A.C. Baker Apparel

Voodoo Marketing is dead. Not that marketing isn’t a passion, but it had to go to make room for A.C. Baker Apparel, my first love and jealous girlfriend. I will still post about marketing, but have so much to say about fashion and design, that it just didn’t seem fair to divide my efforts. I will no longer be taking marketing clients and focus solely on my clothing design company, so look for sporadic posts about random fashion-y things. Thanks for hanging in there with me if you did.

PIRATES! Well, the old ways are apparently alive and well . Apparently China doesn’t feel good about the incidents only staying off the coast of Somalia…so they’ve gone to do som’ bout it.

http://tinyurl.com/8bfapr

As the year draws to a close and I am forced once again into the quiet contemplation of the year to come, I can’t help but wonder about the chaos that just ensued in our economy and how we will dig out.

The Good:

We are a debtor nation. There is a gap between what we make and what we spend. When all the jargon and gobbeldy gook gets pared away, it’s really as simple as that. We live beyond our means and our economy has rested comfortably on the notion that people pay with credit. If the government can back off and let the economy right itself, we will be better off for the adjustment. It is an empirical fact that business and economics have many self regulating functions (that’s why we love a free market), and as small business owners, we are the only ones who will truly thrive here….which is the way it’s *supposed* to be.

The Bad:

Our government. It doesn’t want to see us suffer like a good mommy or daddy. Thankfully the government isn’t my daddy…oh wait…it now owns a huge chunk of our “free market”. I wonder how long it will remain free. Right now as we speak, the government is trying to fix the problem with the very same problem solving measures that got us here. As long as there is such fierce interference the problems will just continue longer.

My solution:

Be kind. No, I mean really be kind! I’m not a hippie, folks (well maybe a closet one). If you haven’t figured out that taking really great care of your customers and staff is just like banking money every week, then you shouldn’t be in business. People are and will always be our greatest asset. There is a person behind every dollar you spend and every one you receive.

In closing, I am looking to the new year with hope. For my businesses and my community. This has been a schizophrenic knee jerk holiday, but I think the first quarter will see some sanity. I am moving my workspace to another part of my house and making plans for classes and events. My etsy shop is ready for rehab and life is looking good. Watch out for more to come. I am planning to post on some more academic topics this next week.

Be well and stay in business!

Well, it’s official. I have been twitter-fied. Gotta say that Shankman over at HARO was instrumental in my joining. Check it out, yo.

Well, it’s official. I can actually say that someone took my advice…and published it! Scott over at The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur published a tip from moi in his list of customer service tips. You can read it here: http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/blog/50-quality-customer-service-tips-for-entrepreneurs. Not only is Scott a dedicated blogger (unlike*ahem* some people), but a talented and observant marketing expert…so go there!

In other news (which I haven’t been writing about, but you should know), the third and final Design Collective will be held this Friday at Accident Gallery, 210 C Street in Eureka CA from 6-10pm. What’s that, you say? It’s a shopping event with a DJ, Beer Bar and goodies from a local caterer and features local designers of home wares, fashion, accessories and jewelry. I have been planning these with my ever lovely friend (and owner of said gallery) Phyllis. In my area, there are no such urban events and we wanted to be the first to introduce them. As some of you may know, I have another business as well. A.C. Baker Apparel (http://www.acbakerapparel.etsy.com) which is near and dear to my heart. I have been working on it since late 2003 and finally have found a bridge between Voodoo Marketing and ACB…yay me. Anyhow, if your around, please check it out, it’s going to be mad fun.

Oh, how I have missed you all, dear readers! We have welcomed into our family baby Saxon on February 8th 2008. As predicted in my previous post, I haven’t had time for much. But, in the category of shameless self promotion, I have finally found my niche…my joie de vivre….my “one thing” (drum roll please) : I have narrowed my focus to Event Marketing. That’s marketing businesses through events and happenings. So, as you all know I have a special place in my heart for the Fashion, Art, Entertainment and (sometimes) Retail industries. I am curious to see how this further congeals (not like old gravy).

