The Clean and Green Club

In a business as bureaucratic as the airline industry, Southwest Airlines has always impressed me with its willingness to go against “normal” policy in order to do right by its customers. Not surprisingly, this positive attitude extends to doing right by its employees as well. And was probably one of the factors that led Southwest to maintain profitability–alone among US airlines–in the aftermath of 9/11.

We fly Southwest as often as possible, for a number of reasons:

• The company is very flexible if we need to change our plans; while most airlines simply void an unused ticket, Southwest lets you reschedule the same flight on another day
• It’s often the cheapest or close to cheapest option, and has brought down the cost of flying out of Hartford, our closest airport–before they came in, it was often as much as $600 to get a domestic flight, and we would have to go to New York or Boston to get anything affordable–now we can often find flights out of Hartford on Southwest and other carriers for $200-$300 round trip
• Their best flight attendants actually make it fun to fly again
• Last but certainly not least, when my sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First came out, the president of Southwest Airlines actually bought 1000 copies, making the book profitable the day it was printed <vbg>

In January, we were booked on an early morning Southwest flight from Hartford to Tampa, where we were supposed to catch a cruise ship. However, due to snow conditions in Hartford, our outbound flight was canceled the previous night, and the next one wouldn’t arrive in Tampa in time to board our ship. Fortunately, we had once again chosen Southwest.

From our hotel room near the Hartford airport, Dina got on the phone with Southwest while I used my laptop to rent a car.

The airline wanted to simply put us on a later flight to Tampa, but we politely and calmly explained that this really wouldn’t help us, since we’d have no way to catch up with our cruise ship. Without a huge amount of fuss, we got switched over to a flight into Fort Lauderdale, and from there, we rented a car and drove four hours the next day to meet our boat at its first port of call, Key West.

This itinerary shift would have been impossible or nearly impossible on most airlines. At Southwest, it was part of the customer satisfaction culture; there wasn’t even an extra charge.

Dina wrote a letter of commendation for the employee who had handled it, and this week we received a wonderful form letter from Southwest, along with a copy of the note from her supervisor thanking the employee directly and enclosing our letter.

Their letter said, in part (capitalization as in original),

Southwest Airlines is foremost a Customer Service Company, and our Employees are trained to always think of our Customers first…There is nothing that could please us more than to know that you and your husband enjoyed a dose of SOUTHWEST SPIRIT from one of our outstanding Employees. It is apparent from our records that you were assisted by Tamika, and am happy to share your kind words with her.

Thank you for sharing your heartfelt compliments with us, and thanks especially for your patronage and friendship. You and your husband are very special to all of us here at Southwest, and we anxiously await our next opportunity to make you smile.

Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever received a letter like that from a major corporation. A generic, bland thank-you, maybe, but nothing like that.

And the letter to the employee said,

I want to take a moment to add my voice to Ms. D. Dina Friedman’s in the interest of giving your outstanding Customer Service skills and SOUTHWEST SPIRIT their due recognition.

Just remember–every one commendation; every one act of kindness; and every one extra effort combine to make Southwest Airlines stand out above the rest. Thank you for being the ONE!

And all three letters (including the one we wrote) were copied to the two senior executives in charge of customer services and support, her team leader, and of course, the commended employee.

What do you think it does for employee loyalty, as well as customer loyalty, to do something very right but extremely out of the ordinary and get a commendation like that, with copies to two of the company’s vice presidents? This is a company that takes seriously its rhetoric of employee empowerment. Behavior that might have gotten her fired elsewhere is rewarded here.

Yes,  I recognize that Southwest is far from a perfect organization. But it stands light-years ahead of so many others in its industry. I’m proud to feature them as the Positive Power Spotlight of the month.

CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World by Tom Watson (John Wiley & Sons, 2009)

Are there lessons from the nonprofit and social change worlds for business? Watson’s new book proves that the lessons not only are there for the taking, but that they’re numerous–particularly in the way they use new technologies to build communities poised for action.

Business is ultimately about influencing others: persuading them to take actions such as buying or endorsing a product. And business can take many lessons from the explosive growth of social change and nonprofit groups in the online world, some of which started with just a single person expressing outrage, and moved on from there to build forces that could actually change things.

