Trent365

The marketplace is not wise.

So says marketing guru Seth Godin.

It has no real goals or vision or mission.

It is simply a group of people (hundreds, millions or billions depending on how wide you are targeting) looking to satisfy their own wants and needs Nothing more.

Therefore, the market alone can not solve the really big issues the world faces.

For that, we need to have a set of guidelines, boundaries and parameters. 

And for that, we need true leadership.

#marketdemand #supplyanddemand #philospohical

Lots of people have great ideas.

What they don't know though, is will their ideas actually work.

A simple, cheap way to validate your business idea is to just create a simple landing page that explains your product or service and invite visitors to sign up for updates on when it will be available.

Or if you want to be really sure, offer them a chance to buy now. To take a pre-order.

Or even easier, just create an ad, run it on Facebook or Google and again encourage customers to give you their email address..or better still, an order.

#validation #businessideas #leanstartup

Not so long ago many people felt the QR code was dead and gone. It was one of those unique tools that just never seemed to find gather enough momentum to stick around.

Now, thanks to COVID-19, QR Codes have had a resurgence.

They have replaced just about all in-room marketing collateral in hotels.

That's something that's been on the way out for a while now anyway. As I've spoken about before...

Blog - Death of In-Room Marketing - https://bit.ly/2Gmvf7E

Ep. 174 - Death of In-Room Marketing - https://bit.ly/3kTHWWG 

As your customers get more accustomed to scanning a QR code, a whole new world of in-room / in-restaurant / in-store promotional opportunities open up.

For instance, you can use a tool like VisuaLead to generate cool, custom QR codes - https://bit.ly/3elfUkb

Even more exciting is the variety of content you can put on the other side of that content.

Get creative!

#QRcodes #marketingopportunities #hotelmarketing

Any time your customers need to stop and pause there's an opportunity to get their attention. To get in front of their eyes and into their minds.

Thanks to COVID-19, many stores make you stop and pause before you enter...to scan the QR code for contact tracing and to check your temperature.

So at the entry point, is a fantastic branding opportunity.

I saw a recent example at a pharmacy where Vaseline had create a branded entrance at the single entry point to the store.

No customer can enter the store without pausing at this entrance.

Every customer will see the Vaseline brand.

If you own the store, create an entrance and approach the brands whose products you sell to use it as a promotional opportunity.

If you have a product or service that is sold somewhere else, approach the owner of the store with the idea.

#promotion #marketing #advertising

Lots of hotels are trying to tempt locals to come in for a short staycation.

Come and stay a night at the hotel and get a discount on the restaurant and spa and any other outlets that are open.

But I think they're getting the messaging the wrong way around.

Instead, the offer should be, 'Spend $250 in our restaurant and we'll give you a free night in the hotel.'

We all need to eat. That's the Need. Staying in the hotel room is just a Want.

So sell the Need first, then promote the Want as the add-on.

#hotels #marketing #promotions

Consumers are smart these days. No point kidding yourself.

If you present them with an exaggerated promotion, they will see through it for what it is.

Like those '2 Days, 1 Night Stay' deals that hotels put out there.

I'm using one right now. 

Check in after 3pm and check out before 1pm the following day.

That's a maximum of 22 hours I get to stay.

Last time I checked, there were 24 hours in just one day.

Feels like this offer was just ever so slightly exaggerated.

#promotions #marketing #consumercentric

The TimeShare model for vacations has been around for a long time.

A partial ownership type model that allows each 'owner' of the property a limited number of days throughout the year to use the property.

But with all that's happened in the world this year, we have been forced to focus more locally.

We've also become much more aware of being self-sufficient.

That says to me there's an opportunity for FarmShares to become the new TimeShares.

#timeshare #newbusinessideas #possibilities

It seems like a pretty obvious thing to say, but people will only buy your product or service or take the action that you want them to take if they understand why.

Of course, this is only the first step. 

There are then many other factors they must consider, like the cost, the time, the convenience, etc.

But too often we blame these other factors when in fact we have not yet gotten our customers to that point of understanding...and that's on us.

#marketing #customerbehaviour #understanding

Many business live and die by their Key Performance Indicators (KPI's)...at least they think they do.

But in times of crisis like right now, many are finding that most of their KPI's really don't matter much.

With many business struggling to get enough customers, the only metric that really matters is the Top Line Revenue metric.

Even the Profit Metrics don't matter much for many as they're already operating at a loss.

So maybe it's time to consider a Tiered KPI System.

Focus on your Top 2 KPI's first. 

Only once they're achieved, do you start looking at your next 4 KPI's.

And so on.

#businessmetrics #kpis #rethink

Once it became obvious that contact, at least for some time, was going to be a bad thing, I figured this could be a BOOM period for Vending Machines.

I spoke about that back in Ep. 899 of the show - https://bit.ly/35DEk4t

I'm still a believer.

Just consider these elements...

1. Flexibility of Product Selection

2. Flexibility of Price

3. Low Labour Cost

So whatever the crisis or what ever the trend, Vending Machines can move with the times.

#vendingmachines #businessmodel #flexibility