1. Relevant awareness of non-profitThe target must know all relevant information about the non-profit. Here are some key issues to consider as the non-profit builds awareness:The information should come to target first hand and not filter through second or third hand audience. That builds a connection.The communication should be on-going and not one time.The communication should start and precede any request for funds. Those who are made to feel like "insiders" will contribute more.RECOMMENDATION:EVALUATE CURRENT AWARENESS OF THE NON-PROFIT  2. Personal/social connectivityIt is very important that each target audience has an answer to the question: "Why is the non-profit important to me and why do I need to step up for the building of the non-profit". Many times when a target audience develops a "soft connection" with a cause they feel the following:There are "many others" who will donate.The non-profit will happen with or without my support.After they take my money, I will not be in the loop any more.RECOMMENDATION: BRAINSTORM ON HOW TO BUILD THE CONNECTION 3. Replace current recipient of $/smaller contribution amountIt is a common fact that when a new cause is considered by a target, he/she usually starts by thinking "what can I do less, in order to accommodate this cause?" Hence it is very important to break down the contribution element into smaller chunks. E.g. for less than $14 a day, for only one year, you can make a lifetime contribution to the community by being a donor for this non-profit. Facts like this, instead of a "high threshold of $5,000" will make the target audience think and see what he/she can do to include this cause in his/her choice set.RECOMMENDATION: REPOSITION SOME OF THE CONTRIBUTION AS PER DAY OR PER MONTH NUMBERS, INSTEAD OF IN ONE-TIME $. 4. Ongoing connection with the non-profitOngoing connection, both in the form of involvement and contribution keeps the "habit of participation" alive. This can be accomplished by:Making contributions in installmentsSending periodic update of progress to the target (and treating him/her as a stakeholder in the non-profit)Creating a website where the target can check progress anytime he/she wantsRECOMMENDATION: WEBSITE WITH REGULAR UPDATEMONTHLY REPORTING ON LOCAL WEBSITES 5. Issue/cause reaching out on a personal level (not mass communication)The non-profit and its office-bearers reaching out personally offer the best chance for contribution. Mass-emails hardly work, unless forwarded by a neutral peer.RECOMMENDATION: CONTINUE TO REACH COMMUNITY LEADERS ONE AT A TIMEPENETRATE COMMUNITY LEADERS AND LOCAL BUSINESSES 6. Fundraising is full time jobBased on past experience, full time fundraisers are significantly more effective than part-time fundraisers (especially those who are not into sales). RECOMMENDATION: HIRE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO MAKE CALLSBASE SALARY PLUS BONUS 7. The target receives a gift that he/she can display to mark the beginning of a commitmentThis initiates a commitment (similar to an engagement ring) that:Makes the target proud of his/her actionActs as a reminder to his/her commitment Helps him share his/her good deed with others in the communityRECOMMENDATION: WHAT CAN WE GIVE TO DIFFERENT LEVELS OF DONORS?WEBSITE RECOGNITION MAGNETS (WITH NON-PROFIT NAME) ...

