Bartering for Free Advertising

The art of bartering goods and services is making a comeback - if it ever truly went away in the first place. In the past, most deals were made face to face. Today, the web is filled with sites designed  to facilitate the cash free-exchange of books, cars and even houses. In this post, I'll discuss two ways you can get your business noticed without having to spend any money.

Reciprocal Advertising
Simply but, symetrical reciprocity may defined as an even trade. "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine". For example, John builds furniture and has a showroom. He displays some of Jane's hand-bound journals in his bookcases, and vise-versa. He also trades with Sue, who  makes stained glass lamps, and vise-versa. In this example, John has spent no money, but has essentially tripled his showroom exposure. He could also take a small commission on any books or lamps he sells, and of course, vise-versa. The key is to find complimentary, non-competitive arrangements. A picture framer displays and sells the work of a painter or photographer and vise versa.

You've likely also heard of reciprocal website linking, or trading links with another site. This is a complex topic, the discussion of which could fill an entire article or small book, so I'll simply say that it's usually a good idea, especially between friends who are not out to scam each other. I engage in reciprocal linking to and from my own site, but as a website designer, I know how to get the best side of the deal, or at least make it a fair exchange. I recommend keeping website linking between friends if you have not researched the topic fully - it's actually easier to lose website ranking than it is to gain ranking if you don't know what you are doing.


Bartering For Advertising
Bartering or simple trading may involve two or more items of equal or non-equal value. It can involve money, goods or services, and it's usually initiated by someone who wants what someone else has. It's the best deal you can make for what you want. Finding someone who needs what you can provide is a good way to start. A coffee house displays and sells the work of local painters. Joe the sculptor writes technique articles for Contemporary Sculpture magazine in exchange for ads in the magazine. Tracy exchanges marquetry instruction with a Rick, film maker, who creates a few videos for her website.

Finding Opportunites
Finding opportunities to barter is actually fairly easy. Walk around an arts district with your portfolio and talk to shop owners. Troll the web for sites on which you'd like to advertise and contact the site owners. Put a flyer on a bulletin board. Post on Facebook. Use caution if you use Craig's List, which has turned into a den of vice and a haunt for scammers of every variety.

The Flip Side
Trading is a great way to save money and get noticed. But there are a few associated pitfalls. Deals can sour - those videos Tracy traded for may turn out badly. Furniture in a friend's showroom can (and likely will) get damaged. In all cases, I strongly recommend creating a contract for any deal you make, clearly stating the terms. Even a saved email exchange will work in a pinch to jog a partner's memory.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and engage in some symmetrical reciprocity today!

A Paradigm Shift, part 1

I've been doing some "deep thinking" lately.  The question: "How can I sell more hand-made furniture?".

Let's assume I suddenly have a much larger advertising budget. I run ads on TV. I place ads in Architectural Digest. I'm more ubiquitous than Oprah. Assume all of this - and I submit that I still have not addressed the fundamental question: "How can I sell more hand-made furniture?"

Today, I realized that to know the answer to that question, I've got to ask another - "Why do people spend more money than they intend to?".

• Because the product is presented really well. Walk into your local Brooks Brothers and ask yourself how they are selling $295 dress shirts. It's not about the quality. Sure, they are well made. But I strongly suspect that their markup is much higher than on a $40 dress shirt. 
• Because they are buying a brand name. It's a fact that people will spend more on brand names than on store brands. The societal paradigm is: Buy name brand products. They are better.
• Because they don't have time to think about it.  We have all done it. And we'll all do it again and again. And we'll do it because for the vast majority of us, impulse control is very difficult if not impossible. Stores and showrooms have a big advantage here - a potential buyer can hold or sit in the item. It's in this moment a sale is made or lost.

• Because they can defer payment with credit cards. This helps a lot in the justification department.

• Because the product is trendy. People go mad and money is not an issue when it comes to trends.   Corporations hire people to spend time on urban basket ball courts or in clubs to spot and create trends, because people will spend much more they ordinarily would if they feel left out of one.  

