Across North America everybody wants more for less – plus a lifetime guarantee. To satisfy this insane and insatiable desire for more cheap food, goods and services, we’ve sent millions of jobs to Asia and India. We’ve also done a wonderful job of teaching our kids that many jobs are not worth doing or having. This mentality has shut down industries and laid waste to cities, towns and individuals all across America and Canada. Where will this end?

When companies do not earn decent profit margins their foundations crumble.

• They no longer can afford to do research and development.
• Without leading edge research and development their managers blindly follow the “best practices” of their competitors, and fail.
• They cut back on staff training and development.
• They cut back on benefits.
• Full time staff is rehired as part-time staff with no benefits.
• Part time staff juggles two, sometimes three, jobs to make ends meet.
• Because they are just making ends meet, time and money to support the arts and those who are less fortunate are also affected.
• It impacts time at home with family + friends.
• And on and on it goes.

Last week a friend of mine had his website built in the Philippines to save money. The money he paid has left Canada and will not be used to buy any of his products and services on Black Friday - or on any other day of the year.

Why not charge a fair price and invest the profits in our people, our communities, industries and Canada?

Halloween is a unique opportunity to experiment with branding since it appeals to so many different demographics and psychographics. Just Google™ “Halloween Pictures” or “Halloween Events” and I bet you’ll find a wider variety of Halloween ideas and associations than you and your in-house team would have conceived of. There are many obvious ways to capitalize on Halloween: dressing your staff, your places of business as well as your products and services. I trust you and your team can figure that out.

While direct participation may make sense for your brand and give you a fun & profit spike for a few days each year, there is another path that can pay long term dividends.

White box products and services.

For more reasons than you care to read in a blog post, your products and services have appeal limitations because of what your brand has come to represent to prospects in its primary marketplace.

Selling your products or services to other distributors under terms you define and enforce can help you understand what happens:

• When you go local, domestic, ethnic or global.
• When you sell into a premium, typical or discount market.
• When you appeal to one two or more genders.
• When you appeal to different age groups.

I think you get the picture.

Halloween lets you reimage yourself and your brand for fun and profit a few days a year.

White Box strategies let you do it all year long.

On most days Charlie and I go for a long walk with Toby, my neighbor’s poodle, return for a quick breakfast and head off to my office – 15 feet away. What began as an experiment has become my preferred way of life. My days start just before nine and end around six. I support two ad agencies and a few direct clients with a few tools that help me eliminate the distance between myself and those I support. He’s my tool-box for success:

1. A Jabra™ GN2100 headset + USB link that optimizes skype or G-talk fidelity. About $200.00
2. A Panasonic™ KXTCA400 headset (about $40.00) that plugs into my four cordless handsets ( about (about 180.00)
3. A Large format PC laptop + a desktop monitor as well as a Mac with all the popular programs.
4. Black and White as well as Colour printers.
5. A three-way redundant file backup: Hard-drive, thumb-drives and cloud.

I have more productivity tools per square meter in my current (home) office than I would if I worked for the companies I support. And since I spend more time at my desk (and less time walking around) I also invested in top of the line ergonomics including:

• A state-of-the art chair by Ergohuman™
• A 1960’s era Steelcase™ (height and tray-depth adjustable) computer table with new surfaces.
• Gel pads for my Logitech™ K120 keyboard, and Microsoft™ mouse.

I’ve worked with these tools about two years now and they enable me to attend production meetings, direct and manage account and creative teams, direct radio recording sessions, manage multi-location clients meetings. Importantly, I do it all with the confidence that comes from knowing that my 1^st class thinking is being supported with 1^st class communication tools and accessories that help my clients experience my presentations and my recommendations as if I were there.

When my father, a Cabinet Maker by training, taught me to invest in and care for my tools, he was referring to the tools I used to repair my apartment and then later my house. I’ve applied the same lesson to the tools I use in my vocation.

Home alone, there for you, and loving it.

A long time ago we were in Kenora and my son asked to go to the local A&W. That day we started a unique ritual. We’d order their Root-Beer Milkshakes with French Fries. Then we’d grab a booth and watch the world go by while we dipped each fry into the thick root-beer flavoured milkshakes.

That ritual created a bond between Ian and me, A&W and Kenora.

The experience contributed to the intangible brand essence that makes it more durable & desirable.

When traveling alone or with my wife I’d be drawn to A&W – looking for that root-beer milkshake – looking to stoke the flames of my memories and my ritual with Ian.

Last Saturday Ian, Michelle and I dropped in to the A&W in Kenora looking for Root-Beer Milkshakes with French Fries. A cheery little CSR advised us that they didn’t have any milk-shakes. “The machines been broken for a few years now”.

In that moment I lost that loving feeling and A&W lost my loyalty and a bunch of future business.

But I’m just one customer. Right?

Wrong.

Brands build market share one relationship at a time.

Brands lose share one relationship at a time.

I was conditioned to “going back to school” for 17 years. Friends of mine who are certified professionals like doctors and lawyers were conditioned for another ten.

Towards the end of my summers (in Toronto) the Canadian National Exhibition (a.k.a. CNE) would flare up for 10 days and then shut down again.To Torontonians the opening signals the end of summer”.

For all ages and brands “back to school” signals a change of season and a change of reason for positioning your products or services. Here are a few examples to consider:

• If you’re selling summer camps for kids, your season is over. But it’s the perfect time to sell empty nesters like me on a quiet yoga retreat in the now silent (and mosquito free) woods.
• If you’re selling schools supplies of any kind, this is your time. But remember who’s often paying the tab, and who wants to keep up with the younger generation. Speak to students and give the parents some cool tools to play with as well.
• Many businesses return to “regular hours”, and withdraw the sense of freedom that comes with “summer hours”. So help your customers with their transition into Fall with a few fun filled “Lunch ‘n Learn Sessions”.

The challenge for your business is to identify genuine intellectual, emotional or seasonal reasons to reach out to your customer base and ask them for their business.

• REASON: a “Back to School Event” makes sense for stores that sell schools supplies, computer equipment, clothing and dorm furniture.
• SEASON: an “End of Summer Inventory Clear out” makes sense for stores that sell their inventory by season.
• INTELLECT: Can you appeal to your customers’ ego with a “sneak preview” of the fall line of fashionable clothing, cars, or new performance enhancing services? Remember – while this is not a “Fall” event, it does lead into Fall.

 As you all know, I’m not a fan of sales per se because in an inelastic market they simple drive down the value of your product or service, give you tomorrow’s customer’s today (at a higher marketing cost and lower profit margin), and do nothing to increase market demand for your products or services.

I much prefer these techniques:

• Giving loyal customers, not strangers, the 1st chance to buy end of season products or services at a reduced rate justified by their loyalty.
• Giving loyal customers, not strangers, the 1st chance to see, examine, buy, order the new fall products or services.
• Giving additional time with the purchase of your service.
• Giving additional value with purchase of your products.

Remember:

Price is what you talk about when you have nothing else to say. Strong brands have lots of success stories to tell and lots of people that love them and refer them.

Among strong brands “price” is NEVER in the top 5-7 reasons to buy or decline the brand.

Except in Winnipeg.