You Gotta be Careful When Making Green Marketing Claims

When TerraChoice's Six Sins of Greenwashing report was released last fall, it brought with it whispers of green fatigue, and raised the specter of Big Business Bullsh--. Could it be that corporate co-opting of sustainability had led to a market full of misleading claims and outright lies? Go figure. But as the public's sustainability discussion moves along, governments are getting involved in an attempt to curb the marketplace. So if you're one of the many companies offering up green claims, it's in your best interest to start paying attention to what you can and can't (or should and shouldn't) say.



The Six Sins of Greenwashing report analyzed over a thousand green claims made by businesses, and found that only one was legitimately honest. The rest committed one or more of the following sins:

1. The sin of hidden trade-offs
   Focusing on one environmental benefit while ignoring other essential issues.
   
2. The sin of no proof
   Lack of third-party auditing to back up any claims.
   
3. The sin of vagueness
   Using words and claims with broad or multiple meanings, resulting in an essentially meaningless claim.
   
4. The sin of irrelevance
   Making a green claim that is already inherent to the product or service being marketed, as though there's something special about this one.
   
5. The sin of fibbing
   Outright lying.
   
6. The sin of the lesser of two evils
   Making claims within a product category that is inherently environmentally damaging (i.e. no matter what green claims are made, the product is by definition bad for the environment).
   

The PDF report (also available here) offers recommendations for both marketers and consumers. The ultimate goal is to prevent consumers from becoming so jaded by misleading claims that they give up on green or sustainable businesses altogether.

In addition to TerraChoice's recommendations, both the U.S. and Canada have issued their own guidelines. Our neighbors to the north go beyond the legal requirements for Canadian labeling compliance, offering fairly in-depth recommendations for businesses who make particular environmental claims. The PDF report is a useful tool no matter what country your business operates in.

Our own government also offers guidelines for environmental claims in advertising. Regulated by the FTC, the bulk of these guidelines are legally binding, although I haven't done the legwork to determine just how frequently and under what circumstances these laws are enforced (keeping up with the marketplace's now ubiquitous green claims would certainly pose a challenge for any organization). An even more detailed guide is available on their site, but be aware that the FTC is in the process of updating these in response to the rise of the green marketplace.

Addressing Your Own Green Claims

Though boning up on the federal regulations is a must for any business flirting with green claims, it's not just the government's ire you need to worry about. Speaking the truth is essential to ensure credibility among your own customers. So, once you understand what you can and can't say, you ought to take a look at what you already are saying. At the very least, you need to ask yourself:

• Are my claims specific?
• Are my claims clear and understandable?
• Are my claims verifiable by a reputable third party?
• Do my claims accurately represent the purchasing issues a customer might face when buying my product?
• Do my claims provide enough context for the customer to make an informed decision?

And remember, if you're not sure you can back up what you claim, don't bother saying it. For more information about gauging just how green a business is, see The Case-by-Case for Sustainability.

The Case-by-Case for Sustainability

This post is inspired by the question "What benchmarks do you use to determine if a company is green?" recently asked by a user on LinkedIn.

If a product has recycled content, it's green, right? Anyone who's even a little skeptical (and these days, I wish more people were) understands that you need to ask more than just this one question to determine if a product is green. And how do you know if an entire company is green? If they recycle their paper, or turn the lights and computers off when everyone goes home, does that make them green? The answer is, quite simply, it depends.

The Challenges of "Certified Green"

Increasingly, consumers are using certification to determine whether or not a company is green. There are a number of general certification bodies that have cropped up to help consumers and other businesses identify those who have met particular standards (see the end of this section for examples). Some of these are nonprofits, some are trade associations, and some are glorified PR outlets. Some local governments, especially in California, are also implementing certification systems.

The problem with these types of groups is that they themselves have subjective criteria that they apply to member businesses. So in order to determine if a certified company is legitimately green, one first needs to vet the certification program. This is the challenge I've run into with the San Francisco Green Business Program. The SFGBP is actually one of the most stringent government-sponsored certifications available in California. I've been doing a bit of consulting work with SF's Department of the Environment (just one of the city agencies involved in the program), trying to help them identify the best ways to build the program's credibility. Since there are now at least 285 certification programs to choose from, distinguishing the SFGBP as a leading program becomes even more important.



At the heart of the SFGBP, as with all certification programs, is the need to identify measurable criteria. The challenge, however, is that what is an appropriate and sustainable solution for one organization, business, industry, and/or process may not be so for another. The very nature of holistic sustainability is case-by-case, which makes it exceedingly difficult to create blanket criteria that actually work across all organizations. This leaves us with the simplistic solution of creating specific operational guidelines (as opposed to measurements) that are tailored to particular industries or business models.

