Their error was older and not immediately apparent on their computers. So I relayed the details. It was clear to me that the teller did not believe me but at least she spoke to another person about my issue.

The other person – I don’t remember her name or title - met me in the middle of the lobby. She seemed intent on flipping through an outdated paper file. I stated my case. She repeated what appeared in her file. I stated that the file was wrong. Her reply, “I highly doubt it.”

She had just called me a liar.

I ignored her slight and the conversation continued.

“There is an error in your files and I want it corrected.”

“That can’t be done.”

“If the error was made it can be corrected.”

She did not apologize.

But she did offer to give this matter to the branch manager who would not see this file until Tuesday next week. Curious choice of words.

None of that was encouraging. Let’s see what happens on Tuesday.

I left the red bank thinking that I have a battle ahead of me. I hunted for a business card of the branch manager and flipped it over. It said, “Service Excellence”. Let’s see if they mean that.

Do Banks Make Mistakes?
Of course.

How quickly do they admit those mistakes and fix them?

It depends on the bank. So far the score is blue bank one and red bank zero.

Banks & Customer Service

2010-12-10T18:10:00.002-05:00

Some people might suggest that the words “banks” and “customer service” don’t belong in the same sentence.

The best marketing that any organization can invest in is customer service. So in difficult times if you have money to spend you should first allocate sufficient resources to customer service. Right?

Yet, it appears that Canadian banks are spending their money on remodeling and advertising instead of customer service.

For instance, within the past few months at least four of the big five Canadian banks have made major remodeling changes around my neighbourhood. RBC completely reconstructed the exterior of their building. It looks like a different building. I think that they chopped a story off. I’m not sure how that helps customer service. TD moved across the road into a completely new building. CIBC opened a new branch in a mall after months of extensive reconstruction. BMO moved across the road into a new building. Yes, it’s a nice looking building and the interior looks nice.

But what does any of that do for customer service?

The TD branch where I do most of my banking has remodeled the interior at least three times in the past decade. Business must be good. I didn’t notice an improvement in customer service.

What have they done to improve customer service?

Have they trained staff?
Have they explained policies?
Have they enhanced transparency to customers?
Have they improved communication with staff?

George Torok
Marketing Speaker

4 Backdoor Secrets to Add More CEOs and Presidents to Your Network

2010-12-05T15:40:00.002-05:00

Do you want to meet more business leaders? Would you like to include more presidents, CEOs, and executives in your active network? Imagine how that would help your career and business opportunities.

The first and most difficult step is making first contact. Here are four creative methods that work. I know because I have successfully used every one to connect with CEOs, presidents and senior corporate executives.

Volunteer
Volunteer for a community cause, program or event that you support. It must be something that you believe in because you will then give your best effort without expecting repayment. That’s when you are at your best. This is where you can meet and get to know business leaders. You might volunteer with your daughter’s soccer team, a community center committee or even a political campaign. CEOs and other executives are regular people and they participate in these community activities.

Some volunteer groups require more of your time than others and some will tend to pay off better than others. Rotary International is a good business connector. Hospital boards will introduce you to community and business leaders. The United Way is a popular charity and powerful avenue to build relationships with movers and shakers. These are just a few examples. There are many other volunteer opportunities for you.

When you volunteer, do it for the cause and the leaders will be attracted to you.

Become a Reporter
CEOs, presidents and senior executives talk to reporters because these business leaders want to convey their message to others. Reporters are a means to do that. So you become a part time reporter. How do you do that? First adopt the mind set of a reporter. They are always looking for a story. Reporters will approach anybody to get their story. When they make contact they are not selling anything – they only want a story – so they ask good questions and then they listen well. Can you do that? It’s tough. It’s a skill. It can be learned and it takes practice.

So how do you present yourself as a reporter? You have several options. You offer to research and write an article for your association, a local publication or a school project. CEOs love to talk to students.

When a local business magazine asked me to research and write an article for them I jumped at the opportunity because of the contacts I would make. The editor suggested that I interview half a dozen people for the article. I called 30 local community and business leaders and interviewed 19 of them. Bonus - the magazine paid me for the article.

Another way to become a reporter is to be a radio interviewer. Most college and universities have a radio station run by volunteers. I have hosted the weekly radio show, Business in Motion, at the local university for more than a decade. During that time I have met and interviewed hundreds of business leaders. After the thirty-minute rapport
they like me and remember me. It’s a good start to a profitable relationship.

Arrange a guest speaker
This is a variation of the volunteer role. Be the person to arrange a guest speaker for your club, association or group. The guest speaker is someone that you want to meet. Be very helpful to your guest speaker. After the event, send that person a nice thank you and offer to help them whenever they need you. Then do it again to meet more business leaders.

Award
Give the person an award. This is a variation of the “Arrange a guest speaker technique”. This works best when the award comes from an organization that carries some credibility. Toastmasters International uses this technique to get powerful speakers at their conferences. The award conveys prestige to the award winner and Toastmasters gets a credible speaker to speak for free at their conference. Both the guest speaker and the organization get some quid pro quo. You benefit when you are the person to nominate and contact the award winner. It’s not necessary to get the award winner to speak at your conference but it helps build the relationship.

© George Torok is the co-author of the national bestseller, “Secrets of Power Marketing”. He is the author of “Your Guide to Networking Success”. Get your free copy of “50 Power Marketing Ideas” at http://www.PowerMarketing.ca Find more networking ideas at http://www.BusinessNetworkingTips.net Arrange a speech or media interview by calling 905-335-1997

http://www.powermarketing.ca/marketing_articles.php

5 Tips for Introducing Yourself at Your Networking Meeting

2010-12-03T15:38:00.004-05:00

Before you say, “Hello my name is…” read these tips to make a better impression at your next networking meeting.

Networking is a process
It is a sequence of events and touch points with your contacts. It is critical that you follow your networking process. It is also important that you make each touch point count. One of the most common touch points is introducing yourself at the networking meeting.

If you want to make the best impression when you introduce yourself use the following tips to present yourself with greater impact. Be a smart networker by making a positive impression every time you speak.

Drink Water
Before you speak drink water – not coffee and never alcohol. Why? Water lubricates your vocal chords, improves your voice and gives you needed fluids that you lose while speaking. Room temperature water is best. Cool water is acceptable. Avoid ice water because it is harsh on your vocal chords. Avoid dairy products (cheese and milk) because that creates phlegm in your throat which makes you gag and cough. Coffee contains caffeine which might make you more nervous and it is a diuretic that dehydrates you. Alcohol both dehydrates you and clouds your judgment. Stick with water.

Emphasize Your Name
While introducing yourself to one person or a group, emphasize your name, so they hear it, feel the respect you have for your name and remember it. State, "My name is (short pause) George (short pause) Torok (smile)." Say it loud enough to be heard. Most importantly - say it much slower than you normally do and smile.

You know your name so you might get tired of saying it. But there are people at the meeting who don’t know it and you want to be sure that they hear it and remember it.

When someone asks you to repeat your name – don’t be annoyed – be honored and state it proudly (for the millionth time).

Make Your Name Memorable
If your name is unusual, difficult to remember or pronounce, say it extra slow and repeat it, 'Torok'. Help them remember it by adding, it sounds like 'tore - rock.' You might add, It means 'Turk' in Hungarian. Or you can call me 'nickname'.

State a funny word that your name rhymes with or spell it slowly.

When you can have fun with your name people will like you more. If you make people laugh as you explain your name, they will remember you.

Stand and Wait for Everyone's Attention
It’s your turn to stand up and give your 30-second presentation at a networking meeting. Stand up. Look proud. Don’t play with your chair. Pause. Wait until you have everyone's attention before you speak. It might take a few seconds. It might seem like forever. When you speak it makes your information seem more valuable - and they will hear you.

Use Action Verbs
When you are telling people what you do, use action verbs and words that paint pictures of results. Avoid using nouns ending in 'tion'. These used to be action verbs. Don't say, "We are in the telecommunication business." Instead say, “We install and maintain phone systems for small and medium sized business." “We specialize in designing customer friendly systems for busy offices with unique needs.” Use the word 'specialize' – it suggests that you are special.

Networking will pay off for you when you are noticed and remembered. Use these tips to speak well and to be better noticed and remembered at your networking meetings.

© George Torok is the author of “Your Guide to Networking Success”. Find more networking tips at http://www.Business-Networking-Tips.net Connect with George at http://www.facebook.com/PowerMarketing1 To arrange a speech or media interview call 905-335-1997

Get your copy of "Your Guide to Networking Success"

Fortinos Customer Service Report

2010-11-23T21:06:00.005-05:00

Who would have thought that buying three bags of President's Choice potato chips at Fortinos could be so annoying?

Who would have thought that the Customer Service counter at Fortinos would be so unfriendly to overcharged customers?

