Time for Some Year-End Decluttering?

A cluttered desk is said to be the sign of a cluttered mind. (I've also heard that a clean desk is the sign of a cluttered drawer, but that's another story.) In any case, clutter can lead to confusion, and confusion can lead to poor results. So like that desktop (or desk drawer), an occasional cleaning may be needed to clarify your marketing.

With the new year just around the corner, this seems as good a time as any to get started.

Declutter your message. Are you sending a clear, consistent message with all of your marketing? You should. People will remember you more readily if you keep your message consistent and clean. "You're in good hands." "A diamond is forever." "The breakfast of champions." "Is it live, or is it Memorex?" I could go on, but you get the point. A consistent, unified message helps to make your marketing more memorable and effective.

Declutter your design. Ever visited a website, seen a billboard, watched a commercial, or read a print piece that left you overwhelmed? Perhaps maybe even your own? One of Steve Jobs' proudest legacies at Apple was simplicity (and elegance) of design. It carried through (and still does) not only in the products Apple makes but also in its packaging, its website, its print ads, its stores, and all of the various other marketing the company does. Simple, clean, elegant design provides visual clarity and eliminates the unnecessary clutter, confusion, and noise.

Declutter your approach. Are you a dabbler? A jack-of-all-trades-but-master-of-none? That may serve you well in life, but it's no way to handle your marketing. That's not to say you shouldn't market in multiple media (you should), but you need to start with a plan that spells out the reasons and goals for each medium you enter. Once that's established, you can then work your plan, knowing that each marketing effort you start is part of a grander vision with clear expectations and tangible goals.

Schizophrenic, hit-and-miss marketing efforts, taken just for the sake of "doing something" or following the latest trend, will drain your budget and leave you with just as schizophrenic results. On the other hand, clear, consistent, clutter-free marketing will (over time) produce more consistent and satisfying results. And isn't that the goal of marketing?

So, what are some other ways you can think of to declutter your marketing? Feel free to share them in the comments below.

Marketing Takes a Holiday

If you're planning a winter getaway or are already thinking about a summer retreat (and really, who among us isn't thinking about summer already?), here are a few ideas to help you take your marketing with you on the road....

• Hold a sale. We've all seen ads with the idea of "the boss is away, so we're having a sale" or something to that effect. Have fun with it, and make it memorable.


• Send postcards. Bring the names and addresses of your top customers with you, and send them postcards from on the road. Or send postcards back to the office, and have your employees post them in a common area where everyone (customers included) can see them.


• Blog about it. Along those same lines, post regular updates to the company (and/or your personal) blog, with lots of photos and details about the things you're doing on your trip.


• Encourage involvement. Ask your customers to send you updates when they go on vacation, then post them to a display at work or as guest posts on your blog.


• Have some fun. Bring along an item related to your company, such as a shopping bag or mug with your logo on it, or a fun object like a garden gnome or stuffed animal wearing a company shirt. Then take pictures of the object sitting in front of popular tourist attractions.


• Make a promotion/game out of it by encouraging your customers to do the same thing on their trips or by having people guess where these photos of your "mascot" were taken. If you have your customers take their own photos, supply them with the "mascot" to take with them on their trip, and offer an incentive for participating (such as $x off their next purchase for each photo they provide).

So, what other vacation-related marketing ideas can you think of? I'd love to read about them in the comments below.

Gumming Up the Works

Here's something to chew on as you think about your business plans for the coming year:

A young entrepreneur moved from Philadelphia to Chicago in 1891 with $32 in his pocket and the idea of selling his family's scouring soap to customers. As an incentive, the 29-year-old offered free baking powder with each soap purchase.

Before long, the baking powder became so popular that he began selling it instead. He then came up with a new incentive: two free packages of chewing gum with each can of baking powder sold.

As you might have guessed, the gum proved more popular than the baking powder, so he decided to change his product line once again. And that is how William Wrigley, Jr., started one of the most iconic brands of chewing gum on the market today.

In business (as in life), things don't always go exactly as we plan. Markets change, technologies evolve, and what worked yesterday won't always work today, tomorrow, or down the road.

Knowing when -- and how -- to adapt can mean the difference between success and failure for any enterprise. In Wrigley's case, that meant understanding his customers' evolving needs -- and adapting his product line to meet those new demands.

What will it mean for you and your company in 2012? Only time will tell, so be prepared to recognize new trends, embrace new attitudes, and adapt your plans accordingly.