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In 1988, when I got my first job offer to work for Pizza Hut corporate in Louisville, I was introduced to the complexities of the pizza wars.  It is amazing to see that the members of the Pizza Hut team of 1988 are now at CMO level positions in at least seven major restaurant chains.  Outside marketing, the influence of COO Pat Williamson left a mark in my mind as a visionary who put guest experience first. Pizza Hut, as part of the YUM family, always took pride in being most marketing intelligent. If any brand could out market its competition, Pizza Hut could.One of my corporate career's last stops was at Papa John's in Louisville, KY where I got to work Papa John's founder of John Schnatter. John's strength is his simplicity and focus on delivering an uncompromised product to customers.  When the guy whose name is on the box is the best pizza maker in the company and is focused on nothing but quality, the brand gets "better ingredients better pizza" rooted in its trenches.Since starting consulting, I've had the opportunity work with Domino's to assist them with their database and online strategy.  Domino's to me is completely different than the other two pizza brands, as they are focused on delivery first.  In simple layman's terms, if it cannot be delivered efficiently, Domino's doesn't touch it.  No wonder they came up with hot delivery bags and the 30 minute guarantee (which is even used outside the U.S. by Domino's and their key competition).I've also had the chance to learn from Sarah Grover of California Pizza Kitchen at MEG meetings. Sarah brings an added dimension to the industry as she, along with being a Marketing and Operations visionary, also focuses on harnessing operations to best offer an upscale pizza experience. In addition to these big name pizza brands I have consulted with smaller regional pizza chains around the country. With all this diversity of talent, expertise and vision, I expected the pizza category to be quite differentiated when I looked at 2009 Leaky bucket research results.  I was surprised to find out that the pizza category is becoming more undifferentiated.  The big three in the pizza category, led by Pizza Hut, drives the price points for most brands, hence price/value is at par for all brands, which suggests that in the mind of the consumer, no "one" brand has a better price/value proposition than the others. Even though half the category is composed of regional and local players, in the broadest sense, the category seems to be following the big three. Collectively, food and menu are the biggest drivers of non-positive future visit intent. (To review the leaky Bucket information visit http://www.zenmango.com/leakybucket.html.)As I sit back, I think that if I were king of the pizza category for a moment, this is the direction I would move category to:Pizza Hut:  Continue to focus on great pizza variety at a good value.  If a book is ever written on alternate forms of pizza, Pizza Hut would be in best position to write that.  Bring more new news to the category, Pizza Hut. Papa John's:  Go back to the "Better ingredients and better pizza" (BIBP) strategy. I recognize that the BIBP strategy may be a decade old, and the rest of your competitive brands have reduced the gap on better ingredients, but I feel there are considerable rewards to be reaped by going back to BIBP.  Do what you do best, raise the bar Papa John's.  John, if you are listening, America needs to you make our pizzas better.  We are waiting as "Better" is never a destination, it is an ongoing journey. Domino's: Stop trying to imitate Pizza Hut and offer new products that do not work.  What was that pizza-pasta combo thing?  Aside from being a great source for a carb-overload, that is not what we need you for.  Go back to being the leader in delivery.  Focus on delivery and be America's Pizza Delivery Company by offering great and speedy value consistently, every time. Regional chains:  Try to free yourself from the shadow of the big three. Get to know your local tastes. Own regional events. Local pizza places: Offer an experience that the big three cannot offer. Get personal and serve one customer at a time.  Be the "Cheers" of the neighborhood, where you know the name of every customer....

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What is the one thing a frequent traveler wants from a hotel during a business trip?Of course a clean hotel, a nice room, a great flat-screen TV, a shower with amazing water pressure and other things. But all this is of no avail if one cannot have a good night's sleep. Some of us like me are fortunate that we can fall asleep anywhere anytime. Unfortunately, that is not the case for most frequent travelers.Research International conducted an online study among 1,000 overnight and international business travelers who took at least 2 trips in the past year. 25 percent of travelers said they have fallen asleep in a meeting due to sleep deprivation, 70 percent felt less productive after traveling, and close to 20 percent had a presentation go badly or lost business as a result of poor sleep due to traveling.So what can a hotel do? How far should they go?In a recent trip to the DC area, I stayed at the Lorien Hotel and Spa in Alexandria, VA. As my teen marketing team and I walked into the hotel, I realized this would be a "different experience"; but was not sure if that will be different good or different bad. As I was checking in, we saw a living area on the right with tons of books, all in white covers. More strange stuff I guess.The rooms were nice, the beds were comfortable. There was a fresh and clean aura in the room. But what I saw next completely startled me. Next to my bed, on the bedside table, was a brochure called "Sweet Dreams Made Easy". Inside the hotel had three pages of stuff, mostly free, to make sure that I had a good night's sleep. They offered pillows of every kind that ranged from snore-no-more pillows, a body pillow, a neck pillow, a bed wedge, water pillow, magnetic pillows to contour pillows. To unwind, they offered lullaby library songs, ear buds, sleep masks, bedtime stories, a soothing sound machine, diffusers or a humidifier. Of course if I was a tad hungry, they would bring milk and cookies for me for a moderate charge. And if all this fails, for $20, I could get my own teddy bear.Wow!I thought for a second and felt WOW (again). I had previously resigned to the fact that there could be no "really new" wow ideas in a hotel. Hotels to me have become transactional experience providers, but this was a case where a hotel really knew the most important thing I needed and went all out to make sure I got a good night's sleep. This is the perfect inspiration behind a WOW guest experience....