Well, it’s late and I must attend to my insane addiction to leftover Halloween candy

Sorry for the long absence, folks. That’s the thing with pregnancy; you can spend weeks feeling great with enough energy to take on your daily Goliaths, but then just crash. So that’s what I’ve been doing, resting and resenting every moment of it. I want to be healthy, of course; but time is growing short before I will have an adorable baby who needs attention almost every waking moment…anyway, before I start waxing poetic about bundles of joy, I wanted to talk about the social aspect of entreprenuerism.

Typically, entreprenuers tend to be a really unique bunch of people more likely to be libertarians than libs and far more likely to spend the lion’s share of their energy supporting their business before they will get involved in social causes. Keep in mind I am making a broad generalization because I have known my share of all kinds of business owners.

What I am getting at is the act of being an entreprenuer and how it affects our perception, and what would happen if you gave the starving masses opportunities to build businesses. It’s not the business itself that changes the community (or maybe it does), but how the person changes: in their perceptions of right and wrong, poverty, economic responsibility and most of all, pride of ownership.

I am speaking from the position of living in a community that has 697 non-profit organizations to a total population of 135,000 with a median income of less than $60,000 per year with an average home price of $225,000. What’s interesting is that we house 2 colleges: one JC and one CSU. How are we managing to give money to all the not for profits (and in my opinion over 1/2 of them need not exist), support a growing number of young families that can’t find work (for living wages) and play host to one of the largest artist communities in the nation? It doesn’t add up. We have a large group of highly educated poor people. My solution? Give them all businesses.

What will that do? It’ll employ people, firstly; secondly it will raise the bar of conduct…no more poor me’s out there, it’ll also create a positive cash environment that supports a local economy to grow rather than take and subsist. I know I am making it sound like creating businesses in poor communities will solve all our worldly woes. Not so. There will still be social ills because people arent’ perfect. There really are people out there that don’t want to participate in society in a positive way…you can’t do anything about that. But if you strive to cure poverty (and free stuff has clearly not worked) then you strive to cure the symptoms of poverty as well: Drug addiction, abuse, slums,etc.

While it’s not perfection, I truly believe that entreprenuerism can be an affective way to implement community change. It addresses people in a way that doesn’t further degrade or indebt them and allows for the spirit of innovation, creation and ownership….which historically poses a greater benefit to humanity.

After a little reorganizing of my office and a plan to redo my entire infrastructure in preparation for a baby, I closed in on my upcoming curriculum for my Fashion Marketing Class. It’ll be starting on November 8th every Tuesday until folks get sick of me. For those of you in the Humboldt County area, please feel free to email me for more details on the class.

I will write about the topics that I cover in each session (so if one of my illustrious students misses a class, the information will be posted here) and probably elaborate a little. When I am in front of a group I tend to forget a couple things that I intended to talk about. As a teaser, here is what I came up with:

1. Components of a campaign: What pieces and parts do you need to put one together
2. Marketing plans: Why you really do need them
3. The different types of marketing and how you integrate them into your plan
4. Understanding your market and the importance of data mining
5. Putting all the pieces together: Marketing/Operations/your understanding of your product or service
6. The role of tradeshows and how B2B marketing differs from end consumer marketing…but not really
7. How your company policies collide with your marketing efforts: Why you need consistency across all departments
8. How your efforts culminate in a sale as well as examining your ROI
9. Marketing past your inception: If you build it and market it once…they will not continue to come.
10. Why depth is better than breadth: Creating customer incentive and really servicing your existing customers
11. Some vocabulary…

I may not approach each of these topics in the order written, but they will all get covered.

Keep an eye out for a contest I have brewing. The prize will be an ad campaign created by me and and my team. The general caveat is that we don’t do animation…but you will get ads for web and print with copy.

I will also be answering weekly questions from readers…so ask away. Tell your friends, too!

