Cathy Stucker - The Idea Lady

Attract Customers and Make Yourself Famous

Come Up with Creative Names

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Your business and product names are an important part of your business identity and marketing. Good names create an aura of exclusivity and entice clients by promising benefits. Good names market for you.

Do you have a hard time coming up with names? Perhaps you called your business ABC Enterprises, because you couldn’t think of anything else. What does that name say about you and what you do? Absolutely nothing. It doesn’t tell customers why they would want to do business with you, because they have no idea what it is that you do, or who you do it for.

Here’s my favorite way to come up with a name. I call it “Idea Storming.”That is a name I created to describe one of my consulting services. Brainstorming has been done to death. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt from the seminar. Idea Storming puts a different spin on it. You recognize the concept, but it has a different name, and it ties to my Idea Lady identity. See how it works?

I help my clients to Idea Storm, but here’s how you can do it on your own. Get a piece of paper and a pen, or use your computer. Write down every word or phrase you can think of to describe your business. What do you do? Who are your clients? What results do you get for them? What words would your clients use to describe what you do? How would they describe the feeling they got doing business with you? Why is your business better than others?

Scan books and magazine articles for words and phrases that jump off the page at you. Talk to friends and associates, and get them to Idea Storm with you. Ask customers to describe what you do.

Make a nice, long list, then keep going. Get out your thesaurus (or use the one in your word processor) to come up with words with meanings similar to what you wrote down. There is a great online tool to identify synonyms at http://www.visualthesaurus.com/. There is a subscription charge, but you can try it for free.

Now, take your list and start combining the words and phrases. Take this word and add it to that one. Use this phrase, but substitute that word. Take pieces of two words and make a brand new word. Your goal is to come up with words and phrases that effectively convey the unique benefits you provide to customers.

I’ve used this method to come up with lots of names and titles over the last few years. Another great benefit of Idea Storming is that even the words and phrases you don’t use in your name can be used in a slogan, on your business cards, in sales letters, in brochures and in other marketing materials.

This technique is simple, but it really works. Try it the next time you launch a new product.

How Likable Are You?

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People buy from people they like. That seems obvious, doesn’t it? When people have a choice of where to take their business (as they usually do) they will choose to spend their money with the company or person that makes them feel good. 

When customers like you, they are not only more likely to buy from you—they are also more likely to recommend you to friends and associates. Use the following ideas to increase your likeability quotient.

Look like your customers. This can be as simple as dressing in a style similar to your customers. When it is not appropriate to dress like your customers, dress in a style that makes them comfortable. A massage therapist who wears a white lab coat or similar uniform enhances her image as a professional and reminds clients that they are in capable hands.

Listen to customers. People like to talk about themselves, and they feel good when they know someone is truly listening. Show that you are listening by asking appropriate questions and responding to what customers say.

Make connections. Showing a genuine interest in your customers’ lives can help you find areas of common ground. Do you share a hobby or interest? Look for clues to areas where you may have something in common.

Validate customers. Comment approvingly about the customer’s selection. Acknowledge their expertise. Express respect for their opinions, concerns and objections. Make them feel important.

Compliment customers. A genuine compliment will go a long way toward building rapport. Even if customers know that you are going out of your way to compliment them, or they do not believe the compliment, the compliment will still give them positive feelings about you.

Be nice to their children. Consider your customers’ children to be extensions of them. How you treat their children will affect how they feel about you. Talk to the children, laugh at their jokes and be friendly. Have games or other activities available to entertain children while their parents meet with you.

Be nice to their pets. Does it make you feel good when the teller at the bank drive-through offers a treat to your dog? Sure! Pets are members of the family, too.

Make the buying experience pleasant. Events work because they create a sense of fun and excitement. Although you may not be able to make every day an event, you can make it relaxed and enjoyable. Have a comfortable area for shopping or waiting. Offer coffee and soft drinks when customers have to wait. Have current magazines in the waiting area. Play music.

Say thank you. It is simple, but many skip this step. Say thank you at the time of purchase. Follow up with a handwritten note. Say thank you before the sale. Thank a customer for viewing a demonstration. And do not forget to thank anyone who refers new business to you.

Making an effort to make customers feel relaxed and happy will pay off in increased sales and referrals. And it will make you feel good, too.

Selling Dreams

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What are you really selling? When you sell dreams you attract customers who want to share the dream.

Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni was the CEO of Ferrari North America. He wrote a book called Selling Dreams: How to Make Any Product Irresistible wherein he coined the term “dreamketing.” While the word does not trip easily off the tongue, it does create an image of what many successful companies do.

Selling Dreams addresses how sellers of luxury goods (Ferrari, Ferragamo, Sotheby’s, Hermes, et al) attract customers by selling the dream. You can buy a car for less than $20,000. When you spend many times that amount for a Ferrari, you’re buying more than a car; you’re buying a dream.