The many signs on the shelf said, “3 for $4.98”

Looked like a good deal. The President’s Choice potato chips at Fortinos are regularly $1.99 each so I could save $1.00 if I bought three bags. I had intended to buy one or two bags but the sale enticed me to buy three.

I picked up three bags, checked out and went home. Then I looked at my receipt and noticed that I had been charged the full price of $1.99. I was over charged by one dollar.

The next time I returned to Fortinos I took my receipt to the customer service counter.

I put the receipt on the counter and pointed out that I was over charged. I then watched what happened next.

On the receipt each bag of chips was listed and calculated at the price of $1.99 even though the second line of each listing described it as “3 for $4.98”. The math didn’t match. I was charged $6 instead of $5.

The first customer service woman looked at my receipt for awhile, looked around and seemed confused. She then asked the second woman behind the counter about the pricing on potato chips.

The second woman approached and proceeded to explain to me about their computer system and the dictates of head office. I didn’t care about either. I only wanted my refund for the over charge. She also spoke annoyingly loud.

The first woman said she would refund me and printed a receipt that she asked me to sign. I asked her, “How much are you refunding me?” It was $1.02 – the difference in the overcharge. At this point I recalled that Fortinos has a policy of giving the item free to the customer if the item scans at the wrong price.

I pointed this out and suggested that because it was a three-for special, I had purchased three to meet their conditions and all three had priced wrong – therefore I should receive all three potato chips bags for free. They should refund me approximately $6.00 that I had paid.

At this point both of the customer service woman started talking at me – explaining how I was wrong, how their computer system works and blah, blah, blah. The second woman was annoyingly loud again. This time I asked her to stop yelling at me. Her loud response, “I’m not yelling.” I calmly repeated, “Stop yelling at me.” She went on to say that she just talks loud. She did not apologize but she did lower her voice a bit.

So far neither of the Fortinos customer service representatives had apologized to me. They seemed to be in a defensive mode.

Finally the first woman offered to call the in-store manager. I patiently waited. The second woman made a call on her cell phone then stated, “The manager will be here in a sec.” “A sec?” I repeated with a raised eyebrow. Clearly this person did not understand the meaning of a sec.

Several minutes later a third unsmiling woman walked up to me. She looked at me and said, “How are you today?”

What an annoying and stupid thing to say. I was clearly not interested in small talk.

Her next question was equally annoying and stupid, “Is there a problem here?”

I asked her who she was. Then she identified herself as the assistant store manager. (No name and her name badge was covered)

Customer Service Tip for store managers everywhere
Approach your unhappy customers with a smile and say, “Welcome to Fortinos, I’m Mary, the manager on duty. How can I help you?”

After I explained what I wanted she started with, “I’ll tell you what I can do for you…”

Another yucky line.

At some point in our discussion, she finally said, the words, “I apologize…” I immediately said, “Thank you and by the way that’s the first apology I’ve heard since I’ve been here.”

The manager responded with, “You’re wrong, I apologized earlier.”

Me, “I said that was the first apology that I heard.”

Fortinos store manager, “Then you weren’t listening.”

I don’t know if she had apologized earlier. Maybe I missed it. Perhaps I was too annoyed by the stupid things she said to hear her apology. Maybe it sounded lame and insincere. Perhaps after 10 or 15 minutes I was simply aggravated at how difficult it seemed to be to buy a few bags of potato chips at the advertised price.

And who should be the better listener – the customer or the customer service staff and store manager.

The Fortinos staff seemed more interested in vindicating themselves then listening to my concerns.

None of the Fortinos people said, “Thank you for bringing this problem to our attention.”
This in spite of the manager saying that she didn’t like this new pricing method.

The Result
I had paid $6 for a $5 special. According to my understanding of Fortinos policy I should have been my full $6. Instead I received a partial refund of about $3. Not a big deal but not consistent with their policy.

Warning
If you are buying specials from Fortinos there are two significant changes you should be aware of.

If the special is 3 for $3 you will no longer get the prorated price on one or two. You must buy 3 to get the special price.
If you are buying Presidents Choice potato chips you must buy three of the same flavour to get the special price even though the special is on several flavours.

I wonder how many people have innocently bought and overpaid for the President’s Choice potato chips at Fortinos believing that they would get the special price.

Whatever you do – don’t ask the customer service representative at Fortinos to stop yelling at you.

Fortinos Customer Service Report

George Torok

Power Marketing Tip 40: Grab More Attention

2010-11-17T10:20:00.002-05:00

Grab more attention

Your marketing must grab attention away from your competition. Everything in marketing is measured against your competition. Nothing else counts. And sometimes your greatest competition is complacency or sameness.

Use these four attention-grabbing pillars in your marketing.

•Contrast
•Conflict
•Comedy
•Connect

Contrast

The simplest way to stand out is through contrast. Contrast is the opposite of camouflage. Too many businesses use camouflage marketing. They promote in the same places and manner as the competition. There's no contrast, so prospects don't notice them. Camouflage is good for snipers but disaster for marketers. Contrast yourself from the competition by looking, sounding and acting different.

Conflict

Conflict is the biggest seller of the news. It's attention grabbing, emotional and graphic. You can inject conflict into your marketing by taking a controversial position. Make an offer that upsets your competition. Issue a challenge that stimulates conversations. Pick an enemy to which you are the conquering hero.

Comedy

Lighten up! We love to laugh. Make your audience laugh and they will pay attention to and remember your message. There's too much distressing news in our lives. You don't need to offer stand up comedy. You only need to make us smile. Volkswagen is still remembered for the funny advertisements that they ran way back in the 60's and 70's.

Connect

How can you connect with your target audience? Speak to their interests. If you don't know their interests - you have some research and thinking to do.

When you talk about issues that your target audience is interested in you immediately grab their interest. Discover what interests your best customers by asking them. For example, if you want to grab my attention, talk about personal marketing, presentation skills, marathon running or motorcycles. Those words immediately attract my attention.

Steal attention away from your competition with these four C's.

George Torok
Power Marketing

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Business Networking: Stop Working the Room

2010-11-12T18:52:00.004-05:00

Have you approached a business networking event as another “Room to Work”? What a mistake that could be.

Some networking experts might tell you to attend networking events and be prepared to “work the room”. Stop and think about that advice. Is that what you want to do? Is that the first impression that you want to imprint on contacts in your network? That they were just “worked” by you? How would you feel when you have been “worked”?

Stop doing that. It can feel slimy to you and the people who you “worked”. And more importantly it doesn’t help build your business network.

It’s not that those misguided networking experts mean ill for you. Perhaps they are telling you what they did. Maybe they ignored or got used to that slimy feeling. That’s what often happens when one doesn’t know better or stop to think about what they are doing. They just rationalize it with mantras like, “no pain, no gain”. Sometimes slimy people are not bad - they just stop thinking or caring about how they appear to others. How can that be a good way to build a long term relationship?

RelationshipsNetworking is not about working the room or working people. Networking is about building relationships that are mutually productive over the long term.
Consider these four principles of good networking:

Networks are built on trust
Networking is built on relationships
Networking is built by connecting with people
Networking is about people – not rooms. And people don’t like to be worked

Work the Room
You might as well just enter the room – shout your name for all to hear then throw your business cards into the air – and then leave with a flourish. You worked the room and let everyone know how little you thought of them. And you did nothing to build a strong network.Sometimes the event organizers themselves are guilty of forcing you to work the room. They want to sell more events so they bully you to play their networking game. They announce their game: In the next five minutes give your business card to as many people as you can. What a stupid game. If you wanted to do that you would have been better to place an ad in the newspaper or throw your cards in the air.

Real networking is more about quality then it is about quantity. Networking is not about giving out your business cards to everyone in the room. Networking is not even about collecting everyone's business card. Yes, you should distribute and collect business cards, but real networking goes deeper than that.

Make a Better Business Connection
Sustainable networking starts with making a connection and finding some common ground. Then you work at building a relationship that can last years and build profitable opportunities for both of you. Don’t focus on the event and don’t work the room. Instead, treat the room as a setting. Make some connections and build your network by working the relationships.

The next time some "networking expert" tells you to work the room – tell them. “Don’t slime me. I didn’t come here for the room. I want to connect with people.”

Stop working the room. Instead, start building more profitable business networks by building real relationships.

© George Torok is the author of “Your Guide to Networking Success: 13 Simple Things to Build Your Profitable Network” Find more free business networking tips at http://Businesss-Networking-Tips.net To arrange for a motivational speech or training program visit http://www.Torok.com For media interviews call 905-335-1997

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Election sign SPAM

2010-10-21T18:32:00.008-04:00

Hello political candidates. Congratulations and thank you for running for office. Please stop SPAMing us with your "sign farms". It looks and feels like a ugly weed patch.

