Buzz Builder

When No Price Is the Right Price

Below is an an article from the May edition of my free Buzz Bulletin monthly online newsletter. To subscribe, please sign up on my website.

I can never get enough ice cream so I was chagrined last year when Dreyer’s, which makes some of my favorite flavors, shrunk their most popular container from two to 1.75 quarts. Last week, Dreyer’s cut their standard ice cream packaging even further, from 1.75 to 1.5 quarts, with only a small reduction in price. Pretty soon, we’ll be taking magnifying glasses to the grocery store.

As people reduce their purchases in these tough economic times, Dreyer’s is just one of many companies that believes that shrinking packaging is a smart way to keep prices down while enticing people to buy more. However, other businesses have discovered an entirely different lesson: reduced pricing or even free products and services can be a much better way to engender customer loyalty and create buzz.

As soon as the weather gets nice in Portland, I feel like riding my bike. Invariably my tires are flat or I’m facing other mechanical nuisances. Two weeks ago, I started calling local bike shops to ask how much it would cost to repair a flat and tune up my bike as well as my wife’s. Three places quoted me prices in the $75 to $85 range. However, the Community Cycling Center in Portland, Oregon told me to bring my bike into the shop and they would see what it needed.

Because I was in hurry, I dropped the bike off and told the mechanic to do whatever he thought was necessary to get it working as smoothly as possible. When I returned, the mechanic told me that he only fixed a flat and put cloth tape on the inside of a wheel which is always getting flats as a preventative measure. The mechanic said that he looked over both of our bikes carefully and that there was no reason to do a tune-up on either bike since they were operating without any problems and the brakes were safe. I left the shop after paying a $14 bill, instead of the $150 I had expected to pay.

I had a similar experience recently with our Subaru Outback. After noticing some minor rattling coming from the left front tire area, I took the car to Superior Import Repair in Portland and left it there to see whether they could figure things out. The mechanic said that they drove the car a couple of miles, listened to sounds coming from the car with a stethoscope, and couldn’t find anything wrong with the car. While he was looking at the car, he checked fluid levels, brake pads, lights, and other items. He made me feel great when he said that our car was running so well that he would feel confident driving it across the country. The bill: $0. When I asked why I wasn’t being charged, the mechanic said, “it’s the least we can do for a good customer.”

In their commitment to providing great service first and worrying about pricing second, my bike and car mechanics solidified my loyalty. Why would I shop around for other providers when I have people looking out for my best interests? Furthermore, these stellar customer service experiences have inspired me to buzz about both businesses to friends since they’ve occurred. Surely, some of this positive word of mouth will lead to new sales.

Clearly, in this difficult economy, it’s critical to watch your expenses closely. However, sometimes giving things away is the best way to grow your buzz and your business.

Tree Maintenance Service Builds Relationships and Business with Savvy Customer Outreach Campaign

This spring, the old horse chestnut tree in front of our house looks better than  ever. A couple of years ago, we were depressed to think that the tree was nearing the end of its life since the leaves were sparse and sickly looking.

A couple of years ago, I met Matt Allen of Pacific Tree Works, which serves the greater Portland, Oregon area, at a networking event. Matt told me that pruning our tree would help it look better and allow it to live longer since the elimination of dead branches would encourage the roots to feed the parts of the tree that were still alive. Based on his excellent knowledge and professional demeanor, I hired Matt to trim the horse chestnut as well as a 110-foot Douglas fir in our backyard. Sure enough, ever since Matt trimmed both trees, they look better than ever. In fact, the horse chestnut has improved so much that our neighbors have asked us what we've done to make the tree look so healthy.

In the first year after he pruned our trees, I referred Matt to  friends who could use his services. However, as time went by, I stopped referring business to Matt because he simply stopped being top of mind. Last month, I received a letter from Matt and his wife Anna thanking me for my business and requesting that I refer business to their company since times are tough for small, family-owned businesses. To attract more clients during the recession, they said that the company is cutting  prices by 20% throughout the rest of 2009. Along with the letter, they included an attractive color brochure which emphasizes the company's local roots and commitment to the community. This savvy marketing effort has put Pacific Tree Works back on my radar screen, and I'm sure that I'll be referring more business to the company.

If you're looking to get more referrals for your business, when is the last time you've told that to your customers in a compelling way? In these tough times, your best source of new business is your existing customer base. If you let people know what you're doing both in your business and community and ask for referrals, the results should surprise and delight you.

It doesn't take a complicated message to impress your customers as you can see by clicking on the letter that I received from Pacific Tree Works.

 

Matt Weinstein in "What Bernie Madoff Couldn't Steal From Me" Video

Last December, my wife and I were extremely lucky to travel in Antarctica for nearly two weeks with a group that our client OCSC, a sailing and adventure travel company in Berkeley, had organized. The trip was even more spectacular that we had hoped. The scale and grandeur of Antarctica never ceased to amaze. But, we never expected to learn so much from a fellow traveller.

