When you want to publish an advertisement with black background and white text, be extra careful. You might end up like the ad shown above.

I do not know if this is a case of a penny-wise, pound foolish client or an honest mistake by the designer who does not have enough understanding of press production.

There are just too many clients out there who happily get their ad agency or creative firm to do up an array of full colour brochure, hand bills, poster, wobbler and yes, advertisements. When it is time to run a black-white advertisements in the dailies, they happily tell the art director, “Use back the same artwork”.  Some give  that instruction because the boss had already approved the colour ad and it is much more convenient just to re-use and recycle in the spirit of  harmonious co-existence. Yet there are some whose intention is to save money on artwork adaptation or re-work. And, of course, there are clueless clients who did not understand the devastating effects of simply converting a colour ads into black & white ad without looking into production concerns.

What are the flaws of simply converting a colour ad into black and white? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 3% [?]

I went “wow” when I first saw this advertisement, it hits the nail right on the head.

Through “Lungs”, WWF France reminds us how greenery impacts our body and health. Visually, the art direction is stunningly well executed, so much so that TBWA can even afford to lose the tagline “Before it’s too late” without fear of losing the meaning. The ad is simply self explanatory.

I believe the ad has served it’s purpose and this is why I was a little irked when some creative folks were so quick to bombard it.

Yes, the idea may not be very original, but it is the truth, isn’t it? Without trees on our planet, our life will be devastatingly changed for  the worse. Can you imagine a world without tree and we have to wear an oxygen mask? So what’s wrong with it being a “regular idea”? Why the sarcasm “Heck, why not skip the whole ad and save some trees!!!!”? Why ridicule  and call it a “cartoon idea”? Are these folks shooting arrows simply for the sake of having something to criticise? Feedback is useful when it is constructive, with clear indication about why it is flawed and offers a plausible solution to make it better. Mindless criticism and bombardment will not help to improve the standard of advertising.

What’s the fundamental function of an advertisement? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 3% [?]

I just read the following at Mr Harvey Mackay’s column and believe everyone in marketing should know this

The Research Institute of America conducted a study for the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, which found:

Only 4 percent of unhappy customers bother to complain. For every complaint we hear, 24 others go excommunicated to the company—but not to other potential customers.

90 percent who are dissatisfied with the service they receive will not come back or buy again.

To make matters worse, each of those unhappy customers will tell his or her story to at least nine other people.

Of the customers who register a complaint, between 54 percent and 70 percent will do business again with the organization if their complaint is resolved. That figure goes up to 95 percent if the customer feels that the complaint was resolved quickly.

68 percent of customers who quit doing business with an organization do so because of company indifference. It takes 12 positive incidents to make up for one negative incident in the eyes of customers.

I prefer to do my very best to make my clients happy from the beginning. If they are unhappy for any reason, I’ll resolve the issue as soon as possible. Not heeding a client’s constructive feedback – or if you prefer, complaint – can be a suicidal act. Whether you are an entrepreneur or an employee, it’s your clients that ultimately pay for your bills.  So if you intend to kill the goose that lays gold eggs, it’s your decision, your choice. No one can make you serve customers well. Providing great service, or lousy service, is a choice.

I read another interesting article from Mr Harvey Mackay about a taxi driver that make it a point to provide top notch service. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 3% [?]

It would not be a surprise to find this ad in some progressive European country. Or in the USA. Or any where else, in fact, except in (surprise! surprise!) – Singapore.

When the ad was first launched, the hapless Burger King agency in the USA, Crispin Porter & Bogusky was credited with the dubious honour of being the creator of the ad. Fortunately, this has been cleared up by Burger King, that it was an ad created in Singapore by a Singapore ad agency.

Some time back, I wrote a post about “Sex in Advertising?” which discussed the fact that sexy ads may not be the best way to bring your message across.

This latest ruckus in staid Singapore, might just prove that point. Many bloggers have labelled this a shameless, blatant attempt to play the sex card in advertising. I mean, the very visual and unambiguous allusion to oral sex is quite plain to see.

Seen on the walls of the fast food family restaurants, at the bus stops and in newspapers, the ad urged people to “fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame grilled with the new BK Super Seven Incher”.

