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Celebrating Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

July 3, 2009 by Kathy Hendershot-Hurd

celebrating the 4th of July Citizens and residents of the United States celebrate July 4th as America’s birthday. However, as students of American History will attest – the “roots” of the Declaration of Independence extend back to the days of the French and Indian War (1754-1763).

Settlers from Spain, France, Sweden, Holland, and England had been claiming land in North America beginning in the 17th century. The French and Indian War was not only the final war of many deciding who would control the Colonies – it also served to “unite” the disjointed collection of colonies in a common purpose. That common purpose is distilled in the document…

The Declaration of Independence

American’s LOVE to cite the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

However, very few of us have read the document in its entirety. While these are thrilling words of hope and inspiration, the words that follow clearly illustrate the gravity of the chosen course of action.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

The founding fathers were not a bunch of hot headed hippies- ready to overthrow the status quo and take the plunge into anarchy.

They didn’t declare their independence from England lightly.

To say the Declaration of Independence of the American Colonies was a big deal would be an understatement. To create a “contemporary word picture”, imagine if Jon and Kate Gosselin’s 8 children united and sued their parents for divorce. That’s how “severe” this course of action was – and the Founding Fathers recognized the severity of the circumstances.

The severity and gravity of this course action is apparent in the eloquent words of the Declaration of Independence. The remaining paragraphs carefully outline the course of events that left them no other choice than to establish a separate government.

While the opening words of the second paragraph are frequently cited and quoted, few have read to the end – where, in my humble opinion, the most eloquent words of all reside….

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

I think the words above clearly illustrate that when Thomas Jefferson used the term “separation of church and state” in a letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802 – he never meant for government to be “protected” from the influence of the church – but rather he wished to protect the CHURCH from the influences of the GOVERNMENT.

However – church and state issues aside – the sentence above illustrates the gravity of the situation at hand. See, the 56 men who signed this document were committing an act of treason.

TREASON!!!

In the show “Arrested Development”, the father is charged with treason – and when his son confronts him with this charge, the father deflects by saying “It’s just my first offense!” His son responds, “I’ve never heard of a second!”

From The Fate of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence

With only a few exceptions, such as Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, these were men of substantial property. All but two had families. The vast majority were men of education and standing in their communities. They had economic security as few men had in the 18th century.

Even before the list was published, the British marked down every member of Congress suspected of having put his name to treason. All of them became the objects of vicious manhunts. Some were taken. Some, like Jefferson, had narrow escapes. All who had property or families near British strongholds suffered.

Each had more to lose from revolution than he had to gain by it.

The last line – is a given. There are many debates that rage over what REALLY happened to the original 56 signatories to the Declaration of Independence but one thing I know for sure… this course of action was definitely not the “softer and easier” way.

It would have been far easier for not only these 56 men – but for every other Colonist who served in the first Continental Army – to “do nothing” rather than to act boldly.

Today I’m remembering the sacrifices they made. As I reflect on this, my prayers go out to those in Iran who have the same yearnings for freedom that those 56 signers had years ago. I know that I frequently lose sight of all that was sacrificed so I could freely engage in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness but the news from the other side of the world is reminding me of an important fact…

Freedom has never been and will never be free.

Business Building Secret: People are actually pretty smart…

June 30, 2009 by Kathy Hendershot-Hurd

I think that Billy May’s great success as a pitchman lay in the fact that he truly believed that people are smart.

I had only recently caught an episode of Discovery’s series “Pitchmen“. The series followed the late legendary pitchman Billy Mays and his British counterpart Anthony Sullivan, giving viewers a “behind the scenes” look at all that is involved in creating a successful marketing campaign.

One of the business building “secrets” to success practiced by Billy and Anthony was that they would only “pitch” great products. In the episode I saw, Billy believed a product had potential – but the inventor had to first work out every possible ‘kink’.

In the case of this episode’s product, the spray on fertilizer which painted brown spots in your lawn green had to be environmentally friendly before Billy would agree to pitch the product. An early version of the product could make pets and/or children ill if they came in contact with the treated lawn. May was unwilling to pitch a product that could be harmful to pets or small children – so the product was sent “back to the drawing board.”

Billy Mays knew that his reputation as a “pitchman” was only as good as the products he promoted. He knew that his reputation was on the line, so he fully vetted each and every product he pitched. If Billy was pitching it – you could rest assured it worked as promised. From Oxyclean to Kaboom, I have yet to try a product Billy pitched that didn’t work exactly as promised.