On our boat, we met Matt Weinstein, a successful professional speaker and all-around great guy. Midway through the journey, Matt was called up to the ship's bridge to take a satellite phone call from his wife Geneen Roth, an accomplished author and healthy eating expert. Geneen told Matt that they had lost nearly everything that they had saved for retirement since they had invested with the infamous Bernie Madoff.

Unable to rush home since there are no flights out of Antarctica, Matt still had about a week left on the journey. During this time, when we talked with him, we were amazed that he didn't demonstrate much anger or grief. Surely, we thought, he must be in a state of shock which would morph into rage as time passed. But, over the past few months, we've seen that Matt possesses an amazing ability to reflect on what's really important in life. While he and Geneen will likely only recoup a small percentage of the money that Madoff stole, he has earned something of greater value.

Below is a video of Matt presenting an insightful and entertaining speech on "What Bernie Madoff Couldn't Steal from Me." It's the best eight-minute presentation I've ever seen. If you like it, please forward it to a friend. Here's wishing that Matt gets a lot of groups to hire him to speak about what's really important in life!

An Antidote to Negative Economic Buzz: Humble School Bus Driver in Queens Feeds the Needy

All the buzz about climbing unemployment rates and economic distress is enough to depress even the most optimistic person. This recent post on the Pink Slips Are The New Black Blog about how one regular guy has made a difference in improving the lives of thousands should lift your spirits:

CNN recently featured a truly inspiring story about a 44-year-old Jorge Munoz who emigrated to the United States from Colombia in the 1980s.

A school bus driver by day, he spends the majority of his free time feeding hungry people out of his mobile soup kitchen in Queens, NY. He started the program in 2004 and he estimates he’s served 70,000 meals to date. Now it has evolved into a non-profit organization called An Angel in Queens.

From CNN:
Muñoz estimates that food and gas cost approximately $400 to 450 a week; he and his family are funding the operation through their savings and his weekly $700 paycheck.

Asked why he spends so much time to help people he doesn’t know, he answers, “I have a stable job, my mom, my family, a house… everything I want, I have. And these guys [don't]. So I just think, ‘OK, I have the food.’ At least for today they’re going to have a meal to eat.”

Buzz Marketing Camp Launching in San Francisco Bay Area - Learn How to Get People Buzzing & Buying on a Tight Budget

Many businesses are struggling to attract customers with reduced marketing dollars. Even companies that have kept their marketing budgets intact are finding it increasingly difficult to meet their sales objectives since consumers are buying less and not responding to traditional advertising. That's why I'm launching Buzz Camp which is a results-producing, idea-generating half-day workshop designed to help businesses of all sizes break through the commercial clutter and get people buzzing and buying in spite of a challenging economic environment. The first Buzz Camp will take place on 4/23/09 in Berkeley, CA in association with the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce.

Buzz Camp will cover:

• The latest trends in buzz marketing and what they mean for your business.
• How to build a cohesive brand message that drives business growth.
• Buzz secrets from America’s most successful companies.
• How to create buzz through online newsletters, seminars, special events, blogs, networking (both face-to-face and online including Facebook and LinkedIn), consumer review websites (Angie’s List, CitySearch, Yelp, etc.), and viral videos.
• The inside scoop on what the media and bloggers want and how to generate free publicity that greatly exceeds what you could afford to purchase in advertising.
• How to obtain free and prominent media and blogger coverage using a simple three-step process that Patrick developed to land his clients in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week, Forbes, Boston Globe, InStyle, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Business Times, San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, The View from the Bay (KGO TV), NBC News, Evening Magazine (KPIX TV) , KTVU News, Home & Garden Television, etc.
• Techniques to increase the loyalty and enthusiasm of your customers and prospects that drive repeat sales and referrals.
• How to get to the top of Google and other leading search engines through search engine optimization (SEO) without wasting money on pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

Check out details and registration information for Buzz Camp here.

Is Safeway Building Negative Buzz with Charity Support Requests?

Recently, every time that I shop at Safeway, the checker has asked whether I would like to add a dollar to my grocery bill to contribute to a specific charity like the Prostate Cancer Foundation or Easter Seals. These requests have always irked me because they make me feel like a heel when I say "no" in front of the clerk and other people waiting in line. I'm a big believer in charitable giving; however, I prefer to contribute directly to causes I believe in so I can be assured that my money is going directly to them and I can get a tax deduction.

With prices on all food items zooming, Safeway's fundraising efforts are bound to irk customers struggling to make ends meet who might like to support worthy causes but quite simply are struggling to feed their own families. In fact, a recent article in The Oregonian indicates that Safeway's insistent fundraising is generating negative buzz. I'm guessing that Safeway's current methodology of soliciting customer support of charities will dissipate as economic times grow tougher.

Snapfish Customer Service Problems Continue - Is Overseas Outsourcing To Blame?

