According to ‘The Marketer’ magazine, New York ad agency, Proton Studio, has teamed up with a primatologist at Yale University and produced an advertising campaign aimed at brown capuchin monkeys.  They have created two brands of food, with one supported by an ad campaign.

The ads will use a ‘sex sells’ strategy to see if advertising triggers primate responses in the monkeys.  They’re keeping it simple – a billboard shows a graphic shot of a female monkey – Well… if it works on humans!

Yale University research shows that monkeys understand money and behave in similar ways to humans when faced with decisions in games, so the results should be fascinating.  If you’re as fascinated as I was, you can read more at http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-06/28/advertising-campaign-aimed-at-monkeys

If I ran a hotel, I could likely fill it every night be charging just £5 per room.  And whilst the place might be busy – and give the impression of a successful business – if the rooms cost me £12 to service (in terms of cleaning / lighting / heating etc) then I would actually be losing £7 per room per night.  Imagine I have 20 bedrooms and that’s a loss of £140 per night or almost £1000 per week.

You’re probably reading this and thinking ‘who would be so stupid?’! But you would be amazed at the number of businesses I come across who operate their company this way.  Usually because of one of two reasons:

a. They don’t know their numbers

b. They don’t calculate their time

When it comes to ethical marketing, I believe this is one of the most crucial items a marketer need to understand about your business.  (There are many consultants who won’t ask the figures because that holds them accountable and some believe marketing is more ‘art’ than ‘science’.  I’m afraid I disagree.)

Perhaps I can illustrate with a story:

When we were visiting the Pyramids in Egypt, we were warned about the local traders at the site who constantly try to ‘rip off’ the tourists.  The Egyptian who told us this said that whilst he loved his countrymen, the people who worked the Pyramids were a different breed and would happily take tourists’ money by whatever means they could.  So, he told us to barter – and to barter hard – if we did want to buy their wares.  He informed us that no trader would sell an item if they weren’t going to make any money – they simply wouldn’t do it.  They would lose the sale – and keep the potential profit for the next tourist.

What a great lesson – they wouldn’t make the sale if they were going to lose money.  They knew their break-even – the minimum they could accept and still walk away with profit.  I wish we could learn from these traders and all know these figures for our businesses – there would be far fewer business closures with just this simple piece of data.

5 PEARLS OF WISDOM TO REMEMBER

1. Money cannot buy happiness but it’s more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than it is on a bicycle.
2. Forgive your enemy but remember the bastard’s name.
3. Help a man when he is in trouble and he will remember you when he is in trouble again.
4. Many people are alive only because it’s illegal to shoot them.
5. Alcohol does not solve any problem, but then neither does milk!

(Thanks Terry)

In the ‘digital age’, we all have too many things to do to achieve them all in 24 hours.  Everyone is busy and more is expected of us than ever.  Multi-tasking is becoming challenging for even the most organised of women as we’re all pushed to achieve more and ‘live our lives to the full’.

So how can we take a reality check and manage our time better, so that we achieve more?

In yesterday’s post, we recommended you write down everything you did in a 24-hour period, so we could analyse it and see where time is lost.  Tomorrow we’ll look forward to next week’s diary and see how you could gain some more time.

Have a look at your list and see whether any of the following tips could help:

1. Which jobs on your list generated money?  These need to be top of your list for future, as businesses only succeed when they generate profits.
2. How much of your time was spent with customers?  Again, most of us make money when we’re with customers, so maximising your time here should help you achieve your goals for growth.
3. How much of your time was spend with unprofitable customers?  Many of us lose time handling enquiries from people who aren’t customers, or are low-paying customers.  They can sap your time and end up actually costing you money.  How could you reduce this time?
4. Do you chunk your time?  For example, if you have 5 phone calls to make, do you make them one after the other, or do you make them at different times of the day?  By doing similar jobs together, you can save time.
5. Did you attend any unproductive meetings?  Meetings can eat time, and many people don’t know how to run them effectively.  Ensure you always have an agenda and that a limited time is set for meetings.
6. Take regular breaks, as this will increase your efficiency.
7. Make time in the day for strategic or marketing work, so you ensure the important work is being done.
8. Did you ‘fill’ any of your time – you know who you are.  If you (like me) play Freecell or Solitaire, your brain may be telling you that’s the time you took a break.
9. Do you have a jobs list you stuck to?
10. How do you handle distractions, such as the telephone?  Do you have someone else who could field your calls, even if just for an hour or two?
11. How often do you check your emails?  Again, these can distract us when we’re working and take our mind off our current task.

Finally, ask yourself whether you would have hired yourself, or fired yourself yesterday.  … Be honest.

Check back tomorrow for ways we can find an hour or two in your diary next week to do some strategic work and move towards achieving your goals.

The weather can create major problems for some businesses, with customers prefering to stay indoors, if they have the option.  So, we’ve collated some tips you may be able to implement to keep money coming in throughout the festive period – snow or no snow…

1. Communication is the key – let people know you’re open for business.  This could be through email communications, if you have a hotel for example, or simply by ensuring the windows are lit and the place looks warm and welcoming (and you’re open sign is well illuminated).
2. Help people to your door – if you have ice or snow on your doorstep or outside your shop or venue, people may pass you by.  Keep access clear at all times, so it’s easy for people to get to your business.
3. Entice people with Christmas goodies – serving mulled wine, or offering chocolates for example can be a good enticement into your shop – and an even better reason to linger and spend more time browsing.
4. Offer to deliver products, if that makes it easier for your customers.  You can always charge for the delivery cost, to cover your expenses.
5. If people do have to cancel their trip / visit to you, offer to postpone rather than cancel.  At least then you get the order at some stage.  An enticement of a voucher with the re-booking or re-order might help.
6. Keep your marketing messages going – if you usually send direct mail at this time of year, keep doing it.  You need to work even harder in bad weather, so keep the consistency up and, if you have fewer than four marketing methods in place, add a new one in to your mix.
7. Look into online sales and perhaps using Google’s Adwords as a quick boost to business.  (You need to do your homework before trying this tip, but it could help.)
8. Approach agencies / affiliates within your industry who may be able to direct more business your way.
9. Create an offer for your best customers and prospects, which may attract short-term sales.
10. Send vouchers out to your database – but keep the expiry date short, so people have to use them quickly.

If you have any other tips you’d like to share, please let us know so we can add them to the blog and help ensure businesses thrive this winter – regardless of the weather.

This post follows on from last week’s Visibility and Credibility posts and looks specifically at PROFITABILITY…

You need to be seen and trusted first (Visbility and Credibility), before people will buy from you.  But how can you be sure you’re achieving profitability through your marketing?

If you’ve heard of Pareto’s Principle, you’ll know that (on average) 80% of your customers bring you 20% of your revenue – and 20% of your customers bring you 80% of your revenue.  In which case, do you want any customer, at any cost, or do you want another one of the 20% who bring you 80%??  (If that makes sense.)

If you don’t keep records of profit, you may be seduced by increases in turnover.  But anyone can be busy, all day long.  That doesn’t mean you’re making any money.  For example…

If you ran a hotel, you could let all your rooms for £10 each and you’d probably have 100% occupancy – and lots of money flowing through the business.  But, if it costs you £12 to service each room (in terms of cleaning, breakfast, electricity etc.) you might as well have stayed empty – you’d have made more money.

Duncan Bannatyne often quotes “Turnover is vanity and profit is sanity”.  So, know your numbers and ensure you’re making good profits.  (If you’re not, then turn away the unprofitable business and spend more time with your family.)