A $120 car wash

About a month ago my family vacationed in lovely Ocean City, NJ, where we enjoyed a week of sun, fun, and a side-swiped driver side exterior mirror.  Yes, unfortunately we were one of four vehicles damaged by a young 20 year old who was, according to the police report, texting while driving and thought she hit a stop sign.  I give her credit for admitting the texting bit, however, I’m curious to know the town she grew up in where stop signs are five feet out in the street.  Driving discussions and insurance, she had none, are for another time.  This story focuses on the mirror.

After driving around town with it dangling outside my window for 3 days I finally shot over to Collisionmax on Westfield Ave in Pennsauken, NJ.  Why Collisionmax? Well my insurance agent recommended them.  I had no real allegiance to any body shop.   Our mechanic we love, but no body shop.  So I went with them. 

As I was sitting and waiting for our estimate to be completed I updated the status of my facebook page to say something like, “Waiting at Collisionmax to get my car fixed”.  Immediately I received a comment back blaspheming this company!  Seems a friend of mine had a horrible experience and wanted to pass on the warning.  I decided to take my chances.  Not that I didn’t trust my friend, but her experience was a few years ago, and our repair was pretty minor so I figured give them a shot.

Today as I drove out of Collisionmax I was one darn satisfied customer.  Here I am talking about it!  Yes my mirror was fixed and that is all nice, but my car was IMMACULATE!  I mean spotless on the out and in!  I was almost embarrassed of how I dropped it off.  As a mother of a 16 month old I can only guess something close to the following was hidden in that car:

3 water bottle partially drank, 1 sippy cup, package of 24 sized 4 diapers, 2 packages of wipes, 5 books, 3 rattles, 1 McDonald’s Happy Meal toy, 2 travel mugs, and an untold number of uneaten Cheerios, Honeycomb, and Applejacks cereal.

And man – it was all GONE!  Except of course for the sippy cup and travel mugs – but those were cleaned out! Hot Dog!  I was smiling ear to ear and honestly, had almost completely forgot that this moment of joy is thanks to a texting teenager.  One that had no insurance no less.  But hey, I shrugged that off and thought to myself, this is the best darn $120 car wash I’ve ever had!  And I can’t wait to post in on my blog.

 

 

 

Google search result opportunity

If you know your customers and target them appropriately, Google search can me incredibly powerful.  Many businesses feel they can’t compete in search results, but I recently found some great opportunities for exterminators in South Jersey.

It all started with me hacking apart a huge bush in my backyard and running into (literally) a massive hornet nest.  Thankfully I came out with only 8 or 10 stings, scary as it was, but I was now in desperate need of an exterminator.

Where did I turn first…..Google, naturally.  Now of course it would have been easy to type in “Exterminator – South Jersey” but how boring.  That would lead to the “regular” big name company results.  No fun.  So instead I tried “Wasp removal”, “Hornet removal”, and “South Jersey Exterminators”.  After ignoring the paid sites on the top and to the right, I was surprised that not one specific medium-to-small sized company appeared.

What an opportunity!  There is an exterminator out there in South Jersey with a huge chance.  I would recommend building an interactive website,  updated, relevant, and easily found.  Gold mine!  

For me, I turned to the next reliable source.  I asked my neighbor.  She said to use Steven’s Exterminating. That’s when word of mouth marketing comes in, but that’s a whole other story.

Thanks to Steve the nest is gone! I can go back to hacking away.  And another huge opportunity has been found on the Internet.

 

Another easy marketing tip

A great resource for small business marketing and PR ideas is www.cafepress.com.  This website lets you easily create merchandise for your store, event, or product for immediate purchase or to sell through a FREE online store.  

My idea for a cafepress store came from the hours I have spent over my lifetime gardening.  Specifically, dividing and moving hosta.  I can blame my mother for the addiction.  I worked alongside her at our house since I was a wee little thing moving and dividing hosta over the weekend.  Admittedly, as a teen this wasn’t the most fun activity a 13 year old could opt for on a Saturday.  However, I have not become a HUGE hosta-farian at heart and now do the same thing in my yard.

You can check out my store at www.cafepress.com/divideandgarden.

 

Enjoy

 

Easy marketing, just stop and say hi!

Yesterday I was standing outside gazing across the open lot adjacent to my home wondering how to get rid of all my crabgrass.  The lot is probably 100 x 40.  Uneven.  And about 85% crabgrass.  I mow constantly to keep it looking half-way decent, but I dream constantly of beautifully manicured, think, and luscious greenery.

I have an easy time visualizing my future barefoot heaven.  What I have no interest in doing is figuring out how to get there.  So many variables.  So many choices.  Ahhhhh.  (I’m too cheap to hire someone by the way)

As I was beginning to develop hives from the anxiety, a friend of a friend who owns a Lawn service pulled up in his truck and jumped out to say hi. No joke!

He was passing by and saw me.  Just thought to pull in.  He answered all my questions.  Gave me tips and ideas.  And didn’t try to push his services on me.  Just was a resource.

This is how I view my client’s websites.  People don’t want a pitch, they want information.  I believe everyone in America is sick of Madison Ave marketing.  American’s want people to just be people.  Just stop by and say hi.

