Web Business Woman

Archive for February, 2010

By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter

(From my "those dang customers have minds of their own" file)

Once again, I'm serving as an adviser for the annual TVC equity symposium, where entrepreneurs present to potential investors.  Adviser teams review the biz plan, help with everything from IP protection to marketing, and assist with developing the 10-minute presentation.  I always enjoy working with such excited, optimistic people.  And, I learn as much as (I hope) I educate. 

However, there are consistent blind spots – regardless of the entrepreneur's experience, industry or type of company.  One of the biggest is assuming that because the customer should  (of course!) want your product is that they will want your product (and then it's a whole 'nother exercise to get them to pay for it.)

This blind spot affects everything from target market validation to marketing communications. Assumptions become written in stone, if one isn't careful.   For example:

1. The potential customer market sector is spending a bazillon dollars on a technology component.  So, of course, they'll LEAP at your '"same performance at a lower cost" solution. 

Maybe not.  Just how entrenched is your competition (how much golf does the CEO play with the customer's CEO?) Like it or not, big sales are highly political internally – and the bigger the company, the more difficult it can be to work your way through the power structure. What are the switching costs for the customer? What are the real and perceived risks? (Will you even be in business next year? What happens if something breaks? What's the potential career-damaging costs of taking a chance on you?)

We don't talk much about "marketing to women" in the symposium, since many of the products are B2B and women are (still) not perceived as key decision makers, particularly in engineering-dominated companies. 

The one company I worked with that decided they were going to give it a go – placed a SINGLE ad in Good Housekeeping, with a cute kid on a tricycle.  Didn't get any sales so decided that "marketing to women" didn't work. ?!

So, let's talk about those women… 

2. The target customer is – ta-da! – women.  You're offering a product that will make children safer, so you put a lot of kids into your ads and make revenue projections based on total number of women consumers in the U.S. (and we "all know" that women make over 80% of all purchase decisions). Easy-peasy!  Who doesn't want to make the world safer for their children? You'll be a multi-million dollar company in no time! 

Maybe not. What if your product is priced too high for many single moms to afford?  What if your product only offers an incremental improvement over an existing product?  Certainly, helicopter parents may rush to buy it, but, how do you reach those and quickly? And, will they buy more than one? 

So, before you leap into a market, CERTAIN of your customer assumptions – remember your "should" isn't their "will."

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By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

I usually write here on Wednesdays, but Yvonne really wanted to get word out yesterday about Fotobabble, a new app, so I got bumped a day. Here's my post:

The Pepsi Refresh Project
got quite a bit of buzz around the Super Bowl for the fact that Pepsi
decided not to run a Super Bowl ad. I wrote about the Super Bowl and
Pepsi in this post
and many others bloggers and columnists did as well. The program was
just beginning and as I said then, this is one social media marketing
initiative that I want to follow.

Well a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet with
someone who currently has a project being voted on in the program. To
review, the Pepsi Refresh Project originally launched on Jan. 13 and
invites people to submit their ideas online for their projects that
will refresh their communities to make a better world. February has
been the first month that visitors to the site could start voting on
projects that have been submitted. Pepsi estimates they will fund
thousands of projects spending in excess of $20 million dollars with
the hope to start a movement where others will begin funding community
projects in the same manner.

The specific project that I'm referring to is called "Elastic Park" which was submitted in the Arts and Culture category by Larry Moss of Airigami, LCC.
Larry is an artist who builds balloon sculptures, so this project is
basically a Jurassic Park made out of balloons! His goals are to
demonstrate what can be accomplished by working together and building
community through art, science and "pop" culture. His plan is to build
an exhibit at Exploration Place
in Wichita, Kansas that will serve as a template for a national museum
tour. To accomplish this he will need to recruit 100's of community
volunteers which will hopefully result in 1,000's of visitors all
learning about pre-history and art in a very unique way. Check it out:

Larry has displayed his work in 12 countries, and has been
recognized by the Associated Press, CNN, Smithsonian Magazine, the Wall
Street Journal and Ripley's Believe It or Not! He has appeared on The
Martha Stewart Show and NBC's "Today." He created  Balloon Manor
here in Rochester last Fall, which was a haunted house for Halloween
all in balloons. Also this past December he participated in the DARPA Network Challenge
which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Internet and the way
social networking now plays a role in communications. For that he had
cupcake balloon structures flying over various major cities in the U.S.
including New York.

