In an old episode of “Taxi” (yes, it’s from long ago and my memory is a bit sketchy — but the point is correct), Alex wanted to search for his long lost daughter who he had just found out lived in a nearby city — he just didn’t know exactly where. Elaine said he should just go there and start asking around. “Do you know how big that city is?”, Alex asked Elaine. Without looking up, Reverend Jim answered from a distant corner, “24.2 square miles.” Alex and Elaine looked in shock at Jim, but thought it best not to divert the discussion. “Well then go through the phone book and see where she lives,” Elaine insisted. “Elaine, do you know how many people there are in that city with the same last name as my daughter?” Again, Reverend Jim answered without looking up, “6,435″. Now Alex’s and Elaine’s curiousity got the most of them. “Jim, how do you know all this stuff?”, Alex asked.

Jim looked up in amazement. “Was I right?”

My point here is that Jim’s ridiculous answers to some impossible questions were readily accepted by Alex, Elaine and the viewing audience — which is what made the joke so funny. But the only reason everyone trusted him was because his answers were specific and delivered with confidence.

What’s this have to do with following negativity?

Well, today’s economic climate has people scrambling all over looking for answers and we’re willing to listen to anyone who has specific information and a confident tone. Trouble is, two people giving specifics in a confident tone can still have opposite opinions — in fact, they can disagree completely. Doesn’t matter though, because no opinion is right. They’re just opinions. After listening to a sample of prognosticators for an hour, your head will be spinning and you’ll be more confused than ever.

So why are we scrambling? What’s with this pent up nervous energy over the economy?

I think it’s because most people are followers, and they’re listening to and believing in the negativity. They see others worried about their jobs, losing their homes, and pinching pennies at the stores and they do the same. And then one person tells ten people, who tell ten people, who tell . . .

But should we be so frightened? Should this negative news affect us? I don’t think so. Sure, losing a job is no vacation, and losing your home can be crushing. But fearing it, well, that just does nothing to help and, in fact, it hurts. Yet people find it hard to avoid fear simply because so many people are experiencing it — and talking about it.

But why follow the lead of others? Why believe without question what they say, much like Alex, Elaine and the audience believed that Jim knew what he was talking about? Why start making negative plans (ie if I lose my job, then I’ll . . . ) when there’s no guarantee you’ll need them? Why not make positive plans?

Hmmm. Positive plans. Sounds good, right? And with a majority of people bracing from the current state of the world, the time is right for the go-getters to go get. Opportunity is out there, it really is. I know because we just picked up two new accounts in one month, and our calls are rising because we’re out there with a positive face. Plus, we’re hiring. How many companies can say that?

You know what others in our industry do when they hear my news and my outlook? They tell others — in disbelief — who in turn tell others, who tell others, etc. This news tends to lead to a small percentage of go-getters contacting us, mainly because they look to partner with those who are succeeding rather than those who are failing.

So while (according to the experts) the economy is failing, consumer confidence is zip, unemployment is growing, foreclosures are at an all time high and people are just anxious, look on the bright side.

You’re here. Your family is here. The country is here. The world is here. All the rest is just details for you to make the most of — just like two years ago when nobody was panicking. Sure, the situation has changed. But the game is the same.

So go out and play to win. Have fun. Enjoy.

And trust that you’ll make it. You always have, and you always will.

Something has happened to the way potential customers and clients respond to marketing and advertising — and it’s happened so rapidly most people are still scratching their heads and wondering what to do about it. It’s occurring across the board throughout all industries. Consumer advertising, trade advertising, product announcements and application stories are all drawing fewer leads. What’s going on?

There are a lot of reasons, and I think we’re in kind of a perfect storm that’s been brewing for some time. The first step to getting a handle on the solution is to understand the three most important factors:

Factor #1: It’s the economy, stupid.

