Since we started The A Group 9 years ago, we have been giving Christmas gifts to our clients: expensive cookies, designer pen, leather notebooks, engraved pad-folios to name a few. However none has elicit the volume of feedback through notes, calls and lots of social media mentions as this past year’s gift: The A Group branded Snuggie. We sent them to clients in the cold North as well as in sunny Florida along with our Christmas card also featuring our entire team wearing Snuggies. None of us could’ve predicted such a warm reception (pun intended) nor some of the coldest weather in recent history. Here’s a few lessons from this year’s Christmas gift: This was not the most expensive gift we have ever sent, but it was the most original We are a professional but fun company and the branded Snuggie said it all In a sea of cookies, pop…

Most people in business has heard, worked on or paid for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on their websites. SEO attempts to setup a website in a such a way that when search engine bots and crawlers visit your site, they are able to find, index and eventually display your information well. Here’s how Wikipedia describes it: Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results. Typically, the earlier a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines. But a new science/art is emerging along with the growth of Social Media, I have heard it called SMO for Social Media Optimization. SMO is about an…

I hear a lot about alignment lately. Business and church leaders like to talk about being aligned with mission, staffing, and consumers. It sounds great in meetings. It usually makes people think that you very smart when during any discussion you say “but we must make sure we have alignment here.” Try it next time you’re in any kind of strategy meeting, you’ll feel good. But true alignment is difficult to come by. The road to alignment is often paved with a lot of tough and very unpopular decisions—specially if you’re trying to re-align an organization that, for whatever reason, has gotten off course. Most likely, true alignment comes at the high cost of cancelled programs, product lines, reassigned or terminated staff positions. But when it works, it’s a beautiful and inspiring thing to see. I’m thankful to have been part of a true alignment exercise in the past year.…

I chose “Making a Difference” for my blog title years ago because when I started The A Group, my intent was to help churches, ministries and businesses to make a difference in the lives of people in their communities and around the globe. And we have. Over the past 9 years we have helped our clients to become better and more effective at what they do. Last week I was reminded again that we are still making a difference. Pastor Bruce Frank of Biltmore Baptist Church in Asheville, NC, spoke to the Groupers (that’s what we call anyone on the The A Group team) on Friday about the impact our Easter marketing had on his church. We often hear of the percentage of increase in attendance during our media campaigns, total growth numbers over last year’s attendance, and conversions. Those are great ways to measure the return on investment for…

Last week we closed on the sale of our house. We lived there for almost 11 years. Here’s what’s interesting about the sale of our house: we put the house in the market on a Thursday, had an open house on Sunday, and had a full-price offer within a week, and closed in 6 weeks. Oh, and we did it without a Realtor. I know my experience is not typical in this market, but here’s how I did. It’s Got to Look GoodFirst of all, my house was in good shape. No, it was in an amazing shape for a 25 year-old-house (that’s the kind of endorsement you want from your wife after 25 years of marriage). In the past decade, we remodeled most everything about the house. New roof, new landscaping, Bathrooms with travertine counter tops, glass bowls, multiple showerheads. Our kitchen was my favorite room. Since I love…

Protestants have been on the marketing bandwagon for a long time, but our Catholic friends have not embrace it until recently. This video is from Father Vic on the behalf of the Roman Catholic churches of Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. This was part of a “confessional campaign” to drive people to confession before Easter. The video was featured on their campaign microsite www.soulwow.com. Yes, this is for real. center this I’m going to give them props for trying something new and funny. It got me to watch all the way through and it made me smile. And that’s a feat considering I don’t usually make through most church videos no matter how short they are. What’s your take on Father Vic and his “ShamWow” parochial parish parody? (sorry, but I could not resist.)

When I found out that my current lawn service did not mowed grass in my new neighborhood, I decided to call on a few people who have left cards or mailed pamphlets to my new house. One that caught my attention was Will’s Lawn Service. Will is a 15-year old 9th grader from the neighborhood, but according to his marketing piece he “has been on a lawn mower since I was 5 and have been cutting grass professionally for the past 3 years.” I called on 4 different people including Will. I talked with 3 people and left a message with the other, including my new address and needs; however, Will was the only one who called from the property with a price. He also offered to cut the grass right away. It’s been over a week now since my first round of calls, and I haven’t heard back from…

I’m often in meetings with CEO’s and business leaders looking for cutting edge ways to reach their customers. I must confess that I love technology–almost as Kip in the movie “Napoleon Dynamite” for those of you who saw it–but technology can be a trap. Today I was reminded that it’s not technology that sells, but creative, self-motivated people behind technology that make the sale. Yesterday I got an email from Courtney Ivey. Courtney works for a men’s store, John Craig, in Orlando, Florida. Earlier this year, I bought a shirt from her during one of my speaking engagements at the Shingle Creek Rosen Resort where her store is located. Yesterday, I got an email from Courtney with 5 pictures she took of her new shipment of Robert Graham shirts. I have gotten more compliments on my Robert Graham shirt than anything else I’ve bought lately and have wanted to buy…

Historically, the first weekend of the New Year is a great opportunity to reach out to your community with a New Year series. 2008 was no exception. All of our clients who spent the time to plan, design, and promote a new teaching series saw a significant jump in their weekend attendance compared to previous years. Interestingly, those who did not promote their first-of-the year message series had marginal results. Easter is the next natural window for the unchurched to visit your congregation. And since Easter is early this year, March 23, churches should begin their creative planning now. Here are few tips: Create a 6-8 week teaching series that connects with your community’s concerns and issues. Promote it to your own people as a way to reach out to their network of friends and family Be creative. Develop a visually compelling, graphical representation of the teaching series. Make the…