Monday, September 01, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The story is the thing
I received this from one of my mentors this week. Think it says better than I just why i spend so much time on teaching the art of the story to my clients
'This week a subscriber asked me if I'd do a More Clients on the topic of trust. This is an important topic, in fact marketing is all about trust. It's about how you create it, build it and maintain it.
But what is trust anyway?
We all know that trust is about keeping our word and doing a great job and maintaining our integrity. But that's only the foundation. All of that is required just to stay in business.
Much more important is understanding that trust is a story you tell your prospects and clients every day. And if you tell the right story, the ultimate outcome is that people feel good about doing business with you (and then tell others).
Very few people actually think, "Can I trust this person, can I trust this business?" And even fewer people ask for solid evidence on which to base this trust (credentials, education, track record).
No, instead we listen to the story the business is telling us. And if the story fits the way we see the world, if the story is authentic, and if the story makes us feel good, then trust grows automatically.
In fact, we make decisions about trusting a business or a professional in just a few moments. You see, the story of a business is conveyed by every single visual, verbal and sensory message delivered to the
prospect.
And the reaction is almost instantaneous.
You shake someone's hand and they don't look you in the eye. You come to their web site and the design is dull. You read the headline on the site and you feel confused. When you send an email asking a question, the answer takes days and doesn't really give you the information you were looking for.
How does all of this make you feel?
Any brilliant story about your services was drowned out by the delivery of that story. Trust plummets. And it doesn't matter to the prospect how great you are at delivering your service or what wonderful results you've had with past clients or how many diplomas are hanging on your wall.
The story you communicate goes way beyond the content of the story. The story, as far as the prospect is concerned, is the way the story is packaged. In fact, the story IS the package.
So if you want to build trust, you've got to tell a story that makes your prospect think, "Wow, this makes sense, this feels good, this feels right, this is exactly what I'm looking for!"
And then you need to keep telling that story at every single step of the marketing process: when someone asks what you do, when they look at and read your web site, and when they call you with a question.
When you do all of this, believe me, they'll end up doing business with you and telling others, because it FEELS GOOD doing business with you. You'll be giving them exactly what they want and they will put themselves completely in your hands.
Now that's trust.
Make it your highest priority to build trust by telling stories that engender trust. Make your story authentic. Make it passionate. Make it sincere. Make it fun. And realize that, above all, your story goes way, way beyond words.
What story are you already telling your prospects? Look at how you're presenting your business in person, on the phone, on the web, in print, and by email.
If someone else were telling the story you are currently telling, would you trust them? Or would you run the other way?
The More Clients Bottom Line: You communicate trust through the stories you tell. And if the story engages your prospect and makes them feel good, you can consider yourself a master marketer.
What story are you telling your prospects that makes them trust you? '
'This week a subscriber asked me if I'd do a More Clients on the topic of trust. This is an important topic, in fact marketing is all about trust. It's about how you create it, build it and maintain it.
But what is trust anyway?
We all know that trust is about keeping our word and doing a great job and maintaining our integrity. But that's only the foundation. All of that is required just to stay in business.
Much more important is understanding that trust is a story you tell your prospects and clients every day. And if you tell the right story, the ultimate outcome is that people feel good about doing business with you (and then tell others).
Very few people actually think, "Can I trust this person, can I trust this business?" And even fewer people ask for solid evidence on which to base this trust (credentials, education, track record).
No, instead we listen to the story the business is telling us. And if the story fits the way we see the world, if the story is authentic, and if the story makes us feel good, then trust grows automatically.
In fact, we make decisions about trusting a business or a professional in just a few moments. You see, the story of a business is conveyed by every single visual, verbal and sensory message delivered to the
prospect.
And the reaction is almost instantaneous.
You shake someone's hand and they don't look you in the eye. You come to their web site and the design is dull. You read the headline on the site and you feel confused. When you send an email asking a question, the answer takes days and doesn't really give you the information you were looking for.
How does all of this make you feel?
Any brilliant story about your services was drowned out by the delivery of that story. Trust plummets. And it doesn't matter to the prospect how great you are at delivering your service or what wonderful results you've had with past clients or how many diplomas are hanging on your wall.
The story you communicate goes way beyond the content of the story. The story, as far as the prospect is concerned, is the way the story is packaged. In fact, the story IS the package.
So if you want to build trust, you've got to tell a story that makes your prospect think, "Wow, this makes sense, this feels good, this feels right, this is exactly what I'm looking for!"
And then you need to keep telling that story at every single step of the marketing process: when someone asks what you do, when they look at and read your web site, and when they call you with a question.
When you do all of this, believe me, they'll end up doing business with you and telling others, because it FEELS GOOD doing business with you. You'll be giving them exactly what they want and they will put themselves completely in your hands.
Now that's trust.
Make it your highest priority to build trust by telling stories that engender trust. Make your story authentic. Make it passionate. Make it sincere. Make it fun. And realize that, above all, your story goes way, way beyond words.
What story are you already telling your prospects? Look at how you're presenting your business in person, on the phone, on the web, in print, and by email.
If someone else were telling the story you are currently telling, would you trust them? Or would you run the other way?
The More Clients Bottom Line: You communicate trust through the stories you tell. And if the story engages your prospect and makes them feel good, you can consider yourself a master marketer.
What story are you telling your prospects that makes them trust you? '
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Seth gets it too.
Don't you just love it when somebody else agrees with you. For twenty years I've been talking and teaching about the importance of the story in markeltng and now our mentor in one of his recent pots says much the same thing. We have never spoken but I really really really like Seth Godin. He must be clever. He agrees with everything I say Here is his post.
You really don't understand a concept until you know what it's made of. The taxonomy of marketing (filled with a bazillion tactics) is murky at best. The tactics are so numerous, expensive and sometimes emotional that we easily focus on the urgent instead of the important. Perhaps we could try a different approach:
Never mind the "P"s. Marketing has five elements:
DataStoriesProducts (services)InteractionsConnection
DATA is observational. What do people actually do? Wal-Mart uses data to decide if an end cap is working. Google Adwords advertisers use data to decide which copy delivers clicks and sales. The library can use data to decide which books to buy (and not to buy). Paco Underhill uses data to turbo charge retail. Data is powerful, overlooked and sometimes mistaken for boring. You don't have to understand the why, you merely need to know the what.
STORIES define everything you say and do. The product has a myth, the service has a legend. Marketing applies to every person, every job, every service and every organization. That's because all we can work with as humans is stories. I want to argue that data and stories are the two key building blocks of marketing--the other three are built on these two.
PRODUCTS (and services) are physical manifestations of the story. If your story is that you are cutting edge and faster/newer/better, then your products better be. Average products for average people is a common story, but not one that spreads. When in doubt, re-imagine the product. Push it to be the story, to live the story, to create a myth.
INTERACTIONS are all the tactics the marketer uses to actually touch the prospect or customer. Interactions range from spam to billboards, from the way you answer the phone to the approach you take to an overdue bill. Interactions are the hero of marketing, because there are so many and most of them are cheap. Unfortunately, all lazy marketers can do is buy ads or spam people. Which creates an interaction that belies your story, right?
CONNECTION is the highest level of enlightenment, the end goal. Connection between you and the customer, surely, but mostly connection between customers. Great marketers create bands of brothers, tribes of people who wish each other well and want to belong. Get the first four steps right and you may get a shot at this one.
Some questions marketers must ask: Does this interaction lead to connections? Do our products support our story? Is the story pulling in numbers that demonstrate that it's working?
In that light, what are you working on? If it's not one of these five, not going to seriously change the dynamic of your marketing, why exactly are you bothering?
My guess is that your organization spends almost all of its time on the interactions. Once you see the world through the prism of the five pieces, you can get in balance. Or, you could be Jack.
You really don't understand a concept until you know what it's made of. The taxonomy of marketing (filled with a bazillion tactics) is murky at best. The tactics are so numerous, expensive and sometimes emotional that we easily focus on the urgent instead of the important. Perhaps we could try a different approach:
Never mind the "P"s. Marketing has five elements:
DataStoriesProducts (services)InteractionsConnection
DATA is observational. What do people actually do? Wal-Mart uses data to decide if an end cap is working. Google Adwords advertisers use data to decide which copy delivers clicks and sales. The library can use data to decide which books to buy (and not to buy). Paco Underhill uses data to turbo charge retail. Data is powerful, overlooked and sometimes mistaken for boring. You don't have to understand the why, you merely need to know the what.
STORIES define everything you say and do. The product has a myth, the service has a legend. Marketing applies to every person, every job, every service and every organization. That's because all we can work with as humans is stories. I want to argue that data and stories are the two key building blocks of marketing--the other three are built on these two.
PRODUCTS (and services) are physical manifestations of the story. If your story is that you are cutting edge and faster/newer/better, then your products better be. Average products for average people is a common story, but not one that spreads. When in doubt, re-imagine the product. Push it to be the story, to live the story, to create a myth.
INTERACTIONS are all the tactics the marketer uses to actually touch the prospect or customer. Interactions range from spam to billboards, from the way you answer the phone to the approach you take to an overdue bill. Interactions are the hero of marketing, because there are so many and most of them are cheap. Unfortunately, all lazy marketers can do is buy ads or spam people. Which creates an interaction that belies your story, right?
