A Deer in the Headlights

If you haven't deduced by now from previous posts, I am a full-fledged, card-carrying podcast junkie. They're a great way for me to pass time and exercise my mind on my hour-each-way, six-days-a-week commute from my home in the southern tier of New York to my business in Ithaca, in the finger lakes region.

I stayed in Ithaca late on Monday night, honored to be a guest of the City of Ithaca at the Downtown Ithaca Alliance Annual Dinner. They seated me at Table One along with the presenters and City staff, and I enjoyed the evening watching a dear retiring friend and colleague of mine receiving a special recognition award. We had a blizzard on the way and winter storm warnings coming from every direction, so I was eager to get on the road after the event ended, nevertheless feeling great about the evening, the new contacts I made, the bonds I strengthened, and the potential for the future; I was feeling pretty invincible.

It hadn't started snowing yet, so I was driving at my normal pace—admittedly too fast—along the long, hilly stretch of two-lane roads that I know oh so well … over mountains, alongside streams, and through the breathtaking upstate New York landscape and once-beautiful little towns that pepper its valleys. About halfway through the drive, my podcast ended. For the life of me, I can't figure out why my app sometimes will play another podcast in succession and other times won't. I also can't figure out how to take the episode lineup off shuffle mode and put it on oldest-first mode. But I digress…

The podcast ended and I opened my phone to queue up another one. As I was scrolling through the list, trying to decide if I wanted to listen to another episode of The Bowery Boys or Stuff You Should Know, the podcast app suddenly closed without my prompting. Overreacting, I let out a calm expletive, rolled my eyes, and glanced up at the road … instantly slamming on my breaks and letting out a number of other not-so-calm expletives. A deer was right in front of me, bounding across the road inches from my front bumper!

It was a narrow miss—entirely too narrow, and nothing short of a miracle. If my podcast app hadn't shut down as it did, causing me to look up, I'd likely be in pretty bad shape right now. It takes my breath away even now as I think about it, five days later.

There are times when you coast along, day after day, mile after mile, along the same road, doing the same thing, numb, dumb, and in a blinding routine. There are times when we feel great, or even invincible. And then moments happen—sharp, sudden moments that wake you up and make you realize that you're incredibly mortal, part of something much greater, and by no means alone. There are moments when you see clear, unmistakable intervention on your behalf … and a necessary wake-up call.

#DistractedDrivingIsSerious #DontTextandDrive #KeepYourEyesUp #AskUncleMarty

We Got Social in New York

What a weekend!

My coaching partner Fahim Mojawalla and I had the honor and privilege of attending another PostalMate regional training weekend, this time in a little place near and dear to both of us: New York City. PC Synergy, the makers of PostalMate, a leading software in the mail and business center industry, asked the Association of Mail & Business Center (AMBC) to send representatives to their events again this year … and when we say it was an "honor and a privilege" to attend, we really do mean it!

The PostalMate team is a delightful lot. Their three main amigos, Rhonda, Karen, and Henry, are a joy to be around, engage their audience like few others are able to, and their combined knowledge and experience are hard to top; they make software training fun! We were glad to join other vendor representatives who also presented, including iPostal1, Pacific Office, Anytime Mailbox, FotoZoomer, Supply Side, and RSA, who lead their RS BootCamp new owners training session on Saturday. It's a tremendous group--each one bringing something unique and game-changing--and indeed we love being a part of it.

As a non-profit, member-owned industry advocacy, certification, and training organization, my fellow AMBC Board of Directors members and I love attending training events, industry summits, conventions, expos, and forums across the country. We go as volunteers and fellow store owners to share what AMBC has done for us personally and for the industry as a whole, to teach, to inspire, to raise the bar, and most of all to talk face-to-face with other store owners … sharing, learning, and growing together.

This weekend, in addition to wearing our AMBC hats and talking with our friends and peers about AMBC's programs, news, and focus, Fahim and I were also asked to wear our business coach hats and teach a marketing and social media session. The PC Synergy team has been involved in plenty of #FahimFix social media seminars and Marketing with Marty™ marketing and image seminars in the past, and this weekend gave us the opportunity to collaborate, blend our cohesive messages, and co-teach brand new #FahimFix and Marketing with Marty™ creation: Get Social!

Get Social! takes a new approach to how we think about social media. As Fahim often says and I often quote, "It's social media, people, not solicitation media!" Our aim through this class is to encourage businesses to take a community-minded approach through modern platforms with the goal to create a network of loyal advocates and friends of your business. And this can and will happen simply because you are involved in and a voice for your neighborhood, not because you're trying to sell something.

We were thrilled to debut Get Social! this weekend, and look forward to sharing it and a number of our other classes with similar groups and upcoming industry events. In fact, AMBC's Executive Director Sarah Rohde, Fahim, and/or myself—along with our selfie sticks—are slated to be at five more PostalMate regional training weekends and four ShipRite regional training weekends this year, in addition to AMBC's own event near Niagara Falls in October. Look for one or more of us popping up in cities like Charlotte, Las Vegas, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Orlando, Utica, Biloxi, Grand Island, and San Diego soon!