Permission Marketing

Place a sign on a home owners property. That's permission marketing. That demonstrates the connection that you have with that homeowner. That's strong marketing.

SPAM

Planting your signs on public property and busy intersections is SPAM. It demonstrates disregard and disrespect for the public especially when you plant a row of your signs. How did you decide to plant your signs there? Because others were there? That hardly demonstrates leadership or differentiation. That is Barketing. You're just trying to bark louder that the rest.

Curious that no one has knocked on my door to talk with me during this campaign. We're in most days. The election is only four days away.

George Torok

Marketing Strategy & Tactics

PS: Watch for my review of the lawn signs. It might not be pretty.

Election Signs: Questions & Lessons for Marketers

2010-10-21T17:01:00.007-04:00

Do election signs win municipal elections?

And if so what is most important? Number of signs; design; mix of small, medium and large; locations…

How are the results of signs-to-votes measured? Has this ever been studied and reported?

I think there are two types of voters – decided and undecided. The undecided fall into two categories – informed and uninformed.

Are informed voters influenced by election signs? Probably not.

So, what is the impact of lawn signs on uniformed voters?

Do uniformed voters select the name on the last sign they remember? Do they select the name that they saw most often? Do they select the name from the sign on their neighbour’s lawn? Does that depend on the relationship they have with their neigbour?

It seems to me that lawn signs are targeted toward the lowest element – uninformed, disinterested and undecided. Is this the segment that decids the election results and hence our government?

If lawn signs are effective advertising then more businesses should use them. Real estate, roofers, driveway pavers and other home contractors use lawn signs. Why don’t restaurants, dry cleaners, travel agents, lawyers and taxi companies use lawn signs? When you feel like Pizza just check out the neigbours’ lawn signs.

Are lawn signs meant to create 'name familiarity'? If so, then only the challengers need signs. The incumbants are already known - if they have been active in the community during their term of office.

What’s the difference between one sign on a residential lawn versus one at a busy intersection? The intersection get’s more views but it is clearly advertising which we have been trained to ignore. The sign on the home-owners lawn signifies support and likely a vote.

The sign on public property might be seen as urban clutter or litter especially when planted alongside many other candidates’ signs. If your opponent has three signs at an intersection would your case be stronger if you planted five or ten of your signs? Is that what it takes to convince voters?

Watch for more posts and photos about election signs.

George Torok

Marketing Strategist & Tactician

New Store Launch from Somebody??

2010-10-20T18:19:00.008-04:00

Somebody is launching a new retail outlet in Burlington, Ontario at Walkers Line and Upper Middle Road.

Somebody has been building this new location for over three months. I run past this location three times a week.

Somebody is spending lots of money to acquire and construct this new building at a major intersection.

Somebody is probably hoping for a good return on their investment. That's what any business investor wants.

Somebody is keeping this new location a secret. There are no signs indicating who is "coming soon". Keeping secrets are not a good marketing strategy unless you make a big deal about your secret receipe like KFC. There is nothing to indicate who is opening in this new location and I find that strange.

My questions are "Who?" and more importantly "Why?"

Both questions are sparked by my curiosity. If I'm curious than perhaps hundreds or thousands of people who pass this location every day might also be curious. Curiousity is a good lead in to marketing. And at some point you must answer the curiosity to make the connection with your prospect.

Curiousity unaddressed is simply frustrating.

It has a drive through so I'm guessing that it is either a bank or a franchise restaurant. Banks are more arrogant so that's my bet. I can't believe that a restuarant could be so stupid to miss the opportunity to promote during contruction.

Why would any business miss such an easy marketing opportunity to promote it's new location? Uncertanty? Arrogance? Insensitivity? Poor planning?

What do you think?

PS: I'll let you know what shows up.

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

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Power Marketing Tip 39: Lead with Success Stories

2010-10-19T10:17:00.004-04:00

To capture attention and convert more prospects into eager buyers - lead with success stories.

Results sell. The purpose of marketing is to make it easier to sell and nothing sells like successful results.

This is even more important during challenging times. If your clients and prospects are hoarding their money you need to attract their attention and their money with success stories.

Clients buy based on their emotions. Success mitigates fears and appeals to greed. Most importantly it offers hope. All three of these emotional changes can persuade clients to buy.

A good success story includes

1 Before picture
2 After picture
3 Catalyst

Before Picture

Weight loss and fitness programs do this well. With words, numbers or images describe the pain or challenge.

After Picture

Using the same parameters show the results as a sharp contrast. The contrast must be clear and be memorable. For example: lost 50 lbs in 45 days; improved business by 15%; saved 12% on shipping costs.

Catalyst

Give credit to the product or service that made the difference.

Where can you find your success stories?

Client Testimonials

A testimonial from your clients is the best source of success stories. Ask your clients how things have improved for them as a result of your product or service. Then ask for the testimonial. Thank them and use the testimonials.

Case Studies

You can analyze results across your client base and report the trends. Or you might conduct an indepth study of one or a few of your best clients. You or your staff might conduct a simple case study. Another option is to arrange for a college or university student to conduct a more scientific study as part of their course studies. The advantage to you is that this third party report carries more credibility. The students often do this at no cost to you.

George Torok
Power Marketing
PS: Forward this tip to your associates.

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Branding Secret: Controversy Sells

2010-10-11T19:52:00.003-04:00

Do want a powerful branding strategy? Take a controversial position. Offend someone and attract your target market. But you have to pick your position and enemies carefully. Don’t offend your fans or best customers.

Controversy sells newspapers, books, and movies. You can also use controversy to sell your product, service or yourself. Notice how they often do it in the movie business. The entertainment industry has lots of vivid controversy lessons for marketers.

Controversy can be a powerful branding technique. But it comes with a cost. It means that you will need to take a position. You will offend some and strongly attract those who like your position. Are you willing to be so bold?

It could be as simple as the title that sells the movie. Consider the success of “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” or “Snakes on a Plane”. Both of those titles were vivid, graphic and controversial. People either immediately hated or loved the movie when they first heard the title.

At one time in the entertainment world it was enough to title your program as “The Greatest Show on Earth” to grab attention and get people talking. Today you might need to label your show as “The Vagina Monologues” or “Puppetry of the Penis” to get attention and create controversy.

The Guides for Dummies and Idiots series of books generated attention with the controversial titles. They sold very well. The multiplicity of topics tells you that.

The sensitivity of the content could create enough success in a movie. Consider “Passion of the Christ” and “The Da Vinci Code”. There was little need to advertise those movies. The controversy did all the heavy lifting for promotion. The media was talking and bloggers were blogging. Church leaders were preaching. People were protesting and arguing. What a great controversy.

Along came another movie with content guaranteed to raise controversy, “Death of a President”.

To fan the flames the promoters not only published the usual supporting testimonial reviews – but also the comments from the detractors as well. Let’s hear from those who hate us. What delicious controversy. What terrific and profitable promotion.

And to tilt the readers’ perspective of the views they headed the positive views with the title, “Have seen Death of a President”. And on the other side the heading, “Have Not seen Death of a President.”

The controversy is both shaken and stirred by the strength of the negative comments as well as the sources.Here are the negative ‘testimonials” for the movie, Death of a President:

Have Not seen Death of a President

“I think it’s DESPICABLE.”Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

“I find this SHOCKING. I find this DISTURBING.”Gretchen Esell, Republican Party of Texas“(Director Gabriel)

Range is a SICKO.”Rush Limbaugh

“We’re not commenting because IT DOESN’T DIGNIFY A RESPONSE.”Emily Lawrimore, White House Spokesperson

Powerful words from powerful people. It’s impossible to buy endorsements like that.

Unwittingly those people endorsed the movie by polarizing the controversy. Imagine how many folks would watch the movie because of those powerful negative endorsements.

Controversy sells. Why? Because controversy is one technique for branding. Powerful branding declares both friends and enemies.What people say against you can be powerful promotion.

When you want to create a strong brand in the marketplace first decide on who you want to attract then who you are willing to annoy. This could be the beginning of a strong branding position.

Are you ready to make some passionate friends and enemies? Go ahead, make your brand.

© George Torok helps business owners gain an unfair advantage over the competition. His bestselling book, “Secrets of Power Marketing” is the first guide to personal marketing for the non-marketer. Get your free copy of “50 Power Marketing Tips” at http://www.PowerMarketing.ca To arrange a speech to your conference or team meeting visit http://www.Torok.com To arrange a media interview call 905-335-1997

Montfort Grill House Burlington: Restaurant Review

2010-10-06T14:55:00.012-04:00

Montfort Restaurant owner in Burlington refuses to honour coupon

Restaurant Review

“We are a franchise and they did this without telling us. That’s why I want to get out of the business.”

