Bounce!

February 29, 2008

We’ve all heard it….you learn more from failures than success.  Failure builds character.  Blah, blah.

So I was interested to see what Barry Moltz had to say on the subject in his new book, Bounce!  Barry surprised me by getting right to the heart, saying "sometimes failure just stinks."  Amen, brother.

His point is that both success and failures are a natural part of a business cycle. The trick is having processes in place to weather the failure…so you can bounce!  In the book, Moltz describes the ten business building bands for true business confidence.

Here are a few of my favorites from among the 10:

• Humility — using humility to right size our egos.
• In failure, give up the shame — we actually make our failures worse by being shamed by them and letting that shame dictate how we react and recover.
• Create a measurement system of your own — it’s not about the money.  What should it be about for you?
• Value action — get off your duff and do something.

There’s no business book hype in Bounce!  He dishes out the straight scoop with some great stories, easy to understand principles and thought-provoking questions.

This book is honest, sometimes brutally so, debunks the "just pick yourself up and learn from your mistakes" cheerleading and offers some real tools for surviving and bouncing back from the inevitable bumps in the road.  A very pragmatic, practical read.

I’ve got a free copy of Bounce! for one lucky reader.  If you’re interested…shoot me an e-mail with Bounce! in the subject line and I’ll do a blind drawing. (Which actually wouldn’t be much worse than if I drew with my eyes open!).

Whether you win the free one or have to click on the link above to buy a copy — this is a refreshingly honest and insightful book.  Well worth the read.

Update: People are asking for a deadline, so I will take entries for the drawing through Sunday, March 2nd and award the book on Monday, March 3rd.

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Are you having a little trouble selling the cow?

February 29, 2008

Could it be that you’re giving away too much milk?  We’ve all heard the expression, "no one will buy the cow if you keep giving away the milk."   At MMG, we are huge proponents of giving away what you sell for free.  We call is sampling.  When you don’t sell a tangible product, there’s nothing for the potential customer to evaluate.  They can’t look at your expertise.  They can’t smell your knowledge. 

So you have to demonstrate it.  The best, easiest and most effective way to do that is to give it away.

To a point.  One of the traps that many service providers fall into is that they struggle with drawing the line and knowing when enough freebies have been given and it’s time to move the relationship to client status.

We’re having a very lively discussion over at Marketing Profs Daily Fix about how to balance wanting to share your expertise and yet still be a smart business person.

I guarantee you’ll find a take away or two in the comments section.  Lots of people sharing their experiences and methods.  It’s good stuff.  Come over and join in.

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The difference is our people? Seriously….duh!

February 28, 2008

 

I recently saw an ad with the tagline "the difference is our people!"  It doesn’t matter what business it was for because many businesses claim this as their unique point of difference.  No offense to all of the businesses that think this is what makes them stand out from their competition – but duh. 

Everyone claims that they have great people, ergo great customer service.  And the truth is…most of them do.  To break through the marketplace, we need to be about more than good customer service.

Why?  Don’t people want good service?  Sure.  But they also expect it. It’s a duh.  A given.  If you don’t provide good customer service, you’re not going to keep their business.  Don’t you think most businesses are hustling to serve their customer? That’s not a brand – it is a cost of doing business.  An expectation.

Another popular duh is competency.  Companies will tout their expertise as though their competitors are completely incompetent. The reality is that’s just not true.  To create marketing materials or ads that claim "we’re good at what we do" is a waste of resources. 

Again – your consumer assumes you are qualified to do your job.  If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be even under consideration.  Skill-level or competency is a show me message, not a tell me.  It’s a little like honesty.  If someone has to keep telling you that they’re honest, pretty soon you wonder why they are making such a big deal about it. 

So why do companies rely on "duh" level taglines or promises?  Because it’s easy.  It doesn’t require digging deeper to find out what really does set them apart from their competition.   

Double-check yourself.  Are you taking the easy way out and making a duh promise?

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Keep Arun in your thoughts and prayers

February 27, 2008

We talk a lot about conversation, community and sharing in the blogosphere.  We see evidence of it every day.  Gavin’s friends, CK’s Momma Tree, The Frozen Pea Fund.  $11,000+ to Variety (Age of Conversation).  And so many more.

One of the bloggers who has come to embody those virtues for me is Arun Rajagopal.  He’s one of the first to raise his hand to help with any project or to support any blogger.  He loves shining the spotlight on others’ efforts while downplaying his own contributions.

He’s a a smart marketer.  A generous community member. And a friend.

So, I was so sad to hear that he lost his mom this week. 

As you’d expect the community quickly rose up to create a support network.  We can’t be at his side as much as we’d like to, but we can show that we care. 

We’ve created a place where everyone can leave him a thought, prayer or just let him know that you’re thinking of him and sending your warmth.  Please join us and remind him just how mighty and giving this community is.

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Perfection Paralysis

February 25, 2008

I would guess we’ve all witnessed it.  A business owner or marketing decision maker who can’t pull the trigger when it comes to marketing tactics. 

Something about the piece (be it a website, brochure or direct mail piece, etc.) is off for them.  Often, they can’t even tell you what’s off, just that something is.  "it’s just not quite right," they’ll say with a rueful smile. And so the team tries again — revision after revision.

What was that sound?  It was the window of opportunity slamming shut.  In many cases, the piece never gets completed and marketing dollars slowly swirl down the drain.

And your prospects and customers wonder why you’re ignoring them.

Pretty darn good trumps perfect every time, if it means you get to market faster (or at all) with your message.

Next time you feel your team (or yourself) begin to stall a project because perfection paralysis is taking hold, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does it clearly communicate our key message?  (no more than 2-3)
2. Does it offer some response opportunity? (website, e-mail, phone number, etc.)
3. Does it protect and respect our brand promise and look/feel?
4. Is it error-free?  (typos, grammar etc.)

