The Trump Blog

Personally, I have a love/hate relationship with the press. Over the years, they’ve written some pretty great stories about me. And, over the years, there have been a lot of lies printed too. I’ve talked to some pretty incredible reporters and some who are just horrible and seem to make up whatever they want to write.

If it’s that way about me, I know it’s that way about almost everything I read. So how do you know when to believe what you read in print or what you hear on the news?

If you’re skeptical, you’re not alone. Right now, more than half of Americans say they tend not to trust the press. They take what they read or what they hear with a grain of salt, knowing maybe they’re not getting the whole story. And I think that’s pretty smart. You just can’t believe everything you hear. Nobody can be that gullible.

Maybe somewhat surprisingly, these days people tend to trust Internet news and information sites more than they trust television. They trust radio news even more...which is why I have a radio commentary.

It’s an election year, so you have to be smarter than ever. Sift through what you hear and what you read on the news and form your own opinions. Don’t trust everything.

As the person responsible for marketing at TrumpU I am always happy to find news about our company getting picked up on Digg.com.  Today we found out a blogger wrote about one of our entrepreneurship tests. The test referenced in the blog rates your leadership skills against Donald Trump's qualities and the post received a Digg. If you are an active reader of this blog and want to help us push this particular story up we would appreciate if you could take a look at the posting and vote for us. 

If you are not familiar with Digg you should check out the site since there are always interesting news bits finding their way to the Digg home page.

Thanks for your support and please let us know what you think about the assessment by leaving us a comment.

Think your business idea is sillier than Silly Putty? These days, I think it’s safe to say David Ogilvy’s contention that “it only takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers” no longer applies. The proof, my friends, is in the seemingly silly ideas that have managed to make these entrepreneurs extremely wealthy. 

Christie Rein. In 2004, Christie Rein was over carrying her baby’s diapers around in a freezer bag. So, the 34-year-old mother decided to do something about it. She and her husband designed a custom diaper bag that was big enough to hold a travel pack of wipes and up to four diapers. Fast forward to two years later, Christie’s company, Diapees & Wipees, now has 120 boutiques across the globe selling bags in 22 different styles.

Gary Dahl. In 1975, Gary Dahl, a California advertising executive, wanted a pet, but didn’t want the expense, effort, and regular maintenance that came along with it. The pet rock was born! After Gary launched the idea into the marketplace, it didn’t take long (six months to be exact) for him to achieve multi-millionaire status. The pet rock sold for $3.95 a pop, and Dahl amazingly sold over 5 million of these little guys. Add to that, each rock was purchased for only a few pennies on the dollar, and the packaging cost him under 30 cents per rock. That means Dahl was profiting 3 dollars a rock--and I’m not talking about the kind of rock that is a girl’s best friend here.  

Xavier Roberts. Another phenomenon kicked off in 1983, when designer Xavier Roberts introduced the world to Cabbage Patch Kids. Rewind to 1976, a 21-year old art student, Xavier rediscovers “needle molding” - a German technique for fabric sculpture from the early 1800’s. While working his way through school as the manager of the Unicoi Craft Shop in Helen, Georgia, Xavier conceives the idea of “adoptable little people” with birth certificates. Xavier next wins a first place ribbon for his “little people” at the 1978 Osceola Art Show in Kissimmee, Florida.

When he returns to Georgia, he and five school friends create Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc., and renovate the L.G. Neal Clinic, a medical facility in Cleveland; where the fab five next opened “BabyLand General® Hospital” to the public. In 1982, Original Appalachian Artworks signs a long-term licensing agreement allowing a major toy manufacturer to produce a replica of “little people.” And the rest is Cabbage Patch history! The Cabbage Patch craze made Xavier a billionaire and it made America’s Mom’s go mad to get their hands on one. Time Magazine wrote an interesting article about one of the strangest crazes in American history.

Mario Lavandeira. Then we come to PerezHilton.com. What can I say? Celebrity Gossip Queen and full-time blogger Mario Lavandeira is building his empire one celebrity mug shot at a time. Here’s how his blog works: he gets a flattering and sometimes, not so flattering pictures of celebrities, he posts those pictures to his website, and then writes nasty things about them. Quite a business model, don’t you think? Although his blog isn’t winning him any fans in Hollywood, it is winning him his own television show, countless media appearances, and tons more traffic than most blogs in the universe.

But wait--there is one more silly business idea to discuss--yours!   

