“Your business is like a garden. Tend your garden carefully - watering and feeding the flowers, weeding and pruning - and it will blossom and grow with more abundance than if you just water it once in a while.” - Heidi Richards -

Instead of one marketing idea, we decided to fill this month’s issue of Self-Marketing News with a few marketing “tips” and vignettes to help your business grow.

Hire a Psychic!

Looking for a creative way to market? You could do what TMR Multimedia of Hallandale, Florida did. The company recently hired Jill Dahne, daughter of former National Enquirer soothsayer Micki Dahn. She is the resident “psychic for new business development.” Jay Schorr, Partner with TMR, says, “Instead of relying on word-of-mouth for new business, wouldn’t it be great if we knew ahead of time that a company was looking for a new ad agency?” According to South Florida CIO Magazine, her “powers” may already be working. TRM landed two major accounts shortly after Dahne joined the firm.

Sweat gets Exposure

Want to garner national attention? Do you have a product that you could TEST on people and then publish the results? Old Spice by Proctor & Gamble did just that.  The company recently released its annual list of the nation's Top 100 sweatiest cites. Proctor & Gamble based its results on an age-old formula involving average body size, high temperature and relative humidity levels in the cities listed.  Subjects were asked to walk around in the heat for an hour, after which Old Spice lab techs measured body moisture. According to the results, El Paso, Texas ranked #1 (excerpted from South Florida CIO Magazine, August 2004).

Coupons Get their Start

Coupons were introduced in 1894 when Asa Candler bought the Coca-Cola formula for $2,300 and gave people coupons that he had written out to receive a free glass of coke. In 1887, Asa Candler a wholesale druggist, purchased the formula for Coca-Cola from John S. Pemberton an Atlanta pharmacist, for $ 2,300. He sold the company in 1919 for $25 million. This Georgia businessman is best remembered for his remarkable imprint on the city of Atlanta, and eventually the United States and the world. He purchased Coca-Cola from Dr. John Pemberton in 1888 and turned the medicinal drink into a national hit by 1900. He did not invent or develop Coke, but he did perfect a method of distribution, via soda fountains throughout the nation. When two Chattanooga , Tennessee businessmen approached him about bottling Coca-Cola, he sold them the bottling rights for almost the entire country. During his lifetime he became a noted philanthropist, giving a million dollars to Emory College in 1915. Candler sold Coca-Cola to a group of investors in 1919 but continued to hold a sizable amount of stock.

Milk and Cookies Partner

The GOT MILK? ads have a new man singing the praises of milk. Or should I say doughboy... The Pillsbury Doughboy is featured in a GOT MILK? TV spot that launched August 30. Called "Russian Family," the commercial opens in St. Petersburg on a dreary winter's night. Life is dismal here. From out of nowhere the voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy is heard. The Doughboy pushes in a huge plate of freshly baked, chocolate chip cookies. Everyone takes a bite of the warm cookies, and everyone begins to dance around the kitchen. Life is good. However, the celebration comes to a halt when the mother emerges from the kitchen, screaming "Moloko" (milk in Russian) and shakes an empty milk carton. The commercial closes on the shocked face of the Pillsbury Doughboy and GOT MILK? Goodby Silverstein & Partners created the campaign.

It's the small things

An executive board member of the Pepsi Cola Company was in the market for a business Jet. The Cessna dealer had the Citation Jet cleaned, fueled and fully catered, ready to take the prospect for a demonstration flight. The executive boarded the plane and started looking around. He sat on the seats, checked out the lavatory and checked that the window shades were in proper working order. He opened the galley and spotted cans of Coca-Cola. Quietly, he closed the cabinet and climbed out of the plane. As he left, his only comment was "nice plane." He hopped into his limousine and left, without another word.

When he finally purchased a jet, it was from BeechJet, the competition. You see, it was stocked exclusively with Pepsi products... that salesman made the $6 million dollar sale!

The Milkman Still Delivers

When you buy a new home in the 1,200-acre community of Coles Crossing, in Houston, Texas, the milkman will deliver a free gallon of milk to your door every week for the first six months you live there. Coles Crossing Management Company has arranged for a local company that specializes in the home delivery of fresh dairy products, as well as a variety of fresh meat, to deliver a free gallon of milk to your door every week for the first six months you live here. It's their way of welcoming new residents to the community and introducing them to the classic way of life at Coles Crossing. The milk is delivered by The Milkman Still Delivers, a family-owned company whose logo is a cow dressed like an old-fashioned milkman ­ cap, bow tie and all. Over three-quarters of residents continue to get weekly deliveries from the milkman after the free trial period expires," said Alan Greenwood, Coles Crossing marketing director." At first, residents are tickled by the novelty of having a milkman. Then they get hooked on the service and the quality of the products."

J How’s YOUR Customer Service?

A guy told a group of his friends about the fantastic steak he had eaten in a downtown restaurant the day before. They all decided to head down to the restaurant to see if it was really as great as he was making it out to be. The group entered the restaurant and was seated at a table in the back section. After looking over the menu, they ordered and anxiously awaited their delicious, gigantic steaks. To their collective disappointment, the waitress brought them the smallest steaks they had ever seen.

