When The Universe Throws A Curve Ball

Many of you know of my latest adventure – creating the Mompreneur of the Year event this April in Mesa.  Lately I’ve been cold calling on businesses I feel would be a good fit for event attendees.  My criteria?  Businesses that appeal to moms in general and/or women growing their business in the Phoenix-metro area.  I’m not a fan of cold calling, but know that it needs to be done in order for the expo to be successful.  Can’t have an expo without exhibitors, right?

There are plenty of businesses that appeal to moms and mom entrepreneurs as the title of the event suggests, but I have to say that some of these businesses continue to amaze me, and not in a good way.

Just the other week I walked into a children’s consignment store in Mesa and was told by the owner that she doesn’t sell to mom entrepreneurs, but she sells to moms.  “What??” you ask?  Yes, my thoughts exactly.  Mom entrepreneurs are not her target market.  How she determines which moms are stay-at-home and which are entrepreneurs and business women is beyond me, but this is the response I received from her.  I was floored.  Moms are the very people she should be reaching out to.  I left her store wondering if she thought all mom entrepreneurs are wealthy beyond their wildest dreams and only shopped at high end boutiques.   If anything, mom entrepreneurs are the most practical people on the planet.

Another business you would think has the marketing sense to figure out “who” their target market is was a big box store in Chandler that sold baby and children everything.  They are new in the market competing with the likes of Toys ‘R Us and Babies ‘R Us.  In fact, just received an insert in the mail with their coupons and ads.  You know that had to cost a pretty penny.  So, why do you think exhibiting at an event that reached their target market in the geographic location they’re in would be a turn off to them?  Again, no idea.  I suppose they enjoy spending big dollars on expensive advertising to reach homes without children when I can guarantee that 95% of the event attendees have young children at home.  Perplexes me.

I provide these examples not to bash on these business owners, but to educate readers that identifying your target market is key to making your business work.  You cannot be all things to all people, so narrow it down.  These businesses have not yet figured out “who” they should be marketing to.  They’re inundated with this advertising opportunity and that that they don’t know when a good opportunity knocks on their door that will bring them new customers.  They use the shotgun approach to marketing, which is definitely quite costly, and hope and pray it brings in customers.  Not good.

If you’re re-evaluating who your target market is, please keep in mind these items.

Demographics
1. Age
2. Income
3. Family Size
4. Education
5. Occupation
6. Gender
7. Nationality/Race

Geographic Location
1. Regional habits
2. Climate

Psychographics (Behaviors, Lifestyle, etc.)
1. Brand loyalty
2. Value of quality

And if you need help in this area, just ask.  Would be happy to chat with you.

Throughout the last year, I’ve written numerous posts about business, events, and life.  Rather than transfer each post one by one and copying the comments that go along with it, I figure most folks will just read the most up to date.  Plus, who has the time to copy and paste each post one by one?  Not me.

If you’d like to read past blog posts, please visit www.simplyputmarketing.wordpress.com and/or www.mommymarketeer.wordpress.com and feel free to leave comments there.  From now on, I will add directly to my site Tisha Marie Pelletier any new marketing, event planning or mommyhoood posts.  Hope you’ll keep reading.

Thanks for understanding!  When you’re a mom and an entrepreneur, time is definitely of the essence.

A look-alike of my engagement ring from Sean.

Today was a definite whirlwind of emotions.  In fact, the whole weekend has been.  I felt sick just thinking about it and how it all played out in the blink of an eye.  It started last Friday at approximately 3:30am when I was up way before my time getting ready to start the day.  Had a full-day seminar to attend and needed to be out of the house by 6:30am to drop Caleb off at my dad’s.  At 3:30am, most of us aren’t even functioning when we jump in the shower to wake up.  I was in Caleb’s bathroom behind the pastel, froggy shower curtain shampooing my hair when suddenly Caleb, who should have been fast asleep, opened the curtain slightly and threw something in with me.  Clink, clink.  With shampoo in my hair now getting in my eyes, I looked to see what he had thrown.  My earring that I had left on the sink counter was now sitting in the bathtub.  But what else did he throw?  I washed the shampoo out of my hair, looked to the sink where I found one earring, my wedding ring and NO engagement ring.  Caleb threw my engagement ring, a ring that Sean bought me in the Bahamas seven years ago that was worth much more than my earrings and wedding ring combined, down the drain.   Just clink, clink and it was gone.  Washed away with the water falling from the shower.