Some have even ventured to say that this imagery might appeal to some of the population for which fellatio is a huge turn on, but they forget one thing… is the ad appealing to the giver or the receiver?

The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore was not amused as it has received 5 complaints from the public.

I wonder how many guys will rush out to eat that particular super 7 incher sandwich now that eating it is associated with giving a, ahem, well, you know what I mean…

Popularity: 3% [?]

We just ran a successful workshop with 25% of the participants purchasing seminar packages (aka, the back end product) that were easily 15 times higher than the workshop (aka the front end product)  fees.  The result was a great energy and morale booster as we scrambled to put everything together in less than 3 weeks.  Suffice to say, the trainer was jumping up and down with joy. He wanted another one in July.

That is good news for us, as it means more business.  Now, those who have done marketing for consumer products and seminars will know that it is tough for a new products entering a saturated market. You have to be really creative to pull customers  from another pond to your pool.  The customers today are smart to compare features, benefits and price before they make a purchase. It is not surprising that many seminar promoters give out free tickets to fill the room.  Yet, we managed to have 100% PAID participants.

We suggested to the trainer that past graduates be allowed to attend the next workshop as a review for free. Not only that, he can invite 2 guests for free too. From experience, we knew that participants are more ready to sign up for advanced program (aka the back end product)that cost many times the workshop  fee, when they know that they have a friend who has done so. So having past graduates in the room to offer testimonies or help to answer questions can be especially important and helpful.

Yet the trainer disagreed. He felt that he offered such good value that everyone should pay for his 3-hour workshop.

One of my team members  put up a strong argument:

We all are fully aware, we bring in “big” value to the audience however we also need to be realistic, audience only know our “big” value when they are in our room. Right now, not enough people know about you and the massive value you are offering. To offer a low fee or even free seat to selected people will mean there is a low risk barrier for people who have not heard of the program to attend. Until they appreciate our values, until we have earn the rights, we should serve first and think about making money later. Anyway, money is not in the front end but is all at the back end.

Exactly! The money is not at the front end. It’s at the back end. I’m sure you know that you can buy a Canon, Epson or Lexmark printer for less than US$100. The price is dirt cheap but we all know that the quality offered by Canon,  Epson and Lexmark is excellent. So where do they make money? From the ink cartridges! If you are a heavy users, you can finish 2 cartridges or more of coloured ink every month. That’s almost the price of the printer. The lowly priced printer is the front end product that baits you; the money is found in the ink cartridges, also known as back end products. So in seminar business, the 3-hour workshop is the front end product and all other programs and merchandise offered during the workshop are the back end products that really bring in the dough. Some trainer and seminar promoter were all prepared to lose money on the front end product, because they know they can recover the loss at the back end.

There’s wealth when there is value offered. There ’s no wealth when there’s no value offered.

Now, if you are running a business? Do you have back end products that bring you buckets of gold?

Popularity: 6% [?]

Let me share with you a story… …

Once upon a time, 3 rich guys decided to have a get-together and the brilliant idea was to row a boat to the middle of the lake to enjoy a fabulous afternoon tea.

Happily, they rowed out. Once they anchored the boat and settled down, they laughed. Seems that they forgot to bring the teapot.

“It’s OK, I’ll get the teapot,” Rich Guy #1 stood up, put his leg over the side of the boat and began to walk on the water back to the shore. He trooped to the nearest shop and brought back a nice teapot with a picture of an English Rose.

Rich Guy #2 boiled the water and poured into the new teapot. Once that’s done, they looked at each other for tea leaves.

“Never mind, I’ll run back to get some Earl Grey”. Rich Guy #2 wiped his hands clean, climbed over the side of the boat and gamely walked on the water back to the shore. He brought back an expensive tin of Earl Grey.

Now everyone is happy and started chatting while sipping the hot brew. Rich Guy #3 suddenly pined for some open-face sandwiches and volunteered to go get some.

He got up and like the others, put one leg over the side of the boat. Splah! He fell into the water. The other 2 rich guys had to help him back up to the boat as he almost sank.

“How on earth did you two manage to walk ON water?” Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 7% [?]