Our history is filled with lots of business ideas that should have worked, and didn’t. On the flipside, there are plenty of ideas that shouldn’t have worked, but did. Now I’m not saying that every idea you scribble down is worth taking all the way to the mat--but what I am saying is--never underestimate the potential of your idea. If you feel:

• Your idea fits a legitimate market need that you can prove through research
• Your idea is unique and that you can bring it to life better than anyone else can (this includes your competition)
• Has a target market that would eat your idea alive
• Would require a fairly low overhead, making your return on investment high
• You have a firm grasp on the financial metrics involved
• You have welcomed all feedback on your idea and are dedicated to continually improving and refining it 

Then GO FOR IT, no matter how silly others might think it is--and don’t ever look back!  

If you ask a group of entrepreneurs how their enterprises could make more money, nearly all of them will give you the same answer:

“We need more customers.”

That is a smart answer. The broader your customer base, the greater your profit potential. Yet smart entrepreneurs can also increase profits by targeting their current customers more effectively.

Growing with current customers has two main advantages over finding new ones:

1.      You already know your current customers and what their needs and priorities are.

2.      You are already in contact with them, so you have opportunities to persuade them to purchase more.

The key to making more from your current customers is to implement one or more of these strategies:

Strategy One: Improve Loyalty

The most important way to increase loyalty and retention is to satisfy your customers. That means you need to find out what they like about your products or services and provide more of it. If you run a health club, for instance, start by asking, "Can you tell me what you liked about your class today?" and then provide more of it. You can also implement loyalty plans, such as price discounts or gifts to members who work out two or more times each week. The critical thing is to talk with your customers and give them more of what they like.

Strategy Two: Get Customers to Use More of Your Product or Service

There are three ways for you to persuade your customers to increase usage:

1.      Point out that their needs have increased.

2.      Show them new uses for your product or service.

3.      Simply remind them to use what you are selling.

Strategy Three: Upsell Your Customers to More Expensive Models or Versions

Airlines try to persuade coach passengers to fly in more lucrative classes such as business or first class. Car rental companies are currently adding convertibles, sports cars and SUVs to their inventory. In a health club, you might persuade customers that they need a trainer or need to upgrade to a more feature-rich membership package.

Strategy Four: Get Them to Pay Higher Prices

Sometimes when companies raise prices, they point to the increased costs of doing business - an argument that rarely makes customers feel good about paying more. A stronger argument for an increased price is increased value. For example, the owner of the health club might increase the hours the health club is open, or add new equipment when raising membership fees.

Strategy Five: Get Them to Accept Less Value

Offering less value for the same price lets you decrease your costs. But tread carefully. Some organizations do this without letting the customers know that this is going on. For example, producers of candy decrease the size of their packages without decreasing their price, or airlines may make it much more difficult to use frequent flyer miles. But eventually your customers will notice - and at that point, may leave you.

Value-engineering is a more stable approach to cutting costs. It means taking a close look at your products or services and eliminating or reducing benefits that the customers do not really care about. For example, if your health club customers rarely use certain pieces of equipment or if other equipment available provides the same type of workout, then it may be possible to remove that equipment.

To summarize . . .

The strategies I outline today can let you increase profits dramatically without having to develop new customers, hire additional salespeople or undertake other costly activities.

You’ll be making more money while spending less. That’s a combination that spells profit to any smart entrepreneur.

If you’re a new entrepreneur, your daily to-do list is already a mile long. You’re hiring, managing your managers, getting your systems in place, bookkeeping and all the rest.

But how much time to you spend thinking about your customers?

If you’ve been too busy to think about them, you’re making a serious mistake. All business failures can be traced to a lack of knowledge about customers’ identities, wants and needs.

Here are five groups of customers you need to meet and get to know.

Current Customers

They could be past customers who are following you into your new enterprise, or the historical customers of a business you have acquired. Connect with them. They are the only people who can let you know how you and your company have done in the past - and how well you are doing now.

You also need to commit to being in touch with them on an ongoing basis, so they can monitor your future actions and let you know how well you are doing. You can also get ideas for new products and services by asking them about their future needs and how they will be satisfied.

New Customers  

They are uniquely able to give you important information about what is attracting people to your products and services and the ways in which you are perceived to be superior to your competitors. Don’t just cash their checks - talk to them.

Lost Customers

Don’t let them walk away quietly. They have valuable information for you, namely, where you fell short in satisfying them. It may be a benefit not delivered. It may be a negative interaction with someone in your organization. It may be a price thought to be too high. Whatever it is, you need to know about it before another customer leaves for the same reason.