#PostalMate17 #NYC #AMBC4ME #MembersHelpingMembers #FahimFix #AskUncleMarty #EmbracetheSelfieEmbracetheCommunity

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For more photos from the event, please visit facebook.com/ambctoday.

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Edited version published on the AMBC blog on March 7, 2017.

Get Social!

Prepare yourselves.

AMBC's dynamic duo, Fahim and Uncle Marty, are teaming up and teeming with excitement to present our brand new class, Get Social!, at the PostalMate Regional Training Weekend this Sunday in New York. Our new seminar takes the concept of how we behave in social settings, among peers, and in our communities and applies it to social media strategies.

There's nothing quite like getting together in a room with other small business owners to share ideas, information, and inspiration. But what is it we're actually doing when we're together? Sure, we're training. Sure, we're learning new techniques. And absolutely, we're discovering a myriad of new features in our software. But we're also building a community. We're discovering people in very similar situations to our own and creating bonds with them that will last a lifetime. We're making friends, sharing laughs, and bringing why we do what we do back into focus; we're sharpening our intentions.

This societal concept is exactly what we'll communicate through Get Social! We want to guide our peers away from using social media platforms—those amazing, revolutionary, and free tools at our fingertips—to blatantly advertise and instead encourage their use for building a community and creating a genuine following of loyal advocates—not just customers, but dedicated clients and friends of your business.

Though Fahim and I have collaborated on projects more times than we can count and work closely together as members of the AMBC Board of Directors, this will mark the first time a #FahimFix social media seminar and a Marketing with Marty™ marketing and image seminar officially team up to co-present a class. And we're pumped!

We must thank PC Synergy and the PostalMate team in advance for inviting us to their regional events. We are honored to be able to share, thrilled to participate, and very grateful to glean from other presenters and attendees.

If you're unable to attend this weekend's event, don't fret. We and the rest of the AMBC Board have a habit of popping up at events here, there, and everywhere, always ready to share fresh, timely content. So stay tuned!

#AMBC4ME #PostalMate #FahimFix #AskUncleMarty #DynamicDuo #NewYorkNewYork

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Also published on the AMBC blog on February 28, 2017.

Jiggery-Pokery

My brother Allen and I were listening to a Ted Talk podcast yesterday. In it, Jonathan Rossiter, a charming roboticist, was talking about creating new kinds of robots. As he was describing biodegradable robots and detailing how to make basic components at home, he said in his delightful British accent, "If you take some jelly and some salts, and do a bit of jiggery-pokery, you can make an artificial muscle."

In what must have seemed like choreographed synchrony, Allen and I both gasped, looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

"Jiggery-pokery?" What was this delicious new phrase? And why had we never heard it before!? We were instantly obsessed.

We finished the Ted Talk, all the while laughing and completely amused by our new favorite verbalism. Both of us, I'm sure, were trying to figure out in our own heads how we could casually interject "jiggery-pokery" into a sentence as soon as possible … because that's how brains work in our family.

The next podcast in queue was a Grammar Girl episode on double dactyl poetry. (And let me quickly interject how much I love Grammar Girl. She's pretty much my hero. I never miss a lesson; I'm enlightened each and every engaging episode.)

Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl herself, in honor of National Grammar Day, was giving us a lesson on dactyls—three syllable words or phrases where the first syllable is stressed and followed by two unstressed syllables, like "octopus" or "applesauce." Then we learned about double dactlys—a distinct form of poetry in which the title is always a two-dactyl proper noun, like "Grammar Girl Fogarty" or "Jonathan Rossiter."

We learned that often the first line of a double dactyl poem is a silly or nonsensical phrase, like "Hibbely dibbely" or "Capital underpants." Then Mignon told us where to find the rest of the requirements for a proper double dactyl: in the introduction to the book Jiggery-Pokery: A Compendium of Double Dactyls.

What!? There's a book titled Jiggery-Pokery!? Like, this is a real thing and not just an amusing phrase perfectly punctuated by British roboticists when they're talking about putting salt on household jelly to create homemade robot components? The revelatory moment for us two word nerds was too blissful to describe.

So as a heads up, you'll be seeing and hearing much more jiggery-pokery from my brother and me going forward. Because, after all, phrases like "jiggery-pokery" are what make the English language okery dokery.

#JiggeryPokery #GrammarGirl #MignonFogarty #TedTalks #JonathanRossiter #AskUncleMarty

Show You Care

Have you told your customers lately that you love them? Have you told them lately that you care?

Now you can grab each one by the hand, look them in the eye, and say, "I love you, customer." But you're probably going to either get slapped or put on some community watch list. So rather than saying it, show it.

Show you care by going above and beyond. Hold the door, put their packages safely behind the counter so they can shop, and offer them a bottle of water if they're all hot and bothered.

Show you care by remembering as many people as you can … by name. Don't repeat their name over and over like you're trying to sell them a used car, but greet them by it and use it once more when you thank them for their business and invite them to "come back soon." (And you're all doing this as a farewell, right? We've talked about this before. Consciously work on replacing "Have a nice day" with "Come back soon" and the results will surely delight you!)