February is now winding down with only a few days left for voting.
What Larry told me that I didn't realize at first is that visitors can
come back every day to vote. So those projects that are associated with
a large organization have the advantage of sending out reminders to
people to go back and vote again. Therefore, there does seem to be a
disadvantage for the small biz or entrepreneur.

So please vote here
for Larry and Elastic Park. He's ranked #18 today, down from #15 from
when I met with him. The good news is that if he doesn't win this month
he's received enough votes to come back for a second try. February winners from
all six categories will be announced on Monday, March 1.

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If I were writing on the petblog, I'd be shouting, "Barking News!" Or, "Breaking Mews!" BOL and MOL

But, let's get serious. This is GREAKING NEWS of the best kind! It's a fun new app for adding voice to pictures, that I can see using a lot! Imagine this:

• Being the cool friend sending talking photo status updates on Twitter and Facebook!
• Adding voice to a photo while shopping, and sending it right off to your "friends" group!
• Adding voice to a photo while you're in Paris on vacation (or anywhere else), and sending it to friends in a matter of seconds!
• Capturing a funny or touching moment experienced with friends.

If you're in this for the $$, if you're an entrepreneur, imagine using a talking photo to market or advertise your products and services. Video, but especially talking video – with your voice – is totally engaging.

Well, Fotobabble allows you to do just that, and more.

You can use your iPhone to instantly send talking photos to anyone. Or share on Twitter and Facebook. Use it to include your voice on a greeting card, or send talking pictures of your kids, from Disney or the lake or wherever, to Grandma. (this grandma would love that! "Hi, Grandma, wish you were here!")

The ideas are limitless. This new app is sure to be a winner. AND, they're Twittering and have a Facebook page, but of course!

So, what would you use it for?

p.s. no, I haven't used it yet – we just learned about it, but Tom is very excited! we'll let you know how well we think it works!

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by Guest Blogger, Lena West, Chief of Social Media Strategy at xynoMedia

I've decided to step out and say what few people are willing to say: women business owners need to approach social media differently than male business owners.

This is not based on some "shrink it and pink it" mentality that I've adopted. This idea comes from YEARS of working with (for the most part) only women business owners — and actually BEING a woman business owner myself. Call it generalizing or gender-based stereotypes (or any other politically correct label you want to give it), but women think differently and we LEARN differently. Period. I've seen it every single day for the past 13 years I've been self-employed.

I got sick and tired

of reading blogs written by guys (and gals, but mostly guys) giving advice like:

• "Just jump in and get your feet wet."
• "Send a note to your friends and connect."
• "Just create a Twitter account – it's free and easy."
• "Find people to follow on Twitter and then talk to them."

I don't know about you, but I don't have time to do stuff to "get my feet wet". I want to know what the hell I'm doing right from Jump Street and if I can't know that, I ain't doing it. I also have NO desire to connect with my pals and family on Facebook. This is BUSINESS, not some crazy chips and dip get together. And, if you create the account, what then?? How do you know who the right people to follow on Twitter are? How do you talk to them? All of this advice is so GENERAL and AMBIGUOUS that it makes me ill.

After getting tired of ranting about the problem (and because I'm someone that doesn't like people to complain without offering a solution), I started the Real Women Do Social Media Revolution — and it kicks off on March 4th with the Real Women Do Social Media Program. We've already got a handful of Real Women signed-up and we're almost at our limit – I'm keeping the classes small. This isn't the kind of thing where there are 100 women on the call. No way. This ain't that kinda party. You know me and you know I'm all about quality and no B.S.

Here's where it gets interesting…

When I starting putting this idea together, I talked with some of my guy pals about the program – namely Jim Kukral and Jonathan Fields. They were 100% supportive, and in fact, have already been Tweeting about the program and doing give-aways (#RWDSM).

