Marketing with index cards

[handprop]

Here is what you requested Ann, I found it, copied it and pasted it on a new thread. Below is NOT the whole system, you need to get some pink cards to go with the white ones and i'll explain why in the next post.



Some use software but I use hardware.

Many years ago I watched a marketing executive use index cards and it was amazing to see. This was before computers were mainstream so I adopted it and use it to this day.

All I have is a metal box that uses 5 x 8 index cards and a bunch of dividers. The dividers never change but the index cards do. The box is my complete system (sort of) and in the front is all the brainstorming ideas and the back is full of conclusions from all the efforts made as it evolves. The middle is like a giant flow chart and contains all the nuts and bolts of the complete marketing process.

Some day I might consider changing to a spreadsheet but I doubt it. I can take the box in my car, airplane, and any meetings I have. When an idea, question or task comes up I just open it and grap the right card. When driving I always take it with and driving is boring so I normally grab a card i'm working on and set it in my dash where the gauges sit and keep thinking and staying on task. The cards are always changing because as the marketing process takes shape I keep removing cards and re-writing them improving the content every step of the way.

This all sounds crazy but it works great and I wouldn't change a thing! One reason it works so well is simplicity, something that was pounded in my head for years. It's not for everyone but some folks may like it.

Oh, I should mention the guy that gave me the idea was the senior marketing executive of Kimberly-Clark.

Mike

[handprop]

OK Ann, you said you bought a box and some cards......and dividers I hope. The above is the very short version and it gets a little more complicated but not anything you can't handle.

You do need a different color, I use pink but any color works as long as it's different than white.

The first step is to put everything to the side and grab a notebook, pencil, and a glass of wine. Now just get really relaxed and make sure your not bothered by anybody....total silence.

Think of marketing as a process, kind of like a factory I guess. How you start is to just pick one component of the business (it can be more than just marketing) and think the process through. In a factory production of a part has a beginning and a end right? Marketing is similar in that the process can and should be identified.

The purpose of the box and the cards is to 1) identify the process and 2) improve the process. White index cards is the simple parts of the process while the pink represents the (attempted improvement). Remember something, marketing is an evolution with no right or wrong way, just different results. What we are going to do is maximize results.

The best way to explain it is with a very simple made up process.

One set of dividers has one independently identified marketing process. In the example lets choose my daughter because it will be simple and easy to understand.

My daughter is 8 and in any given day she pretty much does a bunch of things each day that are pretty much the same. We are going to pick just one thing and that's going in a separate divider. Of all the things she does let's pick the very first process in her day and forget the rest.

The alarm goes off

She wakes up and goes to the bathroom

She walks to to the kitchen and eats breakfast

She brushes her teeth

She gets dressed

She goes to school

OK, this is the first process of her day. In marketing it my be your "Website" or "Billboard" or "Word of mouth" or "Referral" ......

What I have above is a starting point, the goal is to improve the process so I have some work to do. I also need a goal for my daughters morning. The simple process above is put in the notebook only and I can explain that in the next post.

For you, what component of the marketing process to you want to improve, change, or validate? Pick one and break it down in very simple terms and write it in a notebook just like above.

Do this and write it in a post here also. When you do that i'll follow up with how I handle the next step and then we can work on the marketing for you.

Mike

[handprop]

Keep in mind Ann, nobody can teach you about marketing your business better than you. You know it better than anybody and believe it or not you already have the answers, we just need to pull it out of your head. A business owner has a ton of stuff kicking around the brain at any given hour and it's overwhelming. We are just going to make it simple so you can get on with the task of flipping a switch to make the marketing work for you. In your case it's easy because you already have a good business, you just want it better.

Mike

[greenoak]

thanks so much mike....i forgot about the colors.....
i set it up already and not just for marketing... i like it....its all in one place and kind of visible....
like this morning i bumped into zazzle....well i might be interesteed but no time right now to research it...so its on a card ..when get more info on it it goes on the card again....maybe a different color card...right?
i always have a ton of what i call ORPHAN IDEAS ....some get forgotten and some get worked on.... i think your idea here is really going to help me keep track and add to the different projects......
im thinking i will probably have 5 main categories,,,,marketing....store style ....furniture design.....buying.....and big store direction ideas....
im so new and excited about facebook...it has the biggest file right now.....
i think this really fits my hectic style and life....i can deal with cards....
new ideas come all the time...like yesterdsay ...day off and shopping at the mall....i met a portrait artist who i talked to about coming to one of our events....now his number is safe in my file....and i can have lots of little sub categories.... but should i put him under art...or events or spring? thats what always drives me batty....
when you look into your file how do you tell your progress on the different ideas? mainly thru the colors? how do you decide when to get the pink cards out? what happens to the deserted ideas?