CONNECTION is the highest level of enlightenment, the end goal. Connection between you and the customer, surely, but mostly connection between customers. Great marketers create bands of brothers, tribes of people who wish each other well and want to belong. Get the first four steps right and you may get a shot at this one.
Some questions marketers must ask: Does this interaction lead to connections? Do our products support our story? Is the story pulling in numbers that demonstrate that it's working?
In that light, what are you working on? If it's not one of these five, not going to seriously change the dynamic of your marketing, why exactly are you bothering?
My guess is that your organization spends almost all of its time on the interactions. Once you see the world through the prism of the five pieces, you can get in balance. Or, you could be Jack.
Google quote for today
Today's Google Quote just made me smile and I;d like to preserve it for more than just 24 hours.
'My definition of an expert in any field is a person who knows enough about what's really going on to be scared.'
'My definition of an expert in any field is a person who knows enough about what's really going on to be scared.'
Better than Free
Better Than Free
[Translations: Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese]
I was directed to this blog by a friend of mine and i agree with her that this probably one of the modst inciteful posts I've ever read on the market, trends expectations and comunciations stickiness that we must use in internal and external audience engagement.
Kevin Kelly is just one astute dude. Wish I had written it.
The internet is a copy machine. At its most foundational level, it copies every action, every character, every thought we make while we ride upon it. In order to send a message from one corner of the internet to another, the protocols of communication demand that the whole message be copied along the way several times. IT companies make a lot of money selling equipment that facilitates this ceaseless copying. Every bit of data ever produced on any computer is copied somewhere. The digital economy is thus run on a river of copies. Unlike the mass-produced reproductions of the machine age, these copies are not just cheap, they are free.
Our digital communication network has been engineered so that copies flow with as little friction as possible. Indeed, copies flow so freely we could think of the internet as a super-distribution system, where once a copy is introduced it will continue to flow through the network forever, much like electricity in a superconductive wire. We see evidence of this in real life. Once anything that can be copied is brought into contact with internet, it will be copied, and those copies never leave. Even a dog knows you can't erase something once it's flowed on the internet.
This super-distribution system has become the foundation of our economy and wealth. The instant reduplication of data, ideas, and media underpins all the major economic sectors in our economy, particularly those involved with exports -- that is, those industries where the US has a competitive advantage. Our wealth sits upon a very large device that copies promiscuously and constantly.
Yet the previous round of wealth in this economy was built on selling precious copies, so the free flow of free copies tends to undermine the established order. If reproductions of our best efforts are free, how can we keep going? To put it simply, how does one make money selling free copies?
I have an answer. The simplest way I can put it is thus:
When copies are super abundant, they become worthless.
When copies are super abundant, stuff which can't be copied becomes scarce and valuable.
When copies are free, you need to sell things which can not be copied.
Well, what can't be copied?
There are a number of qualities that can't be copied. Consider "trust." Trust cannot be copied. You can't purchase it. Trust must be earned, over time. It cannot be downloaded. Or faked. Or counterfeited (at least for long). If everything else is equal, you'll always prefer to deal with someone you can trust. So trust is an intangible that has increasing value in a copy saturated world.
There are a number of other qualities similar to trust that are difficult to copy, and thus become valuable in this network economy. I think the best way to examine them is not from the eye of the producer, manufacturer, or creator, but from the eye of the user. We can start with a simple user question: why would we ever pay for anything that we could get for free? When anyone buys a version of something they could get for free, what are they purchasing?
From my study of the network economy I see roughly eight categories of intangible value that we buy when we pay for something that could be free.
In a real sense, these are eight things that are better than free. Eight uncopyable values. I call them "generatives." A generative value is a quality or attribute that must be generated, grown, cultivated, nurtured. A generative thing can not be copied, cloned, faked, replicated, counterfeited, or reproduced. It is generated uniquely, in place, over time. In the digital arena, generative qualities add value to free copies, and therefore are something that can be sold.
Eight Generatives Better Than Free
Immediacy -- Sooner or later you can find a free copy of whatever you want, but getting a copy delivered to your inbox the moment it is released -- or even better, produced -- by its creators is a generative asset. Many people go to movie theaters to see films on the opening night, where they will pay a hefty price to see a film that later will be available for free, or almost free, via rental or download. Hardcover books command a premium for their immediacy, disguised as a harder cover. First in line often commands an extra price for the same good. As a sellable quality, immediacy has many levels, including access to beta versions. Fans are brought into the generative process itself. Beta versions are often de-valued because they are incomplete, but they also possess generative qualities that can be sold. Immediacy is a relative term, which is why it is generative. It has to fit with the product and the audience. A blog has a different sense of time than a movie, or a car. But immediacy can be found in any media.
Personalization -- A generic version of a concert recording may be free, but if you want a copy that has been tweaked to sound perfect in your particular living room -- as if it were preformed in your room -- you may be willing to pay a lot. The free copy of a book can be custom edited by the publishers to reflect your own previous reading background. A free movie you buy may be cut to reflect the rating you desire (no violence, dirty language okay). Aspirin is free, but aspirin tailored to your DNA is very expensive. As many have noted, personalization requires an ongoing conversation between the creator and consumer, artist and fan, producer and user. It is deeply generative because it is iterative and time consuming. You can't copy the personalization that a relationship represents. Marketers call that "stickiness" because it means both sides of the relationship are stuck (invested) in this generative asset, and will be reluctant to switch and start over.
Interpretation -- As the old joke goes: software, free. The manual, $10,000. But it's no joke. A couple of high profile companies, like Red Hat, Apache, and others make their living doing exactly that. They provide paid support for free software. The copy of code, being mere bits, is free -- and becomes valuable to you only through the support and guidance. I suspect a lot of genetic information will go this route. Right now getting your copy of your DNA is very expensive, but soon it won't be. In fact, soon pharmaceutical companies will PAY you to get your genes sequence. So the copy of your sequence will be free, but the interpretation of what it means, what you can do about it, and how to use it -- the manual for your genes so to speak -- will be expensive.
Authenticity -- You might be able to grab a key software application for free, but even if you don't need a manual, you might like to be sure it is bug free, reliable, and warranted. You'll pay for authenticity. There are nearly an infinite number of variations of the Grateful Dead jams around; buying an authentic version from the band itself will ensure you get the one you wanted. Or that it was indeed actually performed by the Dead. Artists have dealt with this problem for a long time. Graphic reproductions such as photographs and lithographs often come with the artist's stamp of authenticity -- a signature -- to raise the price of the copy. Digital watermarks and other signature technology will not work as copy-protection schemes (copies are super-conducting liquids, remember?) but they can serve up the generative quality of authenticity for those who care.
Accessibility -- Ownership often sucks. You have to keep your things tidy, up-to-date, and in the case of digital material, backed up. And in this mobile world, you have to carry it along with you. Many people, me included, will be happy to have others tend our "possessions" by subscribing to them. We'll pay Acme Digital Warehouse to serve us any musical tune in the world, when and where we want it, as well as any movie, photo (ours or other photographers). Ditto for books and blogs. Acme backs everything up, pays the creators, and delivers us our desires. We can sip it from our phones, PDAs, laptops, big screens from where-ever. The fact that most of this material will be available free, if we want to tend it, back it up, keep adding to it, and organize it, will be less and less appealing as time goes on.
Embodiment -- At its core the digital copy is without a body. You can take a free copy of a work and throw it on a screen. But perhaps you'd like to see it in hi-res on a huge screen? Maybe in 3D? PDFs are fine, but sometimes it is delicious to have the same words printed on bright white cottony paper, bound in leather. Feels so good. What about dwelling in your favorite (free) game with 35 others in the same room? There is no end to greater embodiment. Sure, the hi-res of today -- which may draw ticket holders to a big theater -- may migrate to your home theater tomorrow, but there will always be new insanely great display technology that consumers won't have. Laser projection, holographic display, the holodeck itself! And nothing gets embodied as much as music in a live performance, with real bodies. The music is free; the bodily performance expensive. This formula is quickly becoming a common one for not only musicians, but even authors. The book is free; the bodily talk is expensive.
Patronage -- It is my belief that audiences WANT to pay creators. Fans like to reward artists, musicians, authors and the like with the tokens of their appreciation, because it allows them to connect. But they will only pay if it is very easy to do, a reasonable amount, and they feel certain the money will directly benefit the creators. Radiohead's recent high-profile experiment in letting fans pay them whatever they wished for a free copy is an excellent illustration of the power of patronage. The elusive, intangible connection that flows between appreciative fans and the artist is worth something. In Radiohead's case it was about $5 per download. There are many other examples of the audience paying simply because it feels good.
Findability -- Where as the previous generative qualities reside within creative digital works, findability is an asset that occurs at a higher level in the aggregate of many works. A zero price does not help direct attention to a work, and in fact may sometimes hinder it. But no matter what its price, a work has no value unless it is seen; unfound masterpieces are worthless. When there are millions of books, millions of songs, millions of films, millions of applications, millions of everything requesting our attention -- and most of it free -- being found is valuable.
