How to stand out in a crowded market

Last week we talked about the niche of servicing people who like to risk death now and then. You might say, “That is easy because they are offering something rare to start with, I have a very common business that is very price sensitive.”

So for an industry that is built on customers shopping for the best price, how do you stand out in a very crowded field and show the market you have clearly superior products and services?

I had a great chat with Bob Kodner the CEO of The Crack Team. They fix foundation cracks in your basement. Talk about a commodity. What I got out of our short interview was a massive dose of great marketing lessons and the power of not taking yourself too serious. With one program they implemented, they had a jump in new leads at 80%+ in the first 12 months!

Their branding is so compelling, I am not surprised they are growing their franchise and I suspect, they are probably the premium player in their respective markets. They really love concrete. Great marketing and branding only works if your product is real. I must say, that Mr. Happy Crack seems to have found a really nice neighborhood to raise the kids. If you are interested in joining the Crack Team franchise neighborhood, check out:

http://www.thecrackteam.com/

If you want to hear more about Mr. Happy Crack and his hectic celebrity filled days, check out:

http://www.mrhappycrack.com/

Listen to 7 minute interview as Bob and I discuss marketing, entrepreneurial tips and of course crack repair.

If I die will I get my deposit back?

To sell anything you need to get noticed. It is difficult to think of anything more noticeable than the possibility of losing one’s life using your product or service. From a marketing point of view, the risk of life has a built in brand equity that is timeless and crazy enough, people enjoy paying up for that experience. Does the very act of doing something risky, in an increasingly risk adverse world carry with it a corresponding premium? It sure does, because risking one’s life for a fee in a clean, organized and unforgettable setting is rare.

How can you explain big bucks being spent on crazy heart pounding experiences when one can have the same effect for free by car surfing on top of your van while your wife weaves through traffic? This would assume that your wife wants to stay married to you. Don’t try this at home! So marketers, it may not be the heart pounding thrill we get from cheating death that makes people fork over the Benjamin’s, it is the ego attached to the act being done publicly that makes the bottom line swell.

“I am not afraid of death, I just do not want to be there when it happens.”
Woody Allen-Director

How about dinner at 150 feet up in the air? Maybe the corporate dinner has become so blasé we need to strap the team in just to get a new perspective. The owners of Dinner in The Sky understand the power of death and the free buzz one gets just by being that tall nail that stands out of hundreds in the same old board. Forbes magazine listed it as a “Top 10 most unusual restaurants.”

Make note: “How to get rich”

(1) Get Forbes to mention you are a top 10 ANYTHING.

(2) Get someone else to license your idea in their part of the world because you are a top 10 SOMETHING.

(3) Make sure your accountant knows where to send the money.

I would really like to hear from anyone who had the experience of a lifetime at 150 feet up. Kudos to Dinner in The Sky to your big idea, I love it.

For a free lesson on how to make your franchise more visible, a quick romp through their site will give you new perspective. The question I had, what happens when you need to take a leak?

http://www.dinnerinthesky.com/

Hothand gives hot deals to university students.

If you want to sell to 18-24 year olds, which medium would you pick.

(1) Radio
(2) Yellow Pages
(3) Mobile phone

Bingo! With satellite radio and ipods, reaching Gen Y is a very dicey proposition over the airwaves. But we have all had that feeling after we go somewhere and realize “I left my phone!” I can honestly say I never thought, “I left my Yellow Pages!” We are real techno-inbreds if you think about it. The phone is a must have item, and it is used more than a toothbrush, we are sickos.

I had a great chat with Randy Jaramillo the CEO of Hothand Wireless. Hothand Wireless embraces wholeheartedly the fact that a mobile lifestyle is increasing morphing into a data lifestyle. 3G could finally make calling 411 seam way to “1980’s” shortly. Hothand Wireless just signed a monster exclusive agreement to stream sports and recreation info for NIRSA (That is an intramural collegiate association, not a cross between gun lovers and drag racers). This is a big deal, NIRSA currently has 600 campuses with more than 7 million students that can use NIRSA to get intramural and sports at their school.

What caught my eye, Hothand Wireless, deployed through NIRSA for UCLA students and also signed Subway as a advertiser over their network just last week. When you consider 600 schools and tens of thousands of Subway franchisees, this could be a very big idea to keep an eye on. Entrepreneurs, advertisers and schools jump out to hothand.com and see what Randy is up to now.

Listen to interview:

Go see Randy
www.hothand.com

Why brides prefer June and other business traditions.

June is here and the caterers, wedding halls and event planners rejoice. Do you think they all conspired to make June “the month” so they could take July off? I know in different markets many brides or should I say the bride’s Fathers, pay a hefty premium just to say “I do.” June is not popular because of the temperature or rainfall figures. May, September and October are actually much better months to throw the bouquet in most markets without breaking a sweat or putting on a rain coat.