ps...your picture with the cigar looks awfluly ikky for someone with an 8 yr old...
ann

[greenoak]

mike....in trying to do what you described.... here is one of my big main marketing goals and projects.....
the goal is to target the under 45 married woman home owner....who really cares about her house. she probably isnt in a trailer or a little teeny house or an apartment......
i want her to hear about us, get interested and come buy something....
what will tempt her in???....the green idea, the great prices, the adventure, the zipless parts
how to reach her????....in store
on facebook
right words in ads
right visuals in ads and on blogs and site...
shes our future....
is that a start...?
im trying to get inside her head..i know she doesnt care about antiques or collect or love the huge amouont of stuff like my earlier customers did........on a store forum im on someone described her as pms, menopause, drinking, friends and me me me...... i thought that was funny....
im considering funny bitchy women stuff or rainforest fair trade stuff...or a combination of both...as my new side products for her....mainly i want to be her furniture source...and her fun place to shop
now what do i do with my cards....
ann

[Spider]

I used to follow a similar system and have advised clients on several occasions to do likewise. It can be very effective.

I called my cardfile my "Treasure Chest." I used 3x5 cards and it was used to follow through and complete tasks, or goals.

I had several main Goal cards, one card per goal. Each card listed 4 or 5 steps to reaching that goal.

These sub-goals were given cards of their own and further broken down into 4 or 5 steps. If necessary, these steps were given a card of their own and they were broken down into 4 or 5 steps.

Each card also had a date for completion on the face, and the back was used to record progress.


I particularly liked it for when I had several main tasks/Goals running simultaneously - it kept them all on the front burner and none could get ignored or overlooked. It also meant I could choose what I wanted to do rather than do what I felt I had to do. This made life far more enjoyable, and still kept me on purpose.

[greenoak]

sounds good frederick..
..this time of year really makes you think about goals and where you are and how you did last year....and especially what you are aiming for in the coming year....
and how....
im getting all kinds of number reports from dh now...almost year end....
ann

[KristineS]

That is a good idea and I might try something similar. I'm so spread all over the place right now, trying to do so many different things. This sort of system would help me focus a little more and make sure things don't get forgotten.

[Spider]

While I'm sure a card index "Treasure Chest" will help you focus, I did it because I wanted to do what I enjoyed. With this system, I could do what I fancied, knowing that it wasn't really goofing off - I was still working on a goal, although perhaps not the goal of highest priority. Then when I was in the mood for #1 Goal, I could get on with it with a passion.

It helped make even procrastination productive!

[greenoak]

bumped up hoping for handprop...

[handprop]

I'm so sorry Ann, the next step is the pink cards. I call them "GAP" cards and it makes life easy and of course profitable. When I finish up tonight I'll hop on it for ya.

Mike

[handprop]

Ann, I'll finish this for you because I started it and I think you will enjoy it. Sometime tomorrow night I should have some time and you will have everything you need.

Mike

[greenoak]

im really using the cards.... when i get a good idea it kind of goes on a card ....to be placed later....
its really making my christmas notes richer....which should help me a lot in next years buying...i have to buy about $20,000 in christmas every year....a good jub there really pays off... but for now it can just be scattered notes in the little box...under x for christmas....and its easier and im getting more info in, which will be good...
this is going to be a good tool for me... not real sure about how to use it for the priorities and the current projects....but im experimenting...
ann

[handprop]

Hi Ann, hope all is well with you! I have some time and would like to work on finishing the “BOX” discussion. When we last had a chat we were talking about the pink cards you needed to pick up and the name I always called them were “gap” cards. Color is not all that important but it’s nice to see a clear difference between the two. So far we know that we need to explore and discover the TRUE process. This can be anything in life but in business or marketing specifically, the process can be a bit tricky to identify. The example of my daughter is not the best example but it does show how simple it can be and makes the explanation much easier, so let’s just stick with it for a little while before we move forward with the nuts and bolts of the real word.

I could explain the gap cards in a couple of sentences but to really benefit from the system we should first try and both be on the same page so it’s perfectly clear what the mission is. How I want to do that is by talking a little on what the word ENTREPRENEURSHIP is and what it really means. I realize you already know this but it’s a good thing for both of us to look back a little and reflect on what makes the difference between an average business and a great business. Once we do that the gap cards a going to be a walk in the park.