Show you care by writing a handwritten thank-you-for-trusting-us note every time someone puts their faith in your business for something precious and special.

Show you care by putting just as much importance on welcoming customers' children and pets as you do on welcoming the customers themselves.

Show you care by giving your guests a little piece of candy. This time of year, I love to give out little mini boxes of conversation hearts to my favorite clients, and to some random ones just because. And not just because I'm trying to charm my way into their wallets, but because it's genuinely a good feeling to see someone's face light up.

Show you care by making sure every customer that walks through your doors leaves no longer as just a customer, but as a client--thrilled with the service they just received and cordially invited to come back soon.

Show you care by spreading love, speaking kindly, and creating joy.

Happy Valentine's Day. <3

XO, 
Marty

#HappyValentinesDay #ShowYouCare #RelationshipMarketing #AMBC4ME #AskUncleMarty #InspiredByRodStewartLyrics

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Edited version published on the AMBC blog on February 14, 2017.

Would you like SEO with that savings?

I was at Jo-Ann this past weekend. As I was checking out with my three and a half yards of purple and grey upholstery fabric, Lexi the clerk asked if I had any coupons with me.

How could I forget? Like any good red-blooded American that comes from a family of sewers (as in people who sew), I'm on the Jo-Ann mailing list at both my office and home and usually have coupons coming out my ears! In case you're not familiar, Jo-Ann is the undisputed coupon potentate of modern American retail. They send out weekly flyers covered in coupons, many for 50% off or more, and they send a daily coupon-heavy email to their massive email list.

But alas, I didn't have any coupons with me. I had left them at home, along with my wits that would have told me to call up that morning's Jo-Ann e-blast and corresponding coupon. So without hesitation Lexi said, "Just open up a browser on your phone and google Jo-Ann coupons." So I did and it brought me to the Jo-Ann home page, featured on which a big, bold 50% off coupon beamed like a beacon of savings. She scanned the barcode on my screen and I saved $12.50 … just like that.

Though truly grateful for the discount, I thought to myself as I walked back to my car why Jo-Ann would encourage their staff to be so liberal with their coupons, especially as a sale is being finalized with a customer who clearly was happy and ready to pay full price. (Well, to be fair, mine was a red tag fabric so it was already on sale. But still…) And then I thought about what Lexi did--so brilliantly sly, masking her true bottom-line boosting intentions in a façade of savings and sweetness: She boosted joann.com's SEO (search engine optimization) by having me specifically google them from my unique device and then click through to their website (which, if you visit you'll notice the pop-up that must be addressed before entering that solicits the visitor for their email address to join Jo-Ann's amazing email list); she got me to realize--or remember--the wealth of information about her business available literally at my fingertips; she ensured a happy transaction by giving me an unexpected discount, therefore creating a loyal customer for life because I left with a very, very good feeling about the transaction. I left as their advocate.

I don't know any business that rocks the coupon game like Jo-Ann. The way they turn the simple, traditional marketing technique of couponing into a customer experience-focused SEO stimulus scheme is fascinating. It's so brilliant, it must be diabolical!

Think about it…

#SEO #Coupons #Marketing #JoAnn #AskUncleMarty #SoBrilliantItMustBeDiabolical

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Also published on the AMBC blog on January 24, 2017.

A Simply Perfect Piece of Marketing Magic

I was flipping through an issue of Architectural Digest last night and came across this stunning ad for JW Marriott--a simply perfect piece of marketing magic.

The intention of this delightful spread is to communicate something exceptional to look for on your next stay at a JW, confident that the sophisticated Architectural Digest-reading customer will indeed be staying at a JW again sometime soon. In doing this, JW Marriott is keeping their brand top-of-mind. And that's all they need to do.

JW Marriott's reputation has already been established, and everyone knows what the JW brand stands for. So they don't need to explain that in an ad. But they do need to show why they should be the hotel of choice; they need to show what makes them different, interesting, … better.

Sometimes our most effective advertisements don't blatantly advertise what we're trying to sell. Of course, JW Marriott put this ad out to book more reservations. But they don't outright solicit bookings. They're not advertising a deal, a special, or a gimmick. Rather, they're simply appealing to the target reader--in this case, design aficionados--with a sleek, clean layout. Featuring the ad in a publication full of color, they've chosen a black and white picture highlighting beautiful architectural columns to grab the reader's eye paired with spot-on soft pink and elegant, clean text to keep the reader engaged until the simple message is received. It's exquisite.

Ads are not the place to tell your customers every little detail about every little service that you provide. And unless you're selling medication and legally required to do so, ads generally are not the place for long disclaimers. Ads are simply a method to grab someone's attention and give them a little tease as to why they should do business with you instead of someone else. Ads keep your business top-of-mind.

Kudos, JW Marriott. This ad is a winner!

#JWMarriott #ArchitecturalDigest #AMBC4ME #AskUncleMarty

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Also published on the AMBC blog on January 11, 2017.