October 2004

Fall is here and if your winter campaign is not already in the execution stage, you are behind. As a reminder we are running an October Special for our website. If you're not already listed on the site, you need to get moving. The October special, which is good till the end of the month, is for winter contracts for specific advertising placements, such as our well trafficked homepage. Please let us know if you are interested as it takes time to create the art and get it loaded and working.

As always, if you need some help or direction on where to go with your winter campaign, please call. I am happy to help as I can.

Jefferson Lanz

MIND YOUR BUSINESS

Marketing to an existing customer is the smartest way to keep your revenue up. You already have an 'audience" for your product, now show them alternative reasons to come back again.

For lodging, this might mean giving your winter customers a printed postcard inviting them to come back in spring or fall. For a retail store, a holiday purchase warrants a discount offer when used during another visit or season. For a restaurant, have a come back again offer ready to hand out.

In each scenario, you should make personal contact with the customer, and tell them about your special offer. Don't just throw the promo card in the bag. Show a genuine interest. This can happen just by asking them "what other activities do you do besides...."

Your customer base is your gold. Market to them.

THE WEB

Email is here to stay. If you come to work, and the first thing you do, is check your email, you can bet you are not only addicted, you likely travel with a laptop. Here are a few basic good use email rules.

Don't delay in responding. It isn't always fun to answer and respond, but as our days seem busier than ever, it is the fastest way to send your thoughts. Businesses that rely heavily on email, and customers that use email as a means to ascertain product information want a FAST response.

Answer all emails every day. Respond the day you get them. Even it if is a short answer, the recipient will be glad to know you received it and are working on their request.

Don't let email replace a personal phone call. There is nothing like the sound of someone's voice, and that extra personal touch that cannot be communicated in a typed sentence.

Lastly, remember that joke lists, funny remarks about our politicians, and grandma's recovery are not appropriate in business communication.

An email address should be treated like an unlisted number so don't list multiple recipients in the "to:" area. Use the "BCC" so no one will see who else gets your message unless that is your intention.

SECRET SAUCE

Last issue we covered the first 3 elements of a good logo. Expressing credibility and trustworthiness, and putting that into the design, and and I showed some examples.

Your logo icon and company name must work together. The icon is a “visual” expression of company credibility. The name is a “verbal” expression of company credibility. Names like Quality Inn, City Concierge and Ocean Harvest are all good descriptives of the company’s expertise and therefore become credible names.

Conversely, names like Booky Joint, Thai'd Up, or Gathering Feathers, or corporate company names such as M&T Enterprises or Hesperex do not describe the company business, thus negate the opportunity to show their expertise in their respective fields. These names are also harder to remember.

Trustworthy attributes can also be incorporated into a company’s name. Names like Compaq for the personal computer is not only descriptive, but with the “q” at the end suggests “high technology.” Zippy’s Restaurants sound like a quick place to get a meal. Le Nouveau Riche Gourmand restaurant connotes something more formal.

Company names should also have longevity, as that is what we will recall as the company brand. And that is the most important thing.

Logos must be planned. A great logo doesn’t come out of thin air. It doesn't come from an inexperienced college kids computer. It has to have a basis for being.

Logos have content and they have design form. Content and design must work together to communicate what the logo is to “say.” The logo icon therefore must symbolize the creditbility, and any other traits you wish to express. The name must verbalize those traits. The easiest example to use, is our own.

The "City Concierge" name immediately registers certain qualities in a consumers mind. Works with the City (or town), is the guy with all the information and reservations such as a hotel concierge, association with the City, therefore must have credibility, therefore I can trust them. And our logo icon, it depicts mountains and lakes as in resorts, there is snow, for the colder areas, the blue which is a neutral color also associated with outdoors, fresh and clean. Our company, name, location, and symbology, all work together to communicate a message to a consumer. And because of it's simplicity, it can also be recreated in just black, without losing many of the attributes for when printing or other use doesn't involve color.

                   

Stop and look and your own. Challenge yourself to see what it communicates to others, think about ways it can be tweaked to add credibility enhancement. More on this next time.

SHAMELESS PROMO
This winter we are introducing our printed Guest Guide. This weekly printed guide is co-branded with your logo and is the most current list of activities and entertainment happening in Mammoth. It is perfect to distribute to your lodging guests and store customers. We save you time and money, by aggregating all the sources of activities into one cohesive printable guide, that guest can now carry with them. With your logo and/or company info on the page, they carry your company name with them and see it repeatedly as they go about their fun. There is no waste, and you only print what you need each week. On a monthly basis, the service is only $60.00. This is less than it would cost you to have an employee do it yourself each week. Take a look, and let's discuss how to customize it for your business.