We all know that times are not good. Many of us are facing challenges to keep our sales flowing continuously. There’s hardly time for anything else other than servicing existing clients, following up on leads and doing whatever it takes to close the deals. Yet, at the end of it all, our sales just don’t seem to improve.

I like to share with all of you an encounter that I had with the Heart Sales Guru.  During this trying time, she said many sales personnel found closing sales, already a difficult task, a task that seems next to impossible. Budget cuts, uncertainties and sometimes, just plain old fear has paralyzed a lot of decision making when it comes to spending money.

However, all is not lost. “Ask and you shall receive” is the law of attraction that many people understand but somehow did not put into practice enough.

She asked, “As a sales person, do you know the answers to these questions?”

• What are the main obstacles your clients put before you?
• Do you fear facing those tough questions?
• Are you able to connect with your client at a deeper level?
• Do you know how your image is affecting your client and the outcome of your meeting?
• Do you know when to close?
• Are you passionate about your product?

Indeed, as she correctly explained,  there is a lot more to sales than just being nice to a client and having the best price. Even if you have the best product in town to offer, that would just be your own opinion if  you failed to connect with your client’s needs. His needs are definitely more crucial than what you have to offer.

I was learning so much, I ordered more tea. That 3 hours of tea not only filled me with a lot of liquid, but I can tell you, I was stunned at how much new insights and techniques I learned. I was asking the Heart Sales Guru, how could I get my business partners to hear this, could we have more tea?

Sadly, she did not have time for more Earl Grey. However, she did have time to share this knowledge with more people. The Heart Sales Guru will be conducting her “Rich Heart Sales” training workshop in Singapore:

Date:  Saturday16 – Sunday17 May 2009
Time: 9 am – 7.30 p.m. for 2 days
Investment: S$198 nett

I was seriously shocked. I have attended a lot of Sales Trainings and what I learned in those few hours with the Heart Sales Guru was more than equal to any of those thousands of dollars worth of seminars and workshops that I attended. And here it is, only a hundred and ninety-eight. Seriously, grossly, under priced.

The reason she gave warmed my heart, and that is why I chose to share this story here. With the financial crisis and the resultant economic recession, many people are hard pressed to make their numbers. The Heart Sales Guru had a successful sales career meeting her quotas more than 80% of the time throughout her career. Her consistent performance was due to the techniques and concepts that she will be sharing at the Rich Heart Sales workshop. She has learned from her mentors, and she felt that this is time to reciprocate.  She wanted to make sure that everyone who was serious about success in a sales career, would be able to afford to attend this workshop. Just like everything else she does, this is an expression of her Heart for everyone.

If any of you lives in Singapore or Malaysia and would like to attend this workshop, drop a mail to her staff : Wan Ee – wanee@miraclelifeinternational.com

Tell them that you learned about this workshop over at Versa, so that the Heart Sales Guru knows that I am also spreading her heartfelt mission to share her powerful sales techniques.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Just read an interesting interview over at the Corporate Eye blog about good usability.

This is an interesting read. You would think that after so many years of being online, most of us will have a good grasp of this concept of usability. Well, just as common sense is rather uncommon, than good usability is yet another illusive phantom for many.

Many small companies cannot afford to get a full time team to take care of their website. These sites become white elephants faster than you can eat a Happy Meal. Worse, many of them “cannot afford” to spend to create a decent site. Just yesterday, I saw a site where they simply scanned in their promotion flyer and put it up as a single JPEG file. So, that website had one page, and one page only. Worse, it was just a jagged, slightly blurry JPEG file of a handbill.

There are some nice solutions. For example, if you just need a simple site, yet want it to look professional (eg. Flash, animated menus etc), you can use professional templates that can give you almost an instant site – see www.domains4everyone.com and www.myezynet.com for example.

A professionally designed site will give you a good level of usability. It makes the user feel comfortable and imparts a certain level of trust that they are dealing with an “OK” company. Another important reason for having good usability on your site, you need your visitors to be able to actually find something useful for them. You really don’t want them to come to your website, click around in futility and leave in a huff.

So, if you are interested to hear what an expert has to say about good website usability, go on over to read: Expert interview: David Hamill, Good Usability

Popularity: 12% [?]