Free That Costs Too Much

Late last week I allowed myself to follow an advertisement on a website.  Very rarely do I follow an online ad, but the advert offered something for free.

Believing that I may enjoy the product that was being offered for free and decide to become a user of the product, I followed the link.

However, the page the link took me to required that I give my full name, mailing address, and e-mail address before they would let me try their product.  This is not the same as free.

The cost to try their product (giving away my direct marketing information) was still a higher price than I was willing to pay — even for a product that I believe I may like and become a loyal consumer of.  I left the website and will not be trying their product.

Try Before You Buy

Last night I had the opportunity to visit the new Raleigh Airport Cambria Suites at the expense of the Choice Hotels company.

The cost to try their product was getting to the Suites.

Additionally, there were several added values.

• Although I attended their half hour pitch of why I should become a Cambria Suites developer, attending the pitch was not required.
• After the pitch was an extremely expensive cocktail hour and steak dinner at the Capitol City Chophouse across the street that was comped by Choice.
• I was able to make wonderful use of their featured common area to mix and mingle with others in my field, making valuable contacts.

Cambria let me try their product without asking for something from me first.  This is truly free.

Cambria now has a new customer with a moderate to high sense of loyalty as well as a customer who, having tried and liked their product, will recommend their product to friends.  Additionally, my company is now seriously considering being a Cabria Suites developer.

The Rules of Free

If you’re going to give something away for free to drum up new business, have enough faith in your product to give it away and expect your customer to love it so much they won’t be able to stay away once they’ve tried it.  It’s only free if there’s nothing required in return.

If you don’t have enough faith in your product to expect a customer to try it and love it, you need to find a new product.

Ordering a French Press from Starbucks always elicits one of two reactions from the barista.

• “Huh?” from the newer baristas.  I’m not sure if French presses aren’t very well covered in training or if they just hit it so infrequently and/or it’s in such an awkward place on the cash register that it’s difficult to find.
• “Good choice!” Again, I’m assuming that it’s a lesser made beverage and a change of pace is nice.

The allure of a French Press to me is that for about three and a half bucks you can enjoy a cup of coffee whose oils haven’t been filtered out.  It’s fresh, it’s hot, and it’s whatever blend you want it to be (not just whatever blend they happened to brew today).

It’s a time out in the day where you can simultaneously relax and focus.

You can chat with a friend, strategize with a co-worker, or sip while you read a good book.

For all the talk about “$5 coffee” and Starbucks’ drinks just being milkshakes, I still find that my favorite beverages are either around $2 (iced coffee or espresso con panna) or about $3.50.  In this economy, it’s nice to find something that will increase your quality of life at that price.

Today I designed the backs of the business cards of one of our newer brands, the Signature Team.

This team is a group of retired GSA personnel who has spent significant time as GSA employees and are known as the most experienced in their field.  Each team member has 25+ years of experience as a GSA employee.  These highly experienced contractors work part time on difficult or highly specialized projects from GSA.

The front will look like our usual company business card, but the back will be more representative of the message we are trying to convey with the Signature Team.

When designing the card, I considered that we are selling the services of our government “premium brand“.  Each of the members of the Signature Team has a significant and very personal set of experiences that they’re able to pull from.  Each member has also spent significant time serving GSA and the government.

With that in mind, the back of the cards were created to:

• Conjure the idea of a premium label.
• Keep the company logo as the most prominent part in the hierarchy of the card.
• The Signature Team “Edwardian Script ITC” font is used as the next most significant piece of the card to solidify branding with our Signature Team branding effort.
• Each card is personalized to emphasize the idea that the experience of each member is unique; no other person has their collection of experiences and it’s what makes them most suitable for certain tasks.
• Each card contains the real signature of the card holder adding value to the card by highlighting that each team member has abilities as unique as their signature.
• Next to their name is the number of years they were public servants gaining experience and leading up to their ability to be the leading expert in their respective field.

I was recently told that there was some surprise that I wasn’t at the Fusion retreat at WISP this past weekend.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend as my $140 was earmarked to go elsewhere.

After much consideration, I decided that my $140 should really be spent on the less fortunate, so instead of attending the retreat I sent it to assist in the bailout of AIG.