Organizations that started as small local networks have broadened to create national or been international constituencies involving tens of thousands of people–and more importantly, using those constituencies to accomplish the change they want.

From this book, you can take away such important marketing lessons as:

• Creating and leveraging “social proof”
• Building much stronger and more powerful alliances than the organization could do on its own
• Harnessing the “long tail” to attract profitable niche audiences that less nimble entities ignore
• Extending not only the reach but the feeling of ownership and participation among small donors who are able to see the results of their donations, sometimes in real time–cost-effectively providing resources that used to be available only to major givers
• Tapping into the consciousness of younger buyers–Generation Y, or Millennials–who are notoriously resistant to “traditional” marketing
• Extracting the core understanding of the blend of organizing and marketing that characterized both the Obama campaign on the left, and the Ron Paul campaign on the right
• Working profitably to market through new technologies, from Facebook and Twitter to cell-phone messaging, and taking advantage of the interactive, participatory aspects of these tools to build two-way participation–and thus, lasting community

In short, if you read this book through a marketing lens, you will find a whole lot of value, and you’ll be well-placed to get a jump on oghers in your industry by adapting these strategies–just as the fast-food industry borrowed the drive-up window from banks.

Do you offer any freebies to build your business? I sure do!

I’ve built my business on giving away vast quantities of information–but through that, selling both information and brainpower as an author and speaker, and as a consultant and copywriter. Google loves my sites because of the thousands of articles (about 2/3 written by other people). People on discussion lists hire me because of the quality of free information I provide. I get  exposure for my books by strategically giving away copies here and there, and subscribers to my newsletters  through participating in launch-bonus programs. I actually got a book contract with a major publisher because I contributed an essay, for free, to one of its authors’ books.

And let’s face it. Even though I do get paid for writing my books, the amount of content I include far outweighs the price, and on a per-hour basis, is not the most bean-counter-effective use of my time. But the books give me credibility in the media…inexpensive gifts of great value that I can use strategically…at least some income stream…tons of “street cred”…something to sell when I speak… and assorted other non-monetary advantages.

The point is to do it strategically. To be totally transparent, I am posting here figuring that at least a few people reading this will pop over to https://www.frugalmarketing.com to access some of the free content, sign up for the newsletter, maybe buy a book or two, and consider me when they need marketing consulting or copywriting.

Also, when I give information for free, I often mine material I’ve already created, so the labor factor is low. This article started as a response on a LinkedIn discussion group; now I’ve tweaked and repurposed it as the featured article in this month’s Monthly Frugal Marketing Tips newsletter.

Which doesn’t mean every time I do a giveaway, I’m expecting an immediate return. I think of it as a karmic thing. But it’s been the dominant factor in successfully marketing my business since 1996.

See more great advice in Shel’s award-winning marketing books. Click here to learn about them.

Just to peek at the tip of the iceberg; many others are possible

• Local history (great for a bank, Chamber of Commerce, etc.)
• How-to (very helpful to manufacturers and distributors/dealers who need to train people in their product)
• Health and wellness (drug companies, hospitals, practitioners)
• Business theory (Southwest Airlines bought 1000 copies of my sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First–what I heard back was that the company president wanted to give them to people he wanted to impress)
• Travel/destination (Chambers of Commerce, attractions, airlines, travel agencies…)
• Coffee-table art book (whatever company, industry, or institution is being profiled)
• Cookbook/food book (food manufacturers, restaurants, gourmet or specialty grocery stores; Dian Pfeifer, author of “Gone With the Grits,” sold 15,000 to cereal maker Quaker, which manufactures grits)
• Fiction (tie-ins with locations, genres, equipment, cars…)
• Parenting and child-rearing (schools, play equipment and toy manufacturers, early-childhood education industry, counselors, even law enforcement–in my seventh book, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, I cite the author of a book on bullying that had been picked up by several police departments)

Keep in mind that you can not only sell entire books (especially if you can offer a custom cover so the sponsor’s name is on the front), but also pieces (as booklets, special reports, audios, etc.).

