Ocean City NJ has many small restaurants and businesses all looking to attract as much business as possible during tourist season.

Starting a new business is a challenge. Starting a new food business is even more of a struggle. The competition is stiff and restaurants are always trying to find ways to stand out and get people to try their food.

One way to get people to know how good your food is, is to let them taste it for themselves. Recently I saw this play out in Ocean City NJ. This is a resort town in southern NJ. Businesses in this area work extra hard to get the summer crowd in so they can make their money for the season.

Last year a new player for tourist dollars was The Fractured Prune donut store. This is a town with several donut shops that all seem to have their die-hard fans. It can be hard people to leave their faves and try a new comer.  During the Annual Spring Block Party though the Prune made sure they were front and center and walking around with free samples. More than one person stopped in their tracks after tasting the hot and fresh donuts. They went back to the table to learn more and buy one for themselves.

As the season went on the traffic to this store grew. The initial word of mouth was a great start to get people talking. This year I went to the block party and saw another new boardwalk store called the Waffle Cabin. They were selling Belgian waffles. They were set up and making waffles but they weren’t offering samples and the few times I passed their table I didn’t see anyone stop to buy.

The cost they would have incurred to give out free product tastes and get people talking about them would have been much less than the cost of traditional advertising. They had the perfect opportunity to bring in traffic to their new location.

It will be interesting to see how the store does over the upcoming season and if they are successful enough to reopen again next year.

Do you agree that offering free samples is a good marketing strategy when you are new to the area?

You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and mc.sandymiller@gmail.com.

It’s not a guarantee that your video will go viral. Viral Video Fail (Photo credit: HubSpot)

It’s not unusual for clients to want agencies to create something that will go viral. I understand why they want this but the problem is it’s not so simple to create a campaign that is guaranteed to capture your audience so they turn it into a viral phenomenon.

A perfect example is two brands who released new campaigns. Kmart created a video titled “Ship my Pants”. Since its release on April 10^th it has hit over 13 million views on YouTube and gave Kmart nearly 40,000 likes on their Facebook page.

Kmart needless to say is thrilled that it has taken off and will try to reap the benefits. On the other hand Kentucky Fried Chicken released a campaign for their new boneless chicken where the people eating say “I ate the bones”. 

I read online where one executive felt this was going to  be the new catch phrase and compared it to the success Wendy’s had with the “Where’s the beef” years ago.  KFC felt that by the summer this was going to be quoted by everyone.

Since the commercial has aired I haven’t heard anyone quote this and the only articles I have read have been from KFC executives praising the campaign. No matter how much any company thinks they have a sure thing, there is no guarantee. Ultimately it’s up to the public to be the judge.

Have you seen the KFC and Kmart spots and which do you prefer?

You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and mc.sandymiller@gmail.com.

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Search engines are becoming the first stop candidates make when looking for jobs. Google Chrome (Photo credit: thms.nl)

The saying goes a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. That might be true of roses but it’s not the same with job titles.

These days it seems every company takes pride in titles and creating job descriptions that are specific for their organization. Internally it might be good for employees to be classified with certain titles but if no one outside of the company knows what these titles mean then it can eventually cause a problem.

For example I saw a recent post for Customer Support Analyst. The title doesn’t really tell you what the job entails or what qualifications you would need to do this job. After reading the description it was for a call center post.

Companies need to consider that many candidates are using search engines to look for jobs. They are going to Google and Bing and putting in the job keywords they want. For a person who is looking to work in a call center they might be using “call center”, “phone work” or “customer service”.

Those keywords wouldn’t necessarily get you to the job posting for Customer Support Analyst.  That can mean your jobs aren’t reaching the candidate you need.

If your jobs aren’t optimized for search engines it can cost you when it comes to recruiting because you have to make sure you are posting on more sites so positions can be found.

Do you agree that job titles need better reflect the work being done?

You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and mc.sandymiller@gmail.com.

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We are aware of the tragedies that can come when children bully each other. Schools are

Bullying (Photo credits: www.mysecuritysign.com)

starting to realize they bear a responsibility to keep all students safe from bullying in school.

But while we all feel for children who feel trapped by a bully, we sometimes forget these bullies grow up. Unfortunately some of them become our bosses or co-workers.