Billy Mays knew his ability to sell product lay in his ability to communicate with a vast audience – and repeat sales to that audience meant he had to continually to earn that audience’s trust. His distinctive delivery style – combined with his dedication to only pitching products he knew were worthy – made him one of the greatest pitchmen of our time.

If Billy Mays didn’t believe people were smart – he would have pitched any product – as long as the sponsor was willing to pay his fees.

Contrast that with the “people are idiots” business style of a self proclaimed “internet marketing guru.” I subscribed to this lesser known “pitchman’s” newsletter a few years ago. The reason I subscribed (using my “real” email no less) is that I had purchased a book he had written. His book was wealth of information and I was anxious to discover any other nuggets of wisdom this marketing expert had to offer.

I began to start doubting his great marketing wisdom when he shared some “complaints” that he had been receiving from newsletter subscribers in one of the early issues.

In essence, the letters he shared were from people who expressed disappointment at the content of his newsletters. Instead of sharing ‘behind the scenes stories,” each newsletter was simply a long copy sales letter – with a “buy now to learn more” call to action at the end. His readers were obviously asking for more…. more reasons to “trust” him before they bought from him.

His published response to the complaints was simple and along the lines of “I’m here to make money – not share free information.”

I continued to subscribe because – quite honestly – his newsletters were truly brilliant examples of effective sales copy.

It’s not surprising that one day, I fell victim to the master’s skillfully written marketing copy. I purchased one of the reports he was selling. I paid $39.90 for the report. Because I had been so happy with the content in his published books, I was fairly certain I would be equally happy with the report.

Because his books had been previously published with a national publisher, he had to include a “disclaimer” at the beginning of the report. In essence, the disclaimer shared that the information contained in the report was originally published as part of one of the author’s previously published books.

OUCH!!!! Fool me once – shame on you. Fool me twice – shame on me.

I have never unsubscribed from this newsletter because I will continue to keep his brilliant sales letters in my “swap” file. However, I will NEVER make the mistake of paying $39.90 for one of his “reports” again when I can just as easily pick up one of his books (new) on Amazon containing five times the material at half the price.

He made a one time to sale to me – but I will NEVER be his customer.

There’s an old customer service axiom which says, “the customer is always right.” Maybe the marketing mantra should read:

“The customer is always smart.”

Ditech aired an ad a few years ago championing the concept that people are smart…

The commercial is more than a bit ironic given the state of the current mortgage markets. However, I have to disagree with the vast wisdom contained in the YouTube comments and side with the commercial’s message – that people really ARE smart. They will frequently make the absolute BEST choice – as they see it.

It’s your marketing materials job to show them that your product or service is the “smart” choice.

In my book Beyond the Niche: Essential Tools You Need to Create Marketing Messages that Deliver Results I suggest that you create your marketing copy with your ideal customer in mind… and to think of such “conversations” in the same way you would think of a conventional conversation at a dinner party or networking function.

You wouldn’t approach someone at a dinner party and strike up a conversation using a tone that implies that they’re an idiot – so why in the world would you adopt such a tone in your marketing copy?

Of course, in the end, it doesn’t matter how brilliant your marketing copy – if you truly believe that your customers are idiots – then that thinking is going to show up throughout your business.

If you think your customers are idiots, don’t expect to find long term success online – especially in the world where social media rules.

In an age of Facebook Fan Pages which can easily be created by your customers and which can operate beyond your control, you had better hope and pray the supposed “idiots” you call customers aren’t smart enough to figure out how to create a Facebook account – let alone a Facebook Fan Page.

See, there’s a difference between “idiots” and the “uniformed.” The former are unable and unwilling to learn. The latter are willing and able to be informed – and are open to enlightenment. Check out Blogs and the Art of Deception for an example of the kind of “enlightenment” that happens online and you’ll see why it’s best to assume that people are smart – and ready to be enlightened.

After all – your audience won’t remain “uniformed” forever. At some point in time, some blogger somewhere will eventually shed light on the subject during a Social Media Marketing Reality Check

“The Internet is VERY PUBLIC and it never forgets.”

Trust: Essential Element in Word Of Mouth Marketing

June 12, 2009 by Kathy Hendershot-Hurd

From the “have a heart attack and die from NOT surprise” files… marketing charts reports that according to new research from Mintel – real-life referrals are more influential to consumers than those received online.

In essence, the report reveals that our buying decisions are influenced more by people we know and trust than by strangers we encounter randomly online.

Stop the presses!!! (Talk about an antiquated term…)

We need a research study to tell us that a referral made by someone we know and trust is more “influential” that the recommendation of an unseen, unknown and untrusted STRANGER?