The following certifications are just a few that I consider to be decently stringent, though none are "perfect." They're presented with the caveat that this is a partial list, and that my own assessment should be subject to your scrutiny:

• San Francisco Green Business Program (local only; all industries)
  
• Co-op America Seal of Approval (national; all industries)
  
• Green Seal
• FSC (international; wood-based supply chain)
  
• C2C (international; product design)
• LEED (national; building/construction
  
  *Full disclosure: I'm certified by the first two groups.

A Simpler Method of Measuring Green

Obviously, looking for viable certification is the easiest, quickest method to determine if a company is really green. But what if no certification exists, or if you want to vet the certification? In these cases, you can evaluate the following operational areas of the company:

• Energy consumption (amount of, type of)
• Materials consumption (amount of, type of, toxicity of)
• CO2 and other greenhouse gas output (amount of)
• Physical waste output (amount of, toxicity of, treatment of)
• Product output (nature of, life cycle of)
• Employee programs (existence of, nature of)
• Ethics (nature of, statement of, track record of)
• Community relations (use of local resources/vendors, distribution to local areas, enrichment of local communities)

Numbers alone, of course, don't tell the whole story. You'll still need to compare the identified efforts to conventional standards. Are they better, worse, or the same? By how much? Are there specific accepted standards that the company meets or exceeds in any of the given areas?

The Benchmark of Transparency

Another good measure of a company's greenness is their transparency. If an organization voluntarily discloses their operational methodology, and explains in detail the environmental measures they take, that's a pretty good indicator that they're at least addressing those areas. If you're wary of greenwashing (the act of paying lip service to environmental commitment), then look for generic statements, like "All of our products are green," or "We use an eco-friendly production process." Companies should be prepared to go into detail about their processes and back up their claims.

So there you have it: determining if a company is truly green or not is no simple task. Every day more benchmarking groups crop up to try and serve as a standard, but we're still a long way from consensus. In the meantime, any thinking about sustainability must by definition include flexibility, critical thought, and an understanding of the many complexities that go into judging results.

Finally, what methods do you use to judge how green a business is?

Insights From the HOW Design Conference

After an extended trip back to my hometown (Boston, that is) for the HOW Design Conference, I'm feeling super focused. I've spent the last six months or so mulling over Roughstock and my own goals, and the conference put a lot into perspective for me. Instead of a lengthy review or analysis, I'll just note some of the key takeaways I was left with that I think apply to all organizations...

Challenge yourself to think atypically.
We're all conditioned to take the path of least resistance, but if we give ourselves the chance to step off this path, the results can be incredible. There was no better evidence of this than speaker Bill Strickland's discussion of his journey transforming a failing inner city school into an educational powerhouse for arts and leadership. If you want to lead the competition rather than play catch-up, you need to step outside your comfort zone, challenge your own assumptions, and take a few calculated risks.

Work smarter not harder.
This is one of those nuggets of common sense that seems to always fall by the wayside. It goes right along with measure twice, cut once. Whatever you're doing - whether it's designing a direct mail piece, completely rebranding your company, or giving a speech - think about each small step along the way. By making active decisions with a larger goal in mind, the fruits of your labor will yield bigger and better results.

Play.
As the child of workaholics, it's very hard for me to separate work from personal life. But with careful practice, I keep discovering that the more I invest in my personal world, the better my work becomes. After all, the human mind is not a machine. It's an organic, responsive mess o' brains that needs exercise and excitement. Trips to Fenway Park, Charlie's Kitchen, the Museum of Modern Art et al. provided me with color palettes, patterns, lighting techniques, compositions and insights that I never would have gotten with my eyeballs pinned to a computer screen.

Remember why you do what you do.
Chances are, you've gotten so caught up in the logistics of your work that you've forgotten what drew you to it in the first place. Revisit that attraction, and ask yourself if you're doing exactly what you want to do. You don't have to drop everything and hit the high seas on a sailing ship, either; try asking yourself how you can adjust your businesses practices to better reflect your own values. As I practice this myself, Roughstock's future becomes a motivating goalpost rather than a logistical nightmare, and opportunities are already poking me affectionately in the ribs.

I love that just a few days of mental and visual stimulation can make such a difference in both my personal and work lives. Sharing stories with colleagues, meeting new people who I've only ever heard of before, and absorbing the experiences and values of others has been powerful. I can't wait to see it all seep into my work over the months ahead.

Carrotmob: Harnessing Consumer Power so Everybody Wins

What happens when hundreds of people agree to give a single business their business in exchange for an environmental commitment? Watch and find out:

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

This really is the perfect example of how the strength of individuals can benefit business and the environment. It bridges the typically hostile gap between activists and Big Corpo. It appeals to the everyday shopper. It has the potential to make real change. And they've even got a business plan (okay, not yet). If you're an angel investor looking for the next perfect project, this might be it.

