Drew McLellan, Author at McLellan Marketing Group

What’s your competition’s hook?

January 24, 2008

I really ~~hate~~ strongly dislike my dry cleaners. I’ve written about them before, but in a nutshell…

They don’t acknowledge that they have any idea who I am, despite having seen me at least weekly for a couple years
When I walk in, rather than asking if they can help me, they act as though I am interrupting them
They have lost 4 of my shirts and never apologized (they’re sure they are in my closet)
They break a button on one of my shirts about every 3 weeks

So by now, you are saying "Geez Drew. I have a solution for you. Go to a different dry cleaners."

Ahhh, there’s the rub and the marketing discussion. You see, I have said the same thing to myself many times. But I don’t. Why not?

This dry cleaners is 3 minutes from my house. It is in my traffic pattern. They even have a drive thru window. The commodity I value most is time. So, I endure them.

So here’s the marketing question in all of this — do you understand what hooks your competitors have set into your prospects? By all impressions — I should be an easy win for another dry cleaners.

I am very dissatisfied with my current provider
What they sell is a commodity
There is a low cost of entry — doesn’t cost me a lot to switch

Yet, I (so far) am staying put. A coupon or sale isn’t going to lure me away. Telling me about the latest and greatest equipment — no such luck.

This is one of the sticky wickets we don’t talk about very much in marketing. You can do all the right things, aimed at the right people…and still not win their business. Unless you understand the hooks.

What are the common hooks in your industry? If you know — what are you doing to remove those hooks? If you don’t know — how could you find out?

Viral video — are you trying to educate?

January 21, 2008

In our on-going discussion about the value of (or lack thereof) using viral video, we’ve talked about how the statistics clearly indicate that video viewing is on the rise (with double and triple digit growth) and some of the reasons why viral video might make sense for your organization.

In my last post, we explored (there were some superb comments — be sure you dig deep enough to read them!) using viral video if what you’re looking for is widespread exposure. Those are the videos we’re all the most familiar with. The Mentos and Diet Coke, the RayBans, or the Small Office HP videos that I shared in that post.

Characteristically, they have a higher production value, tend to be funny and short. Really, they’re the Super Bowl ads of viral video. Their goal is to be talk worthy and sharing worthy.

But what if that’s not what you need. Let’s say you’re the Marketing Director for a regional B-to-B company. Viral video shouldn’t be on your radar screen — right?

Not so fast, my friend.

If "I want lots of eyes" viral video is the Super Bowl of the medium, then the "I want to educate you" may be the high school social studies class film equivalent. You remember those grainy black and white films that were short on entertainment value but long on content. These are characteristically lower budget/quality production, a bit longer in length and usually not going for the funny bone. Their purpose is very utilitarian — to teach.

Long time reader/commenter to this blog, Scott Townsend is the Marketing Director for United Linen and Uniforms in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. They service the tri-state area of Kansas, Arkansas and of course, Oklahoma. So why would they use video?

Watch.

Again, this is not going to win an Oscar. I think lots of people shy away from some of this new fangled media (podcasts, video etc.) because they compare their budget and abilities to the high end variations and dismiss an opportunity that they could seize.

Assuming you have a certain level of production quality — using video this way is an effective way to do a couple things.

Educate your consumer. Some things are easier to understand if you can see them.
Convey a product truth. In this case, that it’s easy to re-load the dispenser and odds are if she can do it — so can your employees.

What do you think? Can you see how using video like this might serve your customers? Or are you in the "high end, big budget or no go" camp?

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?

Photo courtesy of www.viewimages.com

Visual eye candy for your Monday

January 21, 2008

Enjoy this web-based treat. And, if you speak Dutch — you might want to order something for yourself!

What a great use of design and technology.

A hat tip to my dad for sharing this with me! He says after reading my blog for so long, he’s now "attuned for interesting media."

At least someone is listening! 🙂

The Advertising Show talks dialogue

January 19, 2008

I had the good fortune of chatting with radio hosts Ray Schilens and Brad Forsythe on their weekly radio show sponsored by Advertising Age.

As you might guess, we talked about how the marketing monologue is dead, how companies need to start listening to what’s being said about them and the Age of Conversation.

Take a listen. If you are so inclined, give the show a good rating so we can spread the word about Age of Conversation even further.

Grab the mic: The 3 Things You Need to Stop Doing If You Want New Ideas (Katie Konrath)

January 18, 2008

The business world is moving faster than ever before. New technology, new ways of doing things, and worldwide competition. Whether you’re trying to come up with new products and services, or trying to make your existing offerings stand out, it’s essential to be able to come up with new ideas. You need to be creative if you want to stand out in today’s overcrowded marketplace.

There is a ton of advice out there on how to be more creative. You could try Lateral Thinking, buy some Thinkertoys, get a Whack on the Side of the Head, or any of the other techniques that jolt your mind into a new way of thinking.

But none of that is actually going to help unless you stop three self-sabotaging behaviors that destroy your best ideas before you have them.

So how do you stop stopping your creativity?

1. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel.

