Then….as if that wasn’t cool enough, a blogger I have just discovered, Mark Nagurski from Really Practical Marketing wrote about a Marketing Minute post on his blog. He said, in part, "The more I read from Drew McLellan the more I want to buy him a beer…"
So of course, I commented on his blog, saying that I was printing off his post and if we were ever in the same place (he’s in Ireland) I was totally calling him on the beer offer. Come on…the man said free beer.
Mark goes one better and finds YouGotBeer.com. He was literally able to buy me a beer over the internet. I got an e-mail notice that he had bought me a beer. I go to the site and choose which restaurant (and there are several) I’d like to get my beer from and voila, they send me a gift card!
Being mentioned in the Wall Street Journal AND a free beer. It doesn’t get much better!
The book tells the story of seven average people who developed successful brands despite their lack of formal marketing training.
Instead, they built their brand from their heart and their gut.
As a comment from the book jacket (from Gareth Kay) points out, one of the things that makes this book so interesting is that the companies profiled are not the same Nike, Apple, Virgin and Whole Foods that we read about every day.
Vinjamuri spotlights:
The Storyteller: John Peterman (J. Peterman)
The Contrarian: Craig Newmark (craigslist)
The Tinkerer: Gary Erickson (Clif Bar)
The Visionary and the Strategist: Myriam Zaoui and Eric Malka (The Art of Shaving)
The Pugilist: Gert Boyle (Columbia Sportswear)
The Perfectionist: Julie Aigner-Clark (Baby Einstein)
The Anarchist: Roxanne Quimby (Burt’s Bees)
Each brand’s story is very different and gives readers a rock solid reminder that anyone and everyone has what it takes to build a killer brand.
I think the stories also serve as a reminder that you cannot fake branding long-term. What made these businesses extraordinary is how authentic each business owner was in terms of defining and protecting their vision.
Bottom line — they believed in it. And eventually, so did we.
Like any good professor, Vinjamuri sums up the lessons and packages them into six rules:
Do sweat the small stuff
Pick a fight
Be your own customer
Be unnaturally persistent
Build a myth
Be faithful
This is a fun read. Vinjamuri is an excellent storyteller and each story has a lesson or three for each of us.
Dave Balter, of BzzAgent (which I have written about before) has written a new book, The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II.
His book and how he’s promoting it is an embodiment of Word of Mouth itself. As Dave’s site says "Every aspect of it was conceived as an illustration of how to get people talking. There are dozens of elements of WOM in action which will become entirely obvious once you see it, read it and hold it. For example, the title begs people to ask, "Where’s Volume I?" which is as good a way as any to get a dialogue going. The same goes for the monkey on the cover (and how that guy eats bananas, of course)."
Some marketers under estimate their audience. So they decide that they have to beat them over the head with their message. And in doing so, that actually waters down the message to the point of it not being anywhere near as effective.
This spot starts off so strong. Watch it to the end and see where it loses its edge for you.
The power of this spot was the close ups of the women. We could see and feel their emotions. The connection was real because they were very raw and the shot was very tight. But then, the editor decided we might not understand that many women have been sexually abused….so they had to do the old "and she told two friends, and so on and so on" screen split.
Which completely disconnected us from the women. The emotion is lost. And so is the power of the spot.
Don’t be afraid to let your audience connect the dots.
The world, but especially here in the United States, is still stunned by Tim Russert’s sudden death yesterday. The accolades and eulogizing has begun as people grapple with his passing and I have no doubt much will be written about the native New Yorker and political junkie.
I must admit, this is not an entirely objective commentary. I liked Tim Russert a lot. I respected him for his knowledge and ability to reduce the complicated to the simple. I trusted him.
Tim Russert earned the country’s trust. Which is the sign of a brilliant journalist but it is also the foundation of a brilliant brand. How’d he do it?
He was passionate: Tim Russert loved the political process. He loved asking tough questions. The crazier it got, the happier he got. His passion was contagious. His reporting took us past the hype and the circus and got us interested in the real deal.
He was authentic: He never tried to be anything other than what he was — a kid who grew up in Buffalo, NY. The son of a sanitation worker. A working class Irish Catholic. He brought his life’s experiences to his work. It made him tangible to us. He wasn’t all that different from us. Even though he hung out with Presidents.
He was likable: He was affable. He talked like a normal person. He used stories to explain complex topics. He wasn’t over-polished or perfect. His hair was always a little mussed. He reminded me a a big, friendly dog. There was nothing scary or intimidating about him. He was a guy that you knew would be cool to just hang out with.
He wore his emotions on his sleeve: While his reporting stayed objective, his enthusiasm for the whole thing was apparent. He loved what he was doing, he loved talking politics. He loved the battle and the debate. That was a big part of how we knew he was authentic. He didn’t try to keep us at arm’s length. He invited us in to share in what he loved.
He was consistent: Tim Russert was grounded. He had a code of ethics and morals that created his course of action. He defined his own professional (and I suspect personal) right/wrong meter and he used it to guide him. He understood his own brand and the beliefs that the brand was built upon. That allowed him to deliver a consistent product every time.
