Little Red's Big Ideas

"The Economy Stinks, Your Marketing Shouldn't" Workshop Recap

Last Friday morning at the National Recreation and Park Association's Annual Congress in Salt Lake City, I presented one of my signature programs to more than 100 early risers. I promised these park and recreation professionals a non-stop whirlwind of ideas which I'm happy to share as a Word Document with my blog readers. 

Download the handouts from this session below.  But, if you want to feel the whirl of the wind -- you'll have to attend an upcoming live workshop.  If you'd like to learn how to bring the red-headed whirlwind to your community or conference shoot me an email and I'll make it happen (no matter how stinky your economy or budget.)

Download Economy Stinks - 101 Ways

FREE Marketing Assessment

 Here's Something You Can Afford -- It's FREE!

I've been getting lots of requests for marketing solutions on a very tight (or nonexistent) budget.  To help get you on track I updated my Marketing Quality Assessment and have posted it for you to download and complete. 

Download Marketing Quality Assessment 2009 

Here's the best part - after completing and emailing, faxing, mailing or hand delivering your results to me I will give you a FREE phone consultation.  Of if you prefer we can text, chat, talk via web-cam or meet on-line in my webinar room.  (Pretty fancy, huh?  What can I say I'm here to serve YOU and I've become very high tech while you've been working yourself silly!) 

The Assessment looks at the following 16 components of your marketing communications:

1. Incoming Calls or Walk-in Customers

2. Geographic Location

3. Product Evaluation

4. Competitive Evaluation

5. Pricing Structure

6. Distribution of Product/Service

7. Financial Resources

8. Time and Energy Resources

9. You and Your Team

10. Your Customers/Clients

11. Awareness and Exposure

12. Response and Follow-up

13. Promotional and Advertising History

14. Internet Marketing

15. Marketing Action Plan

16. Your Communication Skills and Style

Greetings from NRPA 2008

I've been negrlecting my blog like crazy and thought that live-blogging from the National Recreation and Park Association Congress in Baltimore was a good way to jump back in.  Tuesday I'll be presenting my signature session -- Five MInute Marketing Plan and have attached handouts from the session here. 

Download five_minute_marketing.doc

Whether you were at the session or not, feel free to download the handouts and check out this article from earlier this year for step-by-step instructions on how to complete your own Five Minute Maraketing Plan.  

It's easy and requires no marketing experience.  While it's lots more fun actually being at a conference - I'll try to give keep you posted throughout the week.  Wish you were here!.

Camping Magazine Looks at Marketing of Special Needs Camps

Camping Magazine’s July/August edition is likely in your stack of unopened mail.  But, don't wait too long to dig it out as it contains some great articles that may give you a mid summer boost.  Among them is an  interesting article based on a study completed by Gretchen Snethen and David P. Loy, Ph.D.  In it, the authors reveal marketing activities and strategies for special needs camps based on the results of an on-line survey completed by 27 camps that serve individuals with disabilities. 

The article offers valuable and statistical information and ideas for all types of camps, not just those serving those with special needs.  They address the following three areas Participants and Recruitment, Marketing Categories and Enrollment.

For the sake of the article, the authors break Marketing into Categories as illustrated in their table below.  While they don’t delve into the many emerging and non-traditional marketing tools, they do a nice job with the traditional camp tools – direct mail, web sites, email and They also reveal information about how frequently camps update website, both in and out-of-season. 

Click here to read the entire article.  And remember that marketing Little Red's definition -- Marketing is EVERYTHING YOU DO TO GET AND KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS!

Would Anyone Care If You Went Out of Business?

It's not very often that I am struck by an email subject line.  As a matter of fact, writing great subject lines is a marketing science few seem to master.  After all, while you're hoping your emails get delivered and read, there's a whole industry of IT folks working tirelessly to trap them before they reach their intended destination.  Nowadays, my spam filter gets most of the offensive ones, so I'm left mostly with legitimate business correspondence. 

Last week, however, I was quickly checking emails just before 8 a.m. as I was running out the door to present a workshop to a great group of YMCA camp directors.  I knew I didn't have more than a few minutes, but wanted to make sure I hadn't missed a memo deadline or venue change.  I browsed my "Inbox" feeling satisfied that no crisis was looming but did a double take when I read this Subject Line: Would Anyone Care If You Went Out of Business?

I admit I didn't read the email at the time (I really did need to head out into that Southern California traffic) but that subject line stayed with me the entire morning.  What a great question, I thought, as I stood in front of my audience.  After all, we're all replaceable to some extent.  Sure, our customers might temporarily feel sad, inconvenienced, annoyed, angry or frustrated if we closed our doors.  But how long would it take them to find a replacement for our services, products or ideas. 

The email, sent by the informative and quick-to-read MarketingProfs newsletter, "Get to the Point" was originally inspired by John Moore of Brand Autopsy blog.  Moore asks some hard questions that deserve some thought...

1. Do you provide such a unique product or service that customers would be saddened to see you go?
2. Have you forged an emotional connection with your customers that another company couldn't duplicate?
3. Could your employees find an employer that treated them as well as your company?

So, how do you fare when posed with these critical questions?  And, what are the companies, store or businesses that you couldn't live without?  Comment below!

5 Minute Marketing Plan

Contrary to common belief, a marketing plan is not just the responsibility of your "marketing department" (if you're lucky enough to even have a marketing department).  Rather, marketing is everyone's business and your program, planning, administrative and front line staff can and should be part of the process.  Collectively your staff, customers and overall agency will benefit greatly from the opportunity to regularly share ideas that will ultimately be used to attract and keep your customers. 

Basic marketing training is a great investment.  It shortens the learning curve dramatically while full staff accountability for the overall success of your agency. 