Strange words from the owner of the Montfort Restaurant (Millcroft location) on Itabashi Way in Burlington, Ontario.

That’s what he said to me after we presented the coupon for the buy-one-get-one-free offer. He refused to honour the offer. Instead he gave me a flyer with the head office phone number for franchise enquires.

He suggested that I save my receipt and call the Montfort Restaurant head office to complain.

The coupon which we received in our mail box states,

“$10.00 value – Enjoy one complimentary Dinner Entrée when a second Lunch or Dinner Entrée of equal or greater value is purchased.” The coupon listed the two Montfort Restarant locations in Burlington, Brant Street and Millcoroft.

I understood that to mean that if I buy one lunch for $10.00 I would get the second one free. Sounded like a good deal. That’s why we stopped in for lunch on Monday at the Montfort Restaurant in Millcroft, Burlington.

We presented the coupon before we ordered just to be sure that there were no surprises. The waitress baulked at the coupon. I asked for the manager. Then the owner showed up and said, “Can I help you?” Curious that he didn’t smile, greet us, give his name or identify himself. Just that play-dumb line, “Can I help you?” I asked if he was the manager and he answered that he was the owner. He didn’t sound happy about it.

I showed him the coupon and stated that we wanted to use it to get our complimentary lunch.

He said, “No”. He refused to accept the coupon or honour the offer. Instead he suggested that if I ordered a dinner entrée at $15.00 or more that he would give me $10.00 off on the second entrée. I explained that I didn’t want a dinner at lunch time – just a lunch and that I expected to pay $10.00 for one lunch and get the second one complimentary.

At least a few times he suggested that I call the Montrfort head office to complain. I pointed out that any differences he had with his head office was his responsibility to resolve not mine. I just wanted to have lunch.

He had pretended not to know the issue when he approached us yet he had the head office flyer in his hand.

This Montfort Restaurant Franchise owner appeared to be an angry man.

He never apologized.

It was 12 noon on Monday. Only two other parties were in the restaurant. You would think that he would have welcomed the business on a slow day. Our drinks would’ve given him the profit he needed on the sale. He had the opportunity to make friends. Instead he was too angry to care for his customers.

After wasting a lot of time we left without ordering. We spent $30 on lunch at another restaurant in Burlington. That included two drinks. No special deal but at least we weren’t deceived or lied to.

What a shame.

If the restaurant franchise owner treats his customers that way and is that angry at the franchisor then he is not going to be in business for much longer.

We’ve eaten at this Burlington Montfort restaurant several times and we like the food. The service has been good. Imagine our surprise and disappointment at this unfriendly treatment druing this visit.

I don’t know what the problem was. Head office prints and distributes flyers to get more customers in your restaurant and you are angry? We hadn’t been for awhile and the coupon convinced us to go to Montfort instead of elsewhere.

Was there an ongoing dispute between this franchise owner and the franchisor?

Was the flyer deceptive? Perhaps. It offered a complimentary Dinner Entrée yet all Dinner Entrées were priced at a minimum of $15.00. So was this meant to be a $10 coupon or a buy-one-get-one coupon. Don’t pretend to offer a complimentary non-existent Dinner Entrée if your coupon is limited to $10.

Was this simply a sloppy marketing program? Maybe.

Who messed up?

It doesn’t matter. What matters is that this customer left the Montfort and might not be back. I wonder how many other potential customers they have disappointed.

The coupon states that it is valid to December 31, 2010. That suggests that there will be more unhappy customers visiting and departing the Montfort Restaurant in Millcroft, Burlington. When will they learn?

If you want my business don’t lie to me, don’t deceive me, don’t embarrass me, don’t play weasel word games and don’t disrespect me.

When marketing and customer service fight, both lose.

What a shame.

It will be curious to see how quickly this franchise owner gets his wish to be out of the business. Be careful what you wish for - you might get it.

Montfort Restaurant Reviews

George Torok

Marketing Expert & Author

Montfort Restaurant Review

Millcroft, Itabashi Way

Burlington, Ontario

Your Database: Your Most Valuable Asset!

2010-10-04T20:15:00.004-04:00

Your most valuable asset is not the money in your bank account. Your most valuable asset is what you know about your customers - because that will lead to more money in the bank. Money in the bank is good. But it’s more important to consistently generate more. Money in your bank reflects what you did yesterday. Knowledge about your customers determines what you will do today and tomorrow.

If your business depends on strong relationships then you need information to maintain and strengthen those relationships. Maybe that’s why some companies call this process “CRM” - Customer Relationship Management. It’s just a sexy term for simple database management.

Some say that information is valuable. Not by itself. Relevant information about your customers is not only valuable but vital to the growth of your business.

If you know who your customers are – you know whom to call. If you know what your customers want – you know what to offer them. If you know when your customers want it – you know when to offer it. If you know your customers’ challenges you can help them. If you know your customers’ concerns you know how to sell to them. The more you understand your customers’ habits, environment and personality – you can more likely anticipate their needs and wants.

Today it is imperative that you maintain a useful database of customer information. A database is a record of information. Here are a few examples of databases: the yellow pages, a recipe book, a shopping list, a game schedule and a TV guide.

The Rolodex, a simple database system, worked very well However, today technology allows us to get more from our customer databases. We put it on the computer. There are many computer databases you can choose from.

Criteria in selecting your database
Your database is a combination of: name and address book, phone book, journal, bring- forward (tickler) file, idea file, activity planning tool, business map and to-do list.

In selecting your database consider these basic needs:
It should be simple to update information.
Information must be found quickly.
There must be multiple search methods.
If more than one person can update information it must name and date stamp the update.
You can categorize contacts by different groups.
Contacts can be part of more than one group.
You can set date and time sensitive reminders
It tracks history of contact details.

When more people need access to your database you will have additional needs concerning access, security and timeliness.

Typical questions about a customer database:
Who should be in your database?
What information should be in your database?
How can you use your database?
How else can you leverage your database?
How do you protect your database?

Who should be in your database?
Almost everybody. For example: everybody you ever did business with, everybody you expect to do business with, and everybody who might influence those you do or might do business with.

Your database might include clients and prospects, but also: media, suppliers, association leaders, community leaders, corporate executives, associates and competitors. Some of these might also be clients or prospects. But others can influence your clients and prospects. You want to keep track of them – and influence them.

What information should be in your database?
It depends on your business. you might include: details of every business transaction; details of every discussion, meeting, and bid; alternate contacts including assistants, associates and superiors; personal details about family, likes, dislikes, activities, education, alma mater, awards received, association memberships, significant dates; information about their customers; all promises you made to them; all promises they made to you; your feelings about the person and company; notes that trigger your memory about their appearance or character; where you took them for lunch and who paid etc.

Get the idea?

Maintaining your database might feel boring – but the results you get from it can be very exciting and profitable.

How can you use your database?
This is the exciting part. Using your database allows you to think and plan your activity then follow the plan systematically.

Use the reminders in your database to remind you of the next step. For example: depending on the contact, you might set the reminders to tell you to call regarding status in two weeks, send more information in 3 months, or meet to renew the contract in one year. By setting these reminders no one falls through the cracks. Of course you must check your database every day.

When you contact your client or prospect you can quote what you both said the last time, then move quickly forward with your follow-up discussion. When you talk with them you don’t need to rely on memory. Instead you have the details about the relationship on your computer. You can tell them, “You paid for lunch last time - this one is mine.” You can ask them about the project they were working on, their daughter’s soccer tournament or their anniversary vacation in Hawaii.

How else can you leverage your database?
More excitement. Use their past behaviours and buying habits to predict future patterns and behaviours. Remind them before they realize they need you again.

Segment your database into categories. Not all of your customers are equal. Not all of your prospects are equal. So don’t treat them equally. Some deserve more attention than others so allocate your resources and time appropriately. Some you contact every month – some only twice a year. Send special offers to your best customers. Send postcards to your hottest prospects.

How do you protect your database?
This is the most boring part. Until you don’t do it and things go wrong. Then watch the excitement fly. Your computer only works for you part of the time. The rest of the time it is scheming to make your life miserable. Everything from viruses, power glitches, general freeze-ups, and other nasty pestilences that are inflicted upon us by the gremlins of technology.

But you can prevent these pains by backing-up your database – regularly. Backing up your database might seem boring and time consuming. So ensure it happens regularly by making it a habit. Better still make it an addiction. You will thank your foresight one day.

Who wins?
It’s not the information that determines who wins. It is the innovative use of that information that makes you different from your competitors. In the game of chess everyone knows the rules, all the previous moves of the game and all the possible moves. The one who wins is the one who understands the relevance of that information and makes the best use of it.

