Tom's Two Cents:: Book Review

StrategicPlanet.com 1259 Pinewood Way Cedar City, UT 84720 Phone: 435.867.4844 Fax: 435.867.
4418
November 2008
Toms Two Cents:
Meet Your New Sales Team
Enabling Customers to Market Your Business
How to Hog Attention
Weve all heard of Harley Davidson. Weve seen
those leather-clad baby boomers riding around
our cities, their bikes demanding our attention
with blinding chrome and thunderous growls.
But, can you remember the last time you saw a
Harley Davidson commercial on TV, or heard
one of their radio ads? If you cant, its because
they do very little marketing in the form of
traditional advertising. Harley Davidson has
built one of the most successful motorcycle
brands in the world, and theyve done it using
much more than TV commercials.
How did a company on the brink of extinction
in 1980 come back to life? Tey didnt do it by
hiring the top ad agency in New York. Tey
didnt do it by building bikes cheaper and faster
than the competition. Tey did it using a little
acronym called H.O.G.
Te Harley Owners Group, (HOG) was
organized in 1983 in response to Harley riders
desire to show their love for their bikes. What
started as a small group of riders has grown
into an international organization with over
one million members. Members participate
in annual events, have access to members only
materials online and through the mail, and are
connected to people that share their passion.
Imagine more than 100,000 bikers cruising
down the main street of your town. Tats what
happens every year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Harley Davidsons homeland. Its
called Te Ride Home and its the biggest event Harley promotes each year. Now,
imagine the conversation that is created in cities and towns across the country as
groups of HOG members from Florida to California temporarily overtake their
streets as they road-trip to this event. It would be ludicrous to say that nobody
would notice, or talk about the spectacle. Its even more difcult to imagine that
some of the onlookers would not secretly wish to be a part of it.
Harley Davidson has created more than just a fan club. It has innovated an
amazing free marketing team. Harley riders voluntarily help the company to create
in others the desire and passion that they feel themselves.
TODAY: Make a list of your best customers. Write a paragraph about how to
help them create a community based upon your products and services. Put your
written plan into action.
Book Review:
Creating Customer Evangelists
by Ben McConnell & Jackie Huba
The best advertising is free advertising, and the best
advertisers are those that spread the good word about your
company simply because they want to.
Te book has broken the evangelist creation process into 6
steps:
Continued on next page
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StrategicPlanet.com 1259 Pinewood Way Cedar City, UT 84720 Phone: 435.867.4844 Fax: 435.867.4418
Cool Web Site of the Month
Book Review (cont)
1. Customer Plus-Delta. Companies need to know
what their customers like about them and what
they dislike. Knowing these things give companies
something to work on, and keeps them from
accidentally erasing something that customers love.
2. Napsterize your knowledge. Giving away ideas
and products creates word of mouth, and allows
customers to pass information and products on to
others. Its an efective way to put others to work
marketing for you. Instead of giving one free sample,
why not give two or three? Ten, people will be able
to try for themselves and distribute to others as well.
3. Build the buzz. Getting people talking about
something cannot be forced. People will spread
ideas that are important or exciting to them. Simply
introducing topics into networks that already exist
(blogs, email, etc.) allows people to begin to generate
a natural, un-forced buzz campaign for you!
4. Bite-size chunks. Giving away a small sampling of
your product or service makes it easy to obtain new
customers. Te barriers to entry for new customers
are zero, and it lessens the barriers for them to
purchase the full-blown version later.
6. Create a cause. Dont just sell products and
services. Sell a dream. Customers will become
passionate about things when they see how it
can afect lives, rather than how it can meet one
specifc need.
Opportunities in a
Down Economy
By Dirk Knemeyer
Marketing dollars spent during a down economy
are far more powerful than similar dollars spent
during good times, because each dollar represents
a greater percentage of the overall marketing
expenditure in your industry. While other
companies drastically cut their expenditures,
your consistency means that you stand out more
in the minds of your target audiences. While
other companies hack-and-slash their advertising
budgets, you continue to show up in relevant
media. Tis projects strength and stability in a
way that supports any brand strategy. It provides
valuable diferentiation that will contribute to
increasing sales more rapidly in the short term, and
toward building your long-term branding success.
www.experiencethread.com
Five Essentials for Marketing
Technology in a Down Economy
by Terry Welty
Successful marketing, in any situation, requires a combination of
insight, patience and execution. In todays economic conditions, these
requirements are doubly important.
Te right approach requires more than just cutting costs and coasting
while waiting out the slump. Only good planning, prioritization and
adherence to the principle that success is 10% inspiration and 90%
perspiration can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, or at least from
the competition.
Te marketing approach that can carry you through these difcult
economic times is built on the following fve essentials:
1. Know your companys real value.
2. Know your customer.
3. Keep your salespeople well informed, well educated and well
armed.
4. Stay consistently visible.
5. Keep it simple.
www.marketingprofs.com
http://www.VisualTesaurus.com
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Tis site consists of all the sofware you use every day - online. A word
processor, spreadsheet creator, email tool, presentation creator, notebook,
planner and more! Work on anything you need, wherever you are.

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StrategicPlanet.com 1259 Pinewood Way Cedar City, UT 84720 Phone: 435.867.4844 Fax: 435.867.

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