However, if you want to tackle some marketing planning on your own, check out my FIVE MINUTE MARKETING PLAN.  It's fun, easy and really only takes a few minutes... 

  The Five Minute Marketing Plan is based on one of my most popular workshops, and uses a linear process to walk individuals or groups through the basic steps of writing a very simple, customer-center marketing strategy.    If you can't wait until I make it to your state conference or agency I'm happy to share the program here -- sans the wild redheaded energy.  Work through the process on your own (or in a group) using the instructions and handout links. Download five_minute_marketing.doc

Step One:  Set-up - Bring your team together for a Marketing Planning Session (30 - 45 minutes is a good time frame).  Set up the activity by explaining that they will be taking part in an the Five Minute Marketing Method.  This super-simple formula allows anyone, no matter their experience, to create customer-centered marketing strategies. Bring plenty of pens and pencils for those who might come a bit unprepared.   

Step Two: Choose ONE product - Ask each person to choose ONE specific and existing "product" they need to marketing more effectively.  Explain that a product can be an event, service, program, class, league, camp, person, rental facility, job, sponsorship, volunteer opportunity or idea. 

Require participants to choose ONE product, rather than a product segment.  In other words, choose Science Camp for Kids rather than summer camps.  Choose Masters Swim rather than the entire Aquatic Center.

Step Three: Define Objective - Once the product is chosen it's time to commit to an objective.  In other words, what do you want to accomplish, by when?  Objectives often are stated using the word "increase."  For example, "My marketing objective is to increase registration by 20% by next season;" "I want to recruit 50 new baby boomer volunteers by December;" I  want to generate $50,000 in sponsorships by July 4.

Step Four:  Distribute and Prepare Templates -Distribute the handouts Download give_me_five_short.doc requesting that participants not read ahead.  Ask people to write down their product and objective at the top of your worksheet.  Then ask them to list their primary target audience as it relates to this product/objectives. 

Step Five:  Explain Process and Rules - that you are going to ask two questions pertaining to five areas of marketing.    Once you are done reading both parts of the question you will say GO and give them one minute to respond, in writing, to that set of questions.  The process is designed to engage both sides of the brain and to engage visual, aural and kinesthetic learners.  Just before you begin -- remind your group to:

• Listen to both parts of the question before they begin
• Not to read ahead to the next section.   
• Keep writing (even if they are doodling) until the minute is "up" and you say, stop.
• Bullet points are fine; no one will grade their spelling, punctuation or grammar.

Step Six: Questions and Answers -Read through the first set of questions under the Product category.  When you are finished reading say, "Go!" Set your timer for one minute.  When the minute is up say, "stop." 

Read through the remaining four sections using the same process.

Step Seven: - Edit - Once you are finished with the questions ask participants to go back through their ideas editing for clarity.

Step Eight: Prioritize and set deadlines:

• Circle and label one idea that they will complete before next week.
• Circle and label one more idea that they will complete before next month.
• Circle one last idea they will complete before next quarter.  You get the idea.  You can change the time-line based on your specific needs and calendar, of course. 

Step Nine: Debrief - The final part of the process, the debrief, should allow participants to

• share ideas with others
• discuss what they liked and didn't like about the process
• Create accountability among the group (will they submit their plans to a "leader," be "rewarded" for completing new tasks, come back together to discuss their success/failure implementing new ideas, etc.)

With the right combination of motivation, guidance, simple instruction and these step-by-step templates you can take your marketing from mediocre to magical. 

Have a great time and PLEASE let me know (COMMENT below) how the FIVE MINUTE Formula works for you!

One Plan Does it All

How's your marketing plan? What's that?  You don't have one?  Or maybe you have a plan that's a bit oudated (pre MySpace, for example).  Or, perhaps you have a plan rattling around in your head but, as good as your staff is, they are not able to read your mind.  A marketing plan is like a blue print to build your most important asset -- your customer base.  Like a blueprint, it needs to be written down.

According to Mark E. Green, founder of Performance Dynamics Group, most business goals fall into three categories:

• “I want more revenue this year.” 
• “I want more satisfied clients.”   
• “I want to improve the quality of my team.”

One solution to help you reach all of these goals is to create a marketing plan. There are many tools to help with with this task ranging from super simple to super-sophisticated.  Here are four suggestions to get your marketing plan off the ground.

1. Use my FREE Five Minute Marketing Plan -- For the first  time, I've posted complete instructions, as well as the necessary handouts for your to walk yourself and your team through the process. It's like having a virtual marketing trainer.
2. Work a Book or Software - Whether you borrow from the library, buy from your local book store or order from amazon.com there are shelves of books and workbooks (some with software) related to all aspects of marketing planning.  Some of my favorites are Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days, Streetwise Marketing Plan and Marketing Plan Pro 6.0 and, of course, my book, 101 Marketing Essentials.
3. Take a Class - Look to your community college, adult eduation program, professional association or own agency for all levels of classes to plan and execute a marketing strategy.  You can even take a marketing class online from the comfort of your desk or at home, in your jammies. 
4. Train your staff -- Marketing IS everyone's business!  Bring in a professional marketing trainer (I can help) to walk your team through simple marketing principles that can be used in the field, at the front line, while planning programs and events and when developing promotional tools.
5. Farm it out - In many cases, it may be prudent to bring in outside help to write your plan.  Whether you look to a college marketing student or an experienced marketing professional, marketing planning requires some devoted time and expertise.  You may not currently have the staff who can commit adequate time to this process.  Don't fight it or put marketing planning on the back burner (again.) Look to marketing professionals who intimately understand the unique challenges and opportunities of your "business," target audience, staff, trends. 

Good luck and keep me posted!