How a Marketing Plan Builds Your Business

It’s time to dust off that old marketing plan that’s been crammed in the back of your bottom drawer next to your business plan,and crack it open. Oh, right - you don’t have a dedicated, stand-alone marketing plan. But that’s okay, because you’ve got it all in your head, right? Wrong. Without a written, comprehensive marketing plan, you’re throwing money away without even realizing it.

What’s So Important About a Written Plan?

There are plenty of reasons why you, savvy businessperson that you are, need a written marketing plan, and the most obvious is that you don’t yet have one. Ask yourself: does the competitor down the street (or online) have a written plan? If they do, then you’re a step behind already and you better catch up. But if they don’t, which is far more likely, then creating one for yourself will give you an instant competitive edge.

A well-written strategic plan will provide you with several necessary insights:

• It makes clear where your money is being spent and where your money should be spent. A good plan includes an audit of your current marketing activity, which accounts for both direct and indirect marketing expenses. It also defines workable budgets for the future.
• It reveals strengths and weaknesses in your tactics, and provides specific ways to fix the weaknesses and maximize the strengths.
• It tells you if your marketing tactics are effectively aligned with your goals.

But even more importantly than holding a mirror to your current marketing activity, a thoughtful marketing plan provides you with a tactical step-by-step plan to reach those business goals. This necessarily sets you in a clear direction, making decisions about which marketing tactics to use, how to implement them, and how much money to spend on them, much easier to make in the heat of day-to-day business.

It’s important to realize just how inefficient on-the-fly marketing decisions can be. Making such last-minute, high-pressure choices will almost always dilute your efforts, which means you’ll yield a lower return for the time and money you’ve invested in those off-the-cuff, time-pressured decisions. Creating a strategic marketing plan that you can turn to in these moments will significantly reduce wasted time, money and resources.

So What Does a Good Marketing Plan Look Like?

Realistically, your plan can be as simple or as complex as you choose to make it. You’ll have to balance your available resources with your ideal plan, of course, and find the level of detail that works best for your business. A full-blown strategic marketing plan, however, should include at least the following elements:

• An analysis of your brand position, market segments, and product delivery strategy
• A set of specific marketing goals and objectives
  
• An audit of your current marketing tactics
• A step-by-step action plan to reach each goal (each action should build on the others to create a cohesive strategy)

There’s more to it than that, but those are the essentials. Without them, your marketing plan is more of a marketing notion. Remember: a plan should be executable, appropriate to your needs, and effective.

Can You Do It Yourself?

If your business is already struggling to come up with the cash flow to execute each individual marketing tactic already, it can be tough to convince yourself that it’s worth dropping the cash on a professional strategist. After all, who knows your business better than you? And you’re no stranger to bootstrapping. A DIY marketing plan is certainly better than none, and it will obviously save you money in the short term (though probably not over the long-term).

Start with a simple, one-page plan that you can put together yourself. It should include:

• Your overall business goals
• A short list of marketing tactics that can best achieve those goals (be picky)
• What steps you need to take to implement those tactics.

You must be aware, though, that this is not an ideal approach and it will not be a reliable plan over the long haul. Creating the above plan successfully is often harder than it sounds. Identifying appropriate, reachable goals, understanding which marketing techniques work best for those particular goals, and then identifying the specific steps you’ll need to take to maximize the effectiveness of your chosen marketing techniques, all require a level of marketing expertise you may or may not have.

If it’s not reliable, then why bother with a one-page plan? In actuality, it’s more of an exercise to prepare you for working with a professional strategist. Preparing such a limited marketing plan for yourself will reveal what you know and don’t know, and where you might need outside expertise. This is important information: the best business owners recognize their own weaknesses, and find ways to correct for them (usually by hiring someone for whom their weaknesses are actually strengths).

A professional marketing strategist will inevitably bring a different set of skills to the table: they’ll provide you with a broader market context, a better understanding of your competitors, insight into the most effective marketing methods available to you, and an understanding of how to combine everything into a holistic, effective strategy. And perhaps most importantly, a professional will bring a level of objectivity you simply can’t achieve on your own. When you spend all day, every day making your business work, it’s easy to lose perspective and begin to see everything through the lens of that business. Hiring someone who has both your best interest in mind, and the ability to see beyond your business, will result in a marketing plan that you can easily implement, and implement successfully.

And Finally...What To Do With That Plan

Whether you choose to handle your marketing plan yourself, or hire someone to help you with the process, it'll be useless if you cram it back in that drawer and let it gather dust. The best way to make sure you actually use your plan is to start with a solid foundation. Take the time to do it right from the start, and implementing it will come naturally.

