Many people are Mad Men fans, and are saddened that the show is ending this summer. What many do not consider is that merchants can learn a thing or two from the workings of the agency. While the show is fiction, and few have time to devote their time to studying it every week, it is worth it. Below are a few of the lessons merchants can take from Mad Men.
Be different. This sounds like common sense, but in a world of fads, “different” is hard when a moneymaker is something that others sell with the same marketing campaign. If you want to sell a fad item, that is fine. Just try to market it differently. Instead of pushing something geared at teens to teens, try to market it to their parents. It is usually the parents who are paying for it anyway, so let them know why they need to buy it for their teen.
Everyone has a talent. In Mad Men, Peggy Olsen starts off as a secretary, and later moves up the ranks, thanks to her boss taking notice of an idea she shared in a focus group. Peggy was a nice, quiet secretary, so who would have thought that she was a copywriting mastermind? Very few, but you need to pay attention to your staff, as perhaps their hidden talent isn’t so hidden.
Be a good person. This is key for everything in life, but it does shape your business. Social media reviews and online review sites such as Yelp can either help or hinder a company. If your attitude or your employee’s attitude is less than good, this could do some damage, especially if you are a new company. No one wants his or her first Yelp review to be a one-star review.
Don’t over-manage. By doing so, you can make your work environment stuffy and debilitating for staff to grow. This can hurt your chances to see what everyone is good at, and can also hurt your chances of keeping staff long-term.
For some of these things, including hiring better staff, or promoting, you need extra funds. Not all businesses have extra funds lying around, so you need to look into obtaining a merchant cash advance. With a merchant cash advance, you get your money in a few days, and then payments start when your company starts to make money.
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