This series will continue with part 5, how to approach the organizations. And as a bonus, part 6 will apply what you’ve learned to bulk purchases in the corporate sector.

Another Recommended Book: The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back, by Judith Sherven, Ph.D. and Jim Sniechowski, Ph.D. (Morgan James, 2009).

Would you run the same ad in the New Yorker and the National Enquirer? I sure wouldn’t! I’m a long-time believer in matching audience, offer, and message, and that includes tone.

Yet so many Internet marketers want to pretend that their unlimited bag of tools contains only one item: the pay-per-click ad that leads to a hard-sell long-format sales letter (perhaps stopping at a squeeze page along the way). Heavy on hype, lots of promises and claims…wrapped in a sleazy cloud of scarcity that doesn’t do wonders for the mental state of the marketer OR the prospect. Mind you, these have a time and a place–but that is certainly not every time, every place.

Marketing is never a one-size-fits-all choice, and in this day and age, it’s crazy to try; marketing works much better when the message is closely tuned to the target market.. Think of the most ubiquitous offers you can, and I’ll prove that even they are not for everybody. McDonald’s? Not much appeal for vegetarians. Coca-Cola? Diabetics and health fooders will both tune it out.

Sherven and Sniechowski, who come out of the soft-sell worlds of therapy and relationship coaching, understand this dynamic. They’ve achieved phenomenal success marketing softer products with a softer approach, and helping others to do the same.  I love their focus on authenticity and integrity, which nicely complements the work I’ve been dong with Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First. They talk about the difference between “technique acting,” where the actor goes through the motions of showing emotion but doesn’t internalize it, and the much more effective “method acting,” where the character actually feels the emotions. By extension, they note, marketing that focused on “techniqued” approaches is rejected as hype. As soft-sell marketers, they understand the value of technique, but combine it with genuine emotional interest. And I love the idea of “reconciling commerce and care”–and getting well compensated at the intersection.

Sherven and Sniechowski note that in their world, Return On Experience is a more useful measure than Return On Investment. And testimonials may be a key to charting ROE, because it demonstrates the tangible results of the soft-sell marketer’s intangible services. As for the scarcity mentality so beloved by the marketing gurus? They reject it out of hand, saying instead that urgency must be authentic, and the use of scarcity often shows a lack or deprivation in the marketer.

This book will be released on or before May 1 and is available for preorder. I’d planned to save it for next month, but neither of the other two books I looked at this month were worthy of recommendation.

It’s still Passover, so I’m thinking perhaps more than usual about food. But before I get to this month’s profile…

Exciting News: Principled Profit Blog Wins Its Third Award in A Month!

I’ve been blogging on the intersections of media, marketing, ethics, politics, and sustainability since 2004, at https://www.principledprofit.com/good-business-blog/ And all of a sudden, people are starting to notice! Beginning March 14, I’ve been notified that my blog has won three different awards!

• Ripple 6 list of Best Big Business Blogs (B4) (emphasis on using social media–and pretty funny, considering I’m a one-person, home-based company):  “Clearly one of the best on blogging with good coverage on B4 issues.”
• 50 Best Business Ethics Blogs: “information on good business practices, high ethical standards, and those who got it wrong…This blog devotes itself to good business. Shel Horowitz is an expert on business ethics as a success driver.”
• Semi-finalist, 2009 Blogger Appreciation Awards (general excellence)

If you want to see what the fuss is about, go visit the blog. You can even sign up to hear about new posts through either RSS or e-mail.

Now on to this month’s profile.

Positive Power Spotlight: America’s Regional Best!

Recently, I saw an ad for RegionalBest.com on last month’s profiled business, HARO, and when I clicked over, I very much liked what I saw.

Here’s the mission statement:

We’re an online market offering some of the best local foods from across the country – America’s Regional Best! All are produced by artisans, farmers and other small, family-owned specialty food companies. Many of these regional foods are all natural and organic and use the finest local ingredients. We advocate and applaud sustainable farming and production practices.

Pretty hard to argue with that!

