What's in a name? The Story behind Marigold.

The first time I saw somebody spell the name of my company "Marygold", I knew I had a problem. That was never the intent of the brand name. Sheer coincidence, I swear. If you are a gardener, you would understand.

Here was the idea for the company:

• Bring a lot of attention to women in business, a diverse and sometimes wildly individualistic group.
• Highlight their numbers, but accentuate their personal uniqueness and flair.
• Offer organization and structure to the group with out stealing the glory of the spotlight
• Deflect criticism of women in business in general, and of women business owners more specifically.
• Be a strong champion for others with well grounded financial structure for company growth.

Well, a gardener, familiar with Marigolds will see the analogy:

• Marigold plants make excellent border flowers, drawing the eye to the entire garden without being the showpiece. The flowers within the garden, delphinium, salvia, snapdragons, impatience, hollyhocks, geraniums, etc... are the showy, flamboyant, gorgeous centerpieces, they just need a structure to pull the viewer's focus together in an orderly fashion.
• Marigolds are considered excellent companion plants because they ward off insects from the other flowers in the garden.
• Marigolds are hardy suckers. It isn't easy to kill a Marigold! They are tenacious little workers requiring little to no attention.

We are almost 5 years into the Marigold Experiment, how well have we done to achieve what we set out to do? Love to hear your comments!

Your friend,
Mary Rogers

Zing Train Take-away

Marigold brought Zing Train to town last week and the 150 people who took part in all or some of the day have been raving about the content shared by Stas' and Ann from Zingerman's. I think each person had a different aha moment that they wanted to share as soon as they got back to their own business.

Mine was this: Customer service isn't just for customers. Customer service extends to employees, co-workers, vendors and yes, even competitors. How we treat other people and organizations contributes to our brand and reputation in the community.

If a co-worker is being crabby, instead of blowing them off or complaining about their bad attitude, maybe an offer of help would break their bad-day cycle.

• To the receptionist about to explode: "Looks like some one really teed you off, can I answer phones for you for 5 minutes so you can take a break?".
• To the vendor or supplier sounding overwhelmed by your order: "I know you guys are crazy right now, want me to call you back in an hour?"
• To your business partner who can't focus on your conversation: "I can see you have something important going on that's distracting you, should we shelve this project for a few days?'

In each of these cases we could legitimately complain that the other person was not being "professional" or whatever other derogatory term you choose. But haven't we all been there, when a kind word of understanding without a bunch of questions would have been sooo appreciated.

Unless this is a chronic situation, being helpful in their "moment" creates such a better environment for everybody.

Mary

How Sticky Are You?

Here is what I love about the book, Made To Stick: You will learn how to craft messages than MEAN SOMETHING. Corporate babble is easily forgotten. Touch my heart, make me laugh, give me goosebumps, force me to remember your idea and make me want to share it.

I just dread seeing, hearing, reading ads that include "Our goal is to exceed your expectations". S-N-O-R-E . Meaningless words. If I paid an ad agency to develop a brand message for me and that was what they came up with... well, you can imagine.

This book starts with the example of Subway's Jared, the guy who lost over 100 pounds eating their food everyday. How many years ago did they roll that out? You still remember Jared, you remember that he ate only Subway and he lost a ton of weight. Simple idea, big message, easy to remember and tell to a friend. Sticky!!!!!!! The message sticks.

Who cares if your company has convenient parking, award-winning service, 65 years of experience, serves the entire Midwest? Put that information in a message that SPEAKS to me, now you've got something.

I love this book, love the idea, and can't wait to have you read it. You can get a discount at Horizon Books, just mention the Marigold or Mary in the Morning Book Club, or order it through amazon.com using the icon link provided.
Mary

From the Marigold website, GoMarigold.com:

Marigold and sponsor Bill Marsh Automotive Group are proud to present the Marigold Book Club. Together we'll read and discuss some of the hottest books to develop your career and your business! First up? Made to Stick by Dan Heath and Chip Heath. Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? In Made to Stick, accomplished educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath tackle head-on these vexing questions.

Join us on 106.7 YOU-FM April 9th from 7am-7:45am on Mary in the Morning for our Book Club launch! Do you have to read the book to be a member of the Club? No; but we hope you will. Membership is free, but you must be registered!

Sign Up for the Marigold Book Club Here!

Read about Made To Stick in TIME Magazine