© George Torok helps business grow. He is co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing. Get your free copy of “50 Power Marketing Ideas” at www.PowerMarketing.ca You can learn more about his speaking and training programs at www.Torok.com To discuss your marketing needs and how he can help you call 800-304-1861

Your Database: Your Most Valuable Asset

Please Don’t Lie to Us

2010-09-27T15:11:00.003-04:00

Let’s make something clear.

Marketing is not a license to lie.

Just because you are marketing does not mean you can twist or misrepresent the truth. Marketers should tell the truth and tell it well.

Marketing is about presenting your message in the most positive way. But it does not mean that you can lie. You can describe the glass as half full instead of half empty – but not overflowing.

Marketing is about telling your real story. The more warts in your story the more believable it is.

Please don’t tell us that you are number one – if you are not.

Are you claiming to be:

The best!
Number one in the country!
The world’s greatest!

Who says so? Can you prove it?

Don’t say those things unless you can back it up. And be sure to back it up. If you were voted number one by the community paper then state that. Don’t claim to be the nation’s number one.

AVIS is number two and they try harder.

Don’t lie. It’s bad for you. It gives marketers a bad name. And your mother would not be proud.

George Torok

Marketing Expert & Author

Secrets of Power Marketing

Did you apologize?

2010-09-27T14:48:00.002-04:00

I didn't hear an apology. Perhaps I missed it.

You said that you would visit yesterday. You didn’t show. You didn’t call. We wondered if we missed you during the 15 minutes that we were out.

You didn’t show up and you didn’t call.

You showed up today and we were not expecting you. The one you wanted to see was out for the day. We weren’t expecting you today.

Yet you insisted that you were expected. Yes, you were expected - yesterday.

Your comment was, “I couldn’t make it.”

And… I waited for it – your apology. You didn't say it. I would have been so easy for you and helped you heal the harm you did.

There was no apology for failing to make your commitment and now we aren't interested in dealing with you. How could we?

George Torok

Personal Marketing

Marketing Speaker

Three Big Lies About Networking - Entrepreneur.com

2010-09-27T14:09:00.001-04:00

Three Big Lies About Networking - Entrepreneur.com

Once you know the truth about networking, you can build connections that provide continuous business opportunities.
By Ivan Misner

Ivan Misner is founder and Chairman of BNI, a professional business networking organization headquartered in Upland, Calif. Dubbed the "father of modern networking" by CNN, Misner is a New York Times bestselling author.

Business Networking Tips

Your Guide to Networking Success

Is There a Brand in Your Stand?

2010-09-23T19:26:00.002-04:00

Watch out for the branding gurus. Beware of the branding police who focus only on images of brand. Fire the branding consultants who feel qualified to tell you what your brand should be. Ignore the branding zealots who proclaim “brand or die”.

Good, now that we have frightened off the undesirables let’s address some fundamental questions about branding and offer you some probing questions to consider. That first paragraph demonstrates the three rules of creative positioning as explained below.

Should you have a brand?
Maybe. It depends on the goals of your business. You need to ask yourself some questions. Will the brand give you the return on your investment? Will you invest the resources to claim and sustain the brand?

What is a brand?
A brand is the emotional bond that your clients have with you. Ask your best clients how they would describe you to others. Look for the common message in what they say – especially the emotion. That might be your brand.

Brand is the feeling others experience when they think about you and your product.
Brand can help them think of you first – or better yet – only you. Brand can justify higher prices – or even better – make price a non-issue.

Not Branding
Branding is not about creative logos, pretty fonts and pantone colors. Fire anyone who attempts to sell you that pabulum. Those things are only images. Have you noticed that the successful brands change these images every few years?

Branding is a marketing strategy. It is only one of many marketing strategies from which you might choose.

Is branding an accident or on purpose?
Because branding is about creating emotional messages you are always branding. However, are you aware of your messages, are you consistent and are you effectively branding yourself?

You could create or claim your brand. Dominos Pizza created their brand – “Pizza in 30 minutes or its free”. They own that brand. It’s simple, memorable and unique. Some companies look for an opening and build their business to create that brand. Some companies discover their brand by accident. Feedback from clients, remarks from the media or a competitor’s comment reveals the brand that was hidden in plain sight. In that case it is up to you to claim the brand and run with it.

Avis claimed their brand by turning a disadvantage into their brand when they launched their marketing campaign with “Avis is only Number 2 in rent-a-cars, so why go with us? We try harder.” And with cheekiness they leverage further on their “disadvantage” by adding, “The lines at our counters are shorter.” That brand has been successful for over 40 years.

How do you create your brand?
There are two ways. Like Coke, Nike and MacDonald you could throw gazillions of dollars at it. Or you could use creative positioning. Look for the holes in the marketplace. Go to where your competition is not and claim that position. Take a stand like Harley Davidson, Buckley’s Cough Mixture and Nova Scotian Crystal.

Each of these companies claimed positions in the market the competition was unwilling to take. Folks either love or hate Harley Davidson. Buckley’s proudly claimed that “it tastes awful but it works” along with a money back guarantee. Nova Scotian Crystal is proudly the only Canadian crystal manufacturer and they offer an incredible one year breakage warranty. Drop your whisky glass and they will replace it; no questions asked.

You can read the interview with Rod McCulloch, President and CEO of Nova Scotian Crystal on my “Business in Motion” blog.

Each of these companies was willing to take a position that would drive some folks away while attracting a loyal crowd of fans.

The three principles of creative positioning are best explained by UK entrepreneur BJ Cunningham, who as CEO of The Enlightened Tobacco Company sold a cigarette called “Death Cigarettes”. It was presented in a black package emblazoned with a white skull-and-crossbones logo. Just imagine how this might appeal to the rebels. Everyone except the tobacco companies knew that cigarette smoking was bad for your health. BJ did what none of the other tobacco companies were willing to do. He took a stand.

Cunningham’s three principles of creative positioning:
1. Take a polarized position.
2. Make enemies.
3. Create tension.

Branding starts with market review and self-examination. Standing alone can be scary, exhilarating and hugely profitable. It you are going to claim a powerful brand take a position away from the crowd. Stand where no one else is standing.
---------------------------------
© George Torok is co-author of the national bestseller, “Secrets of Power Marketing: Promote Brand You!” He helps entrepreneurs gain an unfair advantage over the competition. Get your free copy of “50 Power Marketing Ideas” at http://www.PowerMarketing.ca To arrange for a keynote speech or executive briefing visit http://www.Torok.com To arrange a media interview call 905-335-1997

Return My Call Please

2010-09-20T12:00:00.002-04:00

Do you wish that more people would return your phone calls? Do you know why they don’t? What to you need to do differently to get more of your calls returned?

Okay. Let’s deal with one question at a time. If you are making sales calls and leaving messages then one of life’s frustrations can be not hearing back from people.

Do you wish that everyone would return your phone calls?

Not necessarily. You only want the right people to return your calls. You don’t want to waste your time with people who don’t want or can’t buy what you are selling. So those folks are doing you a favor by not calling you back. In fact your message should dissuade them from calling you back so you don’t waste time with them.

Encourage the right people to call you by leaving a message that states your unique benefit. Be clear on who you want to call and their interests.

For example, don’t leave a message that simply states your name and phone number with the message, “Call me”, “It would be great if you call me” or “I’d appreciate your call”.

Those messages are vague, rude and annoying. It’s ineffective, because there is no reason to call. Adding “please” doesn’t make it more appealing to call you.

The main question in the mind of the listener is “Why?” The second question is “What’s in it for me?” When you leave a voice message you must answer both of those questions if you want prospects to call you. The resulting conversation will already be heading in the right direction.

Consider these examples:

“For a no-obligation quote to re-shingle your roof call us.”

“Leaky pipes and backed-up toilettes are stinky situations. Arrange your annual free system checkup to avoid messy disasters.”

“How much did you spend on advertising last year? Do want a better return on that investment? Call now for a free evaluation of your advertising choices.”

“Does your business experience highs and lows? Learn how we can supply trained staff when you need it without the costs of hiring and firing.”

Add your phone number. Say it slowly and repeat it to make it easy for people to write it down.

That whole message can be delivered it about 30 seconds or less.

Notice how each message clearly defines who will benefit from your service and why they would want to call.

Do that and you will get more of the right prospects calling you.

George Torok
Power Marketing

Marketing Advantage: Small Business

2010-08-31T17:49:00.005-04:00

Small business has powerful advantages over big business when it comes to marketing. But small business often misses using these advantages because they are seduced into emulating the big corporations.

The typical approach to marketing by big business is to use the resource they have most of - money. Those big corporations tend to throw large lots of money at expensive advertising campaigns because that’s what they know.

If your small business is to survive and grow you must learn quickly to avoid the temptation to act like big sister or big brother. Never go head to head with the mega corporations. You can compete and win by playing your game - not theirs. David did not try to go toe to toe with Goliath, instead he slue the giant with a sling shot. Your small business is a David in a world of Goliaths. Change the rules. Don't wish to be like the giant. Instead, discover the sling shot that will help you claim your marketing advantage.