Heavy Users

They are the experts on your product or service and those of your competitors. They can advise you of trends in the product category. They can guide you to problems that need to be solved. In addition, the heavy users probably comprise the majority of your sales.

Potential Customers

How do their needs differ from those of your current customers?  Potential customers represent your opportunity for growth.

Once you identify them and get to know them, you can redesign your product or service if necessary so you can communicate to them the information they need if you are to persuade them to buy from you. The members of your sales staff serve as communications links in this process, so train them to ask sales prospects about their problems and needs.

Remember, Success is a Partnership with Your Customers . . .

Never forget that customer problems represent golden opportunities for any business. If you can discover those problems and solve them today and tomorrow, your enterprise will grow, outdistance the competition - and succeed.

Customers are the source of all your financial returns - your revenue, profits and cash flow. Satisfying them while making a profit at the same time can be difficult. But doing so is the only way to remain successful over time.

Many books have been written about customer satisfaction, some of them quite complex. But any organization can manage customer satisfaction by following my COPS model, which stands for Culture, Organization, Process and Strategy.

My book Trump University Marketing 101 explores the COPS model in depth. But here’s an overview that can help you review how effectively your organization is satisfying its customers - and where your efforts are lacking.

Culture - You have to make customer satisfaction everyone’s responsibility. Remember that if your organization is customer-driven, everyone needs to be committed to satisfying customers. That includes you. When Lou Gerstner took the top job at IBM, for example, he announced that he would be the sales representative in charge of five accounts. That’s the kind of thinking that reorients company culture toward customer satisfaction.

Organization - Make it easy for everyone in your organization to satisfy customers. When a customer calls with a problem, for example, the person who answers the phone must be able to rectify that issue. Strive to empower your people to satisfy customers on the first call. Look at British Airways, which not only addresses customer complaints, but which empowers its employees to offer gifts, like upgrades, to help preserve customer relationships.

Process - Design processes to satisfy customers’ needs - not the needs of your organization. Years ago, for example, banks kept the classic “banker’s hours” and closed their doors after 3:00 P.M. and on weekends. Now that has all changed, due to competition. Some of the most successful banks are also the most customer-friendly.

Strategy -  Over time, all organizations need new customers. Yet they need to retain current customers too. The strategy for reaching these goals can be simple. SAS, for example, advertises and markets to attract new passengers. But it has also identified “moments of truth,” such as the times when customers check in or claim their baggage, that offer opportunities to cement customer loyalty. Whatever your strategy, make sure it has the customer at the center.

You have spent a lot of time thinking about who your customers are. Perhaps you sell educational products to young professionals with children. Or you sell moderately priced clothing to retired people on fixed incomes.

Yes, you know who your customers are, and that is essential. But the wisest marketers take it one level deeper. They  sell more - by understanding the roles of all the decision-makers who participate in a decision to buy.

Let’s say, for example, that you own an auto dealership. One day a family of five comes into your showroom. They aren’t just a demographic group. They all are involved in a purchase decision. And they can all comprise the sale you are trying so hard to make.

Within that family, different individuals have probably taken the following roles:

The Gatekeeper - This individual controls your access to the members of the decision-making unit. He or she was the one who said to the rest of the family, “Look at this car ad I saw in the newspaper.”

The Initiator - He or she started the decision-making process. ("We really need a new car now.")

The Influencer - This person has an interest in the outcome of the purchase decision and contributes opinions that control the outcome. ("I'd really like to buy a minivan so each of the children can have a seat.") Or it could be the son who is urging the family to buy an SUV, not a minivan, so he can have something flashier to show off to his friends.

The Decider - He or she “signs off” and makes the final decision, but may not be the most important member of the decision-making unit. ("I'll see what money we have in the bank.")

The Vetoer - He or she has the power to stop the purchase. ("I won't drive a car unless it has side air bags.")

The User -  He or she is the end-user of the product or service. ("I need to have space for our children and the neighbor's children.")

Some decision-making unit members may assume more than one role. A teenager may suggest the need for a new car and may also provide information about cars to parents, for instance. Other decision-makers might restrict themselves to just one role. For example, the decider might be a father who controls the family’s money but who has little interest in which minivan the family buys because he will never drive it.

Good salespeople are skilled at selling strategically to the people who fulfill each of these roles within any decision-making unit. But understanding the decision-making structure of your buying units isn’t just for members of your sales staff. It’s vital for marketers and advertisers too.

In the end, your marketing efforts convince individuals to buy, not demographic groups. The more you keep that in mind, the more effective your marketing efforts will be.