Author: Ryan Dolotallas

I read about a hotel that promises a “fun, colorful and flavorful” and magical experience.

Set to open in August, the hotel began taking reservations online in June.

It sold out in two minutes.

Introducing The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort in Palm Springs, California.

The Bell is just a temporary rebranding of the V Palm Springs Hotel. From August 8-12, the hotel will be all about Taco Bell.

A gift shop with Taco Bell apparel. A salon with Taco Bell-inspired nail art, fades and a braid bar. New menu items exclusively for hotel guests. A “happier hour” with “saucier snacks.”

Taco Bell promises the hotel will be an “extra serving of Taco Bell magic” that “is going to be hot. (Literally.)”

The hotel has 70 rooms. Rates start at $169/night. That’s 70 rooms for five nights in August (350 rooms overall) that sold out in two minutes.

Impressive.

This begs a question… What does Taco Bell sell?

If you answered, “Tacos,” you’ve missed the point.

If you answered, “Tacos and hotel rooms,” you’ve missed the point.

When announcing the hotel, Taco Bell’s Chief Global Brand Officer Marisa Thalberg said, “The Bell stands to be the biggest expression of the Taco Bell lifestyle to date.”

I like that quote because, you see, Taco Bell sells a lifestyle.

Taco Bell sells fun. Taco Bell sells colorful. Taco Bell sells happiness. Taco Bell sells saucy-ness.

Forget about the hotel for a minute and think about Taco Bell ads. Visit their website. Think about the image they promote, the customer they attract.

Sure, they’ve built their business dishing out tasty(?), Mexican-inspired fast-food.

But they’re selling a feeling. They’re selling a vibe. They’re selling “magic.” And they’re selling it well.

Think I’m crazy?

Then explain to me why 350 $169+ hotel rooms sold out in 120 seconds. It’s not because the Cheesy Gordita Crunch tastes good.

What do you sell?

Tom
MarketVolt

p.s. We help businesses figure out what they sell. Then we help them identify and connect with their target markets so people will listen to what you’re saying. If you want to discuss how to make it happen for your business, email me at tom@marketvolt.com. For no charge and no strings attached, we’ll discuss with you how you’re building email lists, generating new leads and generally finding and connecting with prospects.

p.p.s. If you like these emails, please do me this favor: Forward this to someone who might also enjoy it and encourage them to sign up for future emails on our website at MarketVolt.com.

I saw something on the TV news this morning that annoyed me.

(What else is new?)

I’m sharing this with you not to spread the annoyance, but rather to deliver a business lesson.

The news headline: The number of asylum-seekers reaching the Mexico-US border has decreased over the last few months.

The analysis: Supporters of President Trump say the decrease is due to his immigration policies. Opponents counter that the flow of migrants always slows during the summer due to the sweltering heat.

End of news story.

Ugh!

So which is it? President Trump’s policies or a predictable, weather-related decrease?

We’re all left guessing.

Reminds me of too many business meetings I’ve witnessed.

Something meaningful happens in the business — good or bad.

One person or group offers an explanation. Another person or group counters with a different explanation.

No supporting data. We’re all left guessing.

With just a little bit of digging, the media could have provided evidence to support one explanation or another.

Show me migrant flow statistics for years past (especially years prior to President Trump’s rule). Do migrant populations truly decrease in the summer months?

Interview people in Guatemala or El Salvador who have considered migrating but have not yet done so. Are they hesitating because of U.S. policy, or are they planning to go once the weather cools?

Just don’t leave me guessing.

Same goes for business.

We’re constantly explaining things in our businesses — revenue trends, the success or failure of a marketing campaign, changes in customer retention rates.

Are the explanations guesses. Or are we backing are explanations with valid data?

Tom
MarketVolt

p.s. We help businesses identify and connect with their target markets so people will listen to what you’re saying. If you want to discuss how to make it happen for your business, email me at tom@marketvolt.com. For no charge and no strings attached, we’ll discuss with you how you’re building email lists, generating new leads and generally finding and connecting with prospects.

p.p.s. If you like these emails, please do me this favor: Forward this to someone who might also enjoy it and encourage them to sign up for future emails on our website at MarketVolt.com.

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death.

So the TV talking heads spent a bunch of airtime debating whether it’s OK to enjoy the King of Pop’s music.

The debate goes like this…

On one side are those who cite allegations that Jackson molested children. You can’t separate the art from the artist, they argue. If the artist is a criminally perverted creep, you should reject his art.

