You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November, 2007.
It’s 4:20am in General Mitchell Milwaukee Airport. I’m in the restroom. It’s November 29th, 2007. I’m alone.
The speakers crackle a barely recognizable tune. Enough that your mind picks it up and tosses it around. What IS that song?
Cut to recording studio in a garage somewhere in Kenosha……..
DAVE: Okay Barry, you ready to lay this down? I got my laptop ready to record.
BARRY: Sure thing dude. Picked up this plastic flute at the airport gift shop. Let’s mess this up.
DAVE: Cool.
DAVE (into a mic): “Barely recognizable God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Take One”….(faint tap of a pencil on the table..one, two, three, four………..)
Only 26 days left of slaughtered Christmas classics.
Happy Holidays!
I heard the greatest phrase last week. “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.” That’s one of the training mantras McDonald’s uses. A former employee told me that last week at a Marketing conference and I love it. I worked for ‘Enry Beazely’s Fish n Chips in high school. Mr. Beazely’s version was “The front counter is like the tide. Never turn your back on it.”
I learned that 31 years ago (okay, that seems impossible but it’s true). My point being, that corporations don’t have values, people do. Mr. Beazely valued service. He lived it. He loved it. He demanded it. He rewarded it. Consequently Beazely’s was known for it.
Many credit unions SAY they are in the service business. How many have clearly defined what that means? Does your frontline know what their role is? Do they have any “mantras” to guide them?
My fantasy Thanksgiving dinner guest list (people I would love to have at my table this year):
Rebecca Secor of Educators Credit Union who always has my back.
Trey Reeme, formerly Trabian, now (lucky) Texas Dow Employees CU. Trey’s good company, always inspiring, humble, genuine and “the one to watch” in the credit union movement. He will show us the way.
All my friends on Twitter. Being self-employed and an office of “one” you have all brightened my days. You are my water-cooler conversation. And you are the coolest people in the world. I’m honored to be followed.
Ron Shevlin. Yup. I’d like to drink wine with Ron. And tape the conversation.
John Abraham and Dale Weideman from Satmetrix. I have a feeling we will be sitting at a table together soon. Also drinking wine. Your professionalism is inspiring.
Shari Storm who I will follow willingly whether it’s blogging, twittering, Facebooking, LinkedIning, etc…..she’s my Social Media Yoda.
All my friends at CUES (and you know who you are). You continue to push the envelope in ways to learn, experience, discover.
The Canadians. Gene, William, Tim. Eh? and finally…..
Stacie Wyss-Schoenborn at BECU,cuz that girl can Wii bowl.
PS - If you can come, please RSVP so I can buy more wine! You have no idea how much my family can put away. Years of careful breeding……..
When I started this blog, it was to provide a space for dialog around marketing. Specifically as it pertains to the exciting and sexy world of financial services.
I guess I got tired of thinking that a 1% return rate on a direct mail piece was good. I couldn’t stomach looking at one more statement stuffer on fluorescent paper.. When I see a banner on a bank, exclaiming “FREE CHECKING” I have to laugh. it’s like seeing a sign outside a grocery store that says “We have food.” Makes me wanna cry.
You can’t beg for business anymore. Now you HAVE to earn it. There’s so much noise out there, you need to cut through it. So, here are my thoughts. Down and dirty. Please feel free to add the ones I’ve missed:
Old Marketing = product, price, promotion
Modern Marketing = people and passion
Old Marketing = mailing paper
Modern Marketing = being IN the newspaper
Old Marketing = electronic brochure rack (web page)
Modern Marketing = blog
Old Marketing = shiny happy people
Modern Marketing = real people
Old Marketing = what we received in the mail last week (see photo above*)
Modern Marketing = forgetting everything we know…before it destroys us
*There is no excuse for this! I don’t care how much money you save. This is just shameful.
The first time I ever went to a BAI Retail Delivery Conference I thought this. I was watching a demo of an ATM that basically took loan applications too. The dude doing the demo was so proud of the technology. I’m looking at it from a customer’s point of view.
When I go to an ATM for cash, I appreciate the Quick Cash button because it saves me time. If I have to wait for an ATM, I appreciate the Quick Cash button and pray the person in front of me selects that because, again, it saves me time. See the pattern? I don’t think I’m alone in my selfish thoughts. I HATE standing in line and waiting for anything.
Can you imagine needing some Quick Cash only to have the Bozo in front of you decide that yes, I WOULD like to apply for a loan…..yikes.
I’m registered (with about 95% of the United States) on the National Do Not Call list. My phone number is unlisted. I have voice response caller ID so I don’t even have to go look at the machine, a nice voice tells me of the impending intrusion. About half the time I can tell if it’s a call I don’t want.
Yesterday when I got home my message light was blinking. LIke it has been blinking every day this past week. You see, some idiot discovered that there was technology out there that would allow a politician to record a sassy little pleading message “VOTE FOR ME” next Tuesday and automatically dial numbers at random. Set it and forget it. Can you imagine the meeting when they decided to do that? High fives around the room. Seems the federal law that protects consumers from telephone intrusion excluded politicians. Of course.
Our household mails in the ballot each election. I have mine by the phone now. That’s how I’m going to vote. If you leave me your lame message on my purposefully-anonymous-restricted-leave-me-the-hell-alone home phone, I cross you off the ballot.
Have a nice day.
Your logo is just one element of your brand. A symbol that will mean something over time - good or bad - because brand is your reputation.
My logo is a little over a year-old. My brand is 27 years old (okay, 45 and a half, if you want to know how old I am, but I’ve been in the biz for 27…..).
Anyway, I was visiting a favorite client earlier this week. I’ve spoken to their staff a couple of times. As I was walking through their employee lunch room I heard this gal say, “Hey, that’s the flying pig lady!”
That was a great moment.
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