• Because they are trying to buy a lifestyle, or at least the appearance of one. People buy Tag Heuer watches because Brad Pitt or Uma Thurman wears one. That's it. And when they have made up their minds to buy one because Uma wears one, they feel justified in their action because of the quality of the watch. Status. We need people to know that we can afford an expensive widget, because they will assume we are successful, and better human beings than we really are.

• Because the product is overpriced.  Logic doesn't always apply in marketing, despite my best efforts. It gives people a sense of power to be able to afford a $295 dress shirt. This goes hand in hand with buying a lifestyle.

• Sex Appeal. There is a disconnect here.We know we don't look like the person in the ad, and won't wearing the same garment, but we want to try, and well, we've been staring at the ad for so long we can't remember any other brand anyway, and why would we (until a younger, prettier ad comes along...)?

• Because the product is deeply discounted. Or so customers are led to believe. I have this strange notion that we should all be honest and straight forward in our marketing efforts. I say if a fair price for a table is $5000, then price it that way and be done with it. But a furniture store would sell the same table in this manner: "Corithian Mahogany Finish dining room table. Original price: $7500. Sale price: $4997."  In this case, the store simply raised the price and then took 25% off, then pulled the shade-under trick so that the five drops off. The furniture store offer looks better to most people, who go mad for a bargain, even if there isn't one (or $3 in this case). We like to be lied to. We expect it.
• Because the product is high quality and the price is fair. My favorite. Some people actually buy products (I'm one of them) when they know (or choose to believe) the transaction is straight forward. "Handmade furniture built right here in America by someone who cares". "Honest pay for an honest day's work". I really want this one to work better than it does. 

There are a thousand more reasons people spend more than they intend to. Some are industry specific, such as the end-cap game in super markets. But in the end, a great marketer and salesman understands that making sales and advertising products are two very different things.

In part two of this article, I'll lay out some concrete steps custom makers can take to start making sales, as opposed to simply advertising.

Communicating with Clients

The way businesses communicate with clients has changed dramatically in the last twenty years. Remember the days before the Internet? It’s funny to look in old magazines, and see adds without the now ubiquitous website address. Those old ads simply asked you to call or stop in, or even mail $1 for a catalog. These days, successful businesses offer a variety of ways for clients to interact with them. 

Many clients will expect you to be available via most of the following: 

• Cell phone
• Email
• Text messaging
• Instant messaging
• Video calls / Skype 
• Fax

Whatever methods you  use, keep in mind your strengths and weaknesses. If your spelling or grammar could use some work, try typing your messages in a word processor (with spelling and grammar check turned on) before copying and pasting them into your email program. Video conferencing requires a clean background for your web cam, free of potentially offensive material (including a messy office). 

We’ve all got our preferred methods of communication. I know a few  craftsmen who claim to have cell phones, but never answer them. I myself prefer email, and have only texted perhaps twice in my life, under duress. But remember that age-old mantra: “Make it easy for clients to do business with you.” I’m not suggesting that we should all run out and buy the latest gadget on the off chance that somebody may want to use it to talk to us. I'm merely pointing out an age old truth - we've got to adapt or face the consequences.

The Little Things Matter

A recent event has prompted this short addendum to my previous post "Seek first Not To Offend":

I'm an account holder at a giant bank which has recently merged with an even larger bank. I'm constantly bombarded with signs, emails, ads and letters telling me how fortunate I am -  the customer service I'll receive will be second to none.  Why is it then, that every time I walk into my branch, there seems to be a new set of tellers? New tellers who don't know me from a hole in the wall, and treat me accordingly.

This morning I walked into my branch to cash a check. When I got to the counter, the teller's first statement to me was "Do you have an account with (our bank)?" I resisted the urge to howl with frustration, and asked her to examine the back of the check, where she would find my account number, just under my signature. Tellers are required to look for signatures before cashing checks anyway.

There's an old phrase my bank (and most  businesses) need to consider: "Show me, don't tell me." The ten thousand times I've been told I'll receive spectacular service was rendered null and void in the span of one sentence by a teller who spoke before she thought.