On the other side are those who say the art should stand on its own. Michael Jackson created beautiful music that made/makes people happy. Sure, he might be a creep. But that doesn’t mean you should deprive yourself of his art.

Interesting debate.

For some, the quality of the product trumps all other concerns.

For others, the qualities of the creator/vendor cause people to shun an otherwise appealing product.

So it goes in mass entertainment.

So it goes in business.

You’ve created a great product or service. Better than others. Perhaps the best.

Some prospects will weigh your product against other options and choose yours…

…no matter what…

…because it’s better.

But like it or not, others will judge your product or service not just on its merits. They’ll also judge you and your people.

They’ll consider: Were they nice when I spoke to them? Did they make me feel comfortable? Do they care about me or do they take me for granted? Do they value me when I purchase, or am I just another transaction, an anonymous noone with a customer ID number? Are they likeable?

All of that stuff matters.

Not to everyone. But to enough people that it will affect your business.

Marketing is not just about attracting a prospect and closing the sale. It’s about building a community of prospects and customers who know, like and trust you.

That’s why it matters…

…What you say and how you say it when you pick up the phone…

…How you say thank you when the deal gets done…

…What you do to deliver value to prospects and customers before and after the sale…

…How you demonstrate that you care and don’t take customers for granted.

Sure, you can ignore all that stuff and just let the product or service stand on its own merits. You’ll sell some.

But those who believe you can’t separate the art from the artist (and there are plenty of those people) — They’ll turn elsewhere even if that means depriving themselves of your great offering.

Tom
MarketVolt

p.s. We help businesses identify and connect with their target markets so people will listen to what you’re saying. If you want to discuss how to make it happen for your business, email me at tom@marketvolt.com. For no charge and no strings attached, we’ll discuss with you how you’re building email lists, generating new leads and generally finding and connecting with prospects.

p.p.s. If you like these emails, please do me this favor: Forward this to someone who might also enjoy it and encourage them to sign up for future emails on our website at MarketVolt.com.

Before publishing his first best-seller, Tim Ferriss tested options.

He came up with six potential titles. Then he purchased Google Adwords ads — one version for each title — targeting search terms related to the book’s topics.

Each ad used the potential book title as the headline and used the book’s tagline for the ad’s body (same in each ad).

He spent less than $200 to discover that the ad with the headline “The 4-Hour Workweek” was generating the most clicks, by far.

So that’s what he called his book.

Published in 2007, “The 4-Hour Workweek — Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich” spent more than four years on the New York Times Bestseller List and has sold more than 2.1 million copies.

That’s pretty good for a book that cost less than $200 to name.

I love this story because it reveals several important lessons that apply to all of us in business…

Testing works.

Guessing doesn’t (unless you’re lucky, and luck runs out).

It’s often easier and less expensive to test a business idea than you might imagine.

By the way, an interviewer once asked Ferriss about the book’s title.

He replied, “I wanted to name it ‘The 3-Hour Workweek,’ but my publisher didn’t think that was realistic. So we settled on ‘The 4-Hour Workweek.’”

Ha! Ha! As if….

Tom
MarketVolt

p.s. We help businesses identify and connect with their target markets so people will listen to what you’re saying. If you want to discuss how to make it happen for your business, email me at tom@marketvolt.com. For no charge and no strings attached, we’ll discuss with you how you’re building email lists, generating new leads and generally finding and connecting with prospects.

p.p.s. If you like these emails, please do me this favor: Forward this to someone who might also enjoy it and encourage them to sign up for future emails on our website at MarketVolt.com.

A marketing novice wondered whether a direct mail ad he received from a restaurant was any good. He described the ad in an online discussion board and waited for responses.

Dozens of people replied with all sorts of marketing advice.

Lots of them said they liked the ad.

Some asked to see the advertisement so they could analyze it more carefully.

Others said there was no way to know if the ad was good without assessing “a variety of factors.”

One wise person replied, “Is the restaurant busy?”

Pretty good question. The bottom line.

Sure, some businesses do well…

…despite bad advertising.

And some businesses do poorly…

…despite good advertising.

But more often than not, good marketing leads to a better, busier business.

Tom
MarketVolt

p.s. We help businesses identify and connect with their target markets so people will listen to what you’re saying. If you want to discuss how to make it happen for your business, email me at tom@marketvolt.com. For no charge and no strings attached, we’ll discuss with you how you’re building email lists, generating new leads and generally finding and connecting with prospects.

p.p.s. If you like these emails, please do me this favor: Forward this to someone who might also enjoy it and encourage them to sign up for future emails on our website at MarketVolt.com.