I also talked to someone else whom I thought was a guy pal (no names necessary, he knows who he is). In the past, he's asked me to retweet a thing or two and I took a look at the content, believed in it and what he was trying to do and so I retweeted. Yesterday, I asked him for his help in promoting the Real Women Do Social Media program and was told that he doesn't send people links to sales pages through Twitter or Facebook. He said that if he were following someone who did this, he would unfriend/unfollow them. Reeeeeally? How convenient.

Here's what I know: when people who you've helped and who made a commitment to help you start backing out — or they try to stop your "shine", you're onto something — and I believe I am onto something with the Real Women Do Social Media program. Thanks to all the guys who recognize the need for this program for women entrepreneurs and are promoting the hell out of it. And, of course, you know the women are doing their thing to spread the word, too!

One-size-fits-all only works for baseball caps and t-shirts. I hope you'll join me and the other Real Women who have signed-up to be part of the Real Women Do Social Media Revolution.

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It's that time of year. While some of us are knee-deep in snow, and others are grabbing the umbrella before they head out, we're all dreaming of spring and summer – for the warmth, the green grass, and the sunshine.

With summer, comes the need for Host Families at the Fresh Air Fund program. Last year, in 2009, the volunteer host program, Friendly Town, gave nearly 5,000 New York City boys and girls, ages six to 18, free summer experiences away from the concrete and noise of the city.

For a few weeks each summer, host families open up their home to these children, giving them a peek into a world they would not otherwise see or understand (except via television or the net, and that's a sad thing to even think, let alone admit – that some children never get to experience the true "fun" of summertime, just because of where or 'how' they live).

Fresh Air children are boys and girls, six to 18 years old, who live in New York City. Children on first-time visits are six to 12 years old and stay for either one or two weeks. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18, and many enjoy longer summertime visits, year after year. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine and making new friends.

The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities. These are often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. Most inner-city youngsters grow up in towering apartment buildings without large, open outdoor play spaces. Concrete playgrounds cannot replace the freedom of running barefoot through the grass or riding bikes down country lanes.

I write about them every year because I hope some of my readers will be willing and able to participate. My sister, who lives in a very rural area, has hosted children numerous times, and she has always said those summers are the best ones ever. Memories of having these children visit, abound with joy, happiness, and that true sense of having done something rewarding. It's for sure, she got more out of having them in her home, than they got out of being there. At least, from her perspective. I suspect the children would turn that around and say they got the most out of it.

The Fresh Air Fund also has camps, for kids who can't make it to host family homes. So, even if you can't host a child, you can donate to this worthy cause and make sure it continues to support the least among us: the children. Hop over to the Fresh Air Fund Facebook page and get the full scoop. It's worth your time.

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By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter

Regular readers know that I'm not much of a frou-frou femme; however, I do like to look good.   And, hair is a big part of looking (and feeling) good for women.  In fact – back in my corporate power suit, frou-frou days, I said I could handle anything that went wrong as long as I knew my hair and nails were right. 

Feelings. It's ALL about feelings.  And, that's where the beauty salon can make or break your day (and teach a marketer.)

I no longer obsess over my nails (they had to be perfect at all times, back in the day) but I do care about "the hair."  Most women do; this is why we get that panic-stricken look if our hairdresser tells us he or she is moving to another state. It's also daunting to go to a new salon, no matter how renowned. Particularly since – let's face it – so many of the "high-end" ones act like they're doing you a favor by taking ( a LOT of) your money.   I've been to several throughout the years that – while some of them actually did a great job – I didn't go back, due to their 'tude.  If I'm spending that kind of money, I shouldn't be made to feel like Eliza Doolittle pre-makeover.

This past week I decided I simply must do something with the hair, so I called Salon Helena, which got top honors in a recent Albuquerque The Magazine "Best of" reader survey.  The shop was also in Elle's  "top 100 salons" which caused me some trepidation (see above re "high end.") However, I was very pleasantly surprised. Helena comes from a long line of hairstylists and understands the customer salon experience is as much about feeling as looks.

1. I didn't have to wait.  I showed up a little early, but they were ready for me.  No cooling my heels and reading water-stained magazines as I waited for a Mr. Alberto to finish with a more important client.