Such is the state of existence for the corporate marketing drone . Fortunately when such information is gathered, it is shared via the internet.

Again – this should be a “have a heart attack and die from NOT surprise” type of revelation. But then again, I guess this might come as a surprise to those who believe that social media marketing is supposed to be magic.

The “magic” inherent in social media marketing is provided by YOU!

Social media marketing is a powerful marketing tool – but just as Superman’s amazing powers were the result of our yellow sun – the power inherent in social media as a marketing tool lies in the ability to make a connection with people – a.k.a. prospective customers.

If you want to discover social media marketing Kryptonite – treat social media marketing like a sales call instead of a cocktail party!

Social media is great a building a connections with people.

Trust is an essential element in the successful word of mouth marketing campaign. People aren’t going to refer other customers to you if they don’t trust to you. Word of mouth marketing does not happen without a strong foundation of trust.

Building connections is an ESSENTIAL part of developing trust.

In 1997, Maxine Clark founded Build-A-Bear Workshop, a teddy-bear themed retail-entertainment experience. In the link to this MSNBC interview with Maxine – she talks about passion – she talks about first impressions – she talks about dreaming big and possibilities – and then she finishes by talking about making CONNECTIONS.

Social media can be a POWERFUL marketing tool – when you use it to MAKE CONNECTIONS.

Making connections is the first step in developing trust – the kind of trust needed to launch a successful word of mouth marketing campaign.

Word of mouth marketing is simply when people tell their friends, family and neighbors about your product or service for you.

The stated goal of every Build-A-Bear Workshop location is to make a CONNECTION with their customers. That desire to build a connection with customers colors everything they do.

The result of that connection is an impressive word of mouth marketing campaign. If you’re the mother of a girl under the age of 12 – if you haven’t heard about your local Build-A-Bear Workshop – it’s only because there’s not one within driving distance – YET!

Build-A-Bear has one of the most powerful word of mouth marketing I’ve ever encountered. If you’re looking to build a similar word of mouth marketing campaign – you should know that these types of campaigns have their roots in the connections that have been made with customers!

Build-A-Bear doesn’t rely on recommendations in impersonal online forums- it relies on real people to carry their marketing message to neighbors – to family and to friends.

If you need email scams to sell your product or service – then social media marketing is going to be your worst nightmare.

If, however, you’re the kind who likes to make real connections with real people- then welcome to social media marketing. It will never take the place of “real world” connections – but it can create new virtual connections which quite honestly, can be just as powerful when fully developed!

Business Success Formula – Recognizing Nonsense

June 5, 2009 by Kathy Hendershot-Hurd

business success formula When you embark upon a journey into unfamiliar territory – whether it’s the journey of self employment or the journey into online marketing – it’s not unusual to seek an experienced guide to help you find your way.

Unfortunately, when you don’t know what you don’t know – finding someone who does know can be difficult.

Lewis Carroll wrote a tale of a little girl who follows a rabbit down the hole and finds an adventure and “Alice in Wonderland” has become a beloved classic. In the new world Alic discovers, she tries desperately to find a guide to help her find her way home. She wants out of this strange world where the conventional “rules” of logic do not apply. The tale’s style is defined as one of literary nonsense – a “style of literature which plays the rules of logic and reason.

Business Success Formula Nonsense:

According to Wikipedia, the sentence “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously” was coined by Noam Chomsky as an example ofnonsense. The individual words make sense and are arranged according to proper grammar, yet the result is still nonsense.

In A Not-So-Secret Business Success Formula, I provided the following “not so secret” business success formula:

Developing a marketing strategy is as easy as answering the following questions:

What is it you want to sell?

Who would want to buy it?

Why would they want to spend money buying it? (What problem does it solve? What goal does it help them achieve? What desire does it satisfy?)

Once you’ve answered those three questions – the “marketing strategy” comes in.

Create marketing materials to let those people know the product/service is available.

Find out where do those people hang out.

Place your marketing message in front of those people.

I understand that implementing this business success formula is much harder than it might appear – which is why I share it so freely via this blog. I also outline step by step strategies on how to implement this formula in my book Beyond the Niche: Essential Tools You Need to Create Marketing Messages that Deliver Results

Why would I share decades of accumulated wisdom for only $14.95 via Amazon? Because there’s a lot of “creativity and talent” involved in creating successful marketing strategies, not to mention developing and implementing successful marketing tactics.

That’s why I highlighted the video in A Day in the Life of a New Media Consultant or Agency…. as an example of the “curse” of being blessed with an abundance of creativity and marketing savvy and trying to sell that “service” is illustrated in the video.

