Many of us who run businesses, especially small businesses, send gifts to our key clients each year during the holiday season.  The reason we all do this is because it is expected of us, but the real reason behind it is to improve relationships and even use this yearly event as a marketing tool.

So how do you stand out from the crowd and make your gift translate into the best return?

Make It Last

In case you hadn’t noticed, bottled water has become quite a big business in the last 10 years. The larger an industry gets, the more time and effort gets put into packaging and marketing.  Let us take a look at how the packaging and marketing can affect consumer decision.

As with any industry, it is always entertaining to start with a few facts.

Quick Bottled Water Facts:

- $11 Billion US Market
- Average American consumed 28.3 gallons of water last year
- 2nd most consumed beverage in the US (after soft drinks)

Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin has often said he would like to purchase XM Satellite Radio, the only other major player.  Today he may very well have gotten his wish.

Sirius would buy XM for $4.6 billion in stock, which gives current XM stock owners about a 20 percent boost on their shares.  The new company would have 14 million subscribers.

Under the deal, Mel Karmazin, the more charismatic of the two companies’ CEOs, would be the CEO of the new company, while XM Chairman Gary Parsons would retain his position in the new company.

As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, on January 31 several odd black boxes with lights were seen around Boston and confused for bombs.  The media jumped right on it, and before you knew it, there was a mass hysteria surrounding the story.  The boxes ended up being a publicity stunt for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, a cable show that runs on Cartoon Network.  What the media didn’t initially report was that these same boxes were also found in eight other cities.

The immediate thought that popped into my head when I heard about this was:

As people continue buying more items online, clothing has remained a purchase that most picky dressers prefer to make in a brick and mortar store.  All of that could soon be changing.  Before we discuss that, let’s take a quick look at the status quo for clothing purchases in 2007:

Why Do People Buy Clothing Online?

- Sometimes the clothing is less expensive
- You can buy it in your underwear
- No traffic/crowds
- You can compare from many vendors before choosing
- You have an unlimited inventory to choose from

Why Do People Buy Clothing Offline?

Most of us don’t stay awake at night thinking about dressing rooms, but I do.  It’s not because I have a fetish for dressing rooms or anything - I just don’t like what stores have done to them, and need to point some things out.

Many stores do not realize just how valuable customer perception is at the dressing room level.  The dressing room is not just a place to try on clothing.  It is an area that shoppers use for privacy, as well as a momentary serene oasis to get away from the madness in a mall.  This can be understood better if you look at the way a hotel operates, which also is supposed to provide you with an “oasis”.  If you checked into a small hotel room, which had things thrown all over the place, inadequate lighting, and a pesky attendant constantly checking your door, how comfortable would you feel?

Finally caving into the market forces, Chad Hurley, YouTube co-founder, announced that the popular video sharing site will soon share revenue with its members.  While there are several video sharing sites that pay users for their video content, YouTube is the 800 lb. gorilla. As you probably recall, YouTube was purchased by Google for a whopping $1.65 Billion.

Who else is in the video sharing market pays you for your video?

MetaCafe’s Producer Rewards program pays you $5 for every 1,000 video views…but wait, there’s a catch.  You ONLY get paid if your video reaches 20,000 views.

Generally, when you think of the largest companies in the world, you don’t tend to think of an internet company.  You’ll probably think of Microsoft, GE, GM, and a few other household names.  After all, who can deny knowing these brands’ logos at a glance?  What these companies aren’t telling you is that they are scared…well actually, terrified, of internet brands. But why?

1. Time

We experience things in many ways, and marketers are always in search of a new way to connect with the consumer.  Psychological research always shows that the strongest recollection comes from the highest involvement of our senses.  For example, when you are a florist trying to sell a flower, you don’t just market the fact that the flower looks nice, you also sell it on the merits of its smell.  This adds value to the end product, because it has more uses, and more ways for someone to experience it.

Aside from online video ads, today there is a great demand for “Product Placement” ads.  This is a form of advertising where the advertiser has an actual product written into a script, or appearing clearly in the media.  Product Placement ads appear on TV, in video games, and even plays, but you may have to think hard to recall having seen it - since these ads are made to be less obvious than other forms of advertising.