A lot of people think that every single idea needs to come from scratch. After all, it isn’t very creative if you just copy what someone else is doing, right? Wrong. A lot of great ideas come from figuring out how to apply something from another field to your situation.
Henry Ford did this fantastically. He didn’t invent the assembly line-that’s been around since the 1500s-but his idea of using an assembly line to assemble cars was genius.

He’s not the only one. The idea for Velcro came when someone observed how burrs stick to clothing. Golf allegedly was invented when someone saw how much the Scottish kings enjoyed batting around the heads of their enemies. (Not really.) Even roll-on deodorant was modeled after the inner workings of the ball-point pen.

So, if you want to come up with a great new idea for your company, look around to see what people in other fields are doing. Then adapt their solutions to your particular situation. It’s not cheating if you expand on a concept that came from somewhere else.

2. Stop waiting for ideas to just happen.

Who has had a fantastic idea when they were showering, or in the middle of the night, or when they weren’t thinking about the problem at all? Probably everyone. It’s pretty common to have an idea pop randomly out of the blue.

The problem comes when you start believing that ideas just happen. Then you start to rationalize, "If ideas are totally random, what’s the point in looking for them?"
Except ideas aren’t random.

Serendipitous ideas occur because you’ve set your mind to looking for a solution, and–even when you’re not thinking directly about your problem–your brain is ticking in the background. And then, BAM! You suddenly make a connection and an amazing idea pops out of nowhere.

Random ideas might seem like they just happen–but you won’t come up with any ideas if you’re not looking for them.

3. Stop throwing out your worst ideas.

It’s way too easy to figure out what’s wrong with an idea and why it won’t work. You’ve probably all heard that a Yale professor told FedEx founder Fred Smith that " in order to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea [for an overnight delivery service] must be feasible."

Did you know also that Debbie Fields was told no one would ever want to buy soft cookies. And that one of the Warner brothers just couldn’t understand "who the h@!! wants to hear actors talk!"

You’ve probably done it to yourself as well. An idea might be too silly, or not possible, or just loony, or any of a thousand other excuses to bury the idea forever. And, of course, it’s just so easy to toss an idea away.

What if you took a second look at that "awful idea" while saying "What part of this idea can I build on? How could it work?" You might be very pleasantly surprised. A lot of ideas that sound completely backwards at first are actually gold mines for new and better ideas.

Fact is, it’s not easy to come up with new ideas. People struggle with being creative all the time, and even the most brilliantly-innovative people have been so disappointed in a "bad" idea that they’d like to pretend it never happened.

That’s why there are so many techniques and tips out there to learn how to be more creative. Because it’s not easy.

But it’s also not as hard as many people make it out to be. If you just keep your eyes open for existing solutions that you can apply to your situation, make a point of looking for new ideas, and look for the silver lining of the ideas you want to discard, you’ll find out that you’re a lot more creative than you thought.

All you need to do is to stop getting in your own way.

Katie Konrath blogs about creativity, innovation and "ideas so fresh, they should be slapped!" at www.getfreshminds.com. She has a masters degree in creativity from the University of Malta’s Institute of Thinking and has studied creative thinking in Russia, Malta, London and Iowa. Katie is also a certified Lateral Thinking instructor and a former creative problem-solving competition global champion.

Every Friday is "grab the mic" day. Want to grab the mic and be a guest blogger on Drew’s Marketing Minute? Shoot me an e-mail.

Viral video — are you looking for lots of eyes?

January 17, 2008

A couple days ago, I opened the topic of vlogging, viral videos, YouTube, etc. My question was….do you viral video? The statistics in the Pew study that I referenced in that post suggest that the number of people who are viewing viral videos (on sites like YouTube) is growing at a frantic pace.

But does that mean you should be doing it? And if so….how? Why?

I wrote a post about the presidential candidates marketing tactics and a couple people suggested that I should make a video because it would get some great exposure. My question back to them was — "I will gladly do it but I don’t want to just be a talking head. Other ideas?"

So far, we haven’t come up with anything, hence no Drew on YouTube. (And no, I am not donning an Uncle Sam beard and hat.)

One of the reasons why I think more people aren’t doing video is linked to my question.

It’s not that I don’t want to do it. But I want to do it well. And for a purpose. I thought it might be interesting to look at some different videos and talk about their purpose. Naturally, I am hoping that will trigger you thinking about how video might serve your business (or not) and jump into the conversation. (If you subscribe via e-mail, please check on the headline above to be taken to the blog – so you can view these videos.)

Let’s look at some videos that clearly are intended to get a lot of eyes. This trio of videos from HP were done to introduce the small business community to their Total care program. Much like the 5 top viral videos of ’07, these are high end, funny and short. Tailor made for being shared among a wide audience.

Life without HP: Car Wash

Life without HP: Experts

Life without HP: Bubble Wrap

Funny? I thought so. Did they clearly demonstrate some of the values of HP’s Total Care? I would say yes. Are they well done enough to get passed around? I’d guess so. They’ve been on YouTube for a little over a month and Car Wash (apparently the most popular) has had over 8,000 views.