The giant aggregators such as Amazon and Netflix make their living in part by helping the audience find works they love. They bring out the good news of the "long tail" phenomenon, which we all know, connects niche audiences with niche productions. But sadly, the long tail is only good news for the giant aggregators, and larger mid-level aggregators such as publishers, studios, and labels. The "long tail" is only lukewarm news to creators themselves. But since findability can really only happen at the systems level, creators need aggregators. This is why publishers, studios, and labels (PSL)will never disappear. They are not needed for distribution of the copies (the internet machine does that). Rather the PSL are needed for the distribution of the users' attention back to the works. From an ocean of possibilities the PSL find, nurture and refine the work of creators that they believe fans will connect with. Other intermediates such as critics and reviewers also channel attention. Fans rely on this multi-level apparatus of findability to discover the works of worth out of the zillions produced. There is money to be made (indirectly for the creatives) by finding talent. For many years the paper publication TV Guide made more money than all of the 3 major TV networks it "guided" combined. The magazine guided and pointed viewers to the good stuff on the tube that week. Stuff, it is worth noting, that was free to the viewers. There is little doubt that besides the mega-aggregators, in the world of the free many PDLs will make money selling findability -- in addition to the other generative qualities.
These eight qualities require a new skill set. Success in the free-copy world is not derived from the skills of distribution since the Great Copy Machine in the Sky takes care of that. Nor are legal skills surrounding Intellectual Property and Copyright very useful anymore. Nor are the skills of hoarding and scarcity. Rather, these new eight generatives demand an understanding of how abundance breeds a sharing mindset, how generosity is a business model, how vital it has become to cultivate and nurture qualities that can't be replicated with a click of the mouse.
In short, the money in this networked economy does not follow the path of the copies. Rather it follows the path of attention, and attention has its own circuits.
Careful readers will note one conspicuous absence so far. I have said nothing about advertising. Ads are widely regarded as the solution, almost the ONLY solution, to the paradox of the free. Most of the suggested solutions I've seen for overcoming the free involve some measure of advertising. I think ads are only one of the paths that attention takes, and in the long-run, they will only be part of the new ways money is made selling the free.
But that's another story.
Beneath the frothy layer of advertising, these eight generatives will supply the value to ubiquitous free copies, and make them worth advertising for. These generatives apply to all digital copies, but also to any kind of copy where the marginal cost of that copy approaches zero. (See my essay on Technology Wants to Be Free.) Even material industries are finding that the costs of duplication near zero, so they too will behave like digital copies. Maps just crossed that threshold. Genetics is about to. Gadgets and small appliances (like cell phones) are sliding that way. Pharmaceuticals are already there, but they don't want anyone to know. It costs nothing to make a pill. We pay for Authenticity and Immediacy in drugs. Someday we'll pay for Personalization.
Maintaining generatives is a lot harder than duplicating copies in a factory. There is still a lot to learn. A lot to figure out. Write to me if you do.
Posted on January 31, 2008 at 6:21 PM
Email this
[Translations: Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese]
I was directed to this blog by a friend of mine and i agree with her that this probably one of the modst inciteful posts I've ever read on the market, trends expectations and comunciations stickiness that we must use in internal and external audience engagement.
Kevin Kelly is just one astute dude. Wish I had written it.
The internet is a copy machine. At its most foundational level, it copies every action, every character, every thought we make while we ride upon it. In order to send a message from one corner of the internet to another, the protocols of communication demand that the whole message be copied along the way several times. IT companies make a lot of money selling equipment that facilitates this ceaseless copying. Every bit of data ever produced on any computer is copied somewhere. The digital economy is thus run on a river of copies. Unlike the mass-produced reproductions of the machine age, these copies are not just cheap, they are free.
Our digital communication network has been engineered so that copies flow with as little friction as possible. Indeed, copies flow so freely we could think of the internet as a super-distribution system, where once a copy is introduced it will continue to flow through the network forever, much like electricity in a superconductive wire. We see evidence of this in real life. Once anything that can be copied is brought into contact with internet, it will be copied, and those copies never leave. Even a dog knows you can't erase something once it's flowed on the internet.
This super-distribution system has become the foundation of our economy and wealth. The instant reduplication of data, ideas, and media underpins all the major economic sectors in our economy, particularly those involved with exports -- that is, those industries where the US has a competitive advantage. Our wealth sits upon a very large device that copies promiscuously and constantly.
Yet the previous round of wealth in this economy was built on selling precious copies, so the free flow of free copies tends to undermine the established order. If reproductions of our best efforts are free, how can we keep going? To put it simply, how does one make money selling free copies?
I have an answer. The simplest way I can put it is thus:
When copies are super abundant, they become worthless.
When copies are super abundant, stuff which can't be copied becomes scarce and valuable.
When copies are free, you need to sell things which can not be copied.
Well, what can't be copied?
There are a number of qualities that can't be copied. Consider "trust." Trust cannot be copied. You can't purchase it. Trust must be earned, over time. It cannot be downloaded. Or faked. Or counterfeited (at least for long). If everything else is equal, you'll always prefer to deal with someone you can trust. So trust is an intangible that has increasing value in a copy saturated world.
There are a number of other qualities similar to trust that are difficult to copy, and thus become valuable in this network economy. I think the best way to examine them is not from the eye of the producer, manufacturer, or creator, but from the eye of the user. We can start with a simple user question: why would we ever pay for anything that we could get for free? When anyone buys a version of something they could get for free, what are they purchasing?
From my study of the network economy I see roughly eight categories of intangible value that we buy when we pay for something that could be free.
In a real sense, these are eight things that are better than free. Eight uncopyable values. I call them "generatives." A generative value is a quality or attribute that must be generated, grown, cultivated, nurtured. A generative thing can not be copied, cloned, faked, replicated, counterfeited, or reproduced. It is generated uniquely, in place, over time. In the digital arena, generative qualities add value to free copies, and therefore are something that can be sold.
Eight Generatives Better Than Free
Immediacy -- Sooner or later you can find a free copy of whatever you want, but getting a copy delivered to your inbox the moment it is released -- or even better, produced -- by its creators is a generative asset. Many people go to movie theaters to see films on the opening night, where they will pay a hefty price to see a film that later will be available for free, or almost free, via rental or download. Hardcover books command a premium for their immediacy, disguised as a harder cover. First in line often commands an extra price for the same good. As a sellable quality, immediacy has many levels, including access to beta versions. Fans are brought into the generative process itself. Beta versions are often de-valued because they are incomplete, but they also possess generative qualities that can be sold. Immediacy is a relative term, which is why it is generative. It has to fit with the product and the audience. A blog has a different sense of time than a movie, or a car. But immediacy can be found in any media.
Personalization -- A generic version of a concert recording may be free, but if you want a copy that has been tweaked to sound perfect in your particular living room -- as if it were preformed in your room -- you may be willing to pay a lot. The free copy of a book can be custom edited by the publishers to reflect your own previous reading background. A free movie you buy may be cut to reflect the rating you desire (no violence, dirty language okay). Aspirin is free, but aspirin tailored to your DNA is very expensive. As many have noted, personalization requires an ongoing conversation between the creator and consumer, artist and fan, producer and user. It is deeply generative because it is iterative and time consuming. You can't copy the personalization that a relationship represents. Marketers call that "stickiness" because it means both sides of the relationship are stuck (invested) in this generative asset, and will be reluctant to switch and start over.
Interpretation -- As the old joke goes: software, free. The manual, $10,000. But it's no joke. A couple of high profile companies, like Red Hat, Apache, and others make their living doing exactly that. They provide paid support for free software. The copy of code, being mere bits, is free -- and becomes valuable to you only through the support and guidance. I suspect a lot of genetic information will go this route. Right now getting your copy of your DNA is very expensive, but soon it won't be. In fact, soon pharmaceutical companies will PAY you to get your genes sequence. So the copy of your sequence will be free, but the interpretation of what it means, what you can do about it, and how to use it -- the manual for your genes so to speak -- will be expensive.
Authenticity -- You might be able to grab a key software application for free, but even if you don't need a manual, you might like to be sure it is bug free, reliable, and warranted. You'll pay for authenticity. There are nearly an infinite number of variations of the Grateful Dead jams around; buying an authentic version from the band itself will ensure you get the one you wanted. Or that it was indeed actually performed by the Dead. Artists have dealt with this problem for a long time. Graphic reproductions such as photographs and lithographs often come with the artist's stamp of authenticity -- a signature -- to raise the price of the copy. Digital watermarks and other signature technology will not work as copy-protection schemes (copies are super-conducting liquids, remember?) but they can serve up the generative quality of authenticity for those who care.
Accessibility -- Ownership often sucks. You have to keep your things tidy, up-to-date, and in the case of digital material, backed up. And in this mobile world, you have to carry it along with you. Many people, me included, will be happy to have others tend our "possessions" by subscribing to them. We'll pay Acme Digital Warehouse to serve us any musical tune in the world, when and where we want it, as well as any movie, photo (ours or other photographers). Ditto for books and blogs. Acme backs everything up, pays the creators, and delivers us our desires. We can sip it from our phones, PDAs, laptops, big screens from where-ever. The fact that most of this material will be available free, if we want to tend it, back it up, keep adding to it, and organize it, will be less and less appealing as time goes on.