Once it's written, review it regularly. At the very least, you should be reviewing your marketing plan every quarter, but every month is even better. This will allow you to align your cash flow with your upcoming marketing expenses, make adjustments, and generally avoid being caught with your pants down (as in, I meant to start putting money aside for my new catalog last quarter and now I have no budget!).

Reviewing your plan regularly will also give you the satisfaction of checking off action steps as you take them and making adjustments as necessary. It's awfully rewarding to cross things of your to-do list, especially when you can watch those to-do items turn into sales. And that might be the best part about creating a written marketing plan: seeing that plan turn into reality before your very eyes. Because the very nature of such a plan is to build momentum and, ultimately, build your business.

How Will People Find My Business Blog? 20 Useful Directories

One of the most frequent questions I hear from business bloggers is How on earth do I get visitors to my site now that I've set up my blog?! This ain't The Natural - if you build it, they won't come unless they actually know it's there. So how do you get more eyeballs on your blog? The easiest ways to promote your blog also happen to be the cheapest (how often do you get to say that?!). Try this:

1. Blog regularly. Frequent bloggers typically get ranked higher in search engines.
2. Tell everyone you know about your blog. If you use MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn or any other social networking site, let those networks know about your blog.
3. Add your blog to any forum signatures you have.
4. Link to your blog from your website home page.
5. Comment on other people's blogs (make sure your comments are useful and relevant).
   
6. Register your blog in as many free blog directories as possible (see the list below).
   

Free Blog Listing Directories:
Bigger Blogger
Blogarama
Blog Catalog
Blog Flux
Bloggapedia
BloggernityBlogging Fusion
Blog Hints
Blog Hop
Blog Listing
Blogoozle
Blog Rankings
Blog-search.com
Blog Top List
Eaton Web
Globe of Blogs
MyBlogLog
SuperBlog Directory
Top of Blogs
WeBlogALot

When using the above directories, look for a "Submit Blog" or "Add a Blog" link and follow the instructions carefully (most directories will disqualify your blog if you don't read their directions and terms line for line). There are plenty of additional directories you can turn up with a quick Google search, but I've avoided listing those that charge a fee or require a reciprocal link. I guess I'm just a no-strings-attached kind of girl. You will, however, often have to create an account with most of these directories (just be sure to opt out of any mailing lists, unless you want to be bombarded with silly tip sheets). You should never pay to list your blog - it's just not necessary.

Finally, some folks suggest adding your blog URL to your email signature and/or your business card. I've found that these approaches tend to be pretty ineffective, and the latter may well distract viewers from your business URL (which is where you really want them to go).

Graphic Design and the Dining Experience

While recently lamenting (for the umpteenth time, of course) the undying myth that graphic designers simply make pretty pictures, I happened to come across a brief little article on logo designer Louise Fili, who designs primarily for the hospitality and F&B industries.

The article touches on the power of graphic design when it comes to the dining experience, noting in particular that menu materials and presentation can directly impact the diner's opinion and actions. I figured I'd take the opportunity to expand on this a little, and point out a few ways restaurant owners can use graphic design to influence their guests' experience.



The Eyes Are Always the First to Digest
While every restaurant must turn out good food, the very first thing guests actually experience is the way a restaurant looks. This includes cleanliness, the floor plan, fabrics and textures, and so on. But it also includes the single unifying visual element of any restaurant: the logo. Think about the specific moments in which a guest - or potential guest - will see your restaurant's logo:

• When visiting your website after hearing about your restaurant for the first time
• When passing your restaurant during off hours
• When noticing your business card on a friend's desk
• When seeing your ad in a local paper

This list doesn't even touch on the many moments once a guest passes through your doors. It should be clear to you, then, why your logo should adequately and accurately represent your menu, your ambience, your service, and your values. Your logo, after all, is often the first visual clue a potential customer will see when faced with the choice of making a reservation.

The Menu Is a Tool, Not an Order Form
The point of any menu is to inform the diner of their options, of course. But smart restauranteurs use the menu to guide diners to particular choices. This requires careful consideration of size, item placement, colors, and materials.

Provide the guest with a visual path
Text formatting, colors and layout all serve to pull the eye along a specific path. You don't have to draw a large neon box around your high-margin specials, but consider where you place particular menu items to encourage ordering.

Be honest and clear
Avoid florid menu descriptions that don't actually tell the diner what they need to know. Specific ingredient details are fine, but ask yourself - does my customer come away knowing exactly what they'll get?

Reinforce the food
Menu presentation should reflect your food. If your food is simple and clean, for example, avoid elaborate menu folders or busy prints and textures.