When did this all get started and what can I learn from this to grow my franchise or expand my licensing business?

I found three reasons that explain the trend and they go back thousands of years.

The Roman Goddess of Marriage is Juno. Maybe a bright Roman started a wedding franchise and then started the Juno rumor. Tradition goes, if you were hitched during the month of June, it was good luck. Many Romans honored her by tying the knot during her month and it has stuck ever since. I wonder if the Roman’s had better luck then we do staying together.

According to Associate Content, many couples timed their first pregnancy so it would not interfere with the harvest. I guess hauling potatoes and throwing around sacks of wheat during the 2nd trimester was not looked down on back then.

The site superweddings.com has an entirely different take. During the 1400s and 1500s people took their annual baths in May so June would be the obvious best time to get married. I hope they are wrong on this one. The idea of an annual bath is probably the best form of birth control ever devised. Yikes! Makes paying a June premium seem like a privilege. Whatever the reason, it just shows us tradition is a difficult thing to change.

Who would have thought three wise men giving gifts two thousand years ago could turn Christmas into a retailers dream practically all over the world. I remember living in Singapore years ago and Orchard Road at Christmas time makes Rockefeller Center look like a community rec center. They really go nuts on the “Golden Mile.”

What tradition can you create in your business to keep customers coming back in ever increasing predictable patterns?

Can you create a tradition with your employees to give them something to work toward? How about an annual tail gate party to kick off the football season? The budget depends on what they do all Summer. Don’t do the expected. The more creative and bizarre the tradition the easier it will be to remember and the bigger the impact. You will have employees recruiting for you not talking about anything that you actually do at work but about your fantastic traditions. Traditions are easy to remember and share. How else can you explain why brides prefer June after thousands of years?

I would love to hear some creative ideas or quirky traditions that you may have witnessed or dreamed up yourself for your business.

Guide to understanding smiley faces and other business secrets.

“In business you can never learn anything more important than successful communication skills.”

-Max Markson





I use IM (Instant messaging) software a lot. It is one of those fantastic business tools that makes e-mail feel like a black Model T. (That is a car produced 100 years ago, not Tyra Bank’s nickname.) You see, my kids have never heard of a Model T Ford. Likewise when they text me “Dad, AWC (((H))) I had to look into what they were saying. It was nice to know they went easy on me, it means “after awhile crocodile with a hug.”

I recently had a Russian translator ask me through IM “why do you keep calling me Russian, my name is Dymitry?” You see I was always jumping on and saying “RU there?” He probably thought for weeks, “this ungrateful American clod, he does not even know my name, he just refers to me as “Russian!” RU is short code for “Are You” not Russian. I taught him something new and almost weekly I learn new short code myself from the younger set.

I sent some licensing ideas to a sharp entrepreneur yesterday and I thought I made her sick when she responded ROFL!!! I was relieved to look up; I actually made her “Rolling on the floor laughing” with my brilliant idea and not “Rolfing in the toilet with that sick lame idea!”

Call it the curse of the 2-in-1 keyboard, caffeine or just a very serious generational problem of wasting keystrokes, if you want to communicate with the younger market you better know short code and smiley faces. You need to keep up or get left behind. Ok Chairman, loosen that tie and learn some code to call your next board meeting and see how many members get what the heck you are talking about. If all your members think your Blackberry is suffering from swimmers keyboard, maybe it is time to get some younger fingers in the board room. Younger blood might also bring fresher ideas and fatter margins. :@ )

If you don’t see the benefit of communicating with Gen Y on their terms, this can at least keep you from starting an international incident or learning what your teenager really thinks of you.

Here is a link to a short code dictionary and smiley face translator:

http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp#r

All retail is not created equal

If you want a recession proof franchise, getting one that trades in necessities and not discretionary spending is a good place to start.

I would consider my vision a necessity. I believe most people would agree with me. Do you believe most of the elderly prefer to wear frames, contacts or elect for surgery? Right again! The frames match the black dress socks and the sandals right? I just took my kids for a walk around Fountain Hills Park yesterday and I was sporting the dress socks and shorts as well. I told my wife I needed a chick repellent, do to the fact I am happily married. I am 43, also a frame guy, so call me a trend setter, but at some point function overrides fashion as we get older and these things tend to trend for a long time. We are talking about big trends here. If you want to do some franchise research in this space, just check in with your parents and ask them if their eyewear bill is trending higher or lower as they get older.

I caught up with Sam Herskowitz, President of Sterling Optical and talked about the growing senior population and the effect on his bottom line. The retail optical space continues to consolidate around bigger brands and the Sterling Optical is seeking more independent operators that want to align with a national franchised name and keep their independence at the same time. With 20 more franchised locations slated for 2008 and system wide sale up 5% year over year, this could be a very good retail spot to be in over the next 20 years.

Listen in:

Website:
http://www.sterlingoptical.com/