Embodiment -- At its core the digital copy is without a body. You can take a free copy of a work and throw it on a screen. But perhaps you'd like to see it in hi-res on a huge screen? Maybe in 3D? PDFs are fine, but sometimes it is delicious to have the same words printed on bright white cottony paper, bound in leather. Feels so good. What about dwelling in your favorite (free) game with 35 others in the same room? There is no end to greater embodiment. Sure, the hi-res of today -- which may draw ticket holders to a big theater -- may migrate to your home theater tomorrow, but there will always be new insanely great display technology that consumers won't have. Laser projection, holographic display, the holodeck itself! And nothing gets embodied as much as music in a live performance, with real bodies. The music is free; the bodily performance expensive. This formula is quickly becoming a common one for not only musicians, but even authors. The book is free; the bodily talk is expensive.
Patronage -- It is my belief that audiences WANT to pay creators. Fans like to reward artists, musicians, authors and the like with the tokens of their appreciation, because it allows them to connect. But they will only pay if it is very easy to do, a reasonable amount, and they feel certain the money will directly benefit the creators. Radiohead's recent high-profile experiment in letting fans pay them whatever they wished for a free copy is an excellent illustration of the power of patronage. The elusive, intangible connection that flows between appreciative fans and the artist is worth something. In Radiohead's case it was about $5 per download. There are many other examples of the audience paying simply because it feels good.
Findability -- Where as the previous generative qualities reside within creative digital works, findability is an asset that occurs at a higher level in the aggregate of many works. A zero price does not help direct attention to a work, and in fact may sometimes hinder it. But no matter what its price, a work has no value unless it is seen; unfound masterpieces are worthless. When there are millions of books, millions of songs, millions of films, millions of applications, millions of everything requesting our attention -- and most of it free -- being found is valuable.
The giant aggregators such as Amazon and Netflix make their living in part by helping the audience find works they love. They bring out the good news of the "long tail" phenomenon, which we all know, connects niche audiences with niche productions. But sadly, the long tail is only good news for the giant aggregators, and larger mid-level aggregators such as publishers, studios, and labels. The "long tail" is only lukewarm news to creators themselves. But since findability can really only happen at the systems level, creators need aggregators. This is why publishers, studios, and labels (PSL)will never disappear. They are not needed for distribution of the copies (the internet machine does that). Rather the PSL are needed for the distribution of the users' attention back to the works. From an ocean of possibilities the PSL find, nurture and refine the work of creators that they believe fans will connect with. Other intermediates such as critics and reviewers also channel attention. Fans rely on this multi-level apparatus of findability to discover the works of worth out of the zillions produced. There is money to be made (indirectly for the creatives) by finding talent. For many years the paper publication TV Guide made more money than all of the 3 major TV networks it "guided" combined. The magazine guided and pointed viewers to the good stuff on the tube that week. Stuff, it is worth noting, that was free to the viewers. There is little doubt that besides the mega-aggregators, in the world of the free many PDLs will make money selling findability -- in addition to the other generative qualities.
These eight qualities require a new skill set. Success in the free-copy world is not derived from the skills of distribution since the Great Copy Machine in the Sky takes care of that. Nor are legal skills surrounding Intellectual Property and Copyright very useful anymore. Nor are the skills of hoarding and scarcity. Rather, these new eight generatives demand an understanding of how abundance breeds a sharing mindset, how generosity is a business model, how vital it has become to cultivate and nurture qualities that can't be replicated with a click of the mouse.
In short, the money in this networked economy does not follow the path of the copies. Rather it follows the path of attention, and attention has its own circuits.
Careful readers will note one conspicuous absence so far. I have said nothing about advertising. Ads are widely regarded as the solution, almost the ONLY solution, to the paradox of the free. Most of the suggested solutions I've seen for overcoming the free involve some measure of advertising. I think ads are only one of the paths that attention takes, and in the long-run, they will only be part of the new ways money is made selling the free.
But that's another story.
Beneath the frothy layer of advertising, these eight generatives will supply the value to ubiquitous free copies, and make them worth advertising for. These generatives apply to all digital copies, but also to any kind of copy where the marginal cost of that copy approaches zero. (See my essay on Technology Wants to Be Free.) Even material industries are finding that the costs of duplication near zero, so they too will behave like digital copies. Maps just crossed that threshold. Genetics is about to. Gadgets and small appliances (like cell phones) are sliding that way. Pharmaceuticals are already there, but they don't want anyone to know. It costs nothing to make a pill. We pay for Authenticity and Immediacy in drugs. Someday we'll pay for Personalization.
Maintaining generatives is a lot harder than duplicating copies in a factory. There is still a lot to learn. A lot to figure out. Write to me if you do.
Posted on January 31, 2008 at 6:21 PM
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Risk avoidance and the bigger risk of not risking
I've often been asked, "What is the biggest mistake you've made in your business?" And the first one that comes to mind was not creating and selling products much sooner. I was in business for years and years before I created my first product. Up to that point I only offered consulting and workshops.
And why didn't I create and sell products sooner? Simple. I thought I didn’t know how, that no-one would be interested but more importantly, and behind the lines on my forehead, I was actually afraid of doing it wrong. I didn't want to risk making a mistake.
I finally took the leap in 2006 and taped a live workshop and sold the CD set. When I look back at how well I've done with it the risk was mostly in my own head. Nothing actually went wrong. People loved the audio sets and I made great money.
And then this first product became the foundation for more products to follow. Now more than 70% my income comes from products and I just love putting them together. I can't tell you how excited I am about the new one coming up.
I'm not saying that it's daft to avoid all kinds of risk. Some risks are truly scary. You could lose everything. These kinds of risks need to be considered very seriously.
So lets not even worry about big risks for now. We can allow our accountant to worry about them, we pay him enough and frankly he won't be kept awake at night - but lets look at the risks that aren't really risky at all but that we avoid anyway. I divide them into two categories:
1. Risking to learn (or do, which is the same thing really) something new
You really wouldn't think it was risky to learn something new, but you'd be wrong. You see, anything that is outside of our comfort zone is perceived as risky. Even if the upside it huge, it's easier to stick with what we know.
Are there some things that you could really benefit from learning but you've put them off because they will take you out of your comfort zone? For me it was HTML and how to do a grown up web site, e-mail marketing, how to make web sites work. After all, I was just a words man wasn’t I?
2. Risking to try something new
And if learning something new is perceived as risky, then actually doing something new is... well... better put off until tomorrow! We'll think about doing that marketing plan, that web site, that eZine, that presentation later on when conditions are better.
But I am sure you are like me. When finally the penny dropped and i started creating my own products to sell, the risk was entirely imaginary. I was taking a much bigger risk with my business by not creating these products sooner. I was earning less income, missing opportunities, stagnating. and for me the next phase of my business life and creativity took off
Ultimately we are not daft but we do often have to have the barrel of the gun pointing at us before we are shaken up sufficiently to do something about it. The shame is that most of us will only take a risk when we realise that the cost of not acting is greater than the cost of acting. Unfortunately we often have these realisations a little too late. Like right now, with many businesses struggling to keep their order books full. What are those things you're putting off? Try taking a minute to write a few of them down.
Now you should have a short list of things you're not learning but could probably benefit from learning and another list of things you're not doing but would likely profit from if you got around to doing them.
Now ask these four questions for each item on your list to the following questions:
1. Is this something that would truly benefit me if I learned it or put it into action?
2. What are some of the possible benefits I might gain if I learned or did this thing?
3. What could I potentially lose if I didn't learn this thing or do this thing?
4. What's the worst that could happen if I took a risk and learned this thing or did this thing?
In answering these questions honestly you will probably find, as i did, that what used to look risky might not look so risky anymore. In fact, it might actually start looking like a flippin' great idea to learn or do this thing and why didn't i think of this sooner?
Starting questioning those things you perceive as risky. Look at the upside of doing them not just look at the upside of avoiding them.
What are you not risking? What is this avoidance costing you?
A lot, in almost every case i have helped with
And even if you fail, which you won't, at least you will know what not to do again.
And why didn't I create and sell products sooner? Simple. I thought I didn’t know how, that no-one would be interested but more importantly, and behind the lines on my forehead, I was actually afraid of doing it wrong. I didn't want to risk making a mistake.
I finally took the leap in 2006 and taped a live workshop and sold the CD set. When I look back at how well I've done with it the risk was mostly in my own head. Nothing actually went wrong. People loved the audio sets and I made great money.
And then this first product became the foundation for more products to follow. Now more than 70% my income comes from products and I just love putting them together. I can't tell you how excited I am about the new one coming up.
I'm not saying that it's daft to avoid all kinds of risk. Some risks are truly scary. You could lose everything. These kinds of risks need to be considered very seriously.
So lets not even worry about big risks for now. We can allow our accountant to worry about them, we pay him enough and frankly he won't be kept awake at night - but lets look at the risks that aren't really risky at all but that we avoid anyway. I divide them into two categories:
1. Risking to learn (or do, which is the same thing really) something new
You really wouldn't think it was risky to learn something new, but you'd be wrong. You see, anything that is outside of our comfort zone is perceived as risky. Even if the upside it huge, it's easier to stick with what we know.
Are there some things that you could really benefit from learning but you've put them off because they will take you out of your comfort zone? For me it was HTML and how to do a grown up web site, e-mail marketing, how to make web sites work. After all, I was just a words man wasn’t I?
