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Global Point of View: Honesty Matters 
Honesty Matters
Honesty has always mattered. People have always felt hurt and betrayed when someone has treated them dishonestly. And now in our current stressed-out, worried-about-paying-the-bills climate, there is even more of a risk to those who would be dishonest in their marketing efforts.
If you market your destination as the pogo stick capital of the world (just picking a safe example), then make sure that visitors to your area truly can have a great pogo stick experience.
You aren't exaggerating about your pogo stick features are you? You really do have a professional-grade pogo park that is well-lit, clean and inviting. You really do have a renowned pogo stick museum that showcases pogo artwork, pogo sticks from world champions and conducts workshops on proper pogo technique for kids. You really do have annual pogo competitions covered by ESPN2. And so on…
Silly example, but the message is serious. If you bill your destination as world-class for whatever topic, then visitors expect and deserve to find an experience that lives up to your claim.
If you misrepresent your product, you will anger your customer. And today's customer is in no mood to be conned. They have scraped and saved for months to be able to afford their vacation to Pogo Stick Paradise. They are looking forward to having a great time and experiencing all your wonderful pogo features.
If they arrive to find a run-down park, a museum with only a handful of rusty pogo sticks from the neighbor kids and no fun annual pogo events, you have ruined their vacation. Beyond that, you will likely never win back this customer. And the word of your dishonesty will spread quickly throughout the pogo community.
Don't lose face with the pogo stick crowd or any other crowd. Be honest in all you say and do to market your destination, your service, your business, your reputation.
Email Still King for B2B
The communication evolution continues to race along. We have already seen the impact of email on direct mail. And now we are watching the increasing erosion effect that social networking is having on traditional email.
How are we to respond to this continually shifting landscape? The answer: With excitement!
Email is still a powerful tool for near-instant communication with our audience. No more delays for printing and mailing. And no more postal costs.
It works great for delivery of newsletters - like the one you are reading right now. Gone are the days when we would have printed and mailed this newsletter to you. And because we can't reach even half of you through our social networking channels, we aren't going to go that route either.
As new methods of communication come onboard and gain traction, they help clarify the entire arena. Chances are pretty high that most of you each day send and receive mail, emails and social networking messages. And each one holds different meaning for you.
The mail is likely on the serious end of the spectrum for you. It contains the bills and important correspondences. The social networking messages are likely on the casual end. They are updates from college friends and your cousin in California sharing photos of her day at Disneyland.
Email now holds court in the middle ground of the communication spectrum, making it ideal for business to business communications. It is seasoned enough to be taken seriously and instant enough to meet the needs of quick communication.
Whether you have questions about tapping into the power of email or unraveling the latest social networking site, Global Marketing Solutions can help. We can help you find the methods that make sense for your message.
Your Mother is Watching
When it comes to the phenomenon of social networking, those on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and the countless other sites would be wise to clean up their behavior. They should think strongly before posting lewd photos, foul-mouthed rants and other inappropriate material.
They should govern themselves as though their mother is watching, because in many cases she is. And so too is their next potential boss, their minister, their teacher, their future in-laws, etc.
And while those of us a little older and wiser than the typical social network user are hopefully far too savvy to post rowdy spring break photos from our glory years, we might fall victim to another social networking faux pas -- bad-mouthing.
Sure it might seem harmless to post a rant about the bad service you received at the local drugstore. But what if the spouse of one of your clients works at that drugstore? Was the venting worth the potential ill will if your client reads your post?
Social sites are public. Your posts are like billboards on a major highway. They are not like private moments in the cussing closet where you close the door and let out a rant. What you post lives on and what you rant about has the potential to come back and bite you.
Even if you utilize the privacy features to control who sees your posts, as soon as you let the first person in, you've lost that control. So if your job depends on relationships with other people, buy a dog and rant to him. It will be safer and cheaper in the long run.
Thanks to everyone who participated in last month's survey. Here are the results. Do You Tweet?
This month's weigh-in
Are you a beehive queen? Did you get the Princess Diana cut in the early 1980s? Or did you rush to the stylist ever time Jennifer Aniston debuted a new do? Guys - how about the crew cut? Or dare the mullet? It's all business up front and party in the back! However you do your do try a new do on April 30th - maybe the Princess Leia side buns from Star Wars?  LuLu’s Recognized for Green Initiatives For the second straight month, Lucy Buffett and her Gulf Coast restaurant, LuLu’s, have been recognized for a take-charge approach to going green. On April 3, Smart Coast awarded Buffett with the “Giraffe” Award, which in this case, recognizes Buffett for “sticking her neck out” for sustainability. Smart Coast is a non-profit organization for responsible growth along the gulf coast. The group presented Buffett with the award at the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce monthly First Friday Forum. “I’m all about sticking my neck out,” said Lucy Buffett. “But doing the right thing for the environment isn’t such a big stretch. LuLu’s is a fun place for people to see that green isn’t just for fried green tomatoes.” LuLu’s is part of the Clean Coast Partnership, a partnership between the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach and the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce. LuLu’s sets the bar in green initiatives by operating a wind turbine to help generate electricity, using biodegradable cups for drinks and by using grass-fed Alabama beef for its Cheeseburgers in Paradise. Read more about the Clean Coast concept here. In March, LuLu’s was awarded the first Dauphin Island Sea Lab “Seventh Generation Award,” which is given to a person or business in recognition of sustainability, stewardship and pro-active practice in considering our natural resources for the seventh generation. (from Alabama Tourism News - April 16)
Parting Thought |
Thank you for spending a few moments with our newsletter. We appreciate your time and encourage you to contact us to continue the conversation. At
Global Marketing Solutions our goal is to offer affordable marketing advice and services. Give us a call or an email - we'd love to hear from you. On Twitter. On Blogger.
April W. Boone April@GMStheBest.biz
John Boone John@GMStheBest.biz
Laura McGill Laura@GMStheBest.biz
Global Marketing Solutions, LLC |
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251-970-5907 |