In my college days I can remember classes and lectures on the sole subject of entrepreneurship. I guess I learned a few things but overall I was left to believe that an entrepreneur is a person that owns a business and takes a little risk. When I got older, grew up, and owned a few businesses (not all successful) I began to reshape my thinking. That, combined with meeting some real dynamic people in industry allowed me to forget most of what I was taught and started a journey of discovery learning things the right way.

The biggest lesson I ever learned is just because you own a business doesn’t mean you’re an entrepreneur, nothing could be further from the truth. Once I got past that and realized a majority of businesses will fail I began to discover the difference between the men and the boys. The difference between the two IS the gap cards. I think another example is in order.

Let’s talk about the COFFEE process.

All things considered the coffee process at a gas station is really no different than at Starbucks. In a simplified version of the process we start out with a fella who picks beans off a shrub, it gets dried out, flavor is added in a big vat, gets thrown in a big bag, is shipped to America, a wholesale company puts it in smaller bags, they work with the retailers to put a logo on it of their choosing, they set up a fancy table with fancy looking containers, is poured in a cup, and you drink it. Of course this is ridiculously simple but in reality it’s reasonably close.

If being an entrepreneur is simply a matter of an owner who takes a risk then all we need to do is open up a coffee shop called ANN & MIKE’S COFFEE EMPORIUM, adopt the above process and we can start raking in the cash. As we both know it’s much more difficult than that.

Proof of this is all the coffee shops that start and go belly-up trying to do the same thing as Starbucks. The difference comes down to two things only, the PROCESS and the GAPS. Some will disagree and start finding issues with the wrong logo, colors, location etc. but these things are part of a process and the gaps and you will find that with a little investigation it’s the process and gaps that need adjusting, they control things like colors and a logo, even a business name. Another way to look at the PROCESS and GAPS is to just call it a business plan…of sorts……not the type you would go to a bank with, but instead the type you would run a business with.

Starbucks was really smart, think of the coffee world before Starbucks…..pretty boring right? Well, that’s what Starbucks thought as well! Starbucks is who they are because they sat down and examined the coffee PROCESS. But unlike the people before them they were able to isolate the process in every detail and left nothing out!!!!! So that’s the first step. Back to my daughter in the first part, I laid down a simple process for her in the morning but Starbucks would have sat down and really brainstormed on the TRUE process and in fact it would look much different than what I wrote. The moral of the story here is to get the process right and don’t mess it up because everything after will be a problem. Oh, one other trick to getting the process right is defining who your company is, this will go a long way in defining the process and the gaps.

One thing of importance I should remind you of is to take a close look at why a company fails. Think of all the business owners you know and think of how many times you have been asked for advice. I had a person the other day that has an established business and he was convinced he needed to change the logo. No matter what advice I give him if he doesn’t understand the DEFENITION of his business, the PROCESS of his business, and the GAPS within the process, he is doomed to the law of averages. And as we both already know the AVERAGE company eventually goes under.

With all this being said it may not be what you expected, I completely understand. Keep in mind however if you can isolate the process your ahead of the competition a hundred fold. OK, I know you want to talk about the GAP cards but we are not quite done yet. To say a business has a process is a little broad and does nothing to help you out so let me introduce one more thing and we can get to the fun part.

The next term we have to get to know is the MICRO PROCESS. All that means is it’s all the little processes that make up one big process, and that Ann is what the index dividers are for. Each index card divider represents a micro process. I’ll give you an example.

In your business you have many, many processes that make up marketing alone, so let’s just pick one and create ONE index divider for the box. The subject will be………”A customer walks into the store”. OK, yes…. This is a process! Think of Starbucks!!!! They thought just like this!!!!!

Remember the pencil and a big sheet of paper/tagboard????? Remember the glass of wine????? That’s what this is for, it’s nothing but a brainstorming session. This is the time where you just sit, relax, and brainstorm on the micro process. Just pick one, it doesn’t matter what it is or what order you do it because it’s your business and business is supposed to be fun, right!!!

With the piece of tagboard in hand and the glass of wine for company, start writing down squares like a big daisy chain. Put down 5 or 6 to start with, it doesn’t matter. At the very top of the tagboard write the sentence “A customer walks in the front door”, do it in bold black marker so you can easily see it. The goal is to fill both sides of the tagboard with nothing but your thoughts on the process of a customer walking into the front door.