2. Risking to try something new
And if learning something new is perceived as risky, then actually doing something new is... well... better put off until tomorrow! We'll think about doing that marketing plan, that web site, that eZine, that presentation later on when conditions are better.
But I am sure you are like me. When finally the penny dropped and i started creating my own products to sell, the risk was entirely imaginary. I was taking a much bigger risk with my business by not creating these products sooner. I was earning less income, missing opportunities, stagnating. and for me the next phase of my business life and creativity took off
Ultimately we are not daft but we do often have to have the barrel of the gun pointing at us before we are shaken up sufficiently to do something about it. The shame is that most of us will only take a risk when we realise that the cost of not acting is greater than the cost of acting. Unfortunately we often have these realisations a little too late. Like right now, with many businesses struggling to keep their order books full. What are those things you're putting off? Try taking a minute to write a few of them down.
Now you should have a short list of things you're not learning but could probably benefit from learning and another list of things you're not doing but would likely profit from if you got around to doing them.
Now ask these four questions for each item on your list to the following questions:
1. Is this something that would truly benefit me if I learned it or put it into action?
2. What are some of the possible benefits I might gain if I learned or did this thing?
3. What could I potentially lose if I didn't learn this thing or do this thing?
4. What's the worst that could happen if I took a risk and learned this thing or did this thing?
In answering these questions honestly you will probably find, as i did, that what used to look risky might not look so risky anymore. In fact, it might actually start looking like a flippin' great idea to learn or do this thing and why didn't i think of this sooner?
Starting questioning those things you perceive as risky. Look at the upside of doing them not just look at the upside of avoiding them.
What are you not risking? What is this avoidance costing you?
A lot, in almost every case i have helped with
And even if you fail, which you won't, at least you will know what not to do again.
Friday, July 11, 2008
KM power tools
What are you going to do to make sure you and your organisation have mastery of the flow of knowledge, bearing in mind that this skill will probably be your only competitive advantage next year?
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Why your company doesn't exist- well maybe
If you can’t describe your product in eight words or less … it doesn’t exist.
Customers crave simplicity. Could you explain your idea to your mother?
If you can’t define your product … it doesn’t exist.
Because a confused mind never buys.
If you don’t have a unique product … it doesn’t exist.
Because a choice-saturated mind never buys.
If it doesn’t exist on the Internet … it doesn’t exist.
Not just a web-SITE; a web-PRESENCE. Octopus, not earthworm.
If you can’t Google it … it doesn’t exist.
What happens when someone googles your name?
If people aren’t talking about your product … it doesn’t exist.
It’s simple: get noticed = get remembered = get business. Who’s blogging about you?
If you’re not marketing your company DAILY … it doesn’t exist.
People who “do a little marketing here and there” will “get new customers … here and there.”
If you don’t write it down … it doesn’t exist.
And if you don’t write it down, it never happened. That’s why writing is the basis of all wealth.
If people aren’t retelling your story … it doesn’t exist.
The only true reason your business will grow is if your existing customers are telling your potential customers about you. Word of mouth is the most honest, most sincere and most authentic form of marketing.
If it can’t be found … it doesn’t exist.
Even without Google, people still need to be able to contact you. So, if your phone numbers, addresses and emails are out of date, disconnected or no longer in service, you’ve got a problem. Because if they can’t get you, they’ll just pick the next guy on the list.
Customers crave simplicity. Could you explain your idea to your mother?
If you can’t define your product … it doesn’t exist.
Because a confused mind never buys.
If you don’t have a unique product … it doesn’t exist.
Because a choice-saturated mind never buys.
If it doesn’t exist on the Internet … it doesn’t exist.
Not just a web-SITE; a web-PRESENCE. Octopus, not earthworm.
If you can’t Google it … it doesn’t exist.
What happens when someone googles your name?
If people aren’t talking about your product … it doesn’t exist.
It’s simple: get noticed = get remembered = get business. Who’s blogging about you?
If you’re not marketing your company DAILY … it doesn’t exist.
People who “do a little marketing here and there” will “get new customers … here and there.”
If you don’t write it down … it doesn’t exist.
And if you don’t write it down, it never happened. That’s why writing is the basis of all wealth.
If people aren’t retelling your story … it doesn’t exist.
The only true reason your business will grow is if your existing customers are telling your potential customers about you. Word of mouth is the most honest, most sincere and most authentic form of marketing.
If it can’t be found … it doesn’t exist.
Even without Google, people still need to be able to contact you. So, if your phone numbers, addresses and emails are out of date, disconnected or no longer in service, you’ve got a problem. Because if they can’t get you, they’ll just pick the next guy on the list.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Space gardeners
‘ Some Martian dirt has the same basic chemistry as garden soil, a new analysis from the Phoenix lander suggests. The find widens the range of organisms that might be able to live on Mars'.. today - New Scientist
Now this tickles me on several layers. Could this be a place we could send all those TV gardeners who drive you nuts, gleefully describing the zillions ways you can take a plant out of one pot and then put it in another. Or how to best make a hole in the ground and then… well maybe put a plant in it?
Maybe we can grow oilseed rape and turn it form the red planet to the yellow planet like our countryside.
Or maybe, if the gravity is less - and I really don ‘t know if it is so go with me on this one - we could grew increasingly ludicrously sized vegetables. Now wouldn’t that be an allotment show?
To boldy plant lobelia where no man has planted lobelia before.
Stop me now.
Any suggestions to this string welcome
Now this tickles me on several layers. Could this be a place we could send all those TV gardeners who drive you nuts, gleefully describing the zillions ways you can take a plant out of one pot and then put it in another. Or how to best make a hole in the ground and then… well maybe put a plant in it?
Maybe we can grow oilseed rape and turn it form the red planet to the yellow planet like our countryside.
Or maybe, if the gravity is less - and I really don ‘t know if it is so go with me on this one - we could grew increasingly ludicrously sized vegetables. Now wouldn’t that be an allotment show?
To boldy plant lobelia where no man has planted lobelia before.
Stop me now.
Any suggestions to this string welcome
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Marketing Mistakes your Company is probably making
Scott has (once again) come up with an embarrassing list to check yourself against. I cringed at most of the responses for me; like most of us I guess but I learned more about my business in the five minutes it took to read than any amount of consultancy and therapy I've ever had.
Have fun and go to a quiet place to read this, where no one can hear you sob gently.
1. You’re not That Guy.
2. You’re not remarkable.
3. You’re not blogging yet.
4. You’re not marketing daily.
5. You’re not focused at ALL.
6. You’re not using Google Alerts.
7. You’re not word of mouth worthy.
8. You’re not building a permission asset.
9. You’re not reading Seth Godin’s books.
10. You’re not giving enough away for free.
11. You’re not building a timeline of credibility.
12. You’re not the origin; you’re just the echo of someone else’s idea.
13. You’re not leveraging your media appearances in every possible way.
14. You ARE getting talked about, but you don’t know who’s doing the talking.
15. You ARE remarkable, but you’re not relevant. Or worthwhile. Or marketable.
16. You ARE blogging, but you’re not disciplining yourself blog every single day.
17. You ARE blogging every day, but your posts are too long, too safe, uninteresting, unfocused and written with poor architecture and ZERO Call to Action.
18. You’re saying WAY too much.
19. You’re creating noise, not music.
20. You’re trying to force word of mouth.
21. You’re the observer, not the observed.
22. You’re trying to hard to convince people.
23. You’re trying to be the arrow instead of the target.
24. You’re worried about marketshare, not mindshare.
25. You’re interrupting people, not interacting with them.
26. You’re relying on your customers to connect the dots.
27. You’re marketing efforts cause customers to hear FROM you, not ABOUT you.
28. You’re trying too hard to be authentic, which results in you NOT being authentic.
29. You’re sitting around waiting for your annoying, low-rent YouTube video to “go viral.”
30. You’re using WAY too much text on EVERYTHING. (Come on. Nobody’s gonna read all that crap.)
31. You’re (still) calling it “marketing.”
32. You’re (still) calling them “customers.”
33. You’re (still) wasting your money on advertising.
34. You’re (still) using Papyrus as your company’s primary font.
35. You think people care.
36. You think people have time.
37. You think customers aren’t smart.
38. You think putting up a MySpace page is (actually) going to help grow your business.
39. You don’t know who you are.
40. You don’t have enough samples out there.
41. You take too long to return calls and emails.
42. You stop marketing when you become successful.
43. You have a strong web-SITE, but a weak web-PRESENCE.
44. Your marketing looks like marketing.
45. Your goal is to make money, not create positive change.
46. Your company name includes words like “Associates,” “Communications,” “Creative,” “Kwik,” “Premiere,” “Solutions,” “Deluxe” and “Ultimate.”
2. You’re not remarkable.
3. You’re not blogging yet.
4. You’re not marketing daily.
5. You’re not focused at ALL.
6. You’re not using Google Alerts.
7. You’re not word of mouth worthy.
8. You’re not building a permission asset.
9. You’re not reading Seth Godin’s books.
10. You’re not giving enough away for free.
11. You’re not building a timeline of credibility.
12. You’re not the origin; you’re just the echo of someone else’s idea.
13. You’re not leveraging your media appearances in every possible way.
14. You ARE getting talked about, but you don’t know who’s doing the talking.
15. You ARE remarkable, but you’re not relevant. Or worthwhile. Or marketable.
16. You ARE blogging, but you’re not disciplining yourself blog every single day.
17. You ARE blogging every day, but your posts are too long, too safe, uninteresting, unfocused and written with poor architecture and ZERO Call to Action.
