Issue #2519

• WEALTHY: Could this sagging industry be on the rise? (Rick Pendergraft)
• HEALTHY: Eat more pumpkin! (Kelley Herring)
• WISE: Jeff Bezos on the customer experience

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Don’t stop at the sale (Wendy Montes de Oca)
• Pumpkin trifle, lip-syncing pop stars, dark meat (Jason Holland)
• It’s Fun to Know… fun facts about turkeys
• Add “louche” to your vocabulary

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The Other Big Three

By Rick Pendergraft

When you hear investment people talk about the big three, they are usually talking about GM, Ford, and Chrysler. But what about the other big three?

As children, most of us dreamed of having three things when we grew up: a nice house, a nice car, and a nice job. Right now, the outlook for this big three is about as optimistic as the outlook for GM, Ford, and Chrysler.

Over the past year, home values have dropped sharply, auto sales have sunk like a rock, and unemployment has gone through the roof. Before the U.S. economy can turn around, at least one of these markets is going to have to turn higher.

Now that October payroll numbers have been released, it isn’t looking like it’s going to be the job market. October auto sales were just as dismal. The one area that is showing some improvement is housing.

Three recent reports - the August Pending Homes Sales Report, the September Existing Home Sales, and the September New Home Sales - were all slightly better than expected. While the housing market still has a long way to go, the sector could be forming a base.

If you are looking to add to your long-term stock holdings, the Spyders Home Builders ETF (XHB) could be a good buy at this time. Housing may not start shooting up as it did in the early part of this decade, but the homebuilders have reduced their inventory drastically and they look ready to start a nice slow path to the upside.

[Ed. Note: The market may not look so hot right now. But you should be ready to take action when the moment strikes. Some incredible opportunities are headed your way, and market analyst Rick Pendergraft has put together an educational program that lays out the simple steps you need to take advantage of them. Not only do you get three months of Rick's best recommendations, you also learn how to make good investment choices yourself. Get the details here.]

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Jeff Bezos

The 5 Faces of Your Customer

By Wendy Montes de Oca

One of the most profound business books I ever read was Permission Marketing by Seth Godin.

The ideas in the book were very innovative at the time. The Internet and e-mail marketing were still young, and, like the Wild Wild West, most marketers and business owners were still trying to “wrangle it in” and figure out how to leverage the Web’s possibilities… and, more important, turn those possibilities into profits.

In a nutshell, the book explained “how to turn strangers into friends and friends into customers.” The principle behind this is to first understand the difference between cold (or interruption) marketing - like those annoying phone calls you always seem to get during dinner asking you to subscribe to the local newspaper… and permission marketing - where the prospect is actually giving you permission to contact them by “opting in” to receive your messages.

To help you get the most out of your Internet marketing, I have expanded on Mr. Godin’s “stranger/friend/customer” concept and added two key components: multi-buyer and advocate. And I’ll show you how you can leverage each of these segments to help grow your business.

Leveraging Your Customers Throughout Their Life Cycle

You may think that a customer is someone who buys from you - period. But that’s a very limited view. From the instant you “meet” your customer… until he’s become a VIP buyer who’s spent hundreds or thousands of dollars with your company… you should be interacting with him in different ways. Treating him properly every step of the way will create a true win/win situation. Your customer will continue to enjoy satisfying experiences with your company, and your company will enjoy the positive effect this relationship will have on its bottom line.

Here are the five stages a customer can go through during his life cycle, and how you can make the most of each one…

Stage 1: Stranger

The stranger or “prospect” doesn’t know you. Your job is to get her attention. You have only a few seconds to get her to react - whether it’s by asking her to click on your ad or open your e-mail message. Which means that your copy for the ad headline or e-mail subject line is critical.

Once you’ve captured her attention, your #1 goal is to have this stranger “opt in” to receive your messages, giving you a chance to continue to bond with her. This is also the time to start to build trust. Show your creditability. And explain what you can do for her (fill a desire, answer a need).

Stage 2: Friend

The friend has demonstrated an interest in your initial promotion and has opted in to receive more information from you. This gives you an outstanding opportunity to introduce him to your philosophy, your company, and your mission, and to re-enforce how you can help him.

During this stage, it’s best to send a series of introduction e-mails (anywhere from 5 to 7) and withhold your new friends from your general mailing list. You don’t want them (the newest names on your list) to start receiving promotional messages BEFORE they receive some of your editorial messages.