I recently got an email from a client who asked my opinion on a software program that promises top search engine rankings by simply installing and using their software.

My reply:

I have found that SEO software is a lot like a graphic design software.

I have Adobe Photoshop – I can USE Adobe Photoshop – but that doesn’t mean I can use it create a great logo.

Even though I own and can use Adobe Photoshop – I still used crowd sourcing design to create my logo above.

Blogs are a great way to let those who don’t know what they don’t know – who need to know what you know – know what they need to know to make a wise purchasing decision.

In other words, it’s your job to educate your potential customer or client on WHY they should buy from you. Blogs are a great way to do that.

When you educate customers, you establish trust.

Establishing trust is the REAL reason why you should be using “social media. Social media tools such as blogs do a great job of building trust with potential customers.

Social media marketing is a great way to “sell” your products and services when people don’t know what they need to know.

Need help on implementing this? Use this form to connect.

A Not-So-Secret Business Success Formula

June 2, 2009 by Kathy Hendershot-Hurd

business ideas When you start your own business, it can sometimes seem as though you are on a journey into an unknown and foreign land. It’s common when you’re in unfamiliar territory to seek a guide or a map.

If you’re searching for a simple, easy to use “business success formula” I’m going to lay it out – right here and now… for free!

The formula for business success is actually maddeningly simple: put together a sound marketing strategy and then implement it.

Ah- creating the marketing strategy … that’s the “tricky” part. But it doesn’t have to be tricky nor is it a secret. Developing a marketing strategy is as easy as answering the following questions:

What is it you want to sell?

Who would want to buy it?

Why would they want to spend money buying it? (What problem does it solve? What goal does it help them achieve? What desire does it satisfy?)

Once you’ve answered those three questions – the “marketing strategy” comes in.

Create marketing materials to let those people know the product/service is available.
Find out where do those people hang out.
Place your marketing message in front of those people.

This truly the Not-So-Secret Formula for Business Success.

When businesses don’t succeed – like say GM – usually the failure has it’s roots in losing track of one of the basic tenets above. In the case of the “Big Three” automakers – they lost their way at point #2….

Who would want to buy it?

General Motor’s problems became apparent back in the 1970’s. The oil embargo drove gas prices up – and lines began to form at gas stations. Scarcity was limiting supply and driving up prices – and people began reacting to the change in the “rules” which governed their world.

Americans had a problem in the 70’s – filling up their fuel tanks was taking up more of their income – leaving less to spend on white suits, hair styling products and disco balls.

Those same Americans – who were thought to love big cars with big, gas guzzling engines – began seeking fuel efficient cars as a solution. GM, Chrysler and Ford weren’t making fuel efficient cars – but automakers in Japan and Germany were. See, gas prices had always been higher in Japan and Europe than they were in America. As a result, foreign automakers were already well versed in the art of creating fuel efficient cars that people WANTED to buy and drive.

However, American auto makers did not respond by catering to American’s new found desire for fuel efficient cars. Instead GM and other US auto makers decided to attack this “shift” in consumer sentiment with the “buy American” rhetoric. “Keep buying our cars – or you’re not patriotic. They may cost more, not last as long and not be fuel efficient – but it’s good for America for you to buy our cars!”

Suddenly – it became “un-American” for an American consumer to decide to cast their “votes” in the market place with their hard earned money based on which car provided the best value. We were to buy American made automobiles – even though they were less fuel efficient and less reliable than comparable foreign made automobiles.

In Disappointing customers without remorse – until the handouts begin

I can’t remember a time when GM cared about their pleasing their customers. In the words of just about every business analyst on the planet – the reason GM isn’t making any money is they aren’t making cars anyone wants to buy!

I love working with small business owners and this is why – because small business owners “get it”. If they don’t, they’re bankrupt and broke in no time.

If you’re a small business owners – lift up your hands in praise!!! You are uniquely gifted with the ability to see the look in your customer’s eye as they read the price tag on your product or service. You can watch their body language as you make your presentation – and you can alter the course of your business accordingly.

The collapse of the largest auto maker in the US is no surprise. It’s been decades in the making. Poor strategic thinking – ignoring and abusing customers – resting on their past successes all played a part in the downfall. It’s a problem in need of a solution.

The one thing I know for sure – the answer does NOT lie in the minds of government bureaucrats. They have never had to “play” by the rules for business success and aren’t even aware that they exist. (Cases in point – the DMV- the IRS – the USPS… need I go on?)

In chaos lies opportunity.

I can’t wait to see what amazing turn around American ingenuity will provide for this current tale of woe – because that is where the answer lies – in the entreprenurial spirit which made America great.