Dave Rehill of Frick and Frack Landscaping did.  Call him at 856-577-1938 if you need any yard “stuff”. 

 

 

 

Making “good PR” on a promise.

Back in October 2007 my husband and I were sitting in our living room, relaxing, and probably watching an episode of NCIS when there was a knock on our door.  In walked Mr. Anthony Perno, campaigning for Councilman in our 3,500 person town.  He was going door to door introducing himself and asking for suggestions.  On the top of our list was…….a speed table.  

Not lower taxes or better schools (which would be nice) but a speed table.  Why?  Because our narrow, residential street, home to numerous young children and pets, had become a drag-racing, cut-through, thoroughfare.  Mr. Perno promised if he was elected to work as a team player with borough Council, Joe Brickley – engineer, and residents to do his best to make this happen.

Well, after about 20 months, municipal meetings, and community organization that would make Obama proud, I returned home from a 4th of July vacation to see this…

Thanks Mr. Perno, the entire Merchantville, NJ borough Council, and Mayor Frank North for supporting our community.  

In only a short time, traffic has dwindled!  While I do not wish damage to anyone’s vehicle, and the speed table is clearly marked,  I admit a sick compulsion to watch and listen for the scraping metal sounds of mufflers and bumpers of individuals who do not follow the posted speed limit.  

And as the title of this post proclaims, when you make a promise and come through with it, there is lots of “good PR” to go around.

Thanks again everyone!

 

 

 

 

Technorati registration

Just getting up to date on Technorati…

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Word of mouth in Ocean City, NJ

Good word of mouth:

First, lifeguards running practice exercises bright and early.  I mean these kids, and I say kids meaning 17/18/19 year olds, could just set up, sit down, and space out.  GREAT stuff to see them practicing rescue moves at 9:30am while the beach is empty.  Makes me want to come back to Ocean City. 

Secondly, we arrived in our rental unit and there were dust bunnies the size of…well, bunnies, on the ceiling fans.  Called up my agent and they were cleaned and spruced up in 1 hour. Makes me want to use that agent again.

Not so good word of mouth:

Went shopping along Ashbury Ave.  Stopped into a “Going out of Business” sale at a jeweler.  Looked at a $500 Citizen watch.  Sales person didn’t say hello.  Didn’t look me in the eye.  Didn’t ask what I was looking for. When I asked if that was the best price she could do, the reply was “I’ve sold 5 already at this price so….yes”.  Not to hard to realize why they are “Going out of Business”.

 

 

 

Great service = Great PR

Recently I had the pleasure of coordinating a multi-family vacation for 13 people.  Yes, fun stuff.  Schedules, travel arrangements, plans, logistics….lots to consider.   Thankfully we knew our destination – Ocean City, NJ.

Originally our group planned on renting rooms at a hotel there.  It was going to be a short trip – 2 nights only, so it made sense.  Well – 2 nights turned into 3, then 4.  I mean who doesn’t want to be in Ocean City, NJ.

At that point, the hotel was getting a bit expensive. So I turned to Ellen Sneft at Berger Realty to try to find us a house and and she was awesome. (here’s the great service part).

Ellen asked about our needs and budget.  She quickly returned calls and answered questions.  She was a professional in finding us a house 1 week before our planned arrival!

If you plan on vacationing to the Jersey Shore anytime soon.  Pick Ocean City and Berger Realty it is worth it.

 

Don’t forget to KISS!

Meaning, Keep – It – Simple – Silly (of course you can fill in your own version of the final “S” word).

While doing research online I found the following video on YouTube. 

Simple, concise, and professional.  Short too!  3 minutes.  The narrator had a cool and original British accent that added legitimacy.  I watched.  I learned. I went back to his site to find more.  UNFORTUNATELY, what I found was this….

 

WHAT?  Why the backdrop?  Why the lame, anticipatory, and slow speech?  Wait….maybe that was a fluke.  Maybe I am too quick to judge. Let’s try another….

AHHHHH, no please, please this one had a SALES over lay spin on top of it.  One time shame on me, two times shame on you.

 

Verizon’s loss is AT&T’s gain

This past weekend I had the pleasure of taking the giant leap from Verizon to AT&T, primarily to reap the awesome power of the iPhone.  Overall it wasn’t a completely painful experience, but none the less not something I would like to do everyday.   

I had been a Verizon customer for at least 8 years, and frankly had no complaints.  My husband and I “married” our accounts in 2006 and were strumming along fine until my company launched.  Now a days marketing and PR = Internet.  So it was necessary to move up from my antenna sporting cheap-o phone to something with a few more capabilities.  With Verizon, that meant the Blackberry Storm.

Over the course of 10 days with that device I am convinced my blood pressure shot up, 13 new crows feet wrinkles appeared around my eyes, and adolescent acne returned!  Yes – horrible.  I recommend using the Blackberry Storm as a Gitmo torture device. 

Back to the Verizon kiosk I returned with materials in hand and a litany of complaints.  Honestly, they accepted my return and empathized with my frustration.  The clerk seemed almost dejected and melancholy.  Perhaps it was the view she saw over my shoulder of approximately 65 people queued up outside the Apple Store waiting for their iPhones. 

I have to admit, Verizon took losing another 2 customers on the chin and the Apple people were MORE than willing to help.