A few months ago, I blogged about a frustrating customer service experience that my wife had with Snapfish, an online photo production website. I was impressed with how quickly I received a comment on that post from Dean Cookson, director of Systems and Support Operations for Snapfish. His answer seemed reasonable enough so it prompted me to post a favorable response. But, as you'll see in the comments section on that post, Ona, one of my blog readers, posted a comment on 7/15/08 sharing her tale of woe regarding Snapfish which she attributes to outsourced overseas customer service.

I'm not sure whether Snapfish has outsourced its customer service but Ona's note raises some warning flags about whether Snapfish might be engendering a lot of bad buzz in the interest of saving money on its customer service operations. I'm sure that most people have experienced frustrations like Ona's. While I'm not absolutely opposed to overseas customer service, few companies can pull it off successfully since they tend to scrimp on training and quality control. In fact, problems are so rampant in overseas customer service that they've become a common joke as you'll see in the hilarious video from Reno 911!, one of my favorite TV shows.

GoodShop & GoodSearch Leverage Publicity & Provide Cool Buzz Building Tools

Today, I read about an intriguing website called GoodShop in the First Unitarian Church of Portland newsletter. GoodShop is a brilliantly simple yet valuable idea. Instead of going directly to your favorite shopping websites like Amazon, Expedia, and Zappos (and hundreds more), you access them via the GoodShop shopping page. Then, you type in the charity you want to support and click on the link that takes you directly to the ecommerce business. When you purchase a donation of 1% to 7% of the total purchase price goes to the cause you selected. (If you know a charity looking for money, tell them to register at GoodShop and let their supporters know. It's a great way to raise money.)

I was impressed with the excellent press that GoodShop and its affiliated website GoodSearch has garnered. Their press room does something that all businesses which land good press should do to leverage the incredible residual value of publicity. Rather than just having links to their press, GoodShop and GoodSearch highlight a few of the most interesting sentences from each story. Even if you don't click to any of the media websites, the excerpts provide outstanding credibilty for GoodShop and GoodSearch and make you want to support them. And, once you've made this decision, the clever folks at GoodShop and GoodSearch have figured out some easy ways for anybody to spread their buzz which would apply to many other businesses as well.

Powerful Publicity with Polar Bear Plunge

First off, here's wishing you and all Buzz Builder blog readers a peaceful and prosperous 2008! Yesterday, I heard an NPR  about New Year's resolutions, and I was intrigued to learn that men are more apt to keep their resolutions if they make them as specific as possible whereas women who want to keep  their resolutions going throughout the year should make them known to friends who can hold them accountable. Looking back at my blog posting history over the past few months and resolving to do better in 2008, I'm now making a pledge to post at least three times a week.

A couple of years ago, I wrote about what makes publicity stunts succeed as well as some of my favorite ones (mine and others). Yesterday, the Oregon Zoo pulled off a great one with their Polar Bear Plunge that other zoos around the country should consider as an excellent way to generate publicity and contributions. One of the best ways to find an effective publicity stunt is to discover what works in one part of the country and copy it. 

For a donation of $500, Plunge participants got to dip into the Oregon Zoo's polar bear pool to raise funds for Polar Bears International through The Oregon Zoo Foundation's Future for Wildlife Fund. Besides helping a species in peril, plungers received a behind the scenes tour of the polar bear exhibit with three Portland TV weathercasters Mark Nelsen (KPTV),  Bruce Sussman (KOIN) and Dave Salesky (KGW) who also participated in the plunge.

The stunt was great because it highlighted a perfect message for the zoo - the danger that global warming poises for polar bears and other species. It generated coverage in many Portland media outlets. Last night, the event was covered on most local TV stations. Today, I read about in The Oregonian and heard a story on KOPB, the state's largest NPR station.

Also, kudos to Sorel, an outdoor footwear manufacturer which has a polar bear in its logo, for being the co-sponsor of the Oregon Zoo's event. The company is also doing a clever job at getting people to subscribe to its newsletter by offering to increase its donation to  Polar Bears International for every new newsletter subscriber.  This message would be even more powerful if Sorel let potential subscribers know how much money goes to Polar Bears International when they subscribed.

Charity Navigator - A Powerful Way to See Beyond the Buzz and Evaluate Charities Objectively

Is your mailbox is flooded with charities trying to get you to make end-of-year donations? While most seem to represent worthy causes, many are inefficient  since they spend too much money on fundraising and overhead expenses. A few years ago, we discovered Charity Navigator, America's premier independent charity evaluator that works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of the country's largest charities. Now we are able to make charitable contributions knowing that our money will go towards valuable programs rather than high salaries or excessive fund raising or administrative expenses.

Too many charities try to create buzz through marketing. However, with resources like Charity Navigator, a potential donor can see beyond the buzz and know whether a charity is worthy of a contribution. The most valuable long-term buzz that a charity can generate doesn't come through flashy fund raising efforts rather it's based on carrying out its mission as efficiently as possible over years.