While marketing your business you would be wasting your time and money emulating big business and subsequently go out of business. Instead of trying to launch an unaffordable advertising campaign, discover and use your unique resources - like the sling shot.

What is Marketing?
Marketing is about sending messages. Everything you do or don't do sends a message. Examine all the ways you can send messages. Advertising is only one way. Big business tends to wear blinders that only allow them to see advertising as marketing. Partly because they have always done it that way and partly because spending large sums of someone else's money is fun and seductive.

How else can you send your marketing messages?

Here are some possibilities you can use:

Media news releases
Guest appearances on radio and TV
Customer service
Sponsoring events and awards
Holding a contest
Volunteering for a community event or business association
Networking events
Product information seminars
Public speaking at special events
Exceeding expectations
Forming partnerships
Through your staff
Through your suppliers
With the help of your clients
Personal correspondence

This list is not exhaustive but it should give you a broader understanding of marketing possibilities. Most importantly all of them cost much less than advertising and with greater impact. In small business you might spend some of your hard earned money on advertising. But remember that it is only one form of marketing and the most expensive. Marketing is part of everything you do.

The most important P's & Q's to mind with your marketing is to be consistent and persistent through all the channels of communication. If you preach about quality but buy the cheapest components you are not consistent. That conflict of messages will destroy your intended message.

It should not take a genius to realize that if you dump on your staff they will dump on your customers. If you lie to your suppliers it is reasonable to assume you must be lying to your customers.

Use your advantages
As a small business owner you have several advantages in the marketing maze. You can build personal relationships. You can use the CEO factor. You have less money and therefore must be creative. You are nimble like the sail boat while the huge ocean liner takes time to change direction.

Closer to the customer
You make the cold calls to prospects, close the deals and follow-up with your customers. You get to know how they think and feel. You know why they bought from you or why not. Try to tell me that the president of the big bank knows what goes on at the front counter. That proximity to your customer gives you a special advantage.

When you launch a new product you can use the information you have gained from your relationships with customers. What is important to them? What packaging is the most attractive? What features are most valuable? You are in the front lines. Ask questions, listen and remember. There is something special about being able to speak to the president. Just try calling the president of your bank or automotive company. You will get the frustrating run-a-round.

Make it easy for your customers to reach you. Return calls - even if it is to say no thank you. Most will appreciate the response. A friend of mine wrote to the prolific science fiction author and scientist Isaac Asimov. Asimov answered his letter. He wrote that my friend's idea had merit but needed improvement. My friend in his disappointment destroyed the letter. I thought, "Wow you got a letter from Isaac Asimov!" My friend did not realize how he might have leveraged that letter.

Make it Personal
Life is personal - so is business. We make buying decisions based on our personal feelings then we find the logic to justify the decision. Don't hide in your office. Your most important responsibilities are selling, and building relationships. Build relationships with prospects, customers, staff, suppliers, and colleagues. We would rather deal with people than with faceless corporations. Even when we must do business with corporations it often is because of the trust built with individuals.

In a small business your character becomes the company culture. Treat your staff with respect and pride and they will show respect to customers and pride in the company. Your customers will feel the pride and respect - and they will feel good about doing business with you.

Build relationships with your customers
Learn their names, their buying habits, and important information about them. Be sure to store this information on your database. Include personal information such as birthdays, hobbies, Alma mater and their family members. Make it a habit of staying in touch with all of your customers by phone or by personal correspondence regularly. Send them hand written birthday cards, postcards, and notes about significant events in their lives.

Use the CEO factor
In your business you wear many hats. That grants you intimate understanding of the company, your customers and the market. Depending on the time of day, you play the role of CEO, sales representative, or shipping clerk, accountant, quality control or telemarketer. When your customer talks to you they are talking to the CEO. Your customers feel special when they can speak to the CEO. Make it easy for them. Be available and accessible. Remember how frustrated you get when you can not talk to the person in charge. Imagine walking into your bank and asking to speak with the CEO? Or when you are shopping for a car just try and speak to the president of the car company. I dare you. Try it and drop me a line on what happens.

Large corporations are falling all over themselves lately to apologize for their misdeeds. You name it - banks, airlines, tire manufacturers, automotive companies. They are putting their CEO in front of the media to say sorry for the bad service, stupid mistakes and faulty product. We are suckers for those who admit their mistakes. We are willing to give almost anybody another chance. Why? Because we all made mistakes and have probably asked for a second chance ourselves. Maybe you have not yet really screwed up with your customers - but it will happen one day and when it does you must say sorry.

The advantage you have when you make a mistake is that we believe it more when you are the CEO. If we know you, we want to forgive you - all you have to do is ask for forgiveness. And when you do - call or send a hand written note. The CEO of the bank or national airline can't do that. You present a human face to your business. Notice how few corporate CEOs are able to be the human face of their company. The skills that enable CEOs to battle it out in the boardroom are not the same skills you need to build rapport with customers. It is so much easier for you to present your face.

When we do business with small companies we like to know the owner. So get out there in the front lines. Volunteer your time in your community, for your chamber of commerce or industry association.

Although a large corporation, Marriot does a fine job of humanizing their business. They have the picture of the founder in every lobby. Although you do not meet the founder or even the current CEO you still feel a personal contact. At the other end of the scale is Holiday Inn. Who is the founder and CEO? Who knows? You pay much more at the Marriott than the Holiday Inn. It's not the beds that make a difference. It is the perception of personal service.

Less Money
When is less money an advantage? When it forces you to be creative. If you have millions of dollars to spend on marketing you might hire some Madison Avenue advertising agency and buy 30 seconds on the Super Bowl game. If your marketing budget is considerably less - say a few thousand or a few hundred, you will have to be creative. You might put extra effort in being nice to your customers. Happy customers are your best marketing agents. They talk about you. It costs nothing and they have much more credibility than a paid spokesperson. When you don't have tons of money to throw at expensive advertising campaigns you should put more effort into the simple marketing techniques like exceptional service, respecting your customers, returning phone calls promptly, guaranteeing results, free advice, contests, …

The best marketing is free marketing. That comes when people talk about you. Do things that cause customers to talk about you. Something outlandish. In the old movie Cool Hand Luke, Paul Newman boasted he could eat 50 eggs. I don't suggest that you eat 50 eggs but maybe you could cook a 50 egg omelet for charity.

Nimble
If you can't be bigger and stronger be smarter and faster. Be a practitioner of business judo. How many times have you been annoyed by someone quoting company policy? "I'm sorry, but company policy won't allow me to help you."

Company policy is created to protect the company - not help the customer. I get so frustrated dealing with employees who are hired to enforce company policy instead of helping the customer.

You can adapt to customer needs and unique circumstances. When you do, let your customer know that you have intervened with policy to help them in this unique situation. Treat them special and make them feel special.

Sometimes it is smart to provide your customer with something extra at no charge. Send them an invoice for what you would normally charge but with the price stroked out and your hand written note - "Regular fee Waived" or "Policy Over-ruled." Develop your company policy for efficiency and be prepared to change policy to delight your customers. It will be some of the best and cheapest marketing you can buy.

Find the most annoying 'rule' of your business. What do customers hate most about buying your product or service? The most annoying rules tend to be about time and process. Break that 'rule'. It will gain you a loyal following and provide fantastic marketing opportunities. Marketing is about sending messages. Marketing is part of everything you do. Decide on the messages that you want to send. Then review everything you do to be congruent with the messages you want to send.

© George Torok is the coauthor of Secrets of Power Marketing. He helps business owners gain an unfair advantage over the competition. Claim your free copy of “50 Power Marketing Ideas” at http://www.PowerMarketing.ca To arrange for George to speak to your team visit http://www.Torok.com For media interviews call 905-335-1997

Marketing Advantage: Small Business

Swiss Chalet Review - Ms Sternface & Mr Stoic

2010-08-26T16:21:00.005-04:00

“I don’t know what is going on. I was supposed to leave an hour and a half ago.”

That was the first thing that our waitress said when she arrived at our table. We had arrived more than six minutes ago and quickly decided on our usuals. Swiss Chalet is one of our regular restaurant chains. We had not been to this location (Wellington South, London) before. We were on the way home after a long drive so we turned off the 401 with anticipated delight when we noticed Swiss Chalet on the highway sign. We were looking forward to enjoy our usual, quick service and then back onto the highway for the final leg home towards Burlington.

Instead we were seated by a friendly hostess and quickly forgotten – or so it seemed. A stern waitress walked by us at least three times without making eye contact. A stoic waiter (who also had mastered the power of avoiding eye contact) served the group across from us who arrived a few minutes after us. We were wondering if we should leave. Perhaps we were at the wrong table.