Embarrassed, the guy called the waitress over and said, "Now listen here! Yesterday I came in here and you brought me the biggest, juiciest, most delicious steak I have ever had. Today, when I have all my friends here, you serve us these miniature steaks. What is the meaning of this?"

"Yesterday, sir, you were sitting by the window!" replied the waitress.  

September is National School Success, Self-Improvement, and Subliminal Marketing MONTH!

October is Computer Learning, Eat Better Eat Together, International Strategic Planning, Listen To Your Inner Critic, National Communicate With Your Kids, Positive Attitude, Right Brainers Rule!, Self-Promotion and Women's Small Business MONTH!!!

Please visit: http://www.edenflorist.com/holidays.asp

Please visit www.EdenFlorist.com for your holiday gift-giving needs! We ship Around the World or Around the Corner!

 MarketTalk

"I love the new look! The entire E-zine looks fabulous... Although I would expect nothing but that from you and Jennifer." Scott L. Vogel, Special Event Wedding and Hospitality Marketing - www.vogellearning.com

"Heidi, this new format looks great!  Kudos! If you'd like to write an article for my Hollywood Marketing Coach newsletter, please let me know. You'll get a plug included. I'm also happy to write for you if you'd like!" Avi Frier

Rose Marketing on a Daisy Budget – How to Grow Your Business Without Spending a Fortune by Heidi Richards ($19.95 – ISBN- 0-9745959-2-6) is “jam-packed full of easy-to-do marketing programs, valuable insights, real-life success stories and resources. In this book you will learn how to advertise for free, create win-win partnerships, become a magnet for referrals, and hit your target market with direct mail and grow your business without spending a fortune!  Now available at www.WUNPublications.com. According to Phil Kleweno, President and CEO of Teleflora, “Rose Marketing is simple, useful and practical. Heidi Richards provides innovative tips small business owners can implement today.”

Get your copy of “Successful Website Marketing,”  by Peggi Ridgeway - one of the best, most user-friendly web marketing books I have ever read. Each page is filled with easy to plan and implement ideas; from search engines to email, building your brand to creating community, this is the book everyone, novice and seasoned professional alike will benefit from. Wordpix Solutions in Print and Online, www.Wordpix.com. Peggi is also editor of Bloomin News, a hard-copy newsletter for the L.A. Flower Market, www.BloominNews.com.

Heidi Richards specializes in “Helping Small Businesses Bloom™,” by sharing her insights and experiences in Leadership Development, Marketing and Strategic Planning not to mention, having FUN! Her experiences in "growing" successful businesses and community organizations give her a greater perspective on challenges that companies and organizations face today. She succinctly portrays her expertise through her seminars, retreats and books.

Heidi is a well-known Elan'trepreneur™ (elan'trepreneur - a creative visionary, a business person to whom others look and emulate, one who mentors others in business). She is also a facilitator for retreats, Mistress of Ceremonies for organizations of all sizes, a mentor to several small business owners and a contributing writer to dozens of publications. To learn more about Heidi, visit www.HeidiRichards.com. 

Jennifer Obert has been the Marketing Manager (marketing goddess) for Eden Florist & Gift Baskets for more than four years. Her duties include editing four newsletters produced by Heidi, maintaining three websites (www.EdenFlorist.com, www.HeidiRichards.com and www.WunPublications.com), promoting Eden Florist, working with the media, and representing Eden Florist and Heidi Richards in the community along with a myriad of administrative and public relations responsibilities. In addition, Jennifer is the Executive Director of the Women’s ECommerce Association, International (www.WECAI.org) and an aesthetician running her own part-time business, Facials to You™. Before working with Heidi, Jennifer was Marketing Manager for the Concert Association in Miami, FL, and worked as Assistant Marketing Manager for the Florida Philharmonic prior to that.

Are You Enjoying This Issue? If so, please pass it on to all of your friends and colleagues. Even better, send them to www.PetalsNCents.com to sign up and they will receive a FREE Report: 10 Red Hot Marketing Tips To Grow Your Business.

Our goal for 2004 is to double our readership. With your help we will reach our goals!

Keep those comments coming! I personally read and answer EVERY e-mail I receive. Just e-mail me at Heidi@PetalsNCents.com or reply to this e-mail. I'll get back to you right away.

© 2001-2004 WUN Publications, Inc. is located at 7100 Pembroke Road, Miramar, Florida, 33023. While we're certain that the information contained herein is tremendously interesting and valuable to the press and public, Congress now requires that we notify you that this message may be considered promotional material.

If you do not wish to receive future materials, you may reply to this message or call (954) 981-5515 to be removed.  Thank you.

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Heidi Richards, CPPM, CLL, Author of "Rose Marketing On A Daisy Budget," "South Florida Network Directory of Women's Business & Civic Organizations," "What's Your OccuPLAYtion™ 149 Ideas to Increase Job Satisfaction, Reduce Stress, and Get More Out of Your Work and Your Life," "Yes Is Only The Beginning," plus the E-zines "Self-Marketing News," "Creating A Legacy," "PetalsNCents," and "Ramblin' Rose by Eden Florist & Gift Baskets."