Everybody remembers James Carville’s quote about the last recession in 1992 and it really still holds true today. Especially when the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), made the announcement about the obvious this past Monday. We are in a recession. And that’s not a surprise to anyone. People are holding onto their wallets tighter and waiting. Even people who have job security and plenty of liquidity are waiting. We all seem to be waiting. Waiting to see how the economy pans out. Waiting for prices to drop on the items we need and want.

Factor #2: This doesn’t look like 2006 anymore, Toto.

I was culling through data yesterday when I found a survey on Consumer Spending Attitudes for the 2008 Holiday Season. These figures are released every year and they are very important to retailers and other advertisers who need to forecast earnings for the year-end. The research was done by The American Research Group (ARG), a very well-respected research firm that has been conducting surveys and gathering poling data for over 30 years. The ARG said that consumer spending on the Internet had dropped for the third straight year. 30% of the people surveyed said they planned to buy gifts online, down from 36% in 2007 and 44% in 2006. That’s insane. That figure can not be correct. Who is being surveyed? People who answer the phone. I’m not sure about you, but I don’t answer my home phone anymore. I don’t know anyone who does without checking caller ID. For that matter, I know plenty of people who don’t even have a land-line anymore. How can a company publish significant and accurate data based on information collected from people who still choose to answer their home phone? It can’t be done. They’re still collecting data like it’s 2006.

It’s not just survey firms who seem to be slow to change and operating like it’s still 2006. Most companies are still marketing in the same ways they always have been and being unsatisfied with the results. In their defense, the marketing landscape has changed so rapidly even the smartest people have some degree of whiplash.

Factor #3: People’s buying approaches have changed

Today’s buyers are anonymous, smarter and generally don’t want to talk to you. Technology and the Internet has affected the traditional pre-purchase information gathering process. The Internet has given more choices and control to the buyer. It allows people to search for products or services they need and get detailed information without leaving a trace behind. Buyers want to remain anonymous in the initial stages of the information gathering process. They want information now, not in weeks, days or even hours. They often know a lot about your company, your products and services and competitive options by the time they contact you. In other words, by the time today’s prospect contacts you he or she has done their homework. Buyers generally will have a good idea of what they need and have figured out what they are willing to pay. Potential customers used to complain, “why can’t I get someone on the phone.” Now they may complain, “I can’t believe I can’t find any information about this online.” That means companies need more than a website to help potential customers make up their minds. They need dozens of information access points: blogs, social media interaction and comments on articles, wikis and more.

Blaming the messengers. If you listen to the news today, it seems that not only do people not read newspapers, but they also don’t read books or magazines, look at billboards, watch TV, movies or even listen to the radio. All of the mediums that deliver messages are offering fewer sales leads. Even web ads are down. But let’s really think about this. Does everyone really no longer read magazines and newspapers? Does everyone really no longer have any interest in new products or services? If sales are down don’t necessarily blame the messengers. Maybe it is that people are responding in ways that confound the tracking process, just like the survey example you just read about above.

The amazing vanishing customer! Like I said before, research is a much more important part of the buying process than it used to be. Buyers may start at an ad, a direct mail piece, a web banner ad, e-blast, personal recommendation, posting on a web article, blog or even Twitter. Buyers now gather as much information as possible about a product or service — and then seem to vanish for a while. They may finally contact you later via a variety of ways — leaving you wondering where they first learned about your product. And even when you ask people how they learned about your product, they may not really remember. Of course special web addresses, links, cookies and tracking codes are all great ways to track lead but in some ways they act like Black Boxes in airplanes — only tracking the last few moments of the customer’s purchasing approach. It also skews the data to make it look like the Internet is the only medium worth dealing with.

Be there for your potential customers when they begin to research.

Offline media isn’t going to go away. It will change dramatically over the next several years but it’s not going away. People will still listen to the radio, read books and pay attention to billboards and well designed direct mail and web ads. Businesses will still need to tell people about their products. The best thing you can do for your company is provide as many resources for your potential customers for when they start researching. After all, they are going to research and if they can’t find you they will find your competitor.

