Thursday, November 02, 2017

I'm not feeling great - I just want a coffee



The person behind the counter at the coffee shop asked, “How are you today?” I smiled and quietly answered, “I’m good.” I simply wanted a coffee without the song and dance. However, she was determined to convert me to feeling “great”.

I appreciated her enthusiasm but I didn’t want to play the game of pretending to “feeling great” to satisfy her. She didn’t relent. She repeated her mantra that “you should start the day by feeling great” a few times. Each time she repeated her mantra I was annoyed more.

I don’t buy coffee to be told how I should feel. Whether or not I feel great at that moment is none of your business. As your customer I appreciate that you might feel great. In fact I expect a positive response from you when I approach the counter.

She didn’t thank me for my business – which would have been welcomed.

That means that I left the counter feeling annoyed.



George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter Share/Save/Bookmark

Saturday, August 05, 2017

Smash the Competition

What can you do when your market might not appreciate the value of your competitive advantage? You might learn from this video where National Cycle destroys the competition. I lost count of how many competitive products they destroyed.

The video is attention-grabbing, convincing and memorable. Go ahead, make my day!



George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter Share/Save/Bookmark

Monday, June 05, 2017

300 Websites You Should Bookmark now

 http://smartbusinessrevolution.com/share

John Cocoran demonstrates a simple and easy way to build your online networks.

Read his blog post and check out this list of over 300 valuable websites for services, partners and marketing ideas.



George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter Share/Save/Bookmark

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

What Else Can United Airlines Break?

Remember this song from Dave Carroll after United Airlines broke his guitar? With United's latest expression of customer abuse, it's time for another song.

What might be a fitting name for this new song? 


George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter Share/Save/Bookmark

Monday, August 22, 2016

Would You Hire this Lawyer After He Lies to You?



Is this lawyer lying or innocently stretching the truth?

This ad in the Yellow Pages is titled “I Can Address All Of Your Legal Needs”.

The quotes imply that the words come directly from the lawyer. The lawyer’s name is in the ad but I’ve blocked it to protect the guilty. This appears to be a solo lawyer firm because there is no firm name – only the lawyer’s name.

The point is that this individual lawyer claims that he can address all of your legal needs. That’s simply ridiculous. No individual lawyer could possibly address ALL of the legal needs of every viewer.

A major law firm might justifiably claim that because they have hundreds of lawyers specializing in all aspects of law.

The three bullets list real estate, family law and civil litigation. Then there’s a strange stew of commercial litigation, wills, powers of attorney, corporate and commercial law…

My questions are:


  • What do you specialize in?
  • What are you really good at?
  • Who is your best prospect?
  • What problems can you fix?


The nagging question is “Why did you lie to me?” “Why did you claim that you can address ALL of my legal needs?

Would you hire a lawyer whose first message to you is a lie?

This Yellow Pages ad is as believable as the yard sale notices that claim “something for everyone”.




George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter Share/Save/Bookmark

Friday, August 19, 2016

Harvey's made a Beautiful Hamburger but they messed up their Marketing



You might remember the old advertising jingle, “Harvey’s makes a Hamburger a beautiful thing”.

It seems they’re not so good at producing beautiful or even truthful advertising.

I’ve been a fan of Harvey’s for more decades than I care to admit. So naturally I was interested in the flyer that arrived with the newspaper. When I’m riding or driving around in the summer I often look for a Harvey’s to grab a bite.

This flyer was a four-page insert. Look at the front page and notice what messages stand out the most.



The first message that might grab you is $1.99. Why? Because it is the near the top left of the page and more importantly it’s the largest font on the page. It’s also orange with a white online on black - which is attention grabbing. Nice colour scheme.

As you scan the page, the next message that might grab your attention is “2 Weeks Only!”
It’s heavy font of black on white and emphasized with an exclamation point. When you look under that heading you’ll see the time frame of June 27 – July 10, 2016.

Before you open this flyer you might be thinking “I only have two weeks to take advantage of these specials.”

The top of the second page features “Summer Drink Deals”. Under that heading, it states, “All Summer long”. But what does that mean? If you read the previous page you’ve been programed to expect only two weeks of specials.


If you examine the fine print with a magnifying glass you’ll discover that the All Summer Long” ends on Sep 11 even though you know that summer really ends on Sept 21. Apparently Harvey’s definition of summer is different than the rest of the world. That means “All summer” was a lie. Ouch!

Below the summer drink deals are eight coupons. Naturally, based on what I read on the front page, I assumed that these coupons were only valid for two weeks. However, if you are persistent enough and pull out your magnifying glass you’ll discover that these coupons expire on August 21, 2016.

I was confused at this point so I understand that you might be as well. Apparently Harvey’s didn’t consider the downside of confusing or lying to their customers.

The coupons are difficult to read because it’s tiny black font on orange background. There are more difficult combinations but this is onerous enough to discourage people to read it.

Under the tiny print about expiry date was even smaller print which I was unable to read with my magnifier.  Who knows what it said.


Top of the third page features “Three Cheese & Bacon”. The middle of the ad states “Limited Time Only” but it didn’t define the time frame. You might wonder “When is this available and when will you tell me?”

Bottom of this page features another eight coupons. At least these are on a white background which is much easier to read then on an orange background. But the font is tiny again. The expiry is Aug 21, 2016 and under that is the nano-font that wasn’t meant to be read by regular people. Where is Ant Man when you need him?

The back page was a repeat of the Summer Drinks Deal – claiming to be all summer long – but not really all summer long because it ends on Sept 11. Do the people at Harvey’s know when summer starts and ends? Do they know that most people know when summer ends? Why are they lying?



Perhaps we can look forward to their pseudo “All Fall” “All Winter” and “All Spring” promotions.

Well Harvey's, good thing I still like the hamburger. But, your marketing stinks. It's annoying, deceptive and confusing.

As Dr Phil might say, "How's that working for you?"




George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter Share/Save/Bookmark