If you can answer yes to all 4 — give yourself 24 hours to futz with it if you want and then get it out the door.

Perfect or not.

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Viral video — are you the expert?

February 22, 2008

It started with a simple question.  Do you viral video?

Let’s wrap up our discussion on the phenomenon of viral video and its many purposes. 

We’ve culled through the stats that show the rapid rise of viral video viewing, we’ve talked about how some companies are using the medium to just get in front of as many people as possible and we’ve also looked at the educational aspects of the medium.  In the last installment, we also talked about how some are using video simply to be heard over the din of marketing messages.

One of the other applications/goals that seems ideally suited for video is demonstrating an expertise.  While writing a white paper for your website or even sharing your PowerPoint slides will allow you to share your expertise, it lacks the emotional connection that a video can give you.

Matt Dickman, from Fleishman-Hillard, has really established himself as a social media tools expert by producing a series of videos in which he dissects a particular application or site.  In the example below, he introduces his subscribers to Utterz.

 

The beauty of what Matt has done is that he’s become our tour guide.  He makes his audience comfortable with the new tools. He explains them in language that everyone can understand and he takes the time to lay some groundwork before he dives in.

With his series approach, we also make the assumption that he knows a lot about ALL the web-based tools out there.  Does he?  I don’t know, but he’d sure be one of the first I would ask. He’s proven to me that he’s an expert in this field.

How could you use viral video to spotlight your expertise in a way that’s both compelling and something people would want to pass onto their friends/peers? 

How could you use viral video to showcase your skills if you wanted to be the on-air talent?  How about if you didn’t?

Other posts in this series:
Do you viral video?
Viral video – are you looking for a lot of eyes?
Viral video — are you trying to educate?
Viral video – are you trying to be heard over the noise?
Viral video — are you establishing yourself as an expert?

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Is it work or play…and what’s the cost?

February 22, 2008

Three converging thoughts/conversations:

1. A recent post on this blog about how our work/personal lives are becoming more blended
2. An on-going e-mail conversation with KG (Kristin Gorski) about the pressures of trying to keep up coupled with her post about our muses
3. Greg Verdino‘s pot stirring post, asking if we’re fooling ourselves with social media tools

I’d love it if you’d take a few minutes and check out out the posts referenced in #1 and #3.  Then, read the post mentioned in #2.

What are the pros and cons of being "plugged in?"  What do we gain?  What do we pay?  For you, personally and professionally — how does it weigh out?

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A day inspiration and creativity

February 21, 2008

Here’s the sign of a good conference or meeting for me.  If I walk out buzzing….feeling like I can’t wait to try one of the new things or tell someone one of the stories, or check out one of the mentioned references — that’s a well spent day.

I suspect there will be a whole lot of people feeling that way on March 27th, as they leave PSFK conference in New York City.

Check out the incredible list of speakers, including Greg Verdino, Steve Rubel and Graham Hill, among others. 

If you think the speakers are impressive, scroll down a little further on the site and check out the attendees.  Imagine spending a day learning from and meeting from the likes of them!

I’m sure there’s room for you, if you can get into the city.  It looks like it would be well worth the effort.

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Look Mom, I made the team!

February 21, 2008

I love baseball.  I love the smell of the freshly cut grass.  I love the sounds of the ball smacking into a glove.  I love the adrenaline rush that you get as you approach the plate.

So, the sure sign of Spring for me is Spring Training.  Which began this week.  We’re only 5+ weeks away from Opening Day.

I’ve always believed that the best players — be it baseball, marketing, sales or ice cream scoopers are the people with a passion for their game.  The skills can be taught.  But you can’t teach, cajole or force passion.  It either burns in the belly or it doesn’t.

I was delighted to see Mike Sansone’s post about Spring Training and his baseballesque All Star team of bloggers.  The team is impressive with guys like Jeremiah Owyang at third and David Armano in center field.  So…I was thrilled to make the team.  Twice.  I get to play 2nd base and as one of the MarketingProfs Daily Fix line-up, be in the bullpen as well.

How cool is that?

When I look at Mike’s line-up, what strikes me is that every blogger on his list burns with a passion for their area of expertise.  That’s what put them on Mike’s must read list.  Be sure you check out his post…because these people should be on your must read list too.

Would your clients say that about you?  Are you an All Star because of your passion?  How do you bring that to life?

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Want to get creative?

February 19, 2008

Want to get your creative juices flowing?  Try one of these tactics:

View the problem/product/desired result from a different seat on the bus:  In other words, how would a 6-year-old child view it? A librarian? Truck driver? College student? Someone who uses a wheelchair for support? By putting yourself in many different people’s shoes, you can begin to see the situation differently.

Do a 180: How would the product talk about itself? Or describe how it works? It sounds crazy, but again, sparking creativity is all about thinking differently. What would the competitive product tease your product about? Who knows what you will uncover?

Personify it: If your product or service was a person, who would it be? A man? A young girl? How would they behave? What would their personality be like? What would be their favorite book? Movie? What are they afraid of?

Get out: Most people brainstorm and try to spark their creativity in the same work environment that they are in every day. One of the best ways to inspire some new thinking is to be in a new place. Go to a park and take a walk. Go play at a toy store. Visit a museum. Play a kind of music you would normally never listen to. Stimulate your senses.

Ask why: Make an assumption about what you are working on. Then ask why. And answer it. Then ask why. And answer that. Then ask why. And so on. See where it takes you. Then, when you cannot go any further, make another assumption and do it all over again.

Play: Have a paper airplane contest. Create a putt-putt course in the office. Play charades. Sometimes you have to give yourself permission to be creative, and being playful is a great way to bring that part of you to the surface.

Okay….your turn.  How do you get creative?

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