We send six introductory e-mails to new Early to Rise subscribers. Each e-mail is a special issue of ETR that’s composed of articles that present our core philosophies. This gives our new subscribers a chance to “warm up” to our expert contributors, the format of our newsletter, and the topics we typically address. Only after they are warmed up do we start sending them ETR as usual - including our promotional e-mails.

Stage 3: Customer/Client

The customer (or client) is someone who has bought into your philosophy and purchased a product (or service) from you.

Many companies make the mistake of ending the customer relationship at this point. But after reading this article, you’ll know better… you’ll know that getting the customer is only the beginning. Keeping him is another story.

You don’t want to put all your eggs into one acquisition basket while having few or no retention efforts. Good retention strategies entail ongoing communication (both promotional and editorial), outstanding customer service, quality products, and fulfilling your promises. Of course there will always be things outside of your control (like losing customers to market conditions). But the idea is to be proactive and not reactive. Keep the “80/20 rule” in mind - which states that 80 percent of your sales come from 20 percent of your customers.

Stage 4: Multi-Buyer

The multi-buyer is a customer who is tied into your brand and demonstrates product loyalty with your company. Multi-buyers have purchased several products from you, and are not afraid to spend money. These folks are your best list to roll out new products to or test higher price points. If you are thinking about creating a “VIP” or “Lifetime” product, you’re going to want to advertise to this list. Multi-buyers will have a high lifetime value (LTV) for you, and will likely purchase cross-channel. In other words, they will buy from you no matter how you contact them - whether via banner ads, e-mail marketing, direct mail, or telemarketing.

Stage 5: Advocate

This segment of your customer database is your holy grail. Your list of advocates is made up of the most satisfied and loyal of your customers - and contains your best “unpaid” employees. Advocates will do your advertising for you by telling friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances about your products and services. And in today’s Net-based environment, advocates are a major force in getting your name in the blogsphere and social communities… and spreading your marketing message virally.

So how do you create advocates? Well, advocates are not created, they’re cultivated over time. The advocate must, of course, believe in your products and services. But for this special group, the customer experience goes deeper… to an emotional level. The advocate feels personally touched by your service, product, or guru. Because of you, her life is changed - and she’s busting at the seams to help others as she has been helped.

Your advocates are people you want testimonials from. People you can invite to be in BETA test or focus groups. And people to get feedback from to help develop future products. Even better, this group can help you make more money in the future. At ETR, some of our best JV (joint venture) partnerships have been with our advocates - people who understand our core values, respect our business, and have a company or product that’s synergistic to our own.

You want to treat these folks like the VIPs they are and invite them to special events or let them be the first to receive discounted offers. You may even consider creating affiliate marketing or referral programs to “formalize” this group’s verbal recommendations.

Always keep in mind that the effort does not stop at the sale. Since it costs more to obtain new leads than to retain existing customers - now, more than ever - you have to know how to optimize the five stages of the customer life cycle.

[Ed. Note: Treating your customers right - no matter where they are in their life cycle - will ensure that your business prospers.

To get a clear and easy-to-follow model for building your own information marketing powerhouse, order ETR's 2008 Info Marketing Bootcamp DVD Library. It's your chance to learn dozens of additional strategies for treating your customers well, marketing your products, and helping your business grow. Get your copy today.]

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== Highly Recommended ==

Why Get Your Hands Dirty When You Don’t Have to?

Where there’s a stampede, there’s an opportunity…

Thousands of wannabe entrepreneurs have jumped on a bandwagon to find, fix-up and flip foreclosures.

They thought they were being smart. They thought they were doing the opposite to the crowd and had the license to print money.

Little do they know… they ARE the crowd!

Now, please don’t misunderstand me. It’s a fact that many properties (sadly) are becoming available at rock bottom prices due to foreclosure. It’s also a fact that a few people are making money by flipping foreclosures…

And they’re earning every penny (when it all works out)!

Flipping foreclosures may sound great in principle, but stop and think about what you have to go through to achieve that…

Not my idea of easy money.

So what if I could wave a magic wand and show you a way to cash in on the foreclosure situation WITHOUT the need for ANY of the hard work?

