So I guess it takes an international business celebrity to make the point, and hit home a little harder. Maybe I ought to write a book or dozen (ahem) too…

I was reading the latest copy of Entrepreneur Magazine today, and I flipped it open to see one my heroes, Robert Kiyosaki, talking about the virtues of marketing and not being cheap. Can I tell you? I got chills.

In an article entitled “Go Big or Go Home,” Kiyosaki states that “even in a bad economy, one truth about marketing stands: you have to spend more to make more.” So true.

He goes on to explain further that “promotion is a six-week cycle. That means if I promote today, business increases six weeks later. Many businesses violate the six-week cycle. They promote for, say, four weeks, and because nothing happens, they stop. Two weeks later, there’s a sudden increase in business. For four weeks, business remains strong. Then, just as suddenly, business drops off, because six weeks earlier, the entrepreneur had stopped promoting.

My rich dad’s lesson was to never stop promoting: Promote whether the economy is strong or weak; promote even when you may not have the money. If you have no money, stand on a street corner at lunchtime with a sign hanging around your neck promoting your product or service.”

What I want to add to Kiyosaki’s article is some ideas on how to market in a crummy economy - because let’s face it - we’re in one. Notice he uses the words “promote” and “market” - not “advertise.” His lesson (and mine) - promote no matter what, constantly.

Given that, what do you have more of to invest into promotions right now? Time or money?

Use this table I created to help give you some visual ideas on where you might be, and in turn, what you can do in that situation to market yourself:

Like a garden without water, a business without marketing cannot succeed.

Social networking is an exciting, emerging trend in business that more and more businesses of all sizes are seeing tremendous value and potential in. Those currently utilizing this cutting-edge (but surprisingly user-friendly) tool are seeing amazing results, but only if used properly.

Reasons many people give for NOT utilizing social networking vary from group to group. Some are afraid that social-networking tools are too hard, some feel they are “only for the kids” and others are still sold on traditional methods—to the exclusion of all others.

While these concerns have some basis, they lack a really solid sense of how easy, how powerful and how life-changing these tools can be for the bottom line.

Let’s define social networking for those not familiar with it. “Social networking” is a technology-based means of communication utilizing the power and variety of the Internet to provide an infinite variety of tools and offerings. It is a continually evolving concept, as new tools and capabilities are introduced. However, the basic concept of using the Internet to communicate with each other should make sense to virtually everyone. Some of the more popular examples include LinkedIn, FastPitch, Plaxo, Twitter and Xing.

People can leverage these sites to create a sense of presence that even traditional marketing experts can appreciate: brand awareness, lead generation, information sharing and so on. And the real keys to success are the same as in traditional marketing: frequency, relevancy and cross-marketing, to name a few. Like traditional forms of networking and advertising, the result is directly proportional to the effort.

Critics claim that social networking is merely a gimmick. In reality, while it is true that social networking alone will not likely produce substantial leads in the absence of other critical methodologies, it IS true that combined with other methods, and when used regularly, social networking can, and has, produced excellent results.

Frank Damelio, founder and CEO of the area executive training company Target Intellect, says, “I have found that social networking is a simple and cost-effective method of building connections that have so far resulted in a significant increase in new clients and brand exposure.”

And social networking has one major benefit that other methods generally don’t—there is relatively NO barrier to entry. Usage is practically free (although one should employ the services of a social networking expert to glean the best results) and is relatively painless in terms of time spent updating and managing efforts.

Ease of use and low barrier to entry should absolutely make social networking an essential element of every company’s marketing plan. To not take advantage of these tools is to watch your competition use them to its advantage.

(First in a series of articles on this subject)

This article appeared in the October issue of DBA Magazine. You can check out this great publication online. Here are some links:

October Issue of DBA

DBA Blog

This Article

You might know this, you might not - I’m a foodie and have several “famous” recipes that send people to my parties in droves. I love to cook, and find artisic pleasure in making sensory experiences for my guests that sends them home raving about my cooking, my presentation and my creativity. I live for it.

That’s culinary arts, and this is marketing. Here’s the tie. What I love about my job is the people and the range of experiences. Last night, for example, I got to enjoy an evening as a chef behind the line at Rovezzi’s Restaurant in Sturbridge.

Chris Rovezzi, the owner and executive chef, showed me some great culinary tricks and I learned a lot of great new things that will help me out. Got a few great recipes (I’d share them with you, but I’d have to maim you) and really added quite a bit to my expertise.

Throughout the evening, I noted that Chris was militant about every dish being just right before going out of the kitchen, he was personable and social to his guests, and he managed his team with strong leadership and persuasive charm. Being the marketing die-hard that I am, I had thoughts swirling through my head the whole time about culinary arts and its similarities to marketing. The thing that struck me so powerfully is Chris’ mastery of word-of-mouth marketing. I wanted to highlight his efforts because he’s a great example of what people should do.

Word of mouth is one of the most powerful forms of marketing. Chris has a busy and successful restaurant and there’s a few reasons why:

1. He’s obsessed with quality and won’t accept anything less than the best
2. His staff is personally trained in excellent and personable service
3. The recipes are made the same every time (I saw this first hand!), thus consistent in delivery of product
4. The overall customer experience is very positive, and designed to be memorable

I admire his ability to give the people what they want, which makes them WANT to talk about it. When you’ve done that, you’re doing something really good. Kudos, my friend!

What can you do in your business to generate positive word of mouth?

In no particular order…

• Be consistent in your offering AND your pricing - in other words, don’t confuse people
• Focus on the customer experience and make it a GREAT one (”good” is not good enough)
• Don’t be a jack (or jacqueline!) of all trades - BE THE BEST AT ONE!
• THANK people for their patronage and make them feel important
• Be humble, and genuinely kind and good to your customers/clients. When people feel good, they talk about it.
• Be proactive in reaching out to your customers/clients, asking for their toughest feedback - then ACT on it.
• Ask people to tell their friends/colleagues about you. Chances are, they would anyway, but a request from someone they adore is never an inconvenience.
• Think about things from your customers’/clients’ perspectives - how do they see you?

Give it some thought, and try to ask yourself what makes your favorite vendors so amazing to you. What keeps YOU going back? What prompts you to tell your friends? What makes you want to blog about a great experience?

We moved! We have pretty sweet new digs now… pictures of the interior coming soon.

New address:

340 Main St.
Suite 801
Worcester, MA 01608

Same everything else.