Use Graphics to Build the Experience
Your guests want more than just good food - they want a complete experience that stays with them and brings them over and over again. Remember that list of moments when a potential customer might come across your logo? Consider, too, the moments that your guests will encounter other visual elements, and use them to build the experience:

• Menu (of course)
• Door and window signage
  
• Drink lists
  
• Table tents
• Other signage (restrooms, directional signage, etc)
• Check delivery
• Email correspondence
• Business cards
• Print ads
• Coupons and gift certificates

Every time you put a message out to the public - within your doors or without - that communication should reinforce your restaurant's identity. Everything a guest or potential guest sees should serve to enhance that experience, so they remember your distinct look, feel and flavors.

Pro Bono Possibilities

Can you imagine giving away 50% of your products for free? Even though Roughstock donates both cash and services to qualified organizations at the rate of about 10% of our billed revenue, apparently we pale in comparison to design kings Pentagram. According to The Taproot Foundation's recent newsletter, Pentagram "reports that 50% of their clients are nonprofits who they serve pro bono." That's half their client base!

Of course, they have the heavy-duty resources to dedicate to such projects. You can also look at it as an investment in public relations and branding. Nevertheless, that's a huge commitment that speaks volumes about the company.

Advertising and Drug Prescriptions

Frightening statistic of the week:

"Nearly a third (30%) of adults say they have talked to their doctor about a drug they saw advertised, and 44% of those who talked to their doctor received a prescription for the medication they asked about. This means that 13% of Americans have received a specific prescription in response to seeing a drug ad."

[emphasis added, from the report, Impact of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on Consumer Drug Spending, brought to you by the Kaiser Family Foundation]

Marketers would have you believe that 13% of Americans - that's 39,472,404 people - really, truly needed the drug they requested. If this were true, then 13% of our population are capable of accurately self-diagnosing. If you believe that, then I've got a pill to sell you.

In all seriousness, though, whose responsibility is it? That is, who do we hold accountable for this massive addiction? Most folks would assign blame to one or more of the following:

• Big Pharma: The suppliers earn $4.20 (ironic, no?) for every $1.00 invested in advertising their drugs directly to consumers.
• Marketing and Advertising: The pusherman who facilities the deal (pssst, the first one's free).
• Consumers: Too dumb to know any better?

But whoever you blame, chances are you don't fall into that particular category. It's time to stop asking everyone else to change, and time to start taking responsibility. For consumers, that means doing our due diligence before we start popping happy pills. For marketers, it means taking a stand on what we will and won't help sell. And for business, it means looking beyond financial numbers as the sole measure of success.

It's not an easy pill to swallow, I know, but 9 out of 10 social entrepreneurs recommend it.

How Word Choice Influences Behavior: The Hotel Towel Example

If you ever need to influence people's behavior, you might consider Dr. Robert Cialdini's approach. Cialdini has conducted numerous studies exploring how different types of messaging impacts the public's actual behavior. One such study focuses on those cards in your hotel bathrrom urgng you to reuse your towels. As it turns out, how those cards are worded makes a big difference in whether or not guests pay attention:

"In this series of experiments, Dr. Cialdini and his colleagues created four cards asking guests to reuse their towels. Three cards contained a pro-environment message, while the fourth informed guests that the majority of hotel guests reuse towels when asked. In rooms with the fourth card, towels were reused 34 percent more frequently." [from the Inside Influence Report [note: link broken, try the home page, emphasis added]

There are several conclusions that can be drawn from this research:

1. Word choice matters...a lot;
2. People are more likely to act (or not act) based on what they think others are doing (or not doing);
3. It is possible to realize dramatic behavior change with very low investment.
   

So the next time you're trying to get someone to do something, think carefully about how you deliver your message.

Great Resource! Information Design for Advocates and Activists

If you think charts and graphs are sexy like I do, download this booklet immediately. And if you think charts and graphs are evil necessities that you must use in the execution of your social justice campaign, public messaging plan, marketing strategy or whatever you need to call it, download this booklet immediately.


Click above image to download the PDF booklet.

"Visualizing Information: An Introduction to Information Design is a booklet...designed to introduce advocacy organizations to basic principles and techniques of information design. It’s full of examples of interesting design from groups around the world in a variety of media and forms. It has tips, excercises, and even recommended Free Software packages to help polish up your graphics."

For only 25 free pages of text and graphics, this little publication packs a wallop. It's good to see something along the lines of Edward Tufte become a bit more approachable and digestible. Big ups to John Emerson and his contributors for sharing their skills.

How Do You Stack Up? The Freelance Switch Freelance Statistics Report Is Here

If you participated in the Freelance Switch 2007 Freelance Survey, then you've already got your copy. If you didn't, then you might want to go purchase one. Why? Because it's got some eye-popping stats from 3,700 creative freelancers throughout the world that could teach you a thing or two about how you run your business.



A few interesting results and their implications:

• Result: "The amount of billable hours a freelancer is accumulating accounts for a large percentage of their overall happiness. This is in stark comparison to hourly rates and net income which have no significant impact on a freelancer’s overall happiness."
  