18. You’re saying WAY too much.
19. You’re creating noise, not music.
20. You’re trying to force word of mouth.
21. You’re the observer, not the observed.
22. You’re trying to hard to convince people.
23. You’re trying to be the arrow instead of the target.
24. You’re worried about marketshare, not mindshare.
25. You’re interrupting people, not interacting with them.
26. You’re relying on your customers to connect the dots.
27. You’re marketing efforts cause customers to hear FROM you, not ABOUT you.
28. You’re trying too hard to be authentic, which results in you NOT being authentic.
29. You’re sitting around waiting for your annoying, low-rent YouTube video to “go viral.”
30. You’re using WAY too much text on EVERYTHING. (Come on. Nobody’s gonna read all that crap.)
31. You’re (still) calling it “marketing.”
32. You’re (still) calling them “customers.”
33. You’re (still) wasting your money on advertising.
34. You’re (still) using Papyrus as your company’s primary font.
35. You think people care.
36. You think people have time.
37. You think customers aren’t smart.
38. You think putting up a MySpace page is (actually) going to help grow your business.
39. You don’t know who you are.
40. You don’t have enough samples out there.
41. You take too long to return calls and emails.
42. You stop marketing when you become successful.
43. You have a strong web-SITE, but a weak web-PRESENCE.
44. Your marketing looks like marketing.
45. Your goal is to make money, not create positive change.
46. Your company name includes words like “Associates,” “Communications,” “Creative,” “Kwik,” “Premiere,” “Solutions,” “Deluxe” and “Ultimate.”
Friday, May 30, 2008
6 drivers of change
I thought I’d write a short post providing some immediate reflections from an interesting panel discussion I f read about today.
The panel, titled “Innovation: Change Happens,” featured Dow Corning Chairman, CEO and President Stephanie Burns, Eastman Kodak President and COO Phil Faraci, and Procter & Gamble Chairman and CEO A.G. Lafley. It was part of the Newspaper Association of America and American Society of News Editors “Capital Conference 2008.”
Each of the panelists provided a short account of their respective company’s change efforts and answered audience questions. The six key points that seemed to be in common across the three companies were:
The panel, titled “Innovation: Change Happens,” featured Dow Corning Chairman, CEO and President Stephanie Burns, Eastman Kodak President and COO Phil Faraci, and Procter & Gamble Chairman and CEO A.G. Lafley. It was part of the Newspaper Association of America and American Society of News Editors “Capital Conference 2008.”
Each of the panelists provided a short account of their respective company’s change efforts and answered audience questions. The six key points that seemed to be in common across the three companies were:
- The need for a crisis or some kind of “burning platform” to motivate transformational change
- A clear vision and strategy … that allows room for iteration
- A recognition that transformation is a multi-year journey
- A need to put the customer or consumer in the center of the transformation equation
- The critical importance of demonstrating to skeptics that different actions can lead to different results
- The need to over-communicate to employees, customers, stakeholders, and shareholders
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Two Big Questions
What's going on?
To answer that we need to provide answers to 5 critical questions
What’s the problem.
What needs to be fixed, and what is the driver for changing it?
What’s the impact?
What effect doesn’t this problem have and why is it so important?
What’s the information?
What do we know about the problem, what is the root cause and what else do we need to know?
Who’s involved?
Who exactly is this problem important too, who is a stakeholder, beneficiary or looser if it doesn’t get fixed?
What’s the vision?
What is the future position we can imagine that would reslove this problem?
answer those and then comes the next big question
What is success?
This really is about Imagining the future
- What will the company report say in three years?
- What will a future press release read like?
- How can you describe the future if the problem if it is solved or reversed?
The right question
21 Beautiful Questions for the Entrepreneur
1. How can you charge a premium price so you have a large margin to provide an extraordinary value & experience?
2. What is the ‘Reason Why’ customers should do business with you and pay you a premium.
3. What rules do we want to make the rules for your business and how can you prevent industry norms dictate how you’ll work or who you’ll work with.
4. How can you create your business around your life instead of settling for your life around your business?
5. How can we constantly force ourselves to focus on the ‘critically few’ proactive activities that produce exponential results. And prevent getting get caught up in minutia & bullshit?
6. How can we minimise start-up risk but have maximum upside potential?
7.How can you get your idea out there as fast as possible even if it’s not quite ready by setting must-hit deadlines. Let the market tell you if you have a winner or not. If not – move on and fail forward fast! If it’s got potential – then you can make it better.
8. How can you find partners and team members who are strong where you are weak and appreciate being paid on results?
9. How can you avoid ever get paid based on hours worked.
10. How can you leverage your marketing activities exponentially by using direct response methods and testing?
11. How can you measure and track your marketing so you know what’s working and what’s not?
12. How best to Bootstrap? Having too much capital leads to incredible waste and doing things using conventional means.
13.Keep asking the right questions to come up with innovative solutions. “How?”, “What?”, “Where?”, “Who Else?” & “Why?” open up possibilities. How can you get the headspace to realise never have a perfect business and you’ll never be totally “done”? Deal with it.
14.How can you focus most of our time on your core strengths and less time working in areas you suck at?
15. How can you make it easier for customers to buy by taking away the risk of the transaction by guaranteeing what you do in a meaningful way?
16.How can you have something else to sell (via upsell, cross-sell, follow-up offer, etc) whenever a transaction takes place? The hottest buyer in the world is one who just gave you money.
17.How can you fire your most annoying customers? They’ll be replaced with the right ones.
18.How can you prevent the market from beating you down into being just a commodity? and how can you develop and build your business’s personality so that it that stands out. People want to buy from people.
19.How can you create your own category so you can first in the consumer’s mind?
20.What is the opposite direction competitors are headed – how can you go there ? You’ll stand out.
21. How can we do the unexpected before and after anything goes wrong so customers are compelled to ‘share your story’?
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Sharing and caring pays the bills
One of my mentors once told me that only by learning and sharing do you get the right to learn more. Thats on the wall of my office. But there is a much more pragmatic reason. Because, as a marketing tool both for me and the business I am involved with, it works and is the cornerstone of my own values and practice. Not just because it is fun and gives me a warm fuzzy feeling but it pays in the long run. And I've proved it over and over again. Yes, some take advantage but they are generally people you wouldn't want as customers anyway. and thats is their problems. Anxiety over al sorts of stuff generally keeps the wrong person awake at night.
For me there are simply 7 actions I focus on. All result in the building a reputation ( Hopefully for common sense and genuine interest in my clients) and developing dialogues with existing and potential customers.
No 1. Give away valuable information
All of your marketing should revolve around this law. Articles,
reports, surveys, teleclasses and other valuable information gives
prospects a real taste of what your business and services are all
about. And these days you can distribute this information
practically for free via email and the web.
No 2. Share valuable resources
When you make an initial connection with someone, it's not
unusual that you learn of a resource they are looking for. It could
be a tip on how to add sound to PowerPoint or a book on how to
work with virtual assistants.
If you know of a resource, let them know and follow up after the
meeting with an email with the information or an online link.
Make it a habit to be a resource and people won't forget you.
No 3. Give free bonuses with your services and products
A bonus can be an enticement to work with you: "When you book
X months of work with me, you'll also receive a copy of this
planning software." Or "If you buy two online products You'll get a
third one for free."
However, it's more than an enticement. It adds real value that
can make a difference to your clients or customers. And if it helps
them get better results, you get more positive word of mouth.
Everyone wins and your cost is minimal.
No 4. Give leads to clients and associates
People value good leads to potential clients. Sometimes they'll
reciprocate, of course. But a good lead that results in a new client
also buys you some access or time with your associate where you
can expand your collaboration.
For instance, you send a lead to an associate and that lead turns
into a good client. You then follow up with the associate and say:
"I'm glad John became a client. I'm sure he'll be happy with your
services. You know, I'd like to sit down with you and brainstorm
some ways we could help each other grow our businesses."
No 5. Give something away to the associates of your clients
This law can create powerful leverage. Say you have a number of
clients who have associates and clients who are also good
potential clients for you. If your client has been happy with your
services, they will often be happy to spread the word about you.
You'd be surprised how generous people can be.
Let them know you've put together a valuable report, a recording,
a teleclass or a live presentation. And then work out a way to offer
this to the clients and associates of your client. It needs to be a
triple-win. The associates win because they receive something of
value. You win because you get access to potential clients. And
your client wins because they are seen as a valuable resource.
No 6. Send written and emailed thank-you notes
Good business is conducted in an atmosphere of gratitude. When
you give, you'll also get in return. You'll also receive valuable
information, resources, bonuses and leads. And you want to
accept these with an open heart and with thanks.
And the best way to make that thanks real is with a written note.
Email will do for little things like the exchange of information and
resources. But when someone goes out of their way to help you,
give you a lead, or assist your business in some way, send a
hand-written card. It goes a long way.
No 7. Give away complimentary sessions by phone
I've left this one to last because it's so important, and for many,
it can be the key to filling a professional practice. At its heart, a
complimentary session is an opportunity to assist a prospect in
getting clear about where they are going, what's in the way, and
what they need to do next.
