Small Business Planned» Marketing

Why Novak Djokovic Would be Punished if he was a Football Player

David Moloney — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:24:48 +0000

Last night I watched Novak Djokovic win the final of the 2012 Australian Open. It was the longest tennis match in Australian Open history (5hr 53 minutes). Apparently the longest professional tennis match was a shade over 11 hours and was played over three consecutive days (I think they even ran out of deuce). But anyway, the Djokovic / Nadal match was true emotional grit that had me up until about 2am. So forgive me if I wander off here… Being the marketing tragic that I am (and fan of the Gruen Transfer TV show), I focused on something that not many others may have picked up.

While all pumped up on emotion, Novak did something at the end of the tennis match which would be a cause for discipline in the football (soccer) league.

About 30 seconds after winning the match Novak ripped off his shirt before displaying a few primal screams. The crowd went wild and clapped like a bunch of bananas.

But if he did the same thing on a football field, he would have scored a yellow card because you are not allowed to remove your shirt on a football pitch. FIFA doesn’t like it. Although the rules don’t spell out why, occasionally the football powers explain it away by indicating that it could incite bad behaviour or waste time.

Sergio Tacchini. Here's Some Sponsorship Exposure For You

Sounds like a load of squid’s guts to me. In fact it seems a prime example of the quote:

“There are two reasons why someone does something. The reason they say and the real reason.” Anon

FIFA’s explanation is laughable. But what could be the real reason? Enter our good friend the mighty dollar. Sport attract billions of sponsorship dollars every year as brands aim to be associated with the values and success of sporting teams. The sponsors obviously want a return for the money they spend. And this return is usually through exposure at the venue, on TV and through newspapers/magazines. All those little glimpses of sponsor logos combine to become recognised, understood and considered at a later more relevant time.

And when are these glimpses of the sponsorship logos the most important? When players score a goal and the cameras zoom in. Those photos could be on the front page of the newspaper, giving mass exposure to the visible sponsors. That’s when the sponsors logos work their hardest. And when they make the sponsorship executives smile the most.

That’s why football players get penalised for removing their shirts. It reduces the return on investment of the team sponsors.

The shirtless image of Novak Djokovic was reprinted across the World, sometimes even on the front page. As a result his primary sponsor Sergio Tacchini missed out on extensive exposure. Bummer, considering all the money they must pay. But Novak must have been hot after all that tennis.

Growing your small business,

David Moloney

Small Business Planned

What is the Gruen Transfer?

David Moloney — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:00:25 +0000

Gruen transfer, sounds like a funny name right? Almost like a kind of beer. But what is the Gruen Transfer? Actually it’s a term coined by the Austrian architect Victor Gruen and it’s all about influencing shopping centre design to maximise unplanned sales. It pretty much takes small business mistakes, flips them on their head and energises them to an inch of their life.

The Gruen Transfer Aims to Generate Unplanned Sales

Ever wondered why the milk is at the back of the supermarket, why the chocolate bars are squeezed next to the checkout, or why that easy beat 1980’s hit is softly yearning over the PA? It’s not an accident. It’s a carefully choreographed system which has been shown to deliver extra sales.

TV: The Gruen Transfer on the ABC

It should also be noted that The Gruen Transfer is the name of a popular ABC Australia show which discusses the advertising and marketing industry. It’s interesting and entertaining stuff. You can stream past episodes via the Gruen Transfer Page on the ABC website.

What exactly is the Gruen transfer?

We normally visit a shop for a reason. Say, to replenish a dozen litres of milk, browse the jam donuts section or to hip and shoulder a trolley. This can be regarded as priority one.

We boldly strut into the shopping centre and scan the aisle for the beginning of our attack. And here’s where the psychology of the shopping centre begins. By appealing to our five senses, the shopping centre design can begin to make us deviate from our initial goal. Or alternatively can make us add new items to our shopping list.

Our eyes are bombarded with sale signs, our nose smells those hot jam donuts, we’re given a free sample of a new icecream or we listen to a song which makes us walk more slowly. The longer we are in the store the more we are likely to buy. This is especially true in hardware shops like Bunnings or Walmart. I’m guilty of this myself.

And then at the end when you’re fumbling for your wallet and fuming at the person in front of you for carrying over 15 items, you see a drink, or a chocolate bar or even today’s paper. ‘This looks good’, you think as you begin to silently go comatose doe to line boredom. ‘That item will make me happier than I am now… which isn’t hard because my life is pretty much on hold at the moment’. So (sometimes) you pick it up and add it to your shopping list. Kerching! Another sale thanks to the pioneering work of the Gruen Transfer.

Growing your small business,

David Moloney
SmallBusinessPlanned.com

Your Email Address Sucks

David Moloney — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 10:29:00 +0000

If your a small business owner that emails customers, your email address can speak volumes about your professionalism, your approach to business and your tech savvy-ness.

Don't Use a Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo Email Address For Your Business

Seriously, You Still Use @hotmail @yahoo or @gmail?

If you are a small business owner that communicates with customers through a @hotmail, @yahoo or @gmail email address, I am going to throw a hot jam donut at you. And angle it so the hot jam bit hits your skin… then hits the ground so you can’t even eat the donut. What are you doing? It’s at least 2011 (Just trying to future proof this article).

People want confidence that the businesses they are dealing with knows its stuff and can come through with the goods. Shoppers don’t want some shonky operator who might go belly up next Tuesday. Representing your business through a free email account such as @hotmail.com screams backyard operator. The kind that operates on a shoe string budget, perilously close to foreclosing.

Sure you could be a backyard operator operating on a shoe string budget, but you want to give the perception that you operate a well oiled machine that is trustworthy and kicks butt.

ok, ok. If you don’t have a website and you mainly send email correspondence to other businesses (that don’t buy from you) I slightly forgive you for holding onto your free address.

Getting a Professional Email Address is Easy

If you have a website, take advantage of your website hosts capability. You’ve paid for it. These days, setting up an email account to be @yourdomain.com only takes a few clicks. Your website host should either be able to set this up for you, or at least flick you some instructions to lead you on your merry way.

What’s Your Email Username?

A username provides customers context. Sure, if you’ve got a small business, I recommend simply having your first name, as it’s more friendly – i.e David@MySite.com. As you add other users, follow the same protocol, so that consistency can pay off.

But if you operate a larger business, or have multiple users look after the same inbox, it may be more appropriate to use a customer service identifier such as

Support@MySite.com
Sales@MySite.com
Service@MySite.com
Info@MySite.com

Just ensure the username of the email address(es) you use are relevant to your customers and reflective of the activity they operate in. Also, for sensitive topics, don’t go ahead and create an inbox named either Complaints@Mysite.com or Resolutions@MySite.com as this either gives the impression you get a lot of complaints, or confirms to customers that they actually do have a complaint.

Growing your small business,

David Moloney
SmallBusinessPlanned.com