AMiable Solution #198: International Celebrations

When we “calendar market,” we tend to focus on our own seasons and events: Labor Day in September; Columbus Day and Halloween in October; Veterans Day and Thanksgiving in November; and Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa in December.

But your international customers operate on a different calendar. 

Some of them celebrate the same things Americans do, just on different dates.  For example, Canada celebrates its independence on December 11, India on August 15, Ghana on March 6, Kosovo on February 17, Philippines on June 2, and Australia on January 26.

Others celebrate holidays not observed in the United States.  Mexico celebrates Children’s Day on April 30.  France celebrates Bastille Day on July 14.  Brazil celebrates Carnival in February.

Our point?  Get to know your international customers.  Find out which holidays or observances are the most important to them and which ones influence their buying behavior the most.  Doing so will not only help you understand your customers better, but it will also give you another opportunity and another strategy for marketing to them.

AMiable Solution #197: Re-Schooling

With summer nearly over and thoughts turning to a new school year, you may be wishing for a little education yourself.  But if there’s just no time or budget for a marketing course or seminar, check out your colleagues’ bookshelves or your local bookstore for a little inspiration.

Not sure where to start?  Here are three marketing books to look into this fall:

1.      Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D..  An amazon.com bestseller in the “Marketing & Consumer Behavior” category, this book explains why people say “yes” and examines six principles that you can use to become a skilled persuader.  Geoffrey James, a contributing editor for Inc.com, calls this 2006 revised edition “as useful to salespeople as it is to marketers” and “essential stuff” (“Top 10 Marketing Books of All Time,” June 25, 2013).

2.      Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers by Seth Godin.  Despite its age (it was originally published in 1999), this book continues to offer marketers insight into building long-term relationships and creating trust with customers who have indicated an interest in learning more about a company’s product or service.

3.      The Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer.  If you just need a little motivation to get you going and don’t want to spend much time processing heavy material, Mitch Joel, President of Mirum, a global digital marketing agency, suggests this book.  In fact, Joel re-reads this book every year.  In his twistimage.com blog article, “20 Best Marketing Books of All Time," he calls Gitomer’s book “simple, fun and short” and “full of how to better position, market and sell both yourself and the products and services that you represent.” 

AMiable Solution #196: Three Tips for Juicier Marketing

Creative block happens for many reasons.  We’re stressed.  We’re crunched for time.  We don’t know enough about the product or service we’re marketing.  We know too much about the product or service we’re marketing.  We’ve been marketing the same thing the same way for a long time.

Whatever the reason, you can break out of the marketing blahs and find new inspiration in three, easily accessible ways:

1. Revisit old promotions.  We mean really old promotions.  Look at campaigns that weren’t yours.  See what your predecessors used to say about your organization or the services you still offer.  You may find descriptions and language or case studies and examples that you can incorporate into your current marketing.
2. Look beyond your world.  You know what your competitors are doing.  Now see what companies and organizations in other industries are doing.
3. Remember your audience.  Sometimes we get so caught up in the creation that we forget who we’re creating for.  Talk to the folks who interact directly with your clients on a daily basis: your customer service agents, sales reps, and technical folks.  Find out what questions they ask, what concerns they have.  Review your social media sites for this information, too.  They’ll give you insight into your clients’ fears and goals and help you focus your marketing.

A fresh perspective can do wonders for your creativity.  Get shifting, and get flowing!