Sounds simple, but it's not a conversation many business people
have the opportunity to engage in. To focus 100% on a prospect's
situation, dreams and challenges can be a life-changing
experience. And it often paves the way to introduce your services
which can facilitate the realization of their dreams.
Hope this helps.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Follow up questions
You may have heard the assertion that people are more afraid of
public speaking than death.
I don't yet have the statistics to back it up yet, but I think the
fear of picking up the phone and calling someone you don't know,
trumps both of these.
I've met many people who have little fear of public speaking, but
I've seen several grown men and women quake with fear at the
prospect of making follow-up calls. In fact, many long years ago, I
was one of those people!
A follow-up call means calling someone by phone whom you've
previously met and who might be a prospect for your services. It
could also be a lead you've received from an associate or an
attendee from a talk or presentation.
The follow-up call is the pivotal action between marketing and
selling. Marketing warms up the selling process, but the follow-up
call is the key action that furthers the business relationship and
often secures the appointment.
To call or not to call, that is the question.
Not only do we not like making follow-up calls, we tend to do a
bad job of them when we finally get around to it. It's not
uncommon that we avoid them altogether, hoping that interested
prospects will call us back instead.
However, when I meet the very rare person who is good at
making follow-up calls, I know they won't have much trouble
consistently attracting clients. They don't wait, they connect.
They seize the opportunity, not wallow in the difficulty.
Let's do a reality check:
1. For the most part, prospects are not going to call you back,
even if they are interested in your services. If you want to turn
that prospect into a client you MUST make the follow-up call.
2. You will survive if you make these calls. I haven't known of
anyone who has died by making follow-up calls or has had the
prospect send a hit man to take them out. It is not fatal.
3. You can get very good at making follow-up calls. You can learn
how to do this relatively easy. Like anything, it will take some
time and practice, but it's not rocket science.
The way to succeed with follow-up calls, is through scripting.
If you were playing in Hamlet, you'd have a script. If you didn't,
can you imagine how you'd come across? You'd bomb! Well, isn't
your business more important than a play?
With follow-up calls, you can't wing it; you need to know what to
say, when to say it and how to say it. You need to write out your
scripts and use them as guidelines as you make your calls. You
never actually read your scripts, but use them as outlines to keep
you on track.
I'd recommend four kinds of scripts:
1. The script for voice mail
2. The script when you reach a prospect
3. The script for dealing with gatekeepers
4. The general purpose information script
Armed with these four scripts, you finally have power when you
make your calls. You will start to control the flow of the call
instead of the call controlling you. (In the audio program, we go
over these scripts in great detail and even role-play each one of
them.)
Also, like being in Hamlet, you need to practice. Out loud. Use a
mirror and a tape recorder for immediate feedback. Until you feel
comfortable with your scripts, you will sound awkward and
hesitant, missing that authentic connection with your prospects.
If and when you master the art of the follow-up call, you will see
the following results: Fewer opportunities missed, more
appointments with qualified prospects, and more business closed.
Follow-up calls need to be a central part of your marketing plan.
No matter what marketing activities you do, follow-up calls need
to be part of the equation. If you don't make them, you may be
waiting a very long time for prospects to call you back. And that,
my friend, can kill you!
Customer Qualification Questions
My "Next 50 customers Model" breaks the client-attracting process
into the following four parts:
Part 1. Developing your marketing message, identity and
materials that communicate the essence of your business.
Part 2. Engaging in marketing activities, from networking and
speaking, to eZines and blogging (utilizing the messages and
materials from Part 1).
Part 3. The Marketing Conversation, where you interact (usually
verbally) with a prospect as a result of engaging in marketing
activities.
Part 4. The Selling Conversation where you move on from the
Marketing Conversation and explore the actual needs of a
prospect, and then present your services.
Today, I want to focus on the Marketing Conversation.
The Marketing Conversation has four distinct steps. Most people
have some practice with the first step (getting attention and
interest), but usually fall down on the last three steps.
Marketing Conversations - The Four Steps
1. The Audio Logo.
This is the initial interaction with a prospect
where you get their attention and interest. This includes talking
about who you serve (your target market), the problems and
issues that challenge your clients, the solutions and outcomes you
provide, and stories that illustrate all of the above.
2. Qualification.
These are the back and forth questions and
answers you and the prospect engage in to feel each other out for
a possible match. It also includes sharing in more depth about
how you work with clients and the results you produce. We'll go
into this step in more detail below.
3. The Offer.
Once you have the attention and interest of a
prospect and you've qualified them, you need to have a call-to-
action, or nothing will happen. The best way to do this is to offer
more information related to your business (an article, for
instance) and an offer to follow up (usually by phone and/or
email). Again, more on this below.
4. The Follow-Up.
After you've provided information, you need to
follow-up and explore with the prospect if there is enough
common ground to engage in the Selling Conversation. I
discussed follow-up strategies in detail in recent eZines.
If you master the four steps of the Marketing Conversation, you
will jump much faster from marketing activities to Selling
Conversations, and ultimately to new closed business.
If you miss one or more steps in the Marketing Conversation,
marketing will usually be a struggle. You'll talk about your
business, even generate some interest, but you won't have a clear
path from the initial connection to a Sales Conversation.
Qualification Secret
One of the biggest mistakes we make in the Qualification Step is
talking all the time about what we do. The prospect asks a
question and off we go, a mile a minute. Then at the end, you
hand out your card, they walk away and you wonder. "Wha'
happened?!"
Here's the secret. Simple, but not so obvious. When a prospect
asks a question, answer briefly and then turn around and ask a
question of them.
Prospect: What process do you use to increase retention?
You: We use various processes, with our main focus on hiring the
right people to begin with. Can you tell me the biggest issue your
company has with retention?
With several of those exchanges you are informing your prospect
about your services (in bite-sized pieces), and you are learning
more about their needs.
Step Three Secret
Once you've qualified the prospect and they seem to be a good
potential client, you need to find a comfortable transition that will
lead to a Sales Conversation. Once a prospect is interested, they
want one thing: more information. So offer it to them.
"I've written a White Paper on retention called, 'The Seven
Biggest Mistakes Companies Make in Retaining their Best People.'
I think you'll find it very interesting. Can I send you copy?"
The answer to such an offer is almost always "Yes." Remember, if
you've interested them, they WILL want more information. This
relevant information makes you stand out immediately as a
valued professional. (Time to start working on that article!)
Then you reply, "Great, I'll send it to you by email. Then I'd love
to get your reaction to it and find out a bit more about your
business. When's the best time to reach you?"
End the conversation by agreeing on a time you'll make a follow-
up call. This works a lot better than saying, "Okay, I'll send it to
you and please give me a call if you have any questions." That's
called "dropping the ball." It's YOUR job to follow-up!
If you work at mastering the Marketing Conversation, you'll go
way beyond getting attention and interest; you'll end up with a
lot more Selling Conversations and, ultimately, more clients.
Hope that helps.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Wanted! Innovators
Reblogged from Jeff Philllps
Read this and thought it about sums up the state of innovation in the UK.
Sometimes I think that many firms should place an ad in the employment pages that says: Wanted: Innovation Leaders. Must be visionary, tough, well-connected and willing to risk it all.
I was reading a post from Drew Boyd about academic research into what competencies are important in innovation practitioners and innovation leaders. Drew, and the academics and research he cites, are far more eloquent than I can be. However, the lack of eloquence has never slowed me from climbing up on the soapbox.
Any firm that decides to build a consistent, sustainable innovation capability needs senior executive commitment and funding. That goes without saying. But the innovation initiative needs a strong, determined leader who can demonstrate the following four skills or competencies:
Vision
Commitment
Fearlessness
Excellent communication
A person lacking in one or two of these competencies might be able to compensate with the addition of a sidekick or team mate who can bring that specific skill to the table. Let's drill into each to determine why they are important.
Vision: The innovation team leader will recruit people to his team in an uncertain climate to do some fairly risky things. She needs to be able to communicate her vision for innovation capabilities and how that aligns to the senior management team's needs and strategies.
Commitment: Sorry, part-timers need not apply. If your innovation team leader is part-time, how can she convince people to join her team and make a big commitment. They'll all have one foot in the innovation team and one foot firmly planted in their safe, comfortable existing roles. An innovation leader trying to start a challenging new process that probably runs counter to organization culture can't succeed on a part-time basis.
Fearlessness: You can't succeed when innovation trying not to fail. Too many innovation programs seek very simple, very safe ideas to generate and implement. That's not the point. We've already got Black belts and continuous improvement programs and product roadmaps. We need some risk and danger. The leader needs to be able to stick her neck out and ask some crazy questions, cannibalize existing products and overturn markets, or the end result will be more of the same.
Communication: The innovation leader will recruit full time and part time people to a completely new task, create new processes and methods and generate ideas that will hopefully threaten existing products and services. Based on that description, don't you think they need great communication skills? This means both the skills to speak to the executives as well as to inform the team and the general population.
If your team is forming, or you are considering building an innovation program, now is a good time to write the job description of the innovation leader. Part Gary Cooper, Part Dr. Phil and fully committed to success.
Read this and thought it about sums up the state of innovation in the UK.