  My take: When you only charge $30-$40/hour on average (the most common rate range across multiple industries), you have to work more billable hours. It's no wonder, then, that the apparent business is what makes these freelancers happier, as opposed to their low hourly rate or their overall income, which will inevitably be lower thanks to their rate. If they were to raise their rates, thereby increasing their income, perhaps they would then respond that their rates or income influence their happiness. I can't help thinking that this boils down to a crisis of confidence.
  
  
• Result: "This survey suggests that the following activities have no noticeable impact on your income:
  

  Your age or your gender
  Your experience
  Where you live
  The marketing techniques you use (emphasis added)
  The additional goods and services your offer.

  This leads me to the only remaining possible conclusion – it’s all about the skills...I don’t think it would be bad advice to suggest that if your income isn’t what you think it should be or need it to be, it might be time to upgrade your skills and worry less about marketing and diversifying."
  
  My take: I'm not sure I'd agree with the above conclusion based on the actual question asked: "Where do you find work?" Such a question does not measure the efficacy of one's work-finding techniques (which include referrals, portfolio website, internet job sites, social networking sites, blogs, cold calling, and advertising). It simply measures which techniques freelancers are using. If you don't do any cold calling, for example, you won't get any work from it. This is a major flaw in the analysis, as it sends the message that referrals are the only method freelancers should rely on to find new clients. While I know several freelancers who have been successful over the years relying primarily on referrals, I'm not sure how much job security it actually offers.

Overall, the survey is a fascinating collection of data about a business lifestyle that we generally don't get much data on. It's great to see these numbers, particularly with such a large sample size. And while I'd certainly encourage all freelancers to pick up a copy, I'd also strongly suggest thinking critically about what the numbers really mean to you.

Creative Artists Confront Sales Anxiety

Taking an objective approach to one's product or service seems to be a painfully common challenge facing small business owners, and especially artists. It's easy to get attached to what you produce, and it can be especiialy hard to face the fact that the marketplace—and not you—dictates how it will "process" your product.

From a recent article in BusinessWeek on the subject:

"But Geiger says what most sellers need to know doesn't require any formal education—just the right tools (a business card, a Web site, and e-mail list sign-up), common sense, and a good role model to observe and ask questions. For most artisans, she says, the biggest hurdle is psychological. Because many artists see their work as an extension of themselves, not just a product, dealing with the fear of rejection at the root of sales anxiety (BusinessWeek.com, 3/15/07) takes confidence and practice to get over."

The trick, as the above excerpt hints at, is being able to control what you can: your marketing materials, your customer interactions, and the quality of the product or service itself. Put your thought and energy into these things, and you'll find that you gain confidence, skill, and customers.

Marketing Budgets Shift Towards Customer Interactions

An interesting blurb in the latest e-newsletter from GDUSA notes that while marketing budgets are expected to increase this year, businesses will focus less on traditional advertising and more on interactive communication methods:

"Marketing budgets will increase modestly in 2008, but spending will be based on revenue and demand, according to a new Chief Marketing Officer Council survey of 800 senior marketers. This results means that budget dollars will move away from advertising and public relations and towards customer-facing, lead and response generation — more specifically, events and trade shows, direct marketing, sales support and online marketing. Six areas are expected to top investments: email campaign management, customer relationship management, marketing performance measurement dashboards, customer intelligence and solutions, search engine marketing and sales and marketing integration tools."

If you're looking for effective ways to spend your marketing dollars, check out my Marketing Resolutions for the New Year and Recession-Proof Marketing posts.

Recession-Proof Marketing

With all this talk of an economic downturn and the House's recent approval of a questionable Economic Stimulus Package, now seems as good a time as any to offer a few suggestions for marketing in a downturn:

• Lay the groundwork early. Don't wait until the belt is already too tight to breathe; strengthening your marketing efforts now will help minimize any damage should a full-blown recession kick in.
  
  
• Resist the urge to stop marketing altogether. Many businesses immediately suspend their marketing budgets, but this just reduces your chances of bringing in all-important revenues.
  
  
• Look to current customers. We all know it's cheaper to sell to current customers than to secure new ones, and this is especially important to remember when you're pacing your marketing spending. Ask yourself what your current customers need during this time (or better yet, ask them!), and find a way to deliver it.
  
  
• Make well-reasoned cost cuts. Instead of sending out a massive direct mail campaign, why not shrink your mailing list to include only the most qualified leads? This will increase your success while decreasing your expense.
  
  
• Move online for savings. Email campaigns, and online networking are effective and inexpensive ways to market when budgets are tight.
  
  
• Leave your competitors in the dust. Take advantage of others' quickness to cut their marketing budgets and run a pointed campaign or two to keep your company front of mind.
  