There will be much talk about Russert’s impact on politics and journalism over the next few days. And rightly so. He was brilliant at his craft.
But I suspect many will mourn his passing for the same reason that I do — I liked and trusted him. That’s rare in today’s over-spun media world. And it’s equally rare among brands.
The sign of an extraordinary brand is that we can’t imagine what we’d replace it with. The next few months are going to be very heated as the United State’s next president is elected. I can’t imagine who could possibly take Tim Russert’s place.
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).
Here’s Seth Godin’s shot at it. Yes, it’s 18 minutes long…but you’ll be glad you watched. He’s a master storyteller. Which as you know, is what marketing and branding is all about.
When you pull out of the fast food drive thru, you check the bag to see if they got the order right.
Your accountant takes two days to return your call.
We’re surrounded by mediocre service. It’s annoying. It frustrates us. And yet we tolerate it. And typically we tolerate it in silence.
That silence kills.
It kills trust. It kills loyalty and eventually, it will kill the relationship altogether. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that this is everyone else’s problem.
Do you know what your customers are tolerating? What do they find frustrating? If you don’t know the answer to that question (and aren’t repeatedly asking it) then you have customers who are slowly stepping towards the exit.
No matter where I speak, who the audience is or even the topic I am supposed to address, this same question comes up:
How do you market your business if you don’t have a lot of money?
Well, the short answer to that is….you’d better find some resources for marketing or you are in a lot of trouble. But, that doesn’t mean they all have to cost an arm and a leg.
Here are five of my favorites and none of them will break the bank.
Hang out where your potential customers hang out and be helpful. Do your clients read certain blogs? Then be there and share your expertise. Do they all run in local marathons? Be there, handing out clean, dry socks with your logo on them. Do they go to industry trade shows? Be there and host a free Q&A about their biggest problems. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Go out and find their watering hole.
Know your perfect customer and only take work from them. This requires incredible discipline but pays big dividends. Rather than taking clients for cash flow, ONLY take on those clients that you can delight. And who delight you by paying you a fair price.
Create a referral network by delivering the first referral. When you help someone, it is human nature that they want to return the favor. Why not set the example by making an incredible referral. Now of course to do that…you need to know who their perfect customer is. Which means you get to have a very meaningful conversation that’s all about them. See how the human nature thing is going to work?
Use handwritten thank you notes to show your appreciation. In today’s high tech world, a personal gesture like a handwritten note means a great deal. It doesn’t have to be long or fancy. Just from the heart. And if you can’t thank a client from the heart, you should fire them before they fire you.
Let them have a taste. Sampling is one of the most effective marketing tactics around. There is no substitute for actually experiencing your product or service. And don’t give them a dumbed down version. This is your greatest opportunity to earn their trust and their business. So do it right.
When was the last time you raved about a business? Was it because their product was so notably superior? Or was it because something they did WOWed you?
Think of the companies that we hear about every day. Disney,Nordstroms, and Whole Foods comes to mind. We don’t hear about their rides, shirts or olive selection. We hear about something memorable they did or created. We hear about the atmosphere, the attitudes and the energy level.
We hear about the WOW.
Think about the last time you were WOWed. What elements were present? How did they create that moment that you couldn’t help but talk about?
Or….how do you create WOW for your clients? What do you do that absolutely delights them?
For me, one of the absolutes is surprise. it doesn’t have to be a big surprise. In fact, the more minute the detail, the better.
Once you’ve thought about it (and hopefully shared here) for a bit, check out this post by Michael Hyatt. He talks about his own experiment in trying to identify WOW. What do you think of his concoction of WOW ingredients?
Marketing and marketing tactics are changing at the speed of light. Have you caught yourself saying "I don’t know anything (or much) about XYZ?"
What happens next? Do you accept that you just aren’t that familiar with it? Or do you recognize you’d better fix that situation?
I think how you answer that question says a great deal about you and how well suited you are for a marketing career. You can’t afford not to know. I don’t care how many years of experience you’ve got. I promise you, you’ve got things to learn.
If you don’t have the curiosity or the drive to keep learning how to help your business or your client’s business grow and communicate — then dust off the resume, my friend. Because you need to get out of marketing.
How can you learn? Lots of ways.
Find someone who does know and ask them to teach you. They’ll be flattered.
Take a class or pay someone to teach you.
Find a blog written by an expert in the field. Do more than read it — participate.
Read a few books on the topic.
Wade in…and try it. Most of us learn best from doing.
If you hesitated when asked the question, remember this. Do you suppose your co-worker who is climbing up the same ladder you are hesitated? How about your competition?
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=f076d8f1-3ef7-406d-ad9a-8219834534f9)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=c6db247b-ee51-4761-8501-7a8c7c5e1f39)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=993b1a76-08c7-4f74-ad31-9dc4a67a947d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=e4bc6cd9-5d8b-4ec4-b7b8-8eff871a4ba0)