There’s no doubt that people who intend to be a vital part of the workplace need to embrace social media. But there are a few groups still holding out — and they risk being quickly being left behind.

With the market taking a downturn, older adults may need to keep working a little longer than they had planned. One of the ways they can boost their perception and knowledge in the workplace is to not only participate in things like LinkedIn and other professional networking sites, but also Twitter, blog reading, Facebook and other new platforms that are rapidly emerging as useful, even necessary, workplace skills.

Social media may have started out as a way for young people to stay connected with each other, but it is rapidly becoming a necessary part of collaboration in the office. In fact, a recent New York Times article explains a large MacArthur Foundation study that finds young people are using emerging media to learn important tech skills, increase their literacy and learn how to manage their public identity. I think everyone can learn a lot from that research. Adults who don’t know how to integrate the latest communication technologies into their workday — or worse, you resist them altogether — are going to lose out.

Here’s a list the four most important technologies that every individual needs to be using:

Blogs Become a voracious consumer of blogs. Read them. Comment on them. Bookmark them. Share them with others. And if you think you have the talent for it, write one. But make it interesting and smart. Pull in web links, photos and video clips. Even just being able to talk about the things you’ve read on blogs can help build your professional profile and shape you as a thought leader, create previously unforeseen business opportunities and help you learn about things you may not otherwise.

Twitter Running a good Twitter feed isn’t easy and we’ll post some tips on how to use it more effectively in the future. But if you think it’s just about people posting what they had for breakfast you’re already way behind. In fact you can access a lot of unexpected people on Twitter. This morning I found not only the White House, but also the United States Senate, the House and more. You’ll find for-profit companies like Del Webb and not-for-profits like United Way. And with new technologies like the iPhone and Blackberry Storm, Twitter stands to overtake text messaging because it’s free and easier to manage. The point is that Twitter has already become a messaging platform to issue news, mini PR releases, and updates for everyone.

Will mastering these technologies make you better at your job? Of course not. But it may help. And you might as well get used to them because this stuff isn’t going away — that is, until something even more baffling comes along.

Everyone is feeling the crunch the economic slowdown these days. But as with everything, there’s always two sides to the story. An economic crunch for some is a boom for others. You might expect places like Big Lots (which posted an 11% increase in profits on Tuesday) and Dollar Tree (which posted a 15% profit yesterday) to do well. But there are all kinds of examples of companies that are taking advantage of a slow economy. Take J.M. Smucker for example, which had a 27% rise in first quarter sales due to more people brown bagging PB&J. Hormel also exceeded expectations with sales rising 8% in the first quarter of this year to $1.62 billion, partly driven by a rise in Spam sales. But were those increases due only to rising food and fuel costs? Or could it be something else? Hormel and Smuckers both realized they have something to offer in a slowing economy. That is why they both increased their ad expenditures — which played a key role in boosting their profits.

Okay, but I make _________, not canned ham or PB&J
It isn’t just the discount brands that are making profits. Last month Volkswagen, Audi, Honda, Toyota, Fiat and Peugeot Citroën, Europe’s second-largest carmaker all posted profits. Buckingham Research Group analyst Barbara Wyckoff raised her profit per share estimate for the second quarter for Tiffany & Co. by 6 cents to 54 cents, expecting strong sales at U.S. locations from tourists. Consumers are spending, they are just being more careful with their money.

The key is to keep communicating with your customers and potential customers. Yesterday, the Oconaluftee Indian Village in Cherokee North Carolina posted a sales increase of 5.9%. Revenues are up across the board due to the fact that Cherokee recognized that this was an important time to not cut back on advertising. “Our growth is due in part to the trend toward more localized travel, combined with successful summer sales promotions and effective advertising,” said Mary Jane Ferguson with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Finding ways to market your products within the current economic environment may be the key to helping your company thrive. The point is, you can’t just sit there and wait for it to get better. Find a way to differentiate yourself, then advertise it to the market.