  
• Look to alternative markets. Chances are, you've been overlooking a market segment that might prove valuable to your business. Now's the time to reach out to these new markets to bolster your bottom line.
  
  
• Work on you. No, not in the self-help, wish-your-way-to-success way! If your market is slowing, though, take a good hard look at how you're doing business, how you're communicating with your customers, and identifying how you can do better. Strengthening your business from the inside-out will make it much easier to pull your business out of the recession rut.
  

So what do you think? Do you have any other tips or suggestions for overcoming that self-destructive inclination to stop marketing when times seem tight? Leave your comments below!

The Continued Greening of Hotels, Restaurants and F&B

I knew the hospitality industry was a taking a turn for the better when I was asked to write a training program for Omni Hotels' Art of Breakfast initiative last year (the training taught Omni's employees about their new organic food selection and sustainable suppliers). Given how far the industry has to go when it comes to sustainability, it's reassuring to see the increased attention hotels and restaurants are giving to green issues. With so much room for improvement, I have no doubt the trend will continue.

Restaurants
It seems I'm not alone. The Washington post reports that the Green Restaurant Association is experiencing the most inquiries it ever has, while individual restaurants begin integrating greener ingredient and materials sourcing, and other techniques.
Key resource: Green Restaurant Association (note: they seem to be having server issues)

Hotels
Whether large chains or independent operators, the fact that hotels deal in volume means they consumer more resources and produce more waste than many other business models. The American Hotel and Lodging Association recently compiled a series of green hospitality case studies to encourage hotels to implement new practices.
Key resource: Green Hotelier's selection of "Practical Solutions"

Food & Beverage
Hospitality isn't the only area focusing on these issues, though. F&B manufacturers continue to move toward organic ingredients (for all the labeling controversy that stirs up), and event planners work towards offering more sustainable options and reducing their own environmental impact. The San Francisco Chronicle discusses the rising organic food trend, which seems to be driven largely by consumer demand. Manufacturers keep turning out more organic options, like Square One Organic Vodka, as well as making sustainability a corporate priority.

Overall, the outlook is good and benefits continue to flow in. Over the weeks ahead, I'll be providing some practical solutions for hotels and restaurants who are interested in greening up their operations.

What Can You Do With a Cow and a Budget?

Just because your budget isn't huge doesn't mean your print materials have to look like every other in-house, low-budget, stock-photo blah-zine out there. Pentagram's beautiful redesign of Dairy Today demonstrates how easy it is to bring a little class to the world of trade magazines.



How'd they swing it? Simple: instead of relying on the magazine's normal use of cluttered stock photography, they dropped a little cash on a one-day photo shoot. And in that single day, they shot 200 covers. And if you need a before-and-after, just check out what the mag looked like before Pentagram got their hooves all over it:

"Making Good Use of Bad Rubbish"

Here's a great little example of creative thinking:



[via via com it]

Why Hire the Cow When You Can Get the Milk For Free?

As the internet makes ideas accessible to everyone and their grandmother, everyone and their grandmother has begun to believe they can do everything. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, we've paid experts (people with extensive training and experience) a lot of money to do specific things for us for a very long time. Now that the ideas they deal in are laid bare for us to absorb on our own it can be very tempting to think that we can fully grasp and then execute those ideas; why hire the cow when you can get all that great marketing milk for free?

Trouble is, we're often wrong.

There is a difference, after all, between understanding that a website greatly increases one's chances of making a sale and understanding how to design and build (two separate things, people!) a website that sucks people in rather than drives them away.

John McCain's early dabbling with MySpace is a good example of this: someone on McCain's campaign knew enough to recognize the importance of MySpace among young potential voters, and decided to create a page for the presidential candidate. Only problem was, they weren't experts in MySpace functionality, nor in copyright laws and web design etiquette. So they nicked someone's css design and failed to give credit to the designer. And because McCain's crew lacked the necessary coding expertise, they outright stole the designer's bandwidth, unwittingly or not.

But the designer was an expert. So he swapped a little of his own code on his own servers, which resulted in a very public switch of McCain's political stance:

"Dear Supporters,

Today I have announced that I have reversed my position and come out in full support of gay marriage...particularly marriage between passionate females."

Fact is, experts are experts because they know something we don't. And when we forget this, attempting to do what they do ourselves without due diligence, it often comes back to bite us in the butt (see yesterday's link to Dani's dissection of off-the-shelf templates).

One of the reasons we've gotten so turned off by experts—be they editors, designers, doctors or anyone else—is because so many of them (us?) rest on their laurels and don't live up to their promises. Seth Godin alluded to this in his recent post on the importance of editors:

"Great products, amazing services and stories worth talking about get edited along the way. Most of the time, the editing makes them pallid, mediocre and boring. Sometimes, a great editor will push the remarkable stuff. That's his job."

