Astonish Your Customer(s)

Avatar-acious

Saw Avatar last night. My conclusions, as absorbed through my lens:

1. Colossal imagination to conceive and visually depict the zillion creative concepts and details. Jaw-dropping.
2. I am awed and stunned by the creative, technical and perseverance skills of the people that created the visuals.
3. Formulaic story line - "Dances With Wolves" writ large.
4. Way too preachy and biased - Humans (specifically men) suck, imperialist USA sucks, Military really sucks and Corporations (or capitalism) suck most of all.

I recommend it. Why? Because I love remarkable products and the story line is not relevant to me because I know the truth, or should I say, I know and am comfortable with my truth. As it relates to this movie, I am comfortable holding two worldviews. 

What worldview (bias, belief, preconceived notion, prejudice, dogma, orthodoxy, faith) is your product catering to and/or fighting with?    

 O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

Just think about it

Ever have someone, namely a higher ranking person at work or in life, share one of his ideas and then he ends by saying "just think about it".

My father, a very smart and equally intimidating and persuasive person, used that phrase a lot as he tapped your arm or leg for emphasis. 

It took me awhile but I realized it was not a request but a not-so-subtle directive, as in "think about how you will agree with me and do what I suggest".

Next time you hear that phrase, (re)listen to the tone and the body language and make sure you interpret it right. 

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.   

"x" for people that hate "x"

"A Church for people that hate Church".

Apparently, that was the positioning that Rick Warren pursued when he started, developed and evolved his wildly success ministry, the Saddleback Church, which has over 20,000 people attend weekend services.

That positioning, "x" for people that hate "x", would be a great starting point to create a relevant product in just about any category.

• Diet program for people who hate to diet
• Video camera for people that hate electronic gadgets
• Hat for people that hate hat-head
• Scrub brush for people that hate to clean a toilet or tub 

What do people hate about your product or product category and how could you create a product for that distinct group?

O.D.O.o.O.D.B. 

We're kinda like a startup

I'm interviewing and often hear one of the following remarks from employees and recruiters working in mid to very large size businesses - We're kinda like a startup or We're taking a startup mentality or We want to act like a startup or (my favorite) We're a $300MM startup.

Why do they say that? Do they even know what they are saying?

Why say it? I think they believe it makes the business and themselves sound a bit more sexy, edgy, entrepreneurial, open to new thinking and new ways of doing business. The only way that a mid to large size business will really act like a startup is if the CEO has a track record of operating a business in that mode. Otherwise, it is very unlikely that one person (you) can come in and break the inertia that atrophies most organizations. One person can prove to be the savior but it will take tremendous energy, endurance and skill to sell the organization on the change and actually get it implemented.

What's a startup really like? I have been in three startups. There are many different characteristics to describe a startup but the key defining difference vs. a mid to large size organization, that I prefer, is the lack of a safety net. If you work in a Fortune 1000 company and your brand plan fails, you move to next idea or the next brand assignment. You still get paid and may be even get a bonus because you tried real hard to do the best you could.

In many startups, you begin by knowing that you have "x" months of cash and if you miss the plan, it's over because there's no more money to try again. That's pressure. That's motivation. That's different. That's scary (for Fortune 1000 types). That's why many startups can't waste time or wait until things are perfect to launch or follow the usual path or write C.Y.A. memos or play the diplomacy game or do any reasearch or delay decisions or hire other people to lighten the load. 

First and foremost, for a startup to succeed the business must have an idea or product that's time has come and a team that knows how to get it implemented. It must be led by a person or persons that are zealots, super-resourceful and have enough money to get the thing to profitability. Don't ever bet the ranch in the belief that more cash will come in and always bet that it will take way longer and cost much more than the most conservative forecast.

If you thinking of joining an honest-to-God startup, get comfortable with: no safety net.

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

What Matters Now

Looking to follow relevant and breakthrough thought leaders and people of action? Looking to get inspired?  Looking for ideas to get from point A to B or even Z?  Looking to get moving? Looking to get yourself over the hump? You MUST read this post, then download and read the FREE ebook.

