Category: Small Business Marketing

For some odd reason I’m fascinated by the way people are. How they do things, why they do what they do, how they react, how they behave and so on. What also intrigues me are the many different ways people find to do the same things, through out the different generations.

That sounds a little confusing but essentially what I’m trying to get to is this: I read an article on ars technica about a study between Gen X moms and Gen Y moms. They were studying how both types of moms used the Internet and found out that while they both go online to accomplish tasks related to parenting, the way they interact with others differs depending on when they first logged on to the Internet. Put simply, Gen Y moms tend to be more “Web 2.0″ than their Gen X counterparts.

They’re both using the Internet as a tool, and they’re both looking to be better parents, but they do it so differently from one another.

Bonnier’s Parenting Group surveyed 847 mothers who visited Parenting.com to collect data. The company found that Gen X-ers, those who were born in the late 60s and during the 70s, tend to use the Internet to accomplish certain tasks rather than interact with others. This includes looking at photos, reading product ratings, and buying products online. On the flip side, Gen Y-ers, those who were (generally) born in the 80s and 90s, tend to be more social online. They are more likely to interact with other people through the use of blogs, social networks, and video-/photo-sharing sites.

See the importance of understanding who you’re really targeting? Your message needs to hit them at the core, and not having your audience well defined, not knowing what they do and how they do it, might just be the difference between your success and your failure.

I’m a movie fan, and I especially get a kick out of animations. You also know that I like to study Disney, therefore anything that Pixar releases I’m all over it! Disney and Pixar have found a way to make it work, so yes, I study them intensely!

Bill Taylor wrote a very interesting article about Pixar’s Blockbuster Secrets, here’s a snippet:

Pixar doesn’t just make films that perform better than standard fare. It also makes its films differently — and, in the process, defies many familiar, and dysfunctional, industry conventions. Pixar has become the envy of Hollywood because it never went Hollywood.

More than a few business pundits have drawn parallels between the flat, decentralized “corporation of the future” and the ad-hoc collection of actors, producers and technicians that come together around a film and disband once it is finished. In the Hollywood model, highly talented people agree to terms, do their jobs, and move on to the next project. The model allows for maximum flexibility, to be sure, but it inspires minimum loyalty and endless jockeying for advantage.

Turn that model on its head and you get the Pixar version: a tightknit company of long-term collaborators who stick together, learn from one another, and strive to improve with every production. Andrew Stanton, who directed Wall-E, was a key figure behind Finding Nemo, which won two Oscars, generated worldwide box-office of $840 million, and became the best-selling DVD of all time. But Stanton didn’t follow the success of Nemo by offering himself to the highest bidder or demanding perks and special treatment. He went back to his job as an employee of the studio, to pitch in on other films and eventually begin work on his next major project.

And Stanton is merely one of many superbly talented writers and directors who have staked their reputations on their work at Pixar. Again, in contrast to convention, these professionals have traded one-time contracts for long-term affiliation and contribute across the studio, rather than to just their pet projects.

Like Bill Taylor asked, how are you changing the game in your field? What is your distinctive take on how your industry operates? Do you work as distinctively as you compete?

Mark Cuban wrote an interesting blog post the other day called “Free is only good if someone else is paying for it.” He has a very interesting approach and basically talks against the conventional wisdom that free is the way to go.

“When people actually pay for your product, you define a value to everyone. First you have to keep your paying customers happy. They want their money’s worth. Which in turn, keeps you improving the product and the service surrounding it. Just as importantly, it creates a revenue stream for your company. Always remember this. Without a revenue stream, you have no company.“

This got me thinking and observing those around me for a second… with all this recession and crisis talk a lot of businesses react in an inadvertent manner, they lower their prices and devalue their offerings in the hopes that they might make a sale or two and survive. That’s a sad approach. If you’re having difficulty growing, you’re most likely going after the wrong audience and with the wrong price.

Target people with expandable cash, people who don’t even notice the recession.

The other day I read an interesting blog post about the evolution of 37signals – a company committed to building the best web-based software products possible with the least number of features necessary. Their products do less than the competition — intentionally.

In the beginning they had the same approach we often tell our clients who are in their early stages to follow: no advertisement. They relied solely on word of mouth, and as such they had to create a buzz and build an audience fast. That’s not exactly an easy task, but having an audience, having your followers makes for an invaluable asset. How do you build an audience? Well, put on your thinking caps and get creative! 37signals had an interesting approach, they built satellite projects that helped them build an audience before they even launched their biggest/intentional project, so that when they did launch it it would have a huge following.