I turned off the shower in an instant, but couldn’t see the ring.  I yelled for Sean who informed me it was a goner.  Caleb came up to me after I had gotten out smiling and trying to hold my hand.  He didn’t know.  He’s 18 months.  So who’s to blame here?  Well, ask anyone and they’ll say me.  Yeah, because at 3:30am when the house is fast asleep, I figure my child is going to come into the bathroom and throw things at me in the shower, especially my jewelry.  What’s a mom to do?  I told Caleb I couldn’t look at him that moment and went in my closet and cried as I’m sure any woman would do when they have something so valuable taken from them.

Throughout the weekend I felt sick.  I could only imagine the mice and rats having a field day with my ring in the sewer.  Yuck.

I was not about to give up hope though.  I made sure no one else turned on the tub for fear my ring may wash away.  I was told that there might be a P-trap so called the builder the next Monday.  Sure enough, there was a P-trap and in it was my ring holding on for dear life.  The builder wasn’t able to get it out just be removing the drain so the plumber had cut the drywall and the pipe and fish it out blindly.  He told me that it would take an act of God to get my ring.  Within 20 minutes, my ring emerged and I was one happy girl.

While writing my check to the plumber, he told me he has never had a ring fall down a shower drain.  Sink, maybe, but never a shower drain.  I would be his first.  He said he’d never forget me and I said “likewise.”  This was a memory going down in history.  In the copy of the check memo to the plumber, I wrote “the day Caleb threw my engagement ring down the drain” to show Caleb of what he did when he was 18 months old.

So has mommy learned a lesson?  You bet.  A $90 one.

I knew it would happen one day and today was the day. Well, actually last Thursday, but I didn’t want to believe it yet. My one-year old Caleb was with his grandpa (my dad) when he managed to get out of his crib. My dad put him in the pack-and-play, went downstairs to get him some milk, and next thing he knew, he heard footsteps prancing around upstairs. Sure enough, Caleb had escaped from his crib and was now running around like a man who had just been released from the big house! If that weren’t enough, my dad put Caleb back in the crib and watched him as Caleb demonstrated just how he did it lifting his leg over the side. Clever lil’ guy.

Seeing as how his crib in his room is a little bigger (and taller) than a pack-and-play, I figured he’d be secure there today. Boy, was I wrong. After putting him in there, then grabbing a load of laundry to throw in the washer, I was quite surprised to find Caleb had gotten out and was now watching me from the top of the stairs smiling. So smart.
Being a mom entrepreneur, it’s sometimes a nice to have that very much needed break when you know he is perfectly content playing in his crib – almost like I have just a tiny bit of freedom to do things around the house or jump on the laptop and respond to email for a bit. Nope, not anymore. Caleb is my little mischievous handful and will need constant supervision these days.

While I’ll miss the crib dearly already, I know he’s growing up and we’re entering yet another exciting chapter in our lives. He’s no longer a baby, but my little man.

Moms, if you have any suggestions, would love to hear it! Toddler bed, here we come.

Yesterday, my friends and I (Michael Pitkin of VINA and Ros of Ficklets) and I attended the Get Motivated seminar at US Airways in Phoenix.  First of all, best seminar I’ve ever been to for $5 (although highly recommend taking the light rail next time, parking was $30), got to listen to some amazing speakers including General Colin Powell, Kurt Warner and Steve Forbes, and it did what it said it would do – it got me motivated.  I’m no longer afraid of the risks I’m taking in my life which include finishing my book or planning the Mompreneur of the Year event this April, I’m going for it full force and putting my heart into it.  No failure allowed, only success, right Kurt Warner?  God love him.

So, after six speakers throughout the morning, my friends and I were starved.  Not just hungry, but starved and about to pass out if we didn’t get any food within the next few minutes.  Just as everyone ventured out of the arena for the 65- minute break, so did we although not sure why, there were a ton of food vendors located above us on the second level of the arena.  Anywho, we found a NY style pizza shop directly across from the arena and headed over there.

Lines of people zig zagged in the restaurant and out the door waiting for the pizza special – drink, slice and salad for $5.50.  Good deal.  We thought about leaving, thought about going next door, but stayed put.  As soon as we got inside after about a 1/2 hour wait with numerous people still behind us looking as hungry as we were, the owner did something so imaginable I, no make that we, couldn’t believe our eyes.  He put a sign on the door that said “We’re closed!”  About 20 people stood in line for a slice of his pizza and he told them to leave.  Those just inside the door were safe though, including us.