Additionally, I will be holding a charity auction this weekend to benefit AIG.  The auction will be done through the Mutli-Billion Dollar Corporation Relief Fund, a 501(c)3 I set up to help the corporations.

If you have anything that you’d like to donate to be auctioned off or if you’d like to attend the auction, please let me know.

My friends, I want to thank you for taking the time to vote yesterday.

Yesterday is the first time in the 10 years I’ve been of legal voting age that not one person I voted for won their election.

This includes myself.

My friends, although I did not win any of the public offices that you voted for me to be a part of, I am still proud today; proud of a campaign run without mudslinging and a grass roots support system that never said quit.

My campaign consisted entirely of two things.

• My campaign slogan: “My humility is only surpassed by my ability.”
• A promise of pizza and soda machines at all PTA meetings.

Enough people believed in these two things that I was trusted with literally ones of votes for Board of Education in Howard County.  My friends, I thank each of you.  Mom, time heals all wounds and I will eventually forgive that you forgot to write me in.

In two different districts I was voted for circuit court judge.  My friends, this was the very definition of the audacity of hope.  To vote for a man with no law degree or formal legal training and believe that he could make a difference by being a judge instead of legislator while serving on the bench shows that you have a true “Yes, we can!” attitude.

As we move forward from this election, I’d like to say that I am a proud American who will fully embrace our new circuit judges and Board of Education.

Janet Siddiqui, remember the pizza and soda machines.  Parents get hungry, too.

Tim McCrone, remember that in its simplest form, justice is really “just ice”.  Keep that in mind, and I know you’ll make Howard County proud.

New circuit court judge in District 8, I couldn’t bother to look up your name.  But good luck with that.

God bless you, my friends.  God bless Howard County.  God bless Maryland, and God bless America.

UPDATE: I also just found out I was a write-in for Senator of South Dakota, but narrowly lost to Tim Johnson by 237,813 votes.  Thank you, jenimc!

My grandma has Alzheimer’s.

This is something we’ve been aware of for the last several years, but this weekend my grandpa decided it was time to have her live in the Alzheimer’s ward of their retirement home. Earlier this week he had an unscheduled procedure to put a pacemaker in and she kept getting angry that he didn’t tell her he had surgery scheduled.

My grandmother is a strong-willed woman.  She has been for as long as I can remember.

Although she has always had an attitude that’s reminded me of the “We Can Do It!” woman from WWII propaganda pictures, she’s also always had grace.

Even the last few times I’ve seen her when she’s obviously forgotten who one of the people she’s talking with is she has always managed to keep a polite composure that would help her continue the conversation as if the person were her lifelong friend.

The idea of my Gram coming to a point in her life where life will never again be fulfilling, but confusing and awkward breaks my heart.

She’s a good woman who has led a good life.

She’s instilled a sense of right, wrong, and decency in my mother and her siblings.

As she was being taken from her former home in the retirement home where Gramp still resides, she told the nurse during her walk “I know he still loves me because he married me instead of that other girl his mother wanted him to marry.”

My grandparents have been married 60-some years.  They’ve fought like cats and loved without reserve.

I hope some day my grandchildren will also say that they appreciate that my wife and I have made life better for each other like I know my grandparents have for each other.

I may have started traveling again.

Two summers ago my life broke out into constant travel as we worked on some projects for a group who did real estate development in conjunction with Starbucks.  As you are probably aware, Starbucks is currently in downsize mode along with most of the rest of the economy and has been for a few months.

But this week we got tapped by the Army to do some work in Parsons, KS.

I had a great time working on the project, which should be complete by Thursday, and I got to:

• Add a great new location to my map
• Grab some great video to add to my Went For A Walk project at Big Brutus, JC Nichols Fountain, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum
• Have lunch with two longtime online friends from various websites
• Meet a fellow Brightkiter that I’ve enjoyed following the last couple of months
• Eat Kansas City BBQ and Cincinnati Chili on consecutive days
• Visit one of the top 10 cafes I’ve ever been to
• Get upgraded to First Class on my return trip
• Bonus: Futurama was the in-flight video between Cincinnati and BWI

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