Do I think these videos accomplished HP’s goals? It’s probably too early to know. But, I am guessing if they get a few hundred thousand views, the answer will be yes.

Would doing videos like these serve your business? If so…how? If not, what is missing?

Calling all authors — time to exceed Age of Conversation!

January 15, 2008

Yup, you heard it here. We want to make our second book even bigger and better than Age of Conversation. No small task. But we’re confident that together, we can do it!

A year ago, we hadn’t even conceived The Age of Conversation. (Read about its creation) So Gavin and I are feeling pretty good about this early jump. Here’s the skinny.

If you want to be an author for The Age of Conversation’s kissing cousin (our 2008 version), e-mail me and say you’re in.

We’ll get into a lot more detail in a week or so — but for now, here are some basic rules for authorship:

You will sign over all rights to your chapter
You understand that all proceeds of the book will be donated to Variety, the Children’s Charity
You will promote the book, throughout the process, on your blog if you have one
You’ll embrace the cooperative, collaborative spirit that defined Age of Conversation
You’ll honor deadlines so Drew does not have to be a nag
You’ll honor word counts so Gavin doesn’t have to be a nag

But what’s the topic, you ask? Ahhh, here’s a new twist for 2008. In the true spirit of collaboration, we’re going to decide together.

Your choices are:

Marketing Manifesto
Why Don’t People Get It?
My Marketing Tragedy (and what I learned)

You’ll note that we were purposefully vague to leave the authors plenty of room for interpretation and the readers plenty of variety.

To vote….the one and only way is via our SurveyMonkey survey: Click Here to take survey

You DO NOT need to be an author or potential author to vote. We want everyone’s take on this year’s topic.

We’ll close down the survey at the end of the day ~~January 31st~~, February 3rd, so help us get out the vote.

Please help us make this an incredible experience and book of value. Point to this post. Talk it up. Join us. I think the Age authors will tell you — it was well worth their time and talents.

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who voted and who has stepped up to be an author. We have now closed the survey and have a full roster of authors. We’ll be announcing both within a week!

Do you do viral video?

January 14, 2008

YouTube has changed our connotation of the word video. Depending on your age…it might have meant something you rented at the "video store." Or, you might have even taped TV shows on one.

For those of us in the communications world, video used to only mean high end production pieces that would tell your company’s story in 4-7 minutes. (Still a very viable communications tools — just not an exclusive meaning anymore) or you might send away for one if you were considering buying a BowFlex.

But today, when you said video, it’s just as likely that someone will reference a Paul Potts video that was viewed by over 20 MILLION people or the Diet Coke + Mentos video was was watched nearly 5 MILLION times.

So as marketers — I think we need to be paying attention and asking ourselves if we too should be producing video content for our business or our clients’ business.

Over the next few days, I’d like to explore this topic with you. We’ll look at high end, slick videos that have gone viral, sentimental tear jerkers that have touched people’s collective hearts and some down and dirty videos that have an effectiveness all their own.

Here’s some statistics to start off our discussion. Think that viral video is just the territory of bloggers and other early adopters? Think again.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project have just completed some research and the numbers are noteworthy. Is this marketing tool mainstream yet? No….but if you look at the increase in percentages, you can see that it’s not too far off.

This first chart shows stats on people who have ever visited a video sharing site like YouTube. Look at how the numbers are trending.

This next chart is looking at activity on an average day. Again, look at the huge percentile growth.

So what’s been your experience so far? Have you experienced a surge of video exposure in your professional life? Are your competitors doing it? Have you considered it?

Interestingly, when you look at the list of the Top 5 viral videos of 2007, you’ll see they’re hardly of the home grown variety. What do you think that means for the less expensive and less agency produced variety?

Source of charts: MarketingCharts.com

Catch more flies with honey

January 14, 2008

What do you get when you add the phrase "you’ll catch a lot more flies with honey" to the other phrase "it’s not what you say but how you say it?"

You get a lesson in copywriting.

Most often, both phrases are used in the context of a personal relationship but they have significance for our professional communications as well.

The other day, I was skimming a newsletter and had to laugh and appreciate a newsletter editor’s insight into this notion of mixing honey and how you say something.

Like most newsletters these days, it has a very US Today (snippets of info) layout. But, the center spread had a large, bold subtitle that immediately caught my eye…and had me reading the entire section word for word.

The subtitle – "For Achievers Only." Now, what discerning reader is going to skip over that section?

How could you use that same idea in your business? Do you dabble some honey on your copy?

Want to earn your MBA in blogging?

January 13, 2008

Then you need to attend Biz School for Bloggers — SOBCON ’08. May 2-4 in Chicago.

Last year, Liz Strauss and Terry Starbucker conceived of and launched SOBCON ’07, which was a resounding success. Attendees learned, laughed and connected. So much so…it’s back again this year.

250 seats. That’s it. Intimate learning. Genuine sharing.

Let them know you want to be a part of it all — before there are no seats left!

The only bummer about the whole event? The Cubs are not in town!

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