Leave?  Really?  Sure, I can understand if you can’t accommodate patrons because you ran out of food, but this was not the case.   When we asked if he ran out of dough, the owner said “I have plenty of food, but I’m running out of patience for people!!!  Make sure no one comes in here,” and he went back to making pizza.  I don’t know about you, but 20 people x $5.50/head at minimum is a lot of “dough” for a small business.  I’m sure he doesn’t get this type of traffic on any normal day, right, so why not make a lot of money today to hold him over the days when he doesn’t??

Wow.  Now, it’s not brain surgery or anything, but isn’t the reason you go into business is so that you can attract customers, build relationships and entice them to come back and tell their friends and family thus creating even more business?  How many people do those 20 people know?  Not to mention, how many people just tweeted, Facebooked, or blogged what they had just witnessed (well, clearly I am, I’m a marketing person. ?  After spending 20 or more minutes in line to now hear “Leave now.  We’re closed,” I would be a little, no make that a lot, ticked off, especially now that I had even less time to find somewhere to eat, wait in yet another line, and make it back to the seminar!  He didn’t do it politely, just rudely.  He didn’t apologize or offer a discount to come back at another time, just shooshed them away like a wandering cat on the driveway not welcome there.

Now, I’ve heard that downtown Phoenix struggles a bit with getting people into businesses.  If this is still the case, this pizza owner has just committed the ultimate marketing sin in my book.  He has given his future customers, and possibly current customers, a taste of what he really thinks of them – he has no patience for his customers.  In a world where customer service is everything in business, I’m now wondering if he’ll be in business next time I head to the arena.  Guess we’ll just wait and see.

Interested to hear others thoughts on this.  Share this or comment back please.

(FYI, these comments are not from me.  Just moved over in the transition from one blog site to the next.  Just ignore my picture next to each comment.  I swear I don’t comment on my own blogs! )

While I do PR for clients, it’s not the thing I focus on most, but when I do, watch out!  What I love most about it is under promising and over delivering to clients.  I never guarantee results, but you should see the clients’ faces light up when I tell them their story ran or they’re going to be on TV.  It’s priceless.

In fact, my first stint at PR was when I was back at ASU.  I was hired on by a small company called AZeats to launch their business, an online restaurant dining guide in Phoenix.  When I sent the press release, I had no idea what type of response the client would get.  It ended up getting them a full-page profile in the Phoenix Business Journal, coverage in various restaurant magazines, and a full-year of coverage every Friday morning on KPHO channel 5 reviewing their client’s restaurants!  Talk about great coverage and value, not to mention more sales for them!  They could now go after more restaurants with the power of the media behind them.  Their media value was estimated at over $30,000 off one release.  I got paid $50… Go figure.

Anyway, PR can work for any business if executed properly.  It takes a lot of time to build connections and of course, there are no guarantees like advertising, but hey, it works and can really make a huge difference for your business.

In fact, today I got coverage for my client, rsvpBOOK, in some national event trade publications.  Now that’s what I call a good day for some PR.  Woohoo!

Ever since I’ve had Caleb, my boxer pup Diesel, has had his share of adjustments.  Of course this happens when youbring a child into the world and your pet has now become second string to the kid.  My husband has this tendency to overpromise and under deliver when it comes to Diesel.  Monday it was “I promise we’ll go for a walk tomorrow, D”, and then of course Tuesday came and that “walk” never happened.  Sean was too tired.  Understandable, he works 10-hour days and gets up at 4am, but still - my heart went out to Diesel.

So since Caleb was at my sister-in-law’s today, I made it my mission to go above and beyond for D.  I took him to the doggie park and let him roam freely with the other pups.  Letting D run around, play and ”converse” with the other dogs (he particularly liked this pitbull/dalmation mix), it dawned on me that dogs at the dog park are not shy about networking.  They meet, run and play together like they’re old pals.

Well, same goes for business.  If you’re too shy, then what are you doing in business?  Business is about getting out there, meeting new people and sharing ideas!!!  In fact, I just attended a wonderful seminar on how to use Facebook presented by MaryPat Kavanagh, the queen of social marketing, that says the best way to attract business is to make friends.  So, now, that’s my mission in life and in business - making more connections whether it’s on Facebook, at the coffee shop, at networking events or even at the dog park.

See?  Dogs really can teach their owners something every day!   D gave me the inspiration for this blog!

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