The book as described by Bill Taylor, co-founder Fast Company magazine:

Seth Godin, the innovator, writer, and blogger extraordinaire, has persuaded 70 other innovators, writers, and bloggers to participate in a project he calls What Matters Now. The idea is simple: Each of us suggests one word — literally one word — that all of us should think about in 2010, and then takes one page to explain why and how that word matters. The result is an intriguing, inspiring, and at times downright moving collection of unconventional wisdom that is available free to everyone.

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.  

Teacher

You Tube is under-rated and under-hyped, it is.

If you want to learn how to do, solve, correct, modify, improve just about anything, you can find a helpful tutorial on You Tube.

Skip a rock, bake a pizza, braid hair, kissing, business plan, smoking trout, upgrade Windows O/S, dance like Michael Jackson, referee a basketball game, Twitter, face painting, how to use You Tube (go figure) and using RSS Feeds are just a few - check a topic that is of interest to you.

Why don't brands direct people to the best (user generated) tutorials on You Tube relating to their product and other items of close interest. Their customers are more likely to trust tutorials created by "peers", there are a helluva more choices and often they are better than the (one) option a brand might provide and it would be another way to show customers that the brand is "with it". 

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

Space - the party frontier

The most overlooked ingredient to make sure you have a really good (house) party is the space.

For a party to be fun, there needs to be lots of energy and energy is directly related to interaction. Energy and interaction can only be achieved if the group is mashed together, not in an uncomfortable way but in a way that causes everyone to rub elbows and get face time. It is common to hear people say that the best parties are always in a kitchen but that is due to the fact that the kitchen is often the smallest public space in the house, not that you are nearby the stove or fridge.

Now, the space is no substitute for item #1A, which is the who - as in, who is invited. If you don't invite the right people then nothing can make up for it. The quality and amount of food, drink, music, games, decorations and so forth are a very distant second.

What does this have to do with marketing? Do you really know, with supreme confidence, what is the most important thing to make your product a success, and the next thing and the things that are a distant second?

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

Flair

The Salvation Army adds a bit of flair to their fund raising effort.

The Christmas Kettle-Ringers near Rockefeller Center put a twist on their pitch. They adopted the PBS fund-drive approach. As people walked by they informed them that they were looking to raise $1,000 dollars this hour and so far had $726 and there was only 12 minutes left to hit the goal.

This was a smart approach for several reasons ... I bet a sizable percentage of the audience they were soliciting probably matches the typical PBS viewer/donor thus they would relate to the approach, it was different than the usual passive approach, it added urgency, it gave people a story to tell their friends the next time the Army came up.

Hey, just because you're working for a charitable organization doesn't mean you're not in show biz.

O.D.O.o.O.D.B. 

What's a good customer look like

I probably buy ~15 books per year (but read only 10-12). Here's the way I shop for and buy books.

I find books that interest me via reviews, recommendations and browsing in book store and then I go to Amazon and put it on my wish list.

Then, I usually wait until I get a 40% off electronic coupon sent to me by Borders and then I go to my local Borders and buy one. Or, I buy it on Amazon at 30+% discount or from a reseller at a very deep discount. By the way, I buy very little from either retailer besides books.

So, am I a good customer or a terrible customer? Can you be a good customer if you generate no profit?

It all comes down to the metrics you use to determine what you value in a customer, and those metrics may go beyond sales and profit dollars, like frequency of visit, size of purchase, involvement with brand (writes reviews), refers others to brand, lifetime value vs. individual transaction value, community involvement, does this customer have a blog or lead a tribe, how big is his family.

Would you fire me as a customer? What metric do you use to decide when to keep or fire a customer? 

O.D.O.o.O.D.B. 

Big Fish

Eating the Big Fish : How Challenger Brands Can Compete Against Brand Leaders, is a must read.

This is a book for marketers (and everyone, in every business, is marketer, remember) that feels stuck or thinks their brand just plain sucks.

The book is chuck full of tangible examples and guidance that anyone can be inspired by and follow, provided he is willing to spend some time thinking through the isues and the available solutions.

Get it for the marketer in your life.

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.