And I like the way the site is organized: click on a region of the country to get all the products from that region, or click on the nav bar to get all products within a category such as cheeses, gift items, or vegan products. For New England, where I live, you get not only the expected (Maine lobster, Vermont maple syrup products,blueberries and so forth, but also the unexpected, like vegan or traditional baklava, cereals, crackers, and such.

Shel Horowitz’s Frugal Marketing Tip, April 2009

If you ask journalists their biggest peeves with PR people, and especially with people trying to do their own PR, the most frequent response you’re like to get is “they waste my time with off-topic pitches.” If you think the rest of us have crowded inboxes…triple it for journalists. They are looking for excuses to hit the delete button or drop your precious press kit in the recycle bin.

So be smart and don’t do give them any! Only contact journalists who cover your beat, and let them know right from the top that you’re on topic.

Lets say you have a company that makes a new product in the renewable energy arena, maybe something that is so energy efficient that it pays for itself in one year. We’ll say it’s a furnace add-on that lowers fuel consumption 15 percent, and it’s called the Furn-i-Soar. (I’ve got dinosaurs on the brain today, OK?)

Your first contact in many situations is going to be an e-mail (or a submission on the media outlet’s webform). So the first thing you need is a subject line that lets the reporter or editor or producer know that you’ve got something fresh in the area they already cover–and that you’re looking for coverage.

You might use a subject line like

Pitch: Green Furnace Add-On Recaptures 15% of Fuel, 1-Yr Payback

At 64 characters, it’s a bit long; some e-mail systems may truncate or eliminate the word “payback.” But that’s OK, since it can be guessed from context (and in some e-mail systems, will be repeated in full inside the e-mail). This strong headline…

1. Announces that it’s a pitch
2. In eight words, summarizes the key idea
3. Uses the word “Green” to make it clear that this is an environmental story (since you’re pitching reporters on the enviro-technology beat)
4. States the dramatic results in a very concrete, non-hypey way

If the word “payback” were essential, instead of starting “Pitch:”, we could end the subject line with (Pitch)–or simply sharpen the headline until it was 55 characters or less

Let’s move on to the body (my comments in italic and outdented). Notice how every paragraph advances your agenda, and most of them are crammed with talking points.

Dear Ms. Phelps,

You do such a great job of reporting on eco-technology! I particularly enjoyed your recent story on solar magnifiers and I thought this would be of interest to your readers.

You’ve just established yourself as a “player.” You read and enjoy and are familiar with her stuff, unlike 90 percent of the people who pitch her. Ten minutes with Google or the publication’s website is all you need to make that difference–or to discover that a reporter you’re targeting isn’t the right reporter after all. Oh, and obviously, substitute “listeners” or “viewers” for “readers” if you’re pitching radio or TV. And spell the reporter’s name right!

My Springfield-based company, Energy Efficiency Technologies, has just introduced a device that recaptures 15 percent more BTUs from fuel oil, by re-oxygenating the oil and cycling it back into the burn chamber. It’s energy-efficient, very Green, and usually pays for itself in one year or less. We call it the Furn-i-Soar, and yes, there’s a story behind that name.

Right from the start, you let the reporter know your company is in the media outlet’s territory. If it’s not such a tight fit, e.g., you’re based in Springfield, Massachusetts but the reporter is 90 miles away in Boston, you might say “Massachusetts-based.”

Next, a quick statement of the core benefits, the underlying technology, the nice, short payback period. Finally, that paragraph concludes with a teaser. Now the reporter is curious. She’s going to want to visit your website.

This is new technology that we developed in collaboration with our German partner, Furnace GmbH. Germany, as you know, is the world leader in renewable energy technology. It’s been used in Europe for the past year, but this is the first time it’s been rolled out to the US market.

Another story angle–international cooperation. Plus it’s both new to market and well-tested. One of those should “stick” in the reporter’s mind.

On the press page of our website, https://www.furn-i-soar.com/press , you’ll find:

• Full product specifications of our three different models (residential, office, industrial)
• Company history
• The story of how we developed this product, working on both sides of the Atlantic–and why we named it Furn-i-Soar
• Profiles of key executives and product developers, with high-res head shots and action shots
• Price and ordering information
• Color and black-and-white product photos, audio and b-roll that you’re welcome to use in your story

Wow! You’re making it sooooo easy for a reporter to do a story! You obviously know what you’re doing, know what reporters need, and are going to be helpful. This one will be a joy to write.

