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MarketingIdeaShop BRAINY Tidbits

The ezine with brainy ideas & resources
for marketers & small businesses


This newsletter brought to you each Tuesday by
Lois Carter Fay & The Marketing Idea Shop
http://www.marketingideashop.com
mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com


Issue 43 - March 16, 2004
Reading time: 10 minutes

Circulation:  1342


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This is an opt~in email - By subscription only
You are receiving this newsletter because you requested it.


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IN THIS ISSUE

1.   I Love L.L. Bean
2.   Quote of the Week
3.   Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers
4.   A Little Fun
5.   Smell the Coffee


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1. I Love L.L. Bean

Before school started last fall, I bought a new,
monogrammed backpack for my niece, Roni, for her birthday.
She picked it out. It looked great. Lots of places to keep
things organized. Pockets, zippers, places to clip things.
When I gave it to her, Roni loved it.

About a month ago, one of the zippers broke. Bummer. But
L.L. Bean offers a lifetime guarantee on its products so I
sent it back and here's what happened...

A few days after I mailed the backpack to L.L. Bean, I
received an email from their "orders" department, informing
me they had received it.

The next day I received another email saying it had
shipped. "Okay," I thought. "We should get it early next
week." But to my surprise, a brand new backpack arrived the
following day!

And that's not all. Five days later I received a refund
check from the company in the amount of $4.55 with a note
saying the backpack was now on sale so a refund was due.

Now that's customer service at its best!

Obviously, L.L. Bean has an established procedure for
handling each aspect of its business, as well as a very
robust customer relationship management software program to
automate the process.

How would you like to be able to automatically thank your
customers for ordering from you, remind them to order
again, suggest they order an additional product or two, and
keep them up-to-date on your new products and services?
Well, you can!

And you don't have to be L.L. Bean to do it.

Surprisingly, all it takes is a good electronic shopping
cart. If you'd like to sell your products and services
online, keep in touch with your customers and prospects
automatically, use the shopping cart to upsell customers to
even more products they might not know existed, and do it
with ease, I suggest you pick up a copy of Tom Antion's
ebook, HOW TO PICK A SHOPPING CART SYSTEM THAT MAKES YOU
MONEY. You'll be stunned by all the things a good shopping
cart can do.


Tom charges $97 for this ebook. But you can get it FREE!


That's right. Tom gave me permission to let you have it for
F*REE. Through Thursday, March 18, I'm GIVING you the book
if you buy any of our ebooks or special reports!


Buy any of our ebooks and get HOW TO PICK A SHOPPING CART
SYSTEM THAT MAKES YOU MONEY gratis:

52 READY-TO-GO SALES MEETINGS
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=41484&offerid=5623&q=2


MARKETING PLAN ESSENTIALS: ONLINE & OFF
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=41484&offerid=5624&q=2


DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN WORKBOOK
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=41484&offerid=5628&q=2


THE RETAILER'S GUIDEBOOK
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=41484&offerid=5629&q=2


HOW TO BE YOUR OWN AD AGENCY
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=41484&offerid=5630&q=2


THE SALES MANAGER'S GUIDEBOOK
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=41484&offerid=5631&q=2



OR buy our one of our special reports:

"Getting Creative: Methods to Your Madness" and get HOW TO
PICK A SHOPPING CART SYSTEM THAT MAKES YOU MONEY as a
bonus
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=41484&offerid=5625&q=2


"PR Tactics 101" + HOW TO PICK A SHOPPING CART SYSTEM THAT
MAKES YOU MONEY on the house
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=41484&offerid=5626&q=2


"How to Write a News Release" + HOW TO PICK A SHOPPING CART
SYSTEM THAT MAKES YOU MONEY for no dinero
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=41484&offerid=5627&q=2


"Why You Should Send Out a News Release" + HOW TO PICK A
SHOPPING CART SYSTEM THAT MAKES YOU MONEY FREE
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=41484&offerid=5632&q=2


Or call me at 1-800-203-8660 to order offline.