Relax Your Vessels With This Seasonal Food

By Kelley Herring

Is your blood pressure a little high? Digging into some pumpkin - the season’s festive gourd - may offer tasty relief.

Why? Two reasons. First, pumpkin flesh is packed with phenols – antioxidant nutrients that fight free radicals and dangerous inflammation. What’s more, researchers found that phenols from pumpkin put a damper on the enzyme that many blood pressure drugs target to reduce vascular tension. And keeping blood vessels relaxed means better blood pressure… and better heart health.

Pumpkin can be used in a myriad of taste-tempting ways. Buy it fresh, slice it, and roast it for a delicious side dish or fall salad topper. Short on time? Pick up canned pumpkin - not sugar-laden pumpkin pie filling - to whirl into a smoothie, whisk into a creamy soup, or bake into your favorite low-glycemic breads and desserts.

[Ed. Note: As nutrition expert Kelley Herring points out, you can find plenty of all-natural methods for staying healthy. Now, you can access the latest breakthroughs in weight-loss programs... healthful recipes... and other ideas for achieving optimal health - all from one of the largest integrative-medicine practices in the country. Learn more here.

Survive the holidays with Kelley's brand-new recipe e-books, Guilt-Free Desserts and Healthy Holiday Hors d'Oeuvres. You'll find 60+ healthy recipes you can easily make at home.]

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10 Little Things I Love About Thanksgiving

By Jason Holland

1. Watching B- and C-level pop stars doing a terrible job of lip syncing from tacky-fantastic parade floats in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Bonus points if they are “playing” an unplugged electric guitar.

2. Another thing about the Thanksgiving parade, which happens only when the weather is extremely cold in New York… watching the “girls” in skimpy costumes shiver while I bask in the mild Florida winter.

3. Pretending to like football so I can fit in with my extended family… and then dropping the facade halfway through and playing video games with the kids instead.

4. No plain old pumpkin pie in my house. My wife and I love coming up with new twists on the old favorite. Last year it was a pumpkin trifle, the year before it was pumpkin maple walnut cheesecake, and this year we’re going to try pumpkin gingersnap tiramisu.

5. Taking a nap after dinner… and I don’t blame the tryptophan. I just always eat too much!

6. Trying to convince my wife not to go shopping the next day. She’s not one for standing in line at Best Buy at 2:00 a.m., but I really can’t see the point of facing the crowds at any time on Black Friday.

7. Heading to the movie theater in the evening. My brother-in-law is a theater manager – so we get in free!

8. Sometimes we just skip the big meal and use the time off to take a short vacation. Let me tell you, turkey (or jerk chicken, as the case may be) tastes just as good on the beach in Jamaica.

9. The dark meat. Most people seem to prefer white… so more for me - including leftovers.

10. Putting together a perfect music mix for dinner. I usually throw together some old school jazz, 70’s soul, acoustic rock, and world music.

[Ed. Note: What is your #1 favorite thing about Thanksgiving? Let us know right here.]

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It’s Fun to Know: Fun Facts About Turkeys

• Turkey is a type of pheasant, and the only poultry native to the western hemisphere.

• The bird on your Turkey Day table is probably going to be a hen. The females are slaughtered starting at about 15 pounds. The males (toms) are allowed grow to 40 pounds and are usually used to produce deli meat.

• Male turkeys gobble. Female turkeys make a clicking noise.

• The wrinkly, fleshy bit of skin that hangs off a male turkey’s beak is called the snood. The flap under the chin is called the wattle.

 (Source: University of Illinois Extension Service, New York Daily News)

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== Highly Recommended ==

So Simple, You’ll Wonder Why You Didn’t Think of It!

What if everything you want to do could be just a little bit easier?

• That raise you’ve been gunning for could be suddenly within your grasp…
• You could drop that 15-pound “spare tire” from your belly in no time flat…
• More money could seemingly “float” into your bank account…

Sometimes, the most powerful strategies for achieving success are the simplest ones.

But once you’ve mastered them, success is right there in front of you.

3 shockingly simple secrets to getting everything you want out of life are waiting for you right here…

Word to the Wise: Louche

Something that’s “louche” (LOOSH) - literally French for “cross-eyed” - is of questionable taste or morality.

Example (as used by Liesl Schillinger in The New York Times): “The rebuild [Moscow hotel] is home to the flashy, louche, Western disco Manhattan Express.”

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]

Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008

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