There are workers every day who know they will face abuse by their bosses or co-workers and just like children, many of them feel trapped by their circumstances. Being an adult the obvious solution would be to quit but with the challenging economy and personal financial pressures, many of these workers feel they have no choice but to tolerate these working conditions. /when the bully is their boss then it is even more difficult to escape or feel like you can talk to HR about the treatment they are receiving.

Smart companies are looking at this situation and realizing that letting a bully go unchecked is costing them good employees and also reducing the productivity of the employees they do keep.  Studies have shown that yelling at employees doesn’t motivate them or get more work out of them, in fact the employee produces less quality work.

Companies need to listen to employees who do come forward and they need to react in a way that the employee doesn’t feel they will be penalized in their job or lose potential raises and promotions.

Have you ever worked for a bully and how did you handle the situation?

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Colleges have done an amazing job of selling the fact that to get ahead and be prosperous you need a college education.  When the economy was booming it was easy to show how college was a benefit to their students.

Unfortunately now with the problems in the economy, many graduates are finding they are underemployed and struggling to pay back the student loans they took out to get their degree. Those that are working are either working in jobs outside their major or when they get a job in their chosen field, they are making far less then what they expected. And definitely less than it takes to pay back their loans and live on their own without parental support.

Now Sens. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) and Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) are hoping to reintroduce legislation

High school students are given a lot of college information, but much of it doesn’t tell them what to expect when they graduate. English: StFX graduates. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

that would require states to make more accessible the average salaries of colleges’ graduates.

The idea of this is for incoming students to be able to look at each school and the degrees they offer. Along with that they would see how many of the graduates are employed and what are their current salaries. With this information they can determine if the school they want is worth the investment and if they stick with their current major will they be able to support themselves when they graduate.

Incoming students are giving so many facts about the schools and why each school is the best and the value of the entire college experience, it’s easy to lose track of the goal for college, which is to learn a career that can support you when you graduate.

Privacy advocates and schools are concerned with this level of data being compiled and how it can be used. But there are many recent grads who are struggling to pay bills with degrees where they can’t get a job, that wish they had this information before they started school.

What do think; is it valuable information and worth the effort to give incoming students information on the college’s success rate for their graduates?

You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and mc.sandymiller@gmail.com.

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Bread is becoming one of the key ingredients in restaurants. Do you give it away for free,

Bread Service (Photo credit: ulterior epicure)

do you charge and should you even serve bread at all.

Restaurant owners and patrons all have different opinions on the subject. Diners are used to getting their bread and for free. But that doesn’t mean they want just anything served to them. Many for health reasons would rather have whole grains and their own personal rolls so that everyone isn’t breaking off their piece from a communal loaf at the table.

I saw this first hand recently. I attended a business seminar at an upscale restaurant in Philadelphia. They served one large communal loaf and only one person was willing to try it because it required you to break off a piece. Being that it was cold and flu season, not many felt inclined to eat bread that had been touched by others as it was passed around the table.

The owners know this is something that costs them even though diners expect it for free whether they eat it or not. Owners are trying to find ways to compensate. They are looking to upgrade the type of bread, create signature recipes and the topping in hopes diners won’t complain if they try to charge.

Others are making sure diners don’t fill up on the free bread rather than ordering salads and appetizers off the menu. Restaurants try to compensate for that by not bringing out the bread till after you order.

Profit margins can be tight in restaurants and any strategy that can help them can be the difference between staying open and closing their doors.

Do you expect free bread with your meals or would you be ok with skipping it?

You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and mc.sandymiller@gmail.com.

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Big Data!  This has to be the new buzz phrase for 2013. Seems you can’t read any article

Big Data (Photo credit: Kevin Krejci)

lately that doesn’t mention the importance of considering big data.

It doesn’t even matter what you do, whether you are in marketing, HR or pretty much any other department big data is something to think about. The problem is a lot of people don’t really grasp what big data is.

Big data is really exactly what it says. It’s a big pile of data that would be impossible to sort through by a person. Many departments have facts, figures and bits of information that could be useful but you can’t manage or sort that much information.

The idea is to have a program to manage the data so you can put in search terms for what you need and it will go through all the information and find the connections and information for you. Some examples would be Amazon.com. How many times do you go to Amazon and there are suggestions of things you might enjoy.

That is based on a program evaluating what you buy, any other personal information they have and what others with similar tastes and backgrounds bought and making suggestions to you. Finding and making these connections would be impossible for one person to do let alone doing it in seconds.