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2.  Quote of the Week

"Aerodynamically the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly,
but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying
anyway."

~~Mary Kay Ash


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AND NOW, A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSORS...


What's your definition of success? Email your comments to
me at
mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com?subject=Success_Quote



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3.  Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers

==> You can get FREE audio tapes and special reports on a
variety of PR topics from Annie Jennings. Annie also offers
two weekly teleseminars every week, gratis. To sign up or
request the f*ree stuff, visit:

http://www.anniejenningspr.com


==> Here's a media directory to check out. The magazine
database features over 2,000 U.S. and Canadian print
magazines complete with reader demographics, editorial
concepts, writer's guidelines and editorial calendars.
Subscriptions range from $1.99 for 24 hours (a great way to
check it out) to just $149 for a year. Visit:

http://www.woodenhorsepub.com


==> Looking for info on women? Check this out, courtesy of
http://www.digital-women.com :

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/women.html
http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/about/about_e.html
http://womensstatisticswatch.bei.t-online.de/gen.htm
http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd/ww2000/index.htm
http://www.libraryspot.com/statistics/womenstats.htm


==> Thanks to Don Crawford at Shickel Corp.
http://www.shickel.com for this website. Find out about
government contracting opportunities over $25,000. This
site, FedBizOpps, is updated daily:

http://www.fbodaily.com


==> Anti-S*PAM Conference for Attorneys

What: GasPedal.net has partnered with the Practicing Law
Institute to create an anti-s*pam training conference for
attorneys.

Why: S*pam law is changing rapidly and is highly uncertain.
It is vital that the legal community get up to speed on
these new and complex issues in order to properly protect
their clients.

When: March 31, live in New York and nationally via web
simulcast.

How: These links will give you all the details and
automatically give you a $200 discount:

NY Seminar:
http://www.gaspedal.net/cgi-bin/gp?spamseminargp15

Live Webcast:
http://www.gaspedal.net/cgi-bin/gp?spamwebcastgp15


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4.  A Little Marketing Fun


The folks who wrote these could be in PR. It's all in the spin!

What do you call a boomerang that doesn't work?
A stick.

What do you call cheese that isn't yours?
Nacho cheese.

What do you call Santa's helpers?
Subordinate Clauses.

What do you call four bullfighters in quicksand?
Quatro sinko.


Help keep the smiles coming...please send me your
marketing, PR or sales jokes. I'll be happy to give you
credit and list your website! Email me:
mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com?subject=marketing_joke


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5.  Smell the Coffee...

When we returned from our trip to the Midwest last week, we
were treated to beauty. The daffodils are up and their
sunny blooms are nodding at us. Today's a dreary day in the
mountains. It's gray and rainy, but I'm happy for the rain.
It means we will have even more flowers soon.

May you be well and your business profitable!


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MORE PRODUCTS

I encourage you to visit the Marketing Idea Shop website
for lots more information. Plus, you'll find a lovely
picture of me there! There are f~ree articles, past copies
of Brainy Tidbits, resources, ebooks and special reports.
Remember, we are constantly adding brainy ideas and
information to the site for you.

http://www.marketingideashop.com



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THE FINE PRINT

© 2004 Marketing Idea Shop. All rights reserved.
This publication is registered with the
Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
ISSN 1545-035X


THANK YOU!
We appreciate your business.


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We will not distribute your email address or personal
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Reprinted from "MarketingIdeaShop BRAINY Tidbits," a F~REE
ezine from Marketing Idea Shop and Lois Carter Fay
featuring brainy ideas and resources for marketers and
small businesses. Subscribe today at
http://www.marketingideashop.com and receive F~REE by email
"67 Ways to Promote Your Business."


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Published by:
Lois Carter Fay, APR
Founder, Marketing Idea Shop
411 Rainier Road, Massanutten, VA  USA 22840
Voice 540.289.3840 or 800.203.8660
lcf@marketingideashop.com
http://www.marketingideashop.com

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