Small businesses don't have the same advertising budgets as mega-corporations, but we can compete where it matters: In the little things we do every day.

Seek First Not To Offend

Just as a doctor’s prime directive is to “…never do harm to anyone”, a salesperson’s first objective should be not to offend. That sounds easy – simply avoid calling your clients obscene names. While that’s certainly something I’d recommend steering clear of, it’s not that simple. People can be offended in a variety of ways. While some clients will be more sensitive than others, it’s best to assume they will all belong to the “easily offended” group.

Most of us have five functioning senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch & taste), and that means we’ve got five ways to be offended.

Sight
Many business owners have logos printed on their company vehicles, shirts or hats. This is a great marketing strategy, but can be quickly undone when coupled with with a controversial slogan or image. Some topics to avoid:

• Politics
• Religion
• Gay rights / rainbow flag
• Confederate flag
• Animal rights / PETA
• NRA / gun rights
• Fair Tax
  

Envision this scenario: Suzy Liberal is driving behind a truck with a sign that reads “Smith’s Custom Furniture”. She is interested, and makes a mental note of the website address. A few seconds later, she notices a “Tea Party Conservatives” bumper sticker. Incensed, she hastily discards her mental note.

Your choice of clothing is important as well. Advice on this subject is not one size fits all - a suit and tie isn't always the answer. Your clothes should be clean and pressed, and coordinate with your furniture or cabinetry. A pair of overalls with a white shirt would work well for a builder of country pine furniture, but wouldn't work for a hip contemporary furniture maker.

Smell
Don't encourage your clients to flee the meeting prematurely. Keep a spare shirt and a package of mints handy. I recommend that you avoid the following:

• Body odor
• Strong colognes or perfumes (Go easy on the Old Spice, Captain!)
  
• Incense & overpowering air fresheners
  
• Cigarette / coffee breath

Hearing
Assume that you can be heard from the moment you pull into your client’s driveway until you leave and are safely away, and act accordingly.

• Don't use a familiar tone with clients until you’ve been told otherwise. Use Mr.and Mrs., Sir and Ma’am.
• Avoid political or otherwise controversial comments (“We should never have gone to war in the first place!”).
• Refrain from bad mouthing your competition.
• Speak clearly, don't mumble, and use proper grammar.
  

Touch
Obviously, groping a client is a sure way to lose a sale, but more everyday forms of personal contact can  distract clients from your message:

• Your handshake: Limp-fish? Vice-grip? Sweaty palms? All three should be avoided. Make sure your hands are clean and dry. Shake hands warmly and firmly, and don't linger overlong.
  
• Personal space: Don't invade it. Men especially should pay attention here - women are extremely sensitive to this.
  

Taste
It’s true that you’d have to go to great lengths to offend a client's sense of taste. I include it here as something to be aware of.

Maybe some people are just too sensitive. But that’s never going to change. Consider this: Would you rather tell the world who you voted for in the last election, or avoid offending a whole party’s worth of potential clients? How difficult would it be to simply not smoke in your vehicle on your way to a client’s home?

Introduction

Marketing is a full-page spread in a glossy magazine. It’s a TV commercial, your ad in the phone book, and the sign on your building. But marketing is also your answer to the question “What do you do for a living?”. It’s the quality of your business cards, your grammar, hygiene, posture and body language. It’s how well you drive when you you’ve got your business logo printed on your truck. It’s how easy you make it for others to market for you.

In this blog, I’ll discuss some common and not so common marketing techniques, and explore the vast array of free and inexpensive marketing tools you can employ to great effect.

As I write this blog, I'll be making some necessary assumptions about its readers, as each subject I'll discuss would stretch out to book length if I were to attempt to cover all eventualities. For instance, most of my readers will be current or future small business owners, concerned with the design and/or creation of woodworking, furniture or cabinetry. They will have relatively small advertising budgets and be interested in saving money by managing their own marketing campaigns.

Please feel free to contact me via email if you need clarification on a point I've made or simply disagree with with something in this blog. I'm also interested in hearing your post suggestions.