Advertising Age just ran an article stating that 53% of marketers are preparing to cut back their advertising if they haven’t already begun to do so.

The survey, conducted by the Association of National Advertisers, polled 100 marketers across several industries. While some will surely wonder whether on hundred respondents is enough to make this statistically valid — evidence that this is true is all around us.

You see, every time the economy faces a downturn marketers get wary. They hold back. Waiting. Until the landscape settles.

There are couple of massive problems with this. Read the rest of this entry »

In the hussle and bussle of running a thriving business it’s often hard to take sufficient time to reflect on life. Wouldn’t you agree?

I’ve improved in this area over the last year or so … but I must admit it’s hard. Especially when your brain is wired for continous improvement and on-going development.

There is a wonderful story about business and living life. If you’ve heard it before, I doubt you will have forgotten it. Nevertheless, it’s the kind of story that you enjoy reading from time to time. If you’ve never heard it before, I think you’ll enjoy it.

It goes like this …
Read the rest of this entry »

Just after writing my last post I had a discussion with another business owner. They asked me to clarify my belief that all employees should receive incentives to produce better results for the business.

This business owner was right, I do need to clarify, because not all “employees” need to receive financial or other tangible incentives to generate better results.

Am I confusing you? It’ll all become clear …
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Canada Day today.  That means it’s a holiday for most.

Wikipedia describes this day as:
” Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada), formerly Dominion Day, is Canada’s national day, a federal statutory holiday, celebrated on July 1 annually by all governments and most businesses across the country; the date, though, is adjusted in cases where July 1 does not fall on a working day. Canada Day observances take place not only throughout the nation, but also internationally. ”

Best wishes to all.

Michael Zipursky

Is a business better off giving their employees an incentive to increase sales? Should that incentive be a financial one.

For many years now I’ve been a big supporter of incentivizing employees to motivate them to produce above average results.

A recent trip to two electronic stores got me thinking about this topic.

Store 1 has its salespeople on commission.
Store 2, doesn’t.

What I found was that Store 1’s salespeople were much more knowledgeable on the products they carried.

Where as Store 2’s employees, while having a general understanding of what they were selling, knew little when it came to the finer details.

You see, I’m the kind of customer that pays attention to those finer details. Not to cause trouble or give anyone a hard time, but for 2 reasons:
1. When I’m putting down a big chunk of money on the latest flatscreen LCD or Blu Ray player with surround sound system - I take the time to learn about the products and technologies … to make sure I’m getting something that best suits my needs.
And 2, I live and breathe sales, marketing and customer service, so you might say I have discerning eyes and ears.

But there is a twist to this story. While the salespeople at Store 1 had better product knowledge they came across like a bunch of pushy car salesmen. Their style was more aggressive, and though not overly so, the atmosphere felt more rushed … a bit uncomfortable if you will.

What these two companies need is to blend their approaches. To incentivize their workforce, give them a reason to learn more about the products … and then support them in understanding how to make customers feel comfortable.

Pushy sales don’t work for long-term success. Making your customers feel comfortable, as welcome guests that can confidently show up whenever they please and consistently be greeted with the information they need produces amazing results.

How does your business go about this?

Michael Zipursky