Here is a really simple example: You buy chocolate milk for $3.39. It is easier for you to give the cashier a five dollar bill. Great user experience so far. She hands you back a dollar, your receipt and the coins on top. Here is the problem as small as it is. The user now has to make sure the coins don't fall off the stack while separating the dollar from the receipt to put back in your wallet. The UX solution is simple. hand back the coins first, then the dollar, pause and ask if you would like the receipt in your bag.

Notice the very subtle change that created a whole new and better user experience. Here is another: My built in scion GPS. To program in a location I first put in the address number, then street, then city and state. This is just like any user would do in filling out a form that asks for address. The user is very familiar with this and thus many GPS adopted this as a User Friendly interface. The problem I have encountered is "No such address or street or city". My Tom Tom’s rethought interface asked me to input an address in the reverse. It starts with State, then as I am typing in the city it shows me what is available, same with street and finally number. Although backwards to what I am used to I quickly picked it up and am a lot happier.

Here are a few tips on how to rethink UX:

1.  Throw away any preconceived notions. There is the story told of the newlywed who made a pot roast. When asked why she cut off the ends of the roast she said, "My mom always cut off the ends". Her mom was then asked the question and gave the same answer. The grandmother was asked and answered, "My pan wasn't big enough to hold the whole roast."

2.  Watch children. and how they solve a problem a great way to solve UX problems in the adult world. A truck had driven into a Tunnel but was slightly too big and got stuck. They tried every which way to extract the truck from its predicament. Nothing worked. A little girl watching all this said, “Why don’t you let the air out of the tires?” Many times there is a simple solution.

3.  Ask a typical user. Not necessarily the decision maker. A high school had a problem with the girls restroom mirror being cover with lipstick marks. The school board with all its education could not find a solution to this problem. The person taking the minutes said she had an idea. The board would not acknowledge the young women. A week later the problem stopped. The board was stunned, what had happened to make the teenagers stop kissing the mirror. The young secretary explained, “I went into the bathroom where the students could see me clean the mirror with water from the toilet.” The users know best.

I have been at a loss as to how to conclude this blog for week. UX has fascinated me for decades prompting me to read books on human behaviour and market research techniques. This is an area that can make a tremendous difference in your branding and sales. It can be used in every industry and aspect of your life from parenting to being the most effective CEO. Get a free consult from...

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer
Fred [@] TMIFred.com
@TMIFred

You need the Marketing Imagineer!

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer
Fred [@] TMIFred.com
@TMIFred

The iPad is the latest in great props. I recently had one at a get together of father and sons. I didn't even take it out of the pouch and became the center of the conversation for the next 2 hours. My other thoughts are to carry it around with an enlarged version of my business card showing or a presentation deck running on it. That surely will stir up some conversations. I am in the process of developing some new consumer products for Treeno Software on the iPad. This will become an even more intimate pick up technique as many will want to see what I have done and dream up their own app. It may be expensive but you have to look at it as part of your advertising budget.

Props are wonderful pick up tools. Tell me what your favorite prop is and how you have used it effectively.

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer
Fred [@] TMIFred.com
@TMIFred

The Math
$1000 per customer sound like a lot of money to "lose". But if you take that money and spread it out over a year it is only $2.74 per day. A simple method therefore is to make it a one day coupon. You can further diminish your cost by making the coupon more specific to an item.  Probably something with a high profit margin.

The Behavior
Most consumers don't use coupons. However they love the idea they can get a coupon which makes them think about your business. Most consumers will not come to your business everyday so just to save the $1000 for the year.  However they will come more often because they have seen the coupon.

There you have it, The Coupon Trick in a nutshell.

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer
Fred [@] TMIFred.com
@TMIFred

He then left the children alone and watched them through a two way mirror. Some ate the marshmallow right away, others waited a little while then ate. About 30% waited the 15 minutes. This professor kept track of the children in the experiment and noticed something interesting. The children who could not wait struggled later in life and had more behavioral problems, while those who waited tended to be more positive and better motivated, have higher grades and incomes, and had healthier relationships.

So patience is more than a virtue it is a key to success. We can learn patience, I am confident of it. I am sitting in an LDS church listening to youth talk about what they learned playing ultimate Frisbee. A few stated the long throw can get you a goal quickly but it is also more likely to get blocked, missed or intercepted. Short throws can be easily caught making progress toward your goal. They see the power of patience. A good marketer will analyze results regularly to show clients their ROI. Long term sales will result. Let us put off our marshmallow desires to gain the greater reward.