Okay, so this post isn’t about marketing. I guess with Halloween coming my concentration is a little skewed, it’s a big deal at our house. Last week my 6 year old and I sat down to watch a movie (which he picked)…it wasn’t Robots or The Incredibles, it was Ferris Buehler’s Day Off. He thinks it’s hilarious. This is also the kid who wears shades to school and refuses to cut his hair, wants to be a rock star-ninja-FBI Agent and generally laughs in the face of conformity. Can I take credit for that? Maybe…I did drop him off at school yesterday wearing a Samhain Sweatshirt (for those of you who don’t know it’s one of Glen Danzig’s first bands…metal all the way, baby) but it wasn’t nearly as bad as when his dad takes him to school wearing an oozing zombie shirt…what can you do?

So, we’re watching FBDO, and my son starts asking questions, like, “Is Ferris cool?”…my initial response is “heck ya!”, but then my mommy-ometer kicks in and I say, “you shouldn’t ditch class….ever!”. What am I becoming? I swore that I would be an authentic mommy and revel in my rebellious spirit and be completely honest all the time. I now realize that was the utopian dream of a person sans children. I lie my butt off if you want to be completely honest…not about the big stuff, but certainly about respecting teachers (even if they’re mean) and not skipping school and things like that. Sometimes I wonder what my parents didn’t tell me…hmm.

I know (based on current conditions) that my son is every inch himself and completely unafraid of being that way…which is great. But what do I do if he becomes a Ferris? I can’t tell him that he’s completely wrong. I did the same things and refused to compromise, but I turned out okay, so maybe I needn’t worry.

Either way, I have an undoubtedly cool kid and wouldn’t trade him for anything. Happy Halloween everyone! I’ll post pictures of my scary house for you all to be amazed by!

Marketing tends to be a mix of hard and soft concepts; from brand building to immediate promotions. For a DIY marketer it can make your head spin. I am going to outline some basic principles on how to start implementing a tracking system for your ROI. This will vary depending on how much effort you want to put into it. Large corporations have entire departments that track these things with very complicated calculations and margins; but it doesn’t need to be so for the smaller business.

1. Create a monthly, quarterly and yearly calendar that tracks your sales cycle and delivery, as well as your promotions (they will need to coincide). You will also need to identify what (if any) brand building and outreach you would like to be doing. This will also include any PR activities.
2. Set a budget for each activity (this doesn’t work without one and may require research)
3. Make sure that your creative services are not ad hoc…meaning, don’t make your own ads, postcards, website, photography, etc. if you’re not a graphic designer. The reason for this is that you need consistency and focus which you don’t have if you are the designer, production, marketer, janitor, etc. Designers work fast and can give you your entire season of advertising in one shot and can also advise you on visual impact, composition, color and layout. In the end it’ll save you money
4. Once you start, track every activity in a spread sheet that correlates with both inquiries and actual sales

Remember, marketing is a marriage between operations and outreach. Did you do everything you said you would? Is your message consistent with your product and the way you offer it? This is where you need to be completely honest with yourself about your business. This is also where you need to take a holistic look at your hard numbers and the concept you are trying to convey in order to get a clear picture.

Lots of businesses claim foul when their sales don’t immediately go up when they place an ad. Here’s the general rule for anything: it takes people a total of 3 months to get it that you are out there. They need constant reminding before they will make a purchase from a new company. Further, you need to look at a few key factors:

1. Did your message reach the right people
2. How long did was it out (as an aside, if you have an ad out for over 3 months that isn’t doing anything…cut it)
3. What was the response
   1. In sales
   2. In inquiries
   3. Did they mention (and did you ask) how they heard about you

In short, that is how you calculate your ROI. It’s not an exact science, for sure, but you should be able to get an idea what is working for you. Some things will be obvious but some things will not and you have to dig a little for your information. Customer feedback and surveys can be useful for planning and ROI studies if you haven’t tracked it before now. Also keep in mind your individual and overall goals. If you are trying to craft your overall image it will take more time than promoting a seasonal sale or getting people to your booth for a tradeshow.

In closing, remember that data is the key to looking at the big picture. Run your campaigns by trusted advisors or friends in the know, and remember to review your marketing every 3 months. It’s easier to recover from a bad campaign if you catch it quick.