2. The salon was cheerfully decorated, in warm colors.  It was obvious they put some care and thought into the ambiance.  No sharp modernist edges…or junky-looking signs of anorexic models, with heroin addict haircuts.  It felt stylish yet comfortable.

3.  The salon was CLEAN.  How many times have you been to a supposedly top salon where hair floats through the air and piles around the chair? 

4.  The restrooms were CLEAN and nicely decorated, stocked with clean cloth hand towels. No sinks full of hair coloring bowls or dusty faux flowers. (which I've faced in even the most expensive salons…or maybe they sent me to the "Eliza" section…;-)

5.  No hard sale. They've got products available and Helena used a couple, but I didn't feel like I was a loser if I didn't buy them. 

They also asked me several times if I wanted something to drink (pay attention to the customer, don't want for them to ask)…and I could (and did) help myself to a fresh-brewed cup of java while I waited for the color to set.

And the cherry on top?  It's in my neighborhood – I can even walk there if I choose.  And, I will, in about six weeks for a trim….maybe a pedicure…and…(customers will sell themselves if they feel good about the experience.  Duh.) 

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In full disclosure, I will tell you that I have never visited a Build-A-Bear Workshop. Yes, I'm guilty. I've known about Build-A-Bear and even have friends who have taken their kids – and proudly show off their precious bear, when you meet them. But, I've never had the pleasure of building a bear.

So, I have no vested interest in this post, today. Except to congratulate Build-A-Bear Workshops on their Huggable Heroes program. This program, according to my resources, has been around for seven years – and I think it deserves a space here on Lip-sticking.

Each year, for the past seven, Build-A-Bear Workshop, through the Huggable Heroes program, has been on the search for young leaders making positive contributions to their communities – here in the U.S. and around the world.

Ten Huggable Heroes will be chosen this year, recognized and honored for their good deeds. We're talking kids – between the ages of eight to 18, from the U.S. and Canada (somehow, Canada doesn't make up "around the world" but that's what the press release says). The winners will receive a prize worth $10K (divided into $7500 as an educational scholarship and $2500 from the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation to be donated to the 501(c)(3) charity of the winner's choice.)

They also get to visit St. Louis, home of the Build-A-Bear Workshop Bearquarters (that is really cute!), along with their parents.

While there, the 2010 Huggable Heroes will also meet each other (priceless), be honored for their good deeds and they will also participate in a photo shoot for the 2011 Build-A-Bear Workshop Huggable Heroes Calendar! W00t!

Entries are being accepted only through February 26th… at this link. Or, by visiting a Build-A-Bear Workshop store in the U.S. or Canada and picking up an entry form there. If YOU know someone who deserves this honor, get moving. Share this idea, get involved, be part of the good deeds we do, in 2010 and beyond.

NOTE: this is non-gender! Get your sons involved, too!

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By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

So, like many of us, I've been watching some of the Winter Olympic Games that started with the opening ceremonies this past Friday in Vancouver, Canada. We just got done with the NFL Super Bowl game and also kicked off Nascar season this past weekend with the Daytona 500, but no other athletic competition comes close to the Olympic Games on a global scale. The games only come around every two years and the last experience we had was the Summer Games held in Beijing. So, this really is the first Olympic games that we will see the full power of social media.

Yes, social media is more than two years old, but this year the games are being held in a free, democratic country. So if you think back to the last winter games in Torino, social media was really just emerging. I didn't have a Facebook or Twitter page back then. In fact I just started blogging three years ago. So we have sort of a history in the making transforming over the next two weeks. It will be interesting to see how the various media is utilized to follow the games.

Just yesterday I registered online at NBColympics.com in order to watch live coverage of some of the events online. My daughter, who is a college student at NYU and doesn't have a TV in her dorm room, wanted to watch the USA vs. Sweden hockey game. In order to watch live though you have to register and be a cable subscriber. So she couldn't register without my help. Once we got it set up it worked great, however, there is a time-delay online so it's not really "live". She was disappointed because she would be behind the tweets and texts of her friends following the game on TV.