You’re probably not selling anything in the price range of a Ferrari, so what can you learn from this book? Well, see if you can apply these principles:

Companies should create products and services designed to convey intense emotions. People don’t buy for simply intellectual reasons, they buy when there is an emotional connection. How can you reach your customers’ emotions? Create images for them (in words or pictures) so they can see themselves successfully using your product or service. Go beyond the functionality to how they will FEEL.

Take every opportunity to magnify your customer’s perception of added value. Sell the dream.

The dreamketer should ensure that all forms of customer relations consistently support the mission to build the dream in the customer’s mind. Stage events to build the dream. Advertise and promote in support of the dream image. Use publicity to create the aura you want for your product or service. Keep in touch with your customers in support of the dream. 

The subtitle of “Selling Dreams” is How to Make Any Product Irresistible. So, what about those of you (such as consultants, coaches, writers, etc.) who ARE the product? How do make yourself irresistible? One way is to show how you are living the dream you are selling. Give customers a mind picture of how they can have a life like yours, and what that will be like for them.

Give yourself an aura. Build your image and credibility. Techniques such as publicity, speaking, publishing, etc. will both demonstrate your abilities, and create a celebrity image for you, making you part of the dream.

Value yourself. After all, if you don’t understand what you’re worth, how will you ever communicate your value to anyone else?

Image Products as a Profit Center

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Professional sports teams make big money from licensed products. There are t-shirts, sweatshirts, jerseys and other apparel, along with cups, mugs, pennants, balls, dolls, and just about anything they can slap a label or a decal on.

Image merchandise isn’t just for sports teams, though. Although Pets.com ultimately didn’t survive, one thing that did is their “mascot,” Sock Puppet. The Sock Puppet was the most popular aspect of Pets.com and he recently turned up in television spots for an auto loan company, having survived the dot com bust and the demise of Pets.com.

If you have a character, logo, slogan, color scheme or other image associated with your business, you can create image products. When customers wear a t-shirt with your logo, or take a mug with your web site and slogan on it to a meeting, they help to spread the word about your company. You may give them away, but when you sell them, these items can be a profit center in their own right. Here are some ideas for image products. Which ones are right for your business?

T-shirts. A t-shirt is a basic image product used by many. Make your shirt something cool, something people will want to buy and wear. Put clever slogans, your company logo, or interesting images on the shirts. If you plan to sell them, don’t feature your URL too prominently. People do not want to wear your advertisement across their chest or back.

Mugs and sport bottles. Coffee mugs and water bottles are everywhere. They may carry your company name and logo, or slogan or an image related to your business. The National Museum of Funeral History sells a number of souvenirs (including mugs and sports bottles) with their slogan, “Any day above ground is a good one.” It’s odd and it’s funny, and many people will buy the products and use them because of the slogan.

Posters. An image may be magnificent, inspiring, humorous, or even titillating, but if it grabs attention it could become a poster.

Other products might include calendars, magnets, buttons and badges, mouse pads and more. You can create and sell your own products with no upfront investment at CafePress.

The ultimate image product. As you walk the aisles at your favorite toy store, you see action figures of superheroes, movie characters, comic figures and . . .you? You may not make it to the toy store shelves, but you can be immortalized in your own action figure. At prices starting under $30, MyFaceOnAFigure.com will custom sculpt a head to look like you, your logo character, a mascot or another real or fictional person. Then just attach the head to your favorite off-the-shelf actions figure, or buy one from them.

This idea isn’t for everyone. But if you’re looking for a fun way to stand out from the crowd, this could be it. It’s a great way of getting attention at speeches, booksignings, trade shows and other events.

Hmmmm . . . I wonder how much my action figure would go for on eBay?

Who Are You to Your Customers?

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When people see you or hear about you as a result of your marketing efforts, you want them to remember you. Make a lasting impression by creating a strong identity.

Use a slogan, prop, logo, nickname or other device to help cement your message in the minds of your audience. My identity is The Idea Lady. I want people to think of me as a source for creative solutions to their marketing and visibility concerns. Need a name for your business, a slogan, several great ways to promote yourself on a shoestring or other creative ideas to make your business more successful? The Idea Lady can help!

What image do you want customers to have of you and your message? Think about the benefits you provide to customers. Do you want an image that evokes speed, quality, creativity, exclusivity or another benefit?

Create a strong and lasting image by:

  • Developing a name or nickname that implies your benefits.
  • Using a graphic or logo that reinforces the name (and the benefits).
  • Attaching a slogan or tag line to your name (to, once again, emphasize the benefits).
  • Using a consistent “look” (e.g., fonts, colors, graphics, style) so they recognize you when they see you again.
  • Being everywhere! Put yourself lots of places where you will be seen by your customers.