Because this is new and proprietary technology, I should warn you that the press page is open only to qualified journalists. You’ll need to enter your name and the name of the media outlet, but only the first time you visit.

Uh-oh! Reporters hate squeeze pages or anything else that puts a barrier between them and their research. But sometimes it can’t be helped. At least you’ve warned her, explained why the inconvenience is necessary, and you’ve also told her it’s only the first time she visits.

I’d be delighted to set up an interview or help with whatever else you need to get a great story.

Helpful and professional once more.

One more thing: If you’d like to test out the product, we’d be glad to install a unit in your home or office for the first three months of the heating season, and let you judge the savings, comfort, and performance for yourself. At the end of the trial period, we’ll uninstall at no cost to you (or give you the option to keep it at a discounted price).

Like everyone else, reporters love free trials. In fact, they’re used to getting all sorts of things for free. Your product costs a few hundred dollars and you can’t afford to give them out like candy. But you still have a way for the reporter to test it out in the real world, and you may even make a sale at the end of the trial. And if you get lucky, you may get a story now and another story after she’s lived with and enjoyed it for a while. (Note: depending on ethics rules for the journalism outlet, as well as ethics regulations within your particular industry, this offer may not be appropriate.)

Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do to make your life easier while you’re working on this story. My direct line is 413-555-1290, my cell is 413-555-9900, e-mail is jjames@furn-i-soar.com, and my Twitter is @furn-i-soar. Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

John James, Product Manager

You’ve made yourself extremely accessible. If the reporter has questions, she won’t have to struggle to track you down.

Before we get to this month’s tip: Two Important Announcements From Shel

1. In these tough times, I want to do my part. I’ve just released some things to save you money: A brand new e-book called Painless Green: 111 Tips to Help the Environment, Lower Your Carbon Footprint, Cut Your Budget, and Improve Your Quality of Life—With No Negative Impact on Your Lifestyle,  https://www.painlessgreenbook.com — and a website where you can get that e-book and all my books at a discount: https://www.RecessionBusterBooks.com

2. If you haven’t gotten your book done yet, or you know someone looking to become a published author, my new coaching program can help: Shel Horowitz’s Exclusive Ethical Expert Book Publishing Program. I’ll be announcing this in my speech Saturday at Willie Crawford’s Birthday Bash in front of several hundred people, but I wanted to let you have first crack. Especially since I’m offering it at a reduced price this first time out, and because the number of available seats is sharply limited: I’ve told the conference planners to stop taking offers when we reach 30 seats at the Gold level, and only FIVE at the Platinum level, which includes private coaching from me.

And now, on to this month’s tip:

How Organizations Benefit by Partnering With You

It’s absolutely vital to understand how an organization will benefit from your book <i>before</> you make the initial contact–because you must answer that question in your proposal letter. This brief adaptation from Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers provides some possible answers:

The key question to ask yourself is this:
How does this organization genuinely benefit from using my book?
There are many possible answers; finding the correct answer may be the key that will turn your prospect into a buyer. Usually, the correct answer will involve drilling down with “so what” questions, until you find ways to either increase sales of the organization‘s products and services and/or increase the organization’s status in the minds of its customers, prospects, employees, vendors—and in some cases (especially to counterbalance negative publicity) the general public. Among many possibilities, the organization might want to:

• Show people how to use the organization’s product or services in creative or expanded ways.
• Establish its own expertise and/or disseminate its ideas to a wider audience.
• Demonstrate a commitment to the community (as when a local bank sponsors a history of the town).
• Overcome bad press.
• Show off the organization in time for an important anniversary or milestone.
• Woo lucrative clients, investors/donors, or business-venture partners with interesting and useful gifts.
• Use the book for internal training.
• Convey a point of view about a hot-button issue of the day (for instance, a organization might give out copies of a book to legislators, regulators, or policy makers).
• Demonstrate that it is a caring and concerned organization willing to help.