Sometimes I think that many firms should place an ad in the employment pages that says: Wanted: Innovation Leaders. Must be visionary, tough, well-connected and willing to risk it all.
I was reading a post from Drew Boyd about academic research into what competencies are important in innovation practitioners and innovation leaders. Drew, and the academics and research he cites, are far more eloquent than I can be. However, the lack of eloquence has never slowed me from climbing up on the soapbox.
Any firm that decides to build a consistent, sustainable innovation capability needs senior executive commitment and funding. That goes without saying. But the innovation initiative needs a strong, determined leader who can demonstrate the following four skills or competencies:
Vision
Commitment
Fearlessness
Excellent communication
A person lacking in one or two of these competencies might be able to compensate with the addition of a sidekick or team mate who can bring that specific skill to the table. Let's drill into each to determine why they are important.
Vision: The innovation team leader will recruit people to his team in an uncertain climate to do some fairly risky things. She needs to be able to communicate her vision for innovation capabilities and how that aligns to the senior management team's needs and strategies.
Commitment: Sorry, part-timers need not apply. If your innovation team leader is part-time, how can she convince people to join her team and make a big commitment. They'll all have one foot in the innovation team and one foot firmly planted in their safe, comfortable existing roles. An innovation leader trying to start a challenging new process that probably runs counter to organization culture can't succeed on a part-time basis.
Fearlessness: You can't succeed when innovation trying not to fail. Too many innovation programs seek very simple, very safe ideas to generate and implement. That's not the point. We've already got Black belts and continuous improvement programs and product roadmaps. We need some risk and danger. The leader needs to be able to stick her neck out and ask some crazy questions, cannibalize existing products and overturn markets, or the end result will be more of the same.
Communication: The innovation leader will recruit full time and part time people to a completely new task, create new processes and methods and generate ideas that will hopefully threaten existing products and services. Based on that description, don't you think they need great communication skills? This means both the skills to speak to the executives as well as to inform the team and the general population.
If your team is forming, or you are considering building an innovation program, now is a good time to write the job description of the innovation leader. Part Gary Cooper, Part Dr. Phil and fully committed to success.
What to do with what you have learned
FIRST: Preserve your learning by evaluating it.
After all, we learn not from our experiences but from intelligent reflection upon those experiences.
So, ask yourself these questions:
*What else is like this?
*What did I just learn from this experience?
*How does this fit into my theory of the universe?
*Does this statement give me any insight about myself?
*How can the basic concept be applied to different areas?
*What went right/wrong/perfectly about what just happened?
SECOND: Preserve your learning by writing it down.
After all, if you don’t write it down, it never happened.
So, ask yourself these questions:
*How can I blog about this?
*What folder does this go into?
*What journal does this go into?
*How can I make writing a part of this?
*What list can I immediately make this into?
*What are the various ways I can recycle this intellectual property?
THIRD: Preserve your learning by teaching it to others.
After all, you learn something most effectively the moment you teach it to someone else.
So, ask yourself these questions:
*How can I teach this to others?
*Who else needs to know about this?
*What’s the Universal Human Emotion/Experience?
*Through which medium can I best teach this idea to others?
*Now that I’ve written about this, what else does this make possible?
*If everyone did exactly what I said, what would their world look like?
FINALLY: Preserve your learning by leveraging it.
After all, killing two stones with one bird is always the best business practice.
So, ask yourself these questions:
*Where can I use this?
*What else can be made from this?
*How can I make this last forever?
*How many different ways can I leverage this?
*How can I use this to add more value to myself?
*How can this mistake quickly be made into something good?
REMEMBER: Evaluate. Write. Teach. Leverage.
After all, we learn not from our experiences but from intelligent reflection upon those experiences.
So, ask yourself these questions:
*What else is like this?
*What did I just learn from this experience?
*How does this fit into my theory of the universe?
*Does this statement give me any insight about myself?
*How can the basic concept be applied to different areas?
*What went right/wrong/perfectly about what just happened?
SECOND: Preserve your learning by writing it down.
After all, if you don’t write it down, it never happened.
So, ask yourself these questions:
*How can I blog about this?
*What folder does this go into?
*What journal does this go into?
*How can I make writing a part of this?
*What list can I immediately make this into?
*What are the various ways I can recycle this intellectual property?
THIRD: Preserve your learning by teaching it to others.
After all, you learn something most effectively the moment you teach it to someone else.
So, ask yourself these questions:
*How can I teach this to others?
*Who else needs to know about this?
*What’s the Universal Human Emotion/Experience?
*Through which medium can I best teach this idea to others?
*Now that I’ve written about this, what else does this make possible?
*If everyone did exactly what I said, what would their world look like?
FINALLY: Preserve your learning by leveraging it.
After all, killing two stones with one bird is always the best business practice.
So, ask yourself these questions:
*Where can I use this?
*What else can be made from this?
*How can I make this last forever?
*How many different ways can I leverage this?
*How can I use this to add more value to myself?
*How can this mistake quickly be made into something good?
REMEMBER: Evaluate. Write. Teach. Leverage.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
How to stop wasting your time.
Scott has again come up with some simple but remarkable motivation bytes I thought I'd share
1. Stop wasting your time … advertising.
If people always hear FROM you instead of ABOUT you, you’re doing something wrong.
AS OSCAR WILDE SAYS: The only thing worse than being talked about is (not) being talked about.
2. Stop wasting your time … trying, in general.
If someone uses the word “trying” a lot, he probably ISN’T.
AS YODA SAYS: There is no try. Only do or do not.
3. Stop wasting your time … trying to prove yourself.
If YOU know you’re good enough, that’s enough.
AS BUDDHA SAYS: He is able who thinks he is able.
4. Stop wasting your time … trying to convince people.
If they don’t “get it” right away, they probably never will.
AS SETH GODIN SAYS: If you can’t explain it in 8 words or less, it’s not a good idea.
5. Stop wasting your time … trying to be better than the competition.
If you position your value correctly, you won’t HAVE any competition.
AS SCOTT GINSBERG SAYS: The best way to eliminate the competition is to not have any.
6. Stop wasting your time … dealing with people who can’t sign the check.
If they’re not the economic buyer, save your breath and move on.
AS ERIC MAISEL SAYS: Playing to the wrong crowd is dangerous.
7. Stop wasting your time … selling to people who just aren’t going to buy.
If they’re just there to kick tires, that’s cool. Greet them warmly and move on to someone else. They’ll come when they’re ready.
AS SCOTT GINSBERG SAYS: If they want you, they’ll find you.
8. Stop wasting your time … selling to people who don’t know how to value you yet.
If they’re not ready for you, they don’t deserve you.
AS DAVID ALLEN SAYS: Saying NO to the wrong person leads to saying YES to the right person.
9. Stop wasting your time … following up with people who never, ever call you back.
If they wanted you, they would have hired you already. You can only call so many times.
AS LAO TZU SAYS: Any over determined behavior produces its opposite.
10. Stop wasting your time … making people happy who aren’t in your target market.
If they’re not your ideal customer, who cares if they don’t like you?
AS MY DAD SAYS: Focus on pleasing the people who PAY.
11. Stop wasting your time … sending prospects your hideous brochures and literature.
If they get it, they will immediately store it in the circular file cabinet.
1. Stop wasting your time … advertising.
If people always hear FROM you instead of ABOUT you, you’re doing something wrong.
AS OSCAR WILDE SAYS: The only thing worse than being talked about is (not) being talked about.
2. Stop wasting your time … trying, in general.
If someone uses the word “trying” a lot, he probably ISN’T.
AS YODA SAYS: There is no try. Only do or do not.
3. Stop wasting your time … trying to prove yourself.
If YOU know you’re good enough, that’s enough.
AS BUDDHA SAYS: He is able who thinks he is able.
4. Stop wasting your time … trying to convince people.
If they don’t “get it” right away, they probably never will.
AS SETH GODIN SAYS: If you can’t explain it in 8 words or less, it’s not a good idea.
5. Stop wasting your time … trying to be better than the competition.
If you position your value correctly, you won’t HAVE any competition.
AS SCOTT GINSBERG SAYS: The best way to eliminate the competition is to not have any.
6. Stop wasting your time … dealing with people who can’t sign the check.
If they’re not the economic buyer, save your breath and move on.
AS ERIC MAISEL SAYS: Playing to the wrong crowd is dangerous.
7. Stop wasting your time … selling to people who just aren’t going to buy.
If they’re just there to kick tires, that’s cool. Greet them warmly and move on to someone else. They’ll come when they’re ready.
AS SCOTT GINSBERG SAYS: If they want you, they’ll find you.
8. Stop wasting your time … selling to people who don’t know how to value you yet.
If they’re not ready for you, they don’t deserve you.
AS DAVID ALLEN SAYS: Saying NO to the wrong person leads to saying YES to the right person.
9. Stop wasting your time … following up with people who never, ever call you back.
If they wanted you, they would have hired you already. You can only call so many times.
AS LAO TZU SAYS: Any over determined behavior produces its opposite.
10. Stop wasting your time … making people happy who aren’t in your target market.
If they’re not your ideal customer, who cares if they don’t like you?
AS MY DAD SAYS: Focus on pleasing the people who PAY.
11. Stop wasting your time … sending prospects your hideous brochures and literature.
If they get it, they will immediately store it in the circular file cabinet.
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