I spoke to the ACCA – PHCC conference last week. That is the Air Conditioning Contractors of America and the Plumbing and Heating Cooling Contractors. They had a trade show that I wandered around. One vendor had nifty key chain flashlights and screwdrivers that were their “giveaways”. I suggested that they might want the screwdrivers that had a flat head on one end and a phillips on the other. They indicated that the flashlights we 40 cents each and the screwdrivers were $2.50 and that was for a reason. “The little screwdrivers have a very narrow tip on them for
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Posts by Kordell Norton
How fast can a Brand lose it shine?
As a marketer I found the accolades given to the Obama campaign interesting a year ago. From a purely scientific viewpoint they did put together a great win given his historical leanings and how those match up with the population at large. They went into his presidency with a powerful brand with a lot of mental equity. At the core of all great marketing is a religious vigor for listening to the customer. The Obama camp have, with the health care bill, done a fantastic job of completely discounting that customer dialog. They have done serious damage to his reputation,
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Laundry Soap, Travel Agents, and Computers . . . and what they have in common with a Moving company?
Are you tired of competing on price? Introducing the Bankruptcy Gap. Remember when there was only one Tide laundry detergent? I counted last week, there are now over 70 sizes, types and smells of Tide at the supermarket. There are versions for top load washing machines, front loaders, for smelly clothes, for whites and even a version in a tube that you can get the coffee stain off the front of your shirt at the office. What about personal computers? When I first started selling PCs in the 1980’s (ancient history I know) there were 3 or 4 major brands,
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Let the Hot Chocolate Continue to Flow . . . continuation of a previous blog
Variety is the spice of life. Because I am the curious sort I continue in my search for the perfect hot chocolate getaway. I continue to work on the next book each morning and thought my Starbucks and McDonalds forays might be helped with a journey to the other two A.M. eating establishments. Cracker Barrel. Pleasant surprise when I discovered the hot chocolate is 50 cents less than Mickey D’s. The table top space for my weapons of writing was huge but the wait staff was surly, I guess because of the demands on them to distribute the salt
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Which is harder? Strategy or Execution? I ask and your answers are. . . .
With a ratio of 9 to 1 the answer is . . . (the suspense builds, but more on that in a minute). It was the late 60’s and Fred Smith was listening to the conversations of the other Jet Jockey’s. Fred was flying charter flights out of a the Tweed New Haven airport. The pilots of the other sleek corporate jets were mentioning how their planes were empty. No passengers. They were flying around the country delivering computer parts. These pilots for IBM, Xerox and the like were trying to cover for the need that was not being
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Pour Hot Chocolate into that Open Wound – and we liked it!
Writing the next book. My friend Janine Moon, an awesome business coach, gave a great insight. “There are too many distractions in my office. When I write I go to the local coffee shop.” Day 1 – Starbucks – The words flow onto my laptop as my hot chocolate sits next to the iPod that is pulling it’s load of a gentle mix of movie soundtracks. Outlets are everywhere as other business people sit addicted to their latest email fixes. A fireplace radiates heat into the warm oak-paneled space. Small and intimate. I sit at an oak table with hot
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Guidelines for Writing Copy and Headlines
Tips, Tricks and Traps for Writing Copy Remember when you learned those concepts in school on how to write persuasively? Here is a little update and refresher. Rules for Headlines and Copy 1. Headlines should be at the top of the page 2. Sans Serif (without “tails”) fonts for Headlines. . . serif for Body 3. Write 15 different headlines and use the best one 4. 80% of the focus and attention for the eyes of your customer will be on the headline 5. Flag the Headline with your message subject – if you are selling Sales
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TransBrands – The future of business – lessons from Pandora and the blue Na'vi
My friend Carol had to go back and see the Imax version of Avatar in 3D a second time last Saturday. Carol, Glenn and I had gone to the morning show and it was awesome. I think it represents the future of entertainment. It is a true TransBrand. A what? Turn the clock back one hundred years. Farmer John used to take his eggs and milk into town. His neighbors brought their produce and they traded with each other or exchanged dollars. Then the world got sophisticated. It certainly got bigger as the cities grew. No longer did the luxury
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Wal-Mart Redeems Themselves
So my post yesterday was on Wal-Mart and how they fell on their sword. Magic things happen. I called 1-800-Wal-Mart and told them how they were messing up. You will not believe this. They called back. And within 4 hours. And they fixed the issue. So in a few minutes I am heading over to get my meds and now I have a great success story for customer service FROM WAL-MART of all places.
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Stupid is as Wal-Mart does
Don’t get me wrong. I think Wal-Mart provides a great service for America. Today I needed to pick up some prescriptions at my local Wal-Mart. When I called to inquire on availability they informed me that the price was higher than I had been buying down the street at a K-Mart store. “Why don’t you match the price” I asked? “Because it is farther than 5 miles away.” “But if you don’t, I will just go back to K-Mart.” “Sorry” they said. So called the Wal-Mart that is a couple of miles further away but just down the street from
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