Think of the tagboard as a great big card in a great big deck of cards, and you will keep them for the next twenty plus years. This becomes the foundation and compass for the index card BOX, and is the discovery work that later creates the white index cards.

I love brainstorming and researching what goes into the micro process. One thing to consider is human emotion, an area that gets forgotten about by many business owners. With the subject at hand let’s do a little brainstorming and inject the human emotion component into it as well.

OK, an average business breaks down the process like this: a person parks the car, gets out begins walking to the door, he/she opens up the door and heads straight in the store.
Well, like I said, that’s what an average business does. You and I are not average so let’s look at it from a different perspective and create our first experimental micro process on the tagboard.

A person who is stressed out pulls into the parking lot, he/she gets out of the car and locks the doors, they then look for the front door, they begin to walk to the front door thinking of something, they then tilt their head down and grab the door handle and open the door, the person starts to walk in to the store.

See the difference????? It’s just an experiment and may or may not be right. Now, rethink it and right a new micro process down and see if you can make it a little better. Do this on both sides of the tagboard and HAVE FUN!!!!! Don’t forget the wine either. When it’s all done I’ll come back and write down the next step. In the mean time fill it out and don’t be afraid to make a mess of it.

And no matter what……don’t make it complicated!!!! We don’t want it simple because we might leave something out but if it’s complex that’s almost worse.

Merry Christmas, and see ya next time!

Mike

[handprop]

Here is a quick sample I did with a marker and a big sheet of paper. Your job in brainstorming is to fill in the squares. When thats done draw some more squares and fill them in and make it a bit different all the while experiencing the creative process.



Hope that helps

Mike

[handprop]

Oops, I screwed up a little Ann! When I write I just do it and don't look back and I happened to re read it and found a mistake.

When brainstorming for the micro process I mentioned the word CREATIVE and that's not the best choice of words. The goal here is to seek out truth so being creative doesn't directly apply. You should however, be creative in how you seek out the truth. Learn to think outside the box when thinking about it!

If you miss one step in the process you will be missing out on opportunity so just try to nail it the best you can. And remember, what we are doing now has nothing to do with solutions to a problem. The only thing to think about is coming up with the actual process.

Mike

[greenoak]

hey mike!!! merry christmas...
... lots of ideas there.....i use mind mapping kind of like your paper with the boxes.... im following that..
..and like you i love brainstorming...it can be so unlimiting..
ive been using the cards but i dont see the system yet....especially what the gap is.......altho im making a system i guess......... is it anything like this:: a subject, for instance, the overall plan for the key west room........all the wide, various, ideas and objects on that subject and then a to do list/action list on the pink card....? thats kind of where i am.....
and boy do i have lots of subjects.....
i feel like i am an entrepreneur mainly because i love the whole process and adventure and easily take the repsonsibility ...... ...i like the money and the perk of being well known but thats not the main thing... .. the adventure and exploring and seeing the thing grow is what makes it for me....like we used to say...do your own thing!!! kind of like a mad scientist but in business not the lab....
im picky and need to find out a lot but maybe not whiney....which helps...since the market doesnt really care about my problems!!! lol
spider suses the cards too......
ann

[handprop]

I'm trying to wrap up the week today so i'm real busy. Tonight perhaps I could write some more.

The GAP cards are what entrepreneurs really do and I need to really explain it. Once I get to that you will very easily see the system and my guess is you will always use it. This is not my invention and it has been in use for decades by big companies. When it was explained to me It took a while for me to really use it to maximum potential, and that potential is unlimited. What I'm explaining here can be used for multiple things beyond just a marketing plan. It can be used for a start-up, restructuring, or developing a new business model. If you wanted to use it to build a website or develop a company logo it also works well for that too.

Many years ago I had a fella say that this system started in manufacturing but I can be sure so it's just a guess. Anyhow, I use it for everything and If I had to give it up I'm not sure what I would do.

The key points so far is to get it down on paper/cards and isolate whatever your trying to do so you can look at the whole system in bite size pieces. This of course makes it very manageable for an owner to look at the big picture. What I always liked about it is the system allows me to visually see and analyze a problem area and work on just that component with individual results.

The total system consists of 3 things. First is the large tagboards, second is the box itself, and third is a large 3 ring binder. The binder is something i'll get to another day. The next step is to talk about the GAP cards and discover why they are so powerful. I can maybe draw it out and take some pictures or shoot a video if I have time.

until next time
Mike