Another business area with plenty of data is HR. Most organizations have thousands of resumes on hand and get hundreds more every time they post a job. Being able to sort this information to find the candidates with the skill set needed without a recruiter pouring over resumes helps you staff quicker and get better candidates.

Big data is really an easy concept, the challenge is to find the best programs for your organization to help translate the information you have into something valuable for your business.

You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and mc.sandymiller@gmail.com.

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Choosing packaging that lets consumers use all of the product should be the goal. English: Photo by R L Sheehan of commercially available packages. For Wikipedia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Did you ever buy a product and the way it’s packaged you know there is still more in the container even though you can’t get to it?

Bottles containing food, cleaning products, cosmetics are just some of the containers that frustrate consumers.  The design lets you see there is more inside but it’s almost impossible to get it all out.

I’d say “almost” because many are finding ways to pry open these bottles, jars and boxes to make sure they get their monies worth.  For some it’s the feeling they paid for it and they want all that they paid for. Others just feel it’s wasteful to throw something out when they know there is still something inside and all they have to do is find out how to get inside.

Packaging is a big part of marketing. Sometimes it’s about designing a package to protect the product during shipping or storage. Other times it’s to get shoppers attention in stores when you can have a lot of competing products. The size, color and odd shapes are used hoping that consumers will notice.

But once the consumer gets it home and sees there is more packaging than actual product or feels they are throwing out more then they got to use because of not being able to get to the bottom of the bottle or tube, then the manufacturers need to rethink their strategy.

What products do you buy that drive you crazy trying to make sure you use it all?

You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter or mc.sandymiller@gmail.com

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Papa John’s brand is hurt when consumers feel they don’t care about employees healthcare. (Photo credit: jumbledpile)

It can take years to build your brand. The idea is to create trust with your consumers and build a long standing relationship.

The problem can be that businesses, especially those that have good brands, think that because they have one then the work is done. They forget this is an ongoing process and the years you put into building consumer loyalty can be gone in the blink of an eye.

The recent discussions regarding healthcare for employees is impacting a few different companies. Anti-Obamacare businessman and Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter has been very vocal that he doesn’t like being forced to offer healthcare to employees and that to do so would require him to raise prices and cut employee hours.

Another businessman who agrees with Papa John’s CEO is Zane Tankel, the CEO of Applebee’s franchisee Apple-Metro. Tankel made similar comments that Obamacare was going to force him to cut back on hiring and look at cutting employee hours.

Of course they aren’t the only business people who feel this way but their vocal comments have caused their businesses to suffer. Both have had their comments repeated in other articles and on TV shows discussing the issue.

The perception is that these businesses don’t care about employees. The customers who frequent these businesses have other options on where to get pizza or where to go for a casual dinner.

It would be dangerous for these companies to feel they haven’t heard that much backlash from their customers. But not everyone is going to send you a letter or leave a post on your Facebook page. Instead they will learn about your comments and let you know by taking their dollars elsewhere.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and these business owners have a right to feel this way. But by saying things before you consider the consequences they are risking their company brand.

Your brand is one of the most valuable assets a company owns. Once you lose the trust and support of your consumers the cost to get it back, if you can, could be much more than the costs you would incur with paying for healthcare.

You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and mc.sandymiller@gmail.com

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We all know Santa has a bit of a weight problem.  This is a challenge when marketers want

Over the years Santa has gotten much slimmer than he used to be. Santa Claus (Photo credit: Christopher S. Penn)

to use Santa in their advertising but at the same time be conscious of the culture telling people being overweight isn’t a good thing.

You might not believe this but Santa has actually lost quite a bit of weight over the past 20 years.  The reason I know this is that when my children were little they loved to watch the holiday TV shows over and over. Back then the easiest way to do this was to tape them on the VCR and then they could watch whenever they wanted.

As the kids got older we transferred the VCR tapes onto DVD’s and it’s a tradition to watch those DVD’s instead of when the shows actually air because it fits in with our busy schedules and because the kids love seeing the old commercials for toys and TV shows.

After watching the shows this season I noticed that Santa has gotten much more fit. While he isn’t slim he is much thinner than he was shown in the past. In fact he isn’t the only one who has lost weight. The Pop N Fresh dough boy has dropped some weight as well.

Looking back at these shows you can see how much has changed in 20 years. The clothes, hair styles and even Santa reflects the changing culture we all live in.

Are there any other icons you can think of that have had make-overs to keep them current?

You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and mc.sandymiller@gmail.com

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