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  Many times when I write about Marperations™, Operations gets the bad guy image, something which is trying to come in with measures to be more efficient and hence makes the guest experience more blah. The following incident is slightly different as Marketing set a tone which put Operations in a no-win situation. June 16, Westminster, Colorado A few of us just came out of a presentation at the Madcap Theater. There were eleven of us. It was 8:30 p.m. We looked around and there was a plethora of choices: Rock Bottom, Tuk Tuk Thai Bistro, Jackson's All American Sports Grill, Dave & Busters, Que Bueno Mexican Grille, Anthony's Pizza & Pasta, BJ's Restaurant & Brewery, Bonefish Grill, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Hacienda Colorado. We walked into Johnny Carino's. I felt it was a great place for us to celebrate. I also felt with the state of the economy as it stands, any restaurant would welcome eleven of us on a Tuesday night with a big grin. The décor was nice. It looked clean, proper, and inviting, but it was nearly empty. There were three or four other tables occupied in this amazing restaurant. We were seated and soon were busy in talking about the war we had just won. The "lonely waitress" came in and took our beverage order. Six of us ordered the cappuccino. When the beverages came in, they were lukewarm. Some on our team felt that the temperature was unacceptable. A guy who looked like the manager came to the table. He would not believe that the cappuccino was not hot enough. He asked all of us repeatedly. In disbelief he went back and returned with a fresh set of cappuccinos. This time it was barely warm. I was too tired to fight. As the manager kept insisting that we make sure that it was right this time, the same two in the group stated "No, it is still not right." The manager was in disbelief. He was ready for war. He came back with two steaming cups of cappuccino. We were all tired of trying cappuccino at different temperatures, but the manager strongly, even aggressively insisted. Yes it was finally right. The rest of the evening the service was at that same "level". The "lonely waitress" was acting out. There were no smiles. Smiles were replaced by shrugs and eye-rolling. But we were happy to have a place to sit and eat. The food was nice, other than the fried calamari which was served "chilled". As I sat there, I was upset at the service, but I reasoned with myself. I realized that the "nearly aggressive manager" and "lonely waitress" were humans. They were tired of carrying the load alone. Marketing must have decided that even if economy is down we should keep the store open till regular hours. Closing early on weekdays may send a wrong signal to stakeholders that we are hurting. Instead let us keep doing what we are doing, but now, let us operate the store with skeletal minimal staff. When you do that you stretch operations to a point of no recovery. To me it is simply not fair. When a group of eleven show up and are having a "jolly good time" and have no urgency to place their orders, it is tough on the "lonely waitress". She must have been the lowest in seniority and hence got this shift. What does she do when six people complain that the cappuccino is too cold? I am trying to find excuses for the "nearly aggressive manager" but I cannot think of too many reasons why he got that defensive and aggressive. I guess stress shows up differently in different people. So my suggestion to marketing is "Be Real." Please do not try to be true to the brand by making promises that operations cannot keep. It is ok to say that we will close restaurants early on weekdays so that every moment we are open, we will open with passion and vigor. Now that is a promise every customer likes, and employees, too, will cheer the resulting reduction in late hours. A win-win Marperations strategy for the customer and for the brand.  ...

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Recently, my daughter was not feeling well. It was a Friday afternoon, after 4PM. Most readers who are parents will agree with me that health problems with our children mainly happen either after hours or on weekends. So like any dad would do, I took her to The Children’s Hospital. In Denver they have a new location on the Fitzsimmons campus. We parked outside and marveled at the amazing new building as we approached the entrance. When we walked in, the first thing about the state-of-the-art hospital that struck me was their amazing security system. Before I could take my daughter to the lobby and meet a nurse, I had to go to the security desk and give them my driver’s license to create an ID badge for me. In an effort to get through the process, I complied. But their ID printer was not working; my picture ID got printed as a black blob. I know I am not terribly good looking, but still, that was not right. However, I was fine living with the black blob badge for a few hours as I wanted to make sure my daughter got medical assistance sooner rather than later. But the security personnel were adamant on getting it right. What followed was a crazy episode of security people trying to act like IT professionals. Maybe they thought they could do it as their title “Security” includes the letters “IT”. It never worked, so finally I was allowed to go in with a black blob ID. When we approached the patient registration desk, the first question the lady at the desk asked was, “Can I get your proof of insurance please?” Then I had to sit there, waiting for this insurance card verifier lady to take her time making copies of my insurance card and doing all sorts of verifications. Finally she came back and wanted me to make sure all information was correct and updated. I said a patient yet determined “Yeeeeees!” After 30 minutes of security and insurance verification, I was finally in line waiting to see a nurse who would then decide if my daughter would get to see a doctor. I totally understand the operations philosophy of minimizing costs and serving a customer with the minimum salaried employee, but is that also the vision that marketing has? Is that the vision I, as a customer, had when I took my daughter to the hospital? I did not go in to get served in the most efficient way! I went in to be served with reassurance, immediately....

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