If you’re running a big promotion, one of the worst things that can happen is that it goes too well, and you get swamped with enquiries. Customers hate missing out because your phone lines are too busy, your store is too crowded, or your Web site crashes because too many people are trying to use it.
Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened last November with the Click Frenzy promotion, which involved a number of Australian retailers getting together for a one-day online sale. It was promoted very heavily, and – not surprisingly – the servers crashed on the day, leaving lots of customers fuming.
But what if you could turn that possibility into an opportunity? That’s exactly what the Catch of the Day Web site has done. They have been promoting a big online sale today, and their advertising has even been suggesting their servers might crash:

This is an excellent example of setting your customer’s expectations of their experience. Of course, nobody wants the servers to crash, but Catch of the Day has helped prepare customers for that possibility.
Expert Gold Radio brings you monthly ideas, information, interviews and insights into leveraging your leadership – through better communication, on-line learning and Internet marketing.

E-mail and productivity specialist Steuart Snooks talks about the importance of thinking carefully when writing your e-mail, and shows how writing better e-mail can reduce your incoming e-mail overload as well.
Whether we’re employees or business owners, it’s more important than ever before for us to create our personal brand.
Let me tell you a true story …
Join brand expert Michael Neaylon as we talk about the importance of building a strong personal brand – one that’s aligned with your values and dovetails with your organisation’s brand as well.
It’s no longer good enough to sell just products or services. In simple terms, products can be outsourced to China and services can be outsourced to India. What can’t be outsourced are experiences.
A “SWOT analysis” – where you consider your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats – is a common tool for planning and assessing your business. Most people look at these four areas in that order, but there’s a more effective way of working through this process, and it’s a powerful way to identify new potential products and services.
Even if you attract people to your newsletter sign-up page, it’s another thing altogether to get them to sign up! You might be surprised (and disappointed) at how difficult it is to convince people to join your mailing list, especially now, when Internet users guard their e-mail address so carefully. So let’s look at what you need to do to convince potential subscribers to become real subscribers.
When doing any marketing, it’s important to understand your audience’s needs. And one of the best ways to understand those needs is to ask them! But it’s not enough to just survey your market and ask any question – you must ask the right question. The best question addresses their needs, based on their knowledge of your topic area.

