One I don’t mention in the book is more important these days than ever before: create (or supplement) a revenue stream through product sales.

Rather not wait until the end of June to get started? Grab copies of my award-winning books, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers. Use this link to get the paperback editions at the discounted price of $41.95, combined (plus shipping), or this link for the e-book editions at just $34.95 (no shipping charge). Between those two books, you’ll get lots of ideas on how to form win-win partnerships that move quantities of your book. ). Of course, you can also buy just one book, at the usual price.

What a perfect example of “do what you love, and the money will follow.” Peter Shankman used to run a PR agency called The Geek Factory. In late 2007, he started sending queries form reporters needing story sources, as a favor to the reporters. Originally, he figured that if he was able to stock the reporters with sources, they’d turn to him and he’d get exposure for his clients.

His first attempt to systematize distribution of the queries was through a Facebook group called “If I can help a reporter out, I will.” This worked when it was half a dozen reporters sending queries to a few hundred recipients, but both sides of multiplied rapidly. It wasn’t long before Shankman banged up against Facebook’s limit of 1200 people who can receive a group e-mail.

So in March of 2008, he took it off Facebook, bought the domain www.helpareporter.com, and skyrocketed within the following year to over 60,000 users. A few months later, he began accepting ads, and before long, he had closed his PR agency and was doing HARO as his primary business (he also does speaking and training on Web 2.0). The service is free to both reporters and sources, but brings in enough revenue to allow Shankman not only to support himself but to employ a small staff.

And where do ethics come in? Shankman is rigorous about protecting his reporters from inappropriate behavior from sources–and vice versa. Abuse the list or pitch inappropriately, and you’re gone. Waste sources’ time with long interviews, use their material, and then don’t bother to include their name in the story? You won’t last long. Plus, of course, he’s showing the power of a valued media service that supports itself through advertising–and in our Internet era where ad-supported newspapers are folding their tent every week, that’s also a critical message.

I’ll be interviewing Peter Shankman this Monday, March 23, 4 pm ET/1 pm PT, on the Principled Profit radio show. Listen live in Western Massachusetts at 103.3 FM, or worldwide at www.valleyfreeradio.org

If Not Me, Then Who? By E. Cabell Brand (iUniverse, 2008)

This is not the book you’d expect from a very successful white businessman of the 1950s, a World War II veteran and a resident of ultraconservative southwestern Virginia. But that’s because Cabell Brand hasn’t led the typical life of his demographic.

Instead, he has spent his life working for social, economic, racial, and environmental justice–leaving in his wake an impressive trail of government, university, and private programs that have made a real difference in people’s lives. Brand combined his business skills and military-developed can-do attitude to work in local nonprofits, founding the first federally funded anti-poverty/Head Start agency in his area, piloting the SCHIP program recently readopted by the federal government after languishing under the previous administration, working to provide job opportunities for ex-prisoners…breaking down racial barriers at Virginia Military Institute…working tirelessly for peace and prosperity around the world…and even advising presidents and governors (Jimmy Carter and two Virginia governors are among the numerous endorsers).

It’s been a long and remarkable life, and this brief and well-written memoir is a testament to the difference a single person can make in the world through an unending series of small, mostly local actions that add up to real impact on the lives of real people.

Has he accomplished everything he wanted to? Of course not! His future goals include single-payer health care in the US, peace in the Middle East, a Green-energy economy (though he and I differ on how to achieve that) and a clean environment. But the legacy of people he brought out of poverty or helped to overcome injustice, programs he helped start that have been models around the country, and the simple knowledge that the world is a better place because he lives in it.

At 85, he hasn’t slowed down. He ends the book with a clarion call for “the imperative of local involvement” to solve global problems. “Each of us has an opportunity to be involved in a variety of local organizations and activities that promote…environmental activism…human rights…poverty…bring fresh water to those in need…opportunities to engage national and global challenges, with the ultimate goal of trying to give everyone in the world a better life as we protect the planet itself. In the end, we are in this together.”

You’re not likely to find this book in stores. Click here to order your choice of hardback, paperback, or e-book (this is not an affiliate link.