August 1998, Volume: 1, Issue: e/6

~~~Trash talk...is an accepted practice in sports. Watching Michael Jordan handle a group of aspiring college players at the MJ Basketball Camp we could hear lots of trash talk in the small college gym at Elmhurst College last week. At the end of the game, MJ told the 600 campers and 1,000 parents (living vicariously) that, "trash talk is OK -- as long as it is not personal, derogatory, or demeaning." The same rule should be observed in marketing. It is OK to point out a competitor's weakness. The best way to do it is to hammer the positive. Leverage your community's opposing strength. Speaking negatively of a competitor is a dangerous tactic that can backfire.

~~~Community of interest...The "Marketing Letter" is essentially a growing community of development professionals across North America interested and involved in marketing. As we prepare for future issues of the "Marketing Letter," we would like your input.

     What marketing challenges do you face? 

     What has worked for you?

     What has not worked?

     What reference books or articles have you found valuable?

     What have you learned that you could share with others?

Involvement enriches a community. We welcome your input to the "Economic Development Marketing Letter."

~~~What do you get... when Bill Gates and Warren Buffett stand on the same stage to muse about taking risks, motivating employees, confronting mistakes, and giving back. Wisdom and more. Check out the 7/20/98 issue of Fortune Magazine's "The Bill and Warren Show." An excellent read. http://www.pathfinder.com/fortune/1998/980720/bil.html

~~~Hotlink that reference...when you reference a web site in an e-mail communication, be sure to add the "http://" portion of the address. This makes the address a hotlink, allowing readers with an open browser to immediately access the site by double clicking on the address. While not everyone reads mail with an open browser, those who do are far more likely to visit the site if it is hotlinked. Notice the difference.

Non hotlink www.microweb.com/pepsite/Recycle/recycle_index.html.

Hotlink  http://www.microweb.com/pepsite/Recycle/recycle_index.html

~~~NAICS published...North American Industrial Classification System --  1997, contains listings of over 350 new industries with definitions plus tables to relate the new NAICS numbers to the former SIC codes. 1,200 pages, $32.50 hard cover, $28.50 paperback, or $45 CD-ROM. 800-865-3457

"The difference between those who succeed at marketing and those who don't is simple: Those who succeed try something, anything until they get results. Those who don't succeed give up too early, and often before they even start."  Robert Middleton, services marketing consultant. http://www.actionplan.com/

~~~Who's on first...is increasingly difficult to track with the ever accelerating pace of mergers and acquisitions. During the first six months of '98, 955 companies (more than any prior 6-month period) changed their names. More than 48 percent of the companies that swapped names this year did so because of a merger or acquisition. This is why merger/acquisition activity is a key question in the new business retention system developed by Blane, Canada Ltd. 630.462.9222

~~~Weakest link...Mismanagement of a prospect's time can result in lost business. To protect against this, focus on analyzing and improving the mid game and end game, i.e. the post promotion components: sorting, screening, qualifying, and selling (yes, we know selling is a "dirty" word in development circles). Concentrate on post-promotion as well as essential end game information resources. In our consulting work with development organizations we find this to be an overlooked opportunity.

~~~7 Steps...to better advertising/promotion decisions. Ask yourself:  1) Is the single, most important benefit emphasized? 2) Is the organization's positioning strategy clear? 3) Is the visual relevant to the key message? 4) Does the layout have a sense of balance and flow?  5) Is the "offer" clear? 6) Will the target audience recognize the message is for them? (7) Does the message address their risk?

~~~Confirmed...again. As we have stated in the past, "Unsolicited information is generally not useful. It becomes more useful if it has  a) solid data from a credible source, not just old census info and/or  b) maps," to quote a corporate real estate executive we interviewed recently. Think twice about that expensive CD-ROM direct mail campaign now in vogue. Cost has no correlation with effectiveness.

~~~Top notch resource...The Rural Update, an excellent free e-mail newsletter covering rural and small town economic development issues, with summaries and pointers to resources. The Update is written by Tim Walter at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.  To subscribe, e-mail   ruralupdate@lists.aspeninst.org with the word "subscribe" (no quotes) in the subject field, and in the body, place your name, organization, address, phone, fax and web site.  Within a few minutes, you will receive an automated reply confirming your request.

Also, a Rural Update archive is posted at the Aspen Institute Web site http://www.aspeninst.org/rural

~~~Entrepreneur..."the entrepreneur shifts economic resources out of an area of lower productivity into an area of higher productivity and yield," according to French economist J.B. Say, who coined the word entrepreneur. A growing number of development professionals believe an entrepreneurship development strategy is critically flawed. The reason, the vast majority of entrepreneurs are merely replacing a job, their former job. They create few, if any, meaningful quality jobs in a community; they take an incredible amount of time; and, the failure rate is staggering. What do you think? We would love to have your comments.

~~~Speaking of entrepreneurs..."Half of new business owners...in the U.S. are Generation Xers," according to Mark Calvey of the San Francisco Business Journal. Based on a study by Wells Fargo and the National Federation of Independent Business' Education Foundation, of the 5.6 million Americans going into business for themselves in 1996, nearly half -- 47 percent -- were under 36. Three of every 10 new business owners were 30 or younger, the demographic group often called Generation X. http://www.amcity.com:80/sanfrancisco/stories/040698/newscolumn1.html

~~~Thanks so much!..."I have your book, 'Marketing for Results!' and 'Marketer's Planning Guide,' and they have been invaluable resources for our organization. I also attended EDI at Norman, OK last summer and was really impressed by your presentation (useful and practical -- unlike many others). Keep up the great work!" Holly Childs, WV