This morning I turned the TV on to NBC where the full cast of the Today Show are all in Vancouver for the week. They were interviewing a group of ladies who were moms of some of the athletes. But before the interview started there was a message from P&G (Procter and Gamble) claiming to be the "Official Sponsor of Moms". Now I found this a bit odd. How can a company be the official sponsor of Moms? Did they pay some mom's organization for the rights to say this. So I looked it up online and found P&G's official press release on this. Here's the deal:

P & G is a partner of Team USA and announced last week that they will help Team USA moms get to Vancouver as part of the "P&G Thanks, Mom" program. They have committed to help defray the cost of travel and accommodations so that the "mom" behind each and every Team USA athlete can share their child's Olympic Winter Games experience. For some athletes it may not be their mom; but instead may be their dad, an aunt, a grandparent or another person in their life that supported the day-to-day activities that brought them to the Olympics games. The company is the first to provide this level of support to all the moms of Team USA.

"P&G is in the business of helping moms," said P&G Chief Marketing Officer, Marc Pritchard. "We appreciate that moms make everyday sacrifices for their children, and sometimes they don't get the opportunity to participate in once-in-a-lifetime events like the Games. At P&G, we believe in 'touching lives and improving life,' and this gift is our way to express our thanks for the hard work and dedication of the U.S. Olympic Team moms."

So when you understand what the true meaning behind "proud sponsor of moms" is really all about you realize what a great program it is. They even have this dedicated website that also includes a link to the Thank You Mom blog (but no posts are there yet from Team USA moms). But I still get left a bit cold by the phrase and since they are marketing to women, is it the best way to speak to us?  Maybe it's because we are so tired of hearing the term mommy bloggers and reading about all the new research on how moms are using social media and the Internet.

So perhaps using the word family instead of moms would have been a better fit – "proud supporter of Team USA & their families". I'm not sure. Would love to hear what you all think. Hope you're all enjoying the games so far.

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It's normal for women to be out there making a difference. It's what we do. It's what we've always done. From the olden days of our visits at the village meeting place, usually the well, to these fast-paced digital technology days of communicating via twitter, blogs, and Facebook, women have always been on the job creating ways to make life better, simpler, and safer for our families and, today, for our pets.

Case in point – I just discovered, to my dismay and embarrassment, Christine Selter of Bark Buckle UP, and founder of Pet Safety Lady. How could I not know her! Duh! She participated in the 2010 Chicago Auto Show and with Brandy Schaffels of Ask Patty! (regular readers know Ask Patty! – new readers – this is a site you must visit and bookmark), partnered on giving out the "Top Ten Vehicles, Hotel, Retailer, and Airline" Pet Safe Choice Awards. Now, really…how kewl is that?

During the presentation, the press release tells us, "Sherfiff Patrick Perez with Marshall the Bomb Sniffing Dog and two dozen other furry friends hopped in and out of cars and stole the show." The release title gives this all away by saying, "Chicago Auto Show Goes to the Dogs."

So befitting for our beloved pets, don't you think? What pet parent doesn't want to know her "furry child" is safe when she's behind the wheel? I know this pet parent is always concerned about that. To note – Ford, my fav car company, was a big winner. The Ford Edge, Ford Flex and Ford Transit Connect were numbers 3,4, and 5 Ford's winners in the Pet Safe Vehicle list. Whoohoo! [my bad in listing them by number - they are alphabetical! Duh!]

In alphabetical order, the other winners were – retailer: BassPro Shops, Hotel: Sheraton, and Airline: Southwest!

Naturally, I'm very interested in this as we get closer and closer to the BlogPaws 2010 Conference (all you pet parents are coming, right?). But, these stats really hit home and they are the reason I'm writing about this today – about the way WOMEN rise to the occasion, and the way we see a problem, and get out there and fix it.

Did you know that a 35mph accident with an unrestrained 60-lb pet, makes him into a 2,700 pound projectile?

Did you know that 82% of pets travel with their owners on vacation?

Did you know that pet friendly lodging has increased 300% since 2005.

Thank you, Christine and Brandy and Jody – Thank you for the Pet Safety Lady site, for Ask Patty! and for watching out for our pets.

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