How are you building your flock? What are you doing to have followers? Are you doing something? Just being one more service provider out there in the crowd with no recognition is dull. Think about it… it’ll make getting the word out for your business a lot easier!

When we were in Nashville a little while ago we had the fantastic opportunity to meet Nido Qubein.

Nido Qubein came to the United States as a teenager with no knowledge of English, no contacts and only $50 in his pocket. Today he is a successful businessman and award-winning motivational speaker. How did he do it? Learn from Nido how to achieve success and significance in business and life by: Creating meaningful change that moves you to a deeper, more satisfying level; Distinguishing among tasks, goals and purpose; Developing strategies for going beyond communicating, selling and training; Discovering how the 21st century rewards extraordinary people.

Check out this video:

This is great!

“In a world of too many options and too little time, our obvious choice is to ignore the ordinary stuff. Marketing guru Seth Godin spells out why, when it comes getting our attention, bad or bizarre ideas are more successful than boring ones. And early adopters, not the mainstream’s bell curve, are the new sweet spot of the market”.

[Via TED]

This doesn’t really have anything to do with business, but it makes me lol every time!

Every characteristic of yours is an asset in business, sometimes we need to learn how to use it in sync with everything else, but nonetheless it can be a valuable asset. So what if you’re a little too creative, or perhaps too analytical, who knows even a little clumsy? Incorporate it to your brand, show the world who you are and allow them to engage with you because of it. So you have a “sneaky paw?” Don’t fight it, use it to get a better grip on that yummy bone!

J.K. Rowling speaks at Harvard Commencement about the benefits of failure, prepare to be enlightened:

“So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default”.

J.K. Rowling speaking at Harvard part 1:

Read the entire text, get mp3, or watch the full video at:
http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html

You’ve heard quite a few of those stories and I’m sure my sharing one more might get a little “old” but I can’t help it, don’t worry though, this won’t be another one of those “create an experience like Starbucks” stories!

A little while ago Douglas Albertson wrote a great article about Nordstrom and the Importance of Storytelling in Branding, and I’d like you to read it.

Here’s a snippet of what you’ll gain from it…

“Do you have a similar story to tell about your brand? Do you have stories that are as impressive as the one above? Would your employees even go to such lengths to serve your customers?

Nordstrom has never told this story publicly and they do not encourage their employees to do so. They figure if the stories are good enough, word-of-mouth will take them to the marketplace and the stories will carry even more credibility than if Nordstrom is caught tooting their own horn.

Such is the case with the famous Nordstrom “tire chains” story. A man walked into the main Nordstrom store with a set of used tire chains and insisted that he had purchased them there. Nordstrom sells clothing and the like. Without hesitation, the clerk refunded his money, even though the receipt clearly indicated another store. She paid him out of her own pocket. Then, on her lunch hour, she went to the store where the chains had been purchased and got her money back. Brilliant.

If you don’t have stories like this to tell, your brand may be in trouble. If your customers aren’t telling positive stories about you, they may be telling negative stories about you. In short, if there’s no word-of-mouth buzz about your brand, your customer service probably stinks. “Adequate” ain’t good enough anymore. A brand isn’t something that’s “nice to have if you can afford it” as some people have said. It’s an essential ingredient to your business plan.

If you don’t think storytelling is an important part of branding, count how many times you tell (or are tempted to tell) the Nordstrom story to co-workers, friends, peers, business acquaintances or people at conferences. “

Sometimes it’s hard to focus isn’t it? I often times see people acting like my cute dog Apple. For instance, I throw her the ball and with all the excitement in the world she goes after it, fast as a cheetah and hopping like a gazelle in the savannah! She picks it up and eagerly heads back to me for all of two seconds when she spots an imaginary speckle of dirt on the ground and starts sniffing away and forgetting all together about her mission of bringing me back the ball. People do that too you see; they’re eager in the beginning but they get distracted along the way because they don’t see immediate gratification.

I see that all the time! They’re determined in their new venture, they give it all they’ve got only to let go of it before it can payoff. Kind of like a rocket… they power it up for what seems to be an eternity, make sure everything is working properly, the flames start coming out of the nozzle, the ground around them trembles, it’s going to take off, oh yes it’s now, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6… but it never makes it.

So sad.

Most first-time business owners think business is like riding a bike downhill… oh so fun!! They don’t realize though, that they need to ride it back up.

Don’t know what’s up with the analogies today! Business is like a Rubik’s Cube… you know what it’s supposed to look like in the end, but getting the colors to line up is a hell of a challenge! However, it’s extremely gratifying and the thrill of doing it is unquestionably good. Kind of like that tasty treat Apple gets when she finally brings me the ball!