For some strange reason I felt a little better when the group behind me got up and mumbled something like “let’s just pay at the cash.” It wasn’t just us that was being ignored.

We caught the eye of the friendly hostess across the room and suggested that we were waiting to order. She nodded and moved to do something.

Within 30 seconds the stern waitress (the same one who had walked past us three times) arrived at our table and opened with that line, “I don’t know what is going on…”

There was no apology, no greeting, no “welcome to our restaurant”.

Then she added, “I’ll take your order.” as if that implied that she was doing us a big favour.

Realizing how lucky we were, we quickly place our order. We even said please because we didn’t want to upset Ms Sternface. She might sabotage our food.

The food arrived quickly. It was delivered by Mr. Stoic. He was mechanically efficient. He was personally cold. There was no explanation about the handoff, no apology, no greeting – not even an “enjoy your meal”.

The food was delicious and up to our usual expectations.

However the service had annoyed us. I must have said “no tip” to myself several times – yet when it was time to pay the bill I still added a tip – a small one – but certainly unearned one. I left a tip because I felt an obligation to be kind. As I walked away from the restaurant I felt cheated by the poor service and guilty that I had been weak to give any tip. If only I had that same power of Ms Sternface and Mr Stoic.

I also realized that the only one who said “please” and “thank you” were us – the customers.

We will visit Swiss Chalet again – but not this location.

This visit occurred Wed August 25 around 8:00 pm at the Swiss Chalet on Wellington South in London, Ontario

George Torok

Swiss Chalet Restaurant Review
Wellington South,
London, Ontario

PS:
One might ask, "Is this a staff problem?
Maybe. However, a staff problem is always a management problem.

The Great Marketing Myth Exposed

2010-08-20T17:01:00.001-04:00

The Great Marketing Myth Exposed

View more presentations from George Torok.

Marketing Strategy: Fight an Evil Enemy

2010-08-16T20:07:00.003-04:00

Conflict sells. If you want to be noticed fight a powerful and evil enemy. Who or what are you fighting? While planning your marketing strategy pick an enemy. The tougher, the meaner, the more disgusting your enemy – the better for you. That positions you as the hero.

“You complete me”

The Joker taunted Batman with that phrase in the movie The Dark Knight. The public image of both Batman and the Joker were stronger because of their conflict. A champion needs a formidable villain and vice versa.

The marketing lesson from that is that the public defines you by your competition. If you are not well known maybe you need to pick a tougher enemy.

Make your enemy appear more frightening.

The boxer Mohammad Ali understood this marketing principle and demonstrated it well. He built up the credibility and threat of each of his opponents before every fight. That made his victories more exciting. He promoted his fight against Smokin Joe Frazier as the Thrilla in Manillia. After the fight Ali said, "Joe Frazier, I'll tell the world right now, brings out the best in me. I'm gonna tell ya, that's one helluva man, and God bless him." In a brief post-fight interview with one of the commentators, Ali announced, "He is the greatest fighter of all times, next to me."

There’s no glory or fame in defeating a weak opponent.

Superman was a bigger hero because of his dangerous enemy Lex Luthor. Sir Edmund Hillary would be nothing without the challenge of Mount Everest. Wyatt Earp is defined by his fight with the evil Clantons. The 300 Spartans are defined by their stand against the unstoppable forces of the Persian Empire. David and his sling shot is only remembered because of his conflict with the giant Goliath. Buffy the vampire killer would be unknown without the blood sucking vampires.

Conflict captures attention and helps to define your position and value.

Many consumer products are sold by fighting previously unknown enemies that were glorified by the marketing campaigns. Consumer products were promoted to fight morning breath, dandruff and ring around the collar.

Present yourself as the alternative.

Avis could not defeat the market leader in the car rental business Hertz, so they defined themselves by the phrase, “We try harder.”

With the taste tests Pepsi defined themselves as the alternative to Coke. It worked so well that it unnerved Coke into blinking and bumbling with New Coke. The folks at Pepsi must have enjoyed how they unnerved the market leader, Coke.

Make fun of the enemy.

With its clever TV ads, (Hello, I’m a Mac. I’m a PC) Apple positioned itself as the alternative to the market leader, Microsoft based computers.

A local plumbing company positioned themselves as fighting clogged drains. The owners of the business made their enemy more formidable by posing for photos with clothes pins on their noses.

People love conflict. It’s entertaining, memorable and often vivid. Sometimes it can be funny. That’s why the “reality TV” shows are so popular.

If you want to be better noticed and remembered – pick a colorful enemy and start a fight. Only start one that you can win.

© George Torok is the co-author of the bestselling Secrets of Power Marketing. He helps business owners gain an unfair advantage over the competition. He helps connect business strategy to effective marketing tactics. To arrange an executive briefing visit
http://www.PowerMarketing.ca For more free marketing tips visit
http://www.Torok.com To speak directly to George Torok call 905-335-1997

Marketing Strategy: Fight an Evil Enemy
Power Marketing on Facebook

Marketing Lessons from Port Dover Friday 13

2010-08-13T19:46:00.005-04:00

It’s Friday 13.
For Port Dover, a normally sleepy cottage and fishing village on the North shore of Lake Erie, Friday 13 is a bonanza. “Unlucky” Friday 13 has become the luckiest day for the businesses of Port Dover. It’s like the typical retailers’ Christmas & Boxing sales rolled into one.

Every Friday 13, depending on the time of the year and the weather, thousands or tens of thousands of people visit Port Dover to celebrate Friday 13. Because this is a sunny August 13, there might be over 100,000 celebrants on the streets of Port Dover. The population of Port Dover is 6,000.

Most of these pilgrims arrive by motorcycle. The streets become transformed into miles of parking lots for lines of thousands of motorcycles.

And these motorcycle riders bring and spend money – lots of it. They buy food, drink, accommodation and souvenirs. These are your weekend warrior motorcyclists. There are accountants, managers, entrepreneurs, retirees, mechanics, doctors, lawyers, teachers, administrators, executives, production workers, electricians, plumbers, truck drivers, politicians…

You get the picture. Good customers with money to spend looking for an experience. They just happen to ride and like motorcycles.

What can marketers learn from this phenomenon?

One Person Had an Idea And Made Phone Calls
This event started by chance in 1981 when 25 motorcycle riding friends got together at the Commercial Hotel in Port Dover for a few beers on November, Friday 13. They decided to meet again on the next Friday 13. Perhaps the beer influenced their enthusiasm for more. They had no other agenda. They were just friends getting together.

People Tell Friends About Good Experiences
The next meet there were more, then more again. The original organizer promoted the event around his network. He did this before FaceBook, Twitter and blogs. Friends told motorcycle riding friends about Friday 13 in Port Dover. At some point the event attracted the media. That captured more attention. The event hit what bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell calls the “Tipping Point”. It went viral. Almost nothing can stop it now.

The Date is Memorable
Friday 13 was already notorious because of the superstition associated with that date and the corresponding fear known as triskaidekaphobia. The string of “Friday the 13th” movies helped to anchor that date in people’s minds.

The superstition around the date might even have appealed to motorcycle riders because they know that they are fighting the odds against cars and trucks every time they are on the road. I think that there is a rebel in every motorcycle rider.

Controversy Grabs Attention
Motorcycles are controversial. Some people hate them. Some love them. Motorcyclists might be considered undesirables in some places. Think motorcycles and it’s easy to think about the criminal gangs – the one percenters - Hells Angles, Satan’s Choice and Outlaws. The date “Friday 13” is controversial. You can imagine that at some point the town council, business owners and residents of Port Dover had some controversial meetings about what to do about this event – “should they allow it or ban it?”

Marketing Lessons

Look at new ideas. Don’t discount the source of the idea or the lack of immediate profitability.

The best marketing is word of mouth. Look for under-satisfied communities. A community could be a group of people with a common interest, joy and/or pain.

It might take awhile for it to hit the tipping point and catch fire. If it’s a good idea and the conditions are right you will have a winner.

People want a unique experience. Give them that and they will reward you. They’ll buy, they buy again and they tell their friends.

Grab attention with controversy. Take a position. Embrace the rebels and you will have loyal fans. Be prepared to alienate dissenters.

George Torok
Marketing Author & Expert
Business Speaker

Flight Attendant Meltdown and Quits Job

2010-08-12T16:52:00.003-04:00

How a marketer sees the Jet Blue Flight Attendant thing…

Right or wrong, the publicity surrounding the Jet Blue flight attendant who quit his job seemed to hit a public nerve. His recent “celebrity” status might get some marketers thinking.

Beer
The flight attendant grabbed two cans of beer before leaving the plane. What brand of beer was it? Must have been very good beer. Did he drink the beer? Did he mention “beer” in his tirade? Perhaps there is a beer advertisement in this. Perhaps “grabbing a couple beers and taking the slide” can become a new metaphor.

