I grew up in the 60s when all the wonderful Charlie Brown TV Specials were first aired. While the Christmas special is still my favorite, the Halloween special runs a close second. It has several great story lines – one being the Great Pumpkin.

Linus believes that on Halloween night the Great Pumpkin rises from the pumpkin patch bringing candy and toys to all the good boys and girls. Instead of trick-or-treating with Charlie and Lucy, Linus is going to wait in the pumpkin patch.

Obviously, Linus gets a lot of abuse for his beliefs. Lucy thinks her little brother is a nut for believing in the Great Pumpkin. Linus later tells Charlie Brown “There are 3 things I’ve learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin.”

However, because of Linus’ passion for his beliefs and his ability to share that passion, Sally also gives up trick-or-treating to wait in the pumpkin patch all night with Linus.

Are you really passionate about your ideas, product or service? Maybe the answer lies in who’s following you to the pumpkin patch?

What do you carve on your Halloween pumpkin – a happy, scary or sad face, or you’re really not sure exactly what you’ve carved? I’m old school and have always gone with the triangle eyes, nose and teeth. However, last year Kathie wanted something fancy and purchased one of those elaborate designs. I felt like da Vinci carving my scary witch.

While admiring my pumpkin, I realized direct marketing was at work in this process. My audience was the neighborhood kids; the offer was candy; and the package was a pumpkin designed to give them a little scare. When designing your website, direct mail or social media, ask yourself “Who is my audience, what offer will connect with my audience, and does the package communicate my message?”

If you’re a pest control company, does your website give customers a scare by showing pictures of spiders, rats, snakes and other foul creatures or give them a sense of comfort by showing children playing happily in their pest-free home?

Or if you’re a humane society, do you use a picture of puppies or a mangy dog in your direct mail fundraising?

In both examples, the look you select will create a different emotion. Snakes give some people the willies while children playing might evoke a feeling of safety. A mangy dog may evoke sadness, while puppies could cause you to laugh.

Does your creative convey the feeling and message you want? How about your pumpkin?

The Chicago Marathon is this weekend, and I had the pleasure of running it a few years ago.

Running a marathon is a lot like having a successful marketing program.

First, you need a plan. Starting months before the marathon, I followed a detailed training plan. I had a calendar showing the days and distance to run. All successful marketing programs also follow a detailed plan.

Secondly, don’t try to run 26.2 miles on the first day. Starting with long runs would have resulted in injury. Many businesses make this mistake with their marketing. They start big only to see it fail and lose money. Then, sadly, never try again.

I started with shorter runs and gradually the distances increased. Starting a marketing program is no different. Begin small. Test direct mail, social media, email, etc. until you find the best approach for your business.

Thirdly, find a partner. Waking at 4am and running for 2-3 hours is not something I looked forward to each week. That’s why you need an accountability partner – someone to encourage you and talk to during long runs. When you’re leading a marketing campaign, it’s important to have someone to share ideas, give honest feedback, and encourage you when things get tough.

Lastly, you really have to take care of your body. Part of my plan included resting 2 days a week. If you run every day, you wear yourself out. Your marketing program is no different. Customers and prospects can become fatigued, which will hurt your results.

You also have to really watch what you eat. It takes a lot of energy to run 10, 15 or 20 miles, so I made sure my diet included lots of energy food. Sadly, sodas, desserts and cheeseburgers weren’t on the list. To have a successful marketing program, you also need the right stuff – attend conferences and seminars, read marketing blogs, talk to other marketers, and so on.

It wasn’t easy training for the Chicago Marathon or running 26.2 miles that day. However, when I finished and people were cheering for me, there was an incredible feeling of accomplishment.

Running a marketing program isn’t easy either. It takes time and a lot of hard work. But it’s worth it. You will have that same incredible feeling of accomplishment when you see your business growing. I’m cheering for you!

I love Walt Disney World. Where else would you happily stand in line eating a turkey leg with your hands and wearing mouse ears while you wait to ride in a teacup? And pay handsomely for that privilege.

It’s because the people at WDW are the masters of customer service and marketing. What can we learn from them?

1. Always exceed your customers’ expectations (or how to turn a negative into a positive). No one likes to wait in line. So the actual wait times for a ride are almost always shorter than the posted wait time. If you thought you were going to wait 40 minutes and it takes only 29 minutes, you’re excited.

2. Make doing business with your organization easy. Everything at WDW is easy. Transportation is easy. Checking into your hotel is easy. Eating is easy. And if something is not easy, they will make every effort possible to fix it for you. WDW wants to make your stay a magical one.

3. Make doing business with your organization an incredible experience. WDW cast members are very friendly and happy. Except for Captain Hook, they are always smiling. Our room towels were folded and our waffles were cooked in the shape of mouse ears. Everything about WDW is designed to give you a magical experience.

4. Create a consistent brand. The balloons, name tags, road signs, water towers and ice cream bars are just a few of the items shaped like mouse ears. Whether it’s a new ride, hotel or restaurant at WDW, you know the experience is going to be a wow.

Try being a little Goofy with your customer service and marketing. Just please don’t make me ride It’s a Small World.