And therein lies the moral: know who the hell you're hiring. Know what they're good at, and how they got that way. And make damn sure what they're good at is actually what you want. Because a tall glass of free milk isn't worth it if it turns out to be sour.

Thinking About Buying a Website Template? Think Again.

Zen goddess Dani Nordin has a great post about the pitfalls of off-the-shelf templates over on her blog, including this gem that most folks overlook:

"It takes time away from activities that you're already good at, and takes you away from growing your business. When you went into business for yourself, was it because you wanted to learn HTML, SEO or logo design? Unless your business is graphic or web design, the answer is most likely no. Forcing yourself into a situation where you are doing all of the marketing, logo design, etc. for your business not only takes your valuable time away from your business, it forces you to do a lot more work with a lot less results than if you had found the right designer to partner with on your materials."

DIY seems to have a stranglehold on popular culture right now. But when you get down to the real nitty-gritty, business success relies on knowing when to get your hands dirty and when to invest in professional expertise. We're all on a budget, but if you're not willing to invest in your own business, how can you possibly expect your customers to?

Marketing Resolutions for the New Year

Trying to find the perfect marketing resolution for 2008? Try any of the ideas below to strengthen and grow your business through the coming year. Some of these ideas are simple to implement, while others may require investing a bit of effort and even money. But investment is all about ROI; everything on this list offers at least one significant benefit for organizations of any size.

Words of warning! Not all of these techniques may be right for your business, and almost all of them will be far more effective if you hire the right professional to help. And while that may sound like just a little bit of a pitch, it's also very true.


Brand Builders:

1. Create or update your logo
   Benefit: Creates an immediate visual connection with prospects and customers. Sums you up at a glance.
   
2. Create or update your identity collateral
   Benefit: Sends the message that you're a legitimate, professional business. Unifies your brand image.
3. Define your core values
   Benefit: Focuses your business, aids in decision making and strategic planning, and provides customers a point of connection.
4. Write a blog
   Benefit: Develops a consistent voice for your company.
5. Issue a press release
   Benefit: Enhances reputation, increases company exposure to the public.
6. Update your packaging
   Benefit: Creates a cohesive look and association with your company. Can also increase sales.
7. Create a marketing budget and feed that kitty
   Benefit: Enables you to actually afford to market your business, saves headaches when it comes time to implement your marketing plans.
   

Relationship Builders

8. Start an email newsletter
   Benefit: Keeps your business front-of-mind, educates prospects and customers about your company and offerings, opens the lines of communication between your business and your audience.
   
9. Network off-line
   Benefit: Creates real-world connections with prospects.
10. Network online (in forums, user groups, and on blogs)
    Benefit: Increases public awareness. Builds online connections and resources.
    
11. Conduct a survey with a prize drawing
    Benefit: Opens the lines of communication with your audience, solicits useful information for strategic planning, builds goodwill.
12. Offer something useful (product sample, e-book, white paper, etc.) for free
    Benefit: Builds goodwill, creates demand, engages prospects.
13. Write your policies down—all of them (if you don't have specific policies, create them)
    Benefit: Minimizes mistakes, creates a clear framework for customers to work within.
    

Sales Builders

14. Build/update your website
    Benefit: Too many to list! Strengthens reputation, builds legitimacy, informs prospects, offers customer support, increases sales (particularly with shopping cart functionality).
15. Conduct a highly targeted direct mail campaign
    Benefit: Reaches only those who are prequalified to buy from you.
16. Exhibit at a trade show
    Benefit: Puts you in direct contact with those who want your product or service; personalizes the business.
    
17. Solicit referrals from current customers
    Benefit: Leverages your current customers, automatically establishes trust with prospects.
18. Explore a new demographic
    Benefit: Expands your market reach.
19. Run a print ad in a consumer or trade publication
    Benefit: Reach a large audience in one shot.
20. Design an easy-to-use product catalog or service brochure
    Benefit: Informs prospects and encourages direct sales.

Do you have ideas of your own that can be added to this list? Post them in the comments below and I'll add them as they come.

The Project

When was the last time you worked on a project that felt like this?



Sure, it's an awfully cynical look at what should be a well-oiled process. But the above results are entirely avoidable by dropping the egos, working within acknowledged limitations, remaining open and flexible, and skipping ahead to the last panel.

Create your own at TheProjectCartoon.com! [via Freelance Switch]

Hey, what's included in that design fee?

A recent thread in one of the professional design forums I frequent raised an interesting discussion about how designers justify their rates. I find it endlessly fascinating that design buyers—everyone from corporate ventures to mom and pop shops—have such a hard time understanding what it is they are actually paying for.

It's not uncommon to get questions like why so expensive; it's just a five-page website? and It can't possibly take that long to design a logo, can it? and even the old But there's no way to know if it's even going to work or n