Hate and Pain
If that many people thought this guy was a hero – there are a lot of hurting people out there. And hurting people buy things that relieve their pain. How can we learn more about their pain? Why do they hate their job? What do they hate their customers? How can we rip the bandage off and expose the pain? What product or service can we sell to them?

Demanding Customers
Are customers becoming more demanding? If so why? How can we offer targeted services to these more demanding customers at a higher price? Is there segmentation in service delivery that we can leverage?

Job Stress
Are service deliveres experiencing more stress in their jobs? Do they need better tools, training and support? What product or service might satisfy this need? What industries have the highest level of stress? What ideas and lessons can we take from those?

Hiring Staff
Are companies making mistakes in the selection of staff? Are managers missing warning signs of “Postal” behavior? Why? What products or services could predict, prevent or mitigate these incidents?

Every crisis offers opportunity. Smart marketers look for the opportunities and lessons.

George Torok

Executive Briefing

Customer Service is Marketing Too

2010-08-11T18:24:00.002-04:00

Your best marketing is good customer service.

Why? Because the purpose of your marketing is to get more clients buying more from you, more often.

You could have a wonderful advertising campaign that brings in eager prospects. But if your customer service is turning them off then all that advertising was wasted money.

How much did you spend on marketing and advertising last year? How much did you spend on customer service training? Customer service is the most important part of the marketing/sales chain. If customer service is your weakest link then you are hemorrhaging lost sales.

Customer service development and training must be an integral part of your marketing plan and action.

Customer service can be that distinguishing feature that attracts clients to your door. Or it could be the fly in the ointment that is secretly killing your business. Which is it?

When was the last time that you examined and invested in your customer service?

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Marketing Page on Facebook

How are you?

2010-08-05T18:00:00.004-04:00

The phone rang. I answered. The person on the other end asked, "Hi, How are you?"

What a stupid insincere opening. When will they learn?

The automatic response might be, "Fine, How are you?" The whole exchange would be insincere and a waste of time.

I've heard and been annoyed by "Hi, how are you?" so many times that I have trained myself to pause and respond differently.

I said, "What do you want?" That should tell the caller that I don't want to waste time and I'm open to a direct explanation.

There was a pause and a mumbled response that I didn't understand.

My response was, "What are you selling?"

There was a long pause and then the phone went dead. She must have hung up on me.

If you are selling then you must know the answer to those two critical questions:

What do you want?

What are you selling?

If you are cold calling then you are most likely selling.

Be prepared for those questions. Don't be surprised and don't be annoyed. You interupped someone with your call.

And stop asking, "How are you?"

It annoys the people you call because they know you don't care. You might think that question is polite. One caller said, "I'm just trying to be polite." It's rude because you are pretending to know them and and care about them. If your first statement is based on a false premise - why would anyone trust you?

George Torok

Have a Nice Day

2010-08-03T17:32:00.003-04:00

That’s what the cashier said to me at the end of my purchase.

I said nothing back. Why? Because I felt that her statement was insincere. From what I saw, her well-meaning statement was delivered because the company instructed her to deliver it at the end of every transaction. She really didn’t mean it and she didn’t understand why she was saying it.

She didn't care about my day and she didn't care if I "had a nice day".

The strange thing is that the cashier probably thought that I was rude for not responding.

I had three choices.

1. I could have mumbled something back with the same lack of conviction just to appease her.
2. I could have pointed out the lack of sincerity in her statement and actions. That could have led into a rant about poor customer service in general and her specific mistreatment of me as a customer.
3. Instead I said nothing because I felt that my words would be wasted.

I’m only guessing that the words she said were mandated by the company because they were totally out of sync with her actions.

She never looked at me. Not once. Not even for a few seconds. She clearly did not respect nor appreciate me as a customer.

When I approached the counter she took my product, scanned it and typed on the cash. Then she stated with disgust, “My computer has been acting up all day.” She did not apologize. She simply expressed her disgust at her computer. It was making her life difficult – and I assumed so was I.

I attempted some levity with, “With all these computer experts around there must be a way to fix it.” It was an office products store. She called for help. When another staff member approached, she demonstrated the problem as she repeatedly stabbed the keys angrily. He politely asked her to stop. He directed her, then me to a different cash register. He even spoke to the couple behind me in line to allow me to be processed before them.

She did not apologize for my inconvenience – perhaps because she was so wrapped up in her own inconvenience. She did not thank me for my business. She never looked at me. I’m baffled at how she accomplished that total lack of eye contact.

And then she had the gall to say “Have a nice day.” Instead of making me feel good with that statement she conveyed the message that here was a very unhappy employee who clearly hated her job and the customers she served.

If she is getting minimum wage – she is overpaid.

Have a nice day?

Customer service is the front line of marketing.

Before you spend any momey on advertising or promotion - train your staff!

George Torok

Marketing Speaker

Marketing Definitions in the Raw

2010-08-02T16:49:00.004-04:00

Marketing has become a cult. It is rife with mysterious terms, magic powder and self-anointed gurus.

Use this list of definitions to better understand the terminology and refute some of the ridiculous statements of the high priests.

Warning: some of these definitions might offend some people. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Marketing
Marketing is about sending messages. Everything you do or don’t do sends a marketing message. The purpose of marketing is to help you sell more.

Permission Marketing
This term was made famous by Seth Godin. The opposite of permission marketing is interruption marketing – which according to Seth has been the standard marketing practice of the past century. Permission marketing simply means asking if your audience is interested before you speak.

Social Marketing
Social marketing (also called cause marketing) has been around for decades. It breaks down into two versions: business marketing that piggy backs on a social issue, and marketing to promote a social issue. Examples of the issues include the environment, equal rights, poverty, animal rights, community, children, health…

Network Marketing
Network marketing was the renaming of multi-level marketing made famous by Amway. What was once called multi-level marketing became network marketing. It has little to do with networking. And they keep changing the term to ward off the stigma that seems to quickly attach itself. It is probably called something else now.

Marketing Research
Marketing research is the high-priced label given to the task of finding out what people really want and what do about it. It means asking good questions, listening and taking accurate notes.

Marketing Guru
Someone who wrote a book or several articles about marketing and charges you a lot of money to tell you what to do with your marketing. If you invested enough time and thought, you would probably figure it out on your own.

Marketing Company
Often just an advertising agency. They used to proudly call themselves ad agencies. Maybe they want to feel and project more value with the marketing label. They still create and sell you ads. Some of them help you get media exposure. Those are usually called PR firms. (Public relations)

Viral Marketing
Cool name. Like a virus – it has a life of its own. It means marketing that others do for you. It means “other people talking about you.”

Guerilla Marketing
A term made famous by Jay Conrad Levinson. The idea is based on guerilla warfare – when a force that is inferior in size and resources can beat a vastly superior opponent with the use of creativity, flexibility and focus.

Monkey Marketing
If gorillas can market then why not monkeys? Some folks market like monkeys – just screeching, eating bananas and moving on when they get bored.

Amoeba Marketing
Strip away the nonsense and follow the simple basics. What could be simpler than an amoeba? More business owners need to simplify their marketing process.

Online Marketing
Any marketing that you do on the Internet.

Offline Marketing
Offline marketing is everything else. Do you remember before the Internet? The offline world is still around and very important.

Offside Marketing
Happens when the marketing department gets out of control and chases marketing awards instead of focusing on the business needs. Maybe this should be a firing offense. Just ask Donald Trump.

Marketing Department
In many corporations they are composed of graphic designers who create and/or buy ads.

Marketing Budget
Often a number you are too embarrassed to reveal. (Unless you are Coke or Nike)

Marketing Degree
It might just be a worthless piece of paper, unless you want to work in a corporate marketing department or a marketing company. (See above definitions) Also valuable to help you become a marketing professor – so you can teach the same useless textbook lies to others.

Learn those definitions and study for the exam.

© George Torok is the co-author of the bestselling, Secrets of Power Marketing. It is the first guide to personal marketing for the non-marketer. Get your free copy of “50 Power Marketing Ideas” at http://powermarketing.ca/ Arrange for a marketing speech, executive briefing or training program at http://www.torok.com/ For media interviews call 905-335-1997
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Marketing Definitions in the Raw

More Marketing Articles from George Torok

Marketing Tips on Twitter

Coke and the Power of Perception

2010-07-29T17:13:00.002-04:00

Marketing lesson on the power of perception from a live presentation from George Torok to a group of buisness owners.

Enjoy this video.

George Torok is a marketing expert who speaks to conferences, conventions, corporate meetings and executive retreats.

This is a good message and a sample of his presentation style.

Learn more at www.Torok.com

Call 905-335-1995