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer
Fred [@] TMIFred.com
@TMIFred

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer
Fred [@] TMIFred.com
@TMIFred

Attracting attention: Is your sign, actually the lettering, big enough. From todays tweets you'll see most are not. In the case of EMS the new logo has the image EMS and the words Eastern Mountain Sports (see their website). To fit all the words the letters became really small. The second problem was the blue they used is hard to see with the sky as a background. Before you decide to make your sign mock one up and put it in place. Remember most will be driving by so look at it that way.

Identifying what you do. I may be driving down the road in search of widget shop. Can I tell you are a widget shop from your sign? I know this should be a part of your logo design but business card versus a road sign is different. Especially when you have to conform to different constraints. In this case you should cheat. Make your car the road sign and park it as a supplement to the real road sign.

Attract New Customers: Road sign can be made out of many materials. I have seen some really unique signs that made me want to visit that business. I have also seen some sign worn by the times. Broken, dirty, fading. Is that what you want new customers to see? Use long lasting, easy to clean and durable material for your sign. Make it look clean and new every chance you get.

Need a second set of eyes? Call on me,

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer
Fred [@] TMIFred.com
@TMIFred

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer
Fred [@] TMIFred.com
@TMIFred 

First what is the purpose? I have been to hundreds of tradeshows and wonder why some of the companies even bothered. Did they not know why they were there? I know some companies show up to have a presence and bank on the times outside of the tradeshow to really shine. With this attitude, and it shows in your booth, your company really isn't attracting much new business. The purpose for you being there is to make new contacts and cement your relationships with the old. 

Second how to attract passers by. Before you attend the conference get an attendee list and email them. In the email put a picture of the people who will be manning the booth and maybe a picture of the booth. What this does is prepare the attendees mind or reticular activating system. Then when the attendee arrives they see your booth or face and feel there is something they were supposed to do there. The booth needs props. I like a spinning wheel of prizes. I own a really loud one. My success with this wheel was beyond my dreams. I was invited to be at many tradeshow just because I made it fun. It was that spinning wheel believe me. And a little secret, while many had to pay to display, I didn't. Another fun prop is a Gobo light. These are spot lights that have your logo or any image. Shine them on the hall way where the attendees are walking. and at night outside my hotel room. It attracts a lot of attention. Another thing is to have someone from your booth walk the show floor engaging with the attendees. Even mentioning the spinning wheel like this, "Have you seen the booth with the spinning wheel? I think it is the best booth out here." This really works. Now for the booth itself. You need pictures more than words. If your a small company that integrates with big companies have their logo on your booth. Most of all have your logo needs to be on everything. You need some great giveaways. No pens, Toys. Something that stand out. My favorite has been the bouncing lightup balls, notepads or journals, and recycle bags. Talk to my friends at FunManPromotions.com they have taken the time to discover what are the most effective swag.

Third and most important part of the booth are the people. They should be lively, well dressed and friendly. Their attitude should be one of service. What I mean is that their company is ready to serve and it has a place for everyone. The thinking should be, "Everyone wants to know about my company. How am I going to introduce it to the attendees" I have been attracted to booths more by a friendly smile than by anything else in the booth. I met a man once who was an expert. As people passed by he asked a simple question, "Did you get that frisbee here at the tradeshow?" The conversation was started. He would ask where they found the frisbee, what that company did and that his swag was better. 

One last thought, Clutter Study. I have been involved in this for magazine and grocery shelf studies so why not a booth. Essential you take the product and put it on the rack or shelf with other similar products, show it to the user for 5 seconds and see what they recall. The secret is in showing several versions of the product packaging randomly placed on the shelf. The results in the magazine cover study tracked exactly with newsstand sales. It would not be a stretch to do this with a Booth. 

I am excited to go to the next tradeshow, are you? If not maybe I can help you get ready.

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer
Fred [@] TMIFred.com

What the savy business man learns is that an identical product can have a piece of the pie. As a matter of fact a huge piece of the pie with little extra effort. Icee started it all when a fountain drink machine broke down and the vendor sold frozen sodas to his cutomers. 7-Eleven decided to experiment with the Icee machine eventually making their own and selling them as Slurpees. They further went on to make deals with mainstream sodas like Orange Crush, Mountain Dew and of course Coca Cola. This gave them a differentiation. But did Icee go out of business? Nope there was plenty of room for everyone.

Do you have a product that is similar to a competitors? Or an idea that is already developed by someone else? Forget the competition and do it anyway. Put a couple of spins on it. Make it a local thing. Make the name of the product cool. You'll probably find there is enough business for everyone. And of course if you need help making your product special call upon me,

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer
Fred [@] TMIFred.com