Off the Grid

I am taking the week to "walk off the grid." I will have no Internet, TV, radio, phone or watch. I have become so connected that my electronics are controlling my actions and behaviors and causing me to constantly be in action. Wisdom comes in silence. Answers are clearer without the blur of distractions we call life. To find direction, sometimes you have to stop and look around and be still. I will be back on the 7th.

In the meantime, each day I will have questions I am working on for you to ponder as well. I'd love to hear any revelations you care to share. Here is something for you to ponder in the quiet moments of your day:

"Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom." -- Bertrand Russell

What one fear is guiding your actions at work? How can you manage that fear so it isn't such a strong voice in your mind?

10 Questions to Make You Think on Kick Ass Friday

1. Why do we want our employers to be there for us when we are sick, but not to help us keep from being sick?
2. Why do you have to be so connected electronically all the time? What are you afraid is going to happen you don't know about?
3. When was the last time you "walked off the grid?" I mean a week with no Internet, computer, TV, radio, phone or watch?
4. If that idea scares you so much, why are you not jumping at the chance to disconnect and be a person again? (Because you've lost touch with who you are.)
5. When was the last time you acted like a Human Being instead of a Human Doing?
6. What if you started all over again? How would your life be different? (I know people right now doing this exact thing with their lives.)
7. Like a bad golf swing, what behavior do you need to unlearn so you can relearn the right way?
8. What negative memories are still molding your current behavior? How can you sear them out of your brain?
9. How have you changed so gradually as to be undetectable, but now has you wondering, "How did I get here?" What are you going to do about that?
10. What negative influences do you need to say good bye to today?

Is Your Second Right Answer Better?

"Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one we have." -- Emile Chartier

When anyone is totally invested in one idea, right or wrong it becomes the idea they grip too closely. Regardless of facts that say otherwise, people will stick with an idea even to the detriment of the organization.

The heated debate of a healthcare proposal has lost focus on what is best for the country over all and has now become focused on which side of the aisle wins; those with the idea or those against the idea.

Board rooms wrestle in the same ways, just not as publically on the defense and attack of the one idea in the room with health care.

How often is the second right answer even better than the first one? Most of the time. This is why writers edit, why marketers look for the slightly off center and why executives need to explore deeper to find other right answers.

What are the singular right answers in your organization that you hold as infallible truths? The customer is always right? Our logo can never change? We could never move the main office? Our signature product will not change with the times, people like it just the way it is?

Find the second right answer and you will find a better idea most of the time.

Does Free Work For You?

We are now in the age of free. Free Big Macs, Free KFC grilled chicken, free ruby pendants (while supply lasts) from Stauer. My email from them had the banner ad in the email: Buy NONE get ONE.

Those who thought up the campaigns are no doubt high fiving each other because Americans will stand in line for quite a while for something free. And that free day’s test results will look awesome. But how effective is the marketing in elevating business long-term?

In the months following the terrorist attack of 9/11 auto manufacturers needed to stimulate their sales so they offered zero-percent financing, and yes car sales increased. But something else happened. Car buyers know a good deal when they see one, and why pay for financing when you can get it for free? So auto manufacturers became locked into the concept of zero percent financing but they had to figure out other ways to still make money, so the gamesmanship began, but a savvy public wasn't buying because they knew it was no longer the deal it used to be.

Free samples have always been a good idea to test market products and get people familiar with what you are offering, but it also can devalue the product if you give too much away for free. How good can a free ruby pendant be? You know that was your first thought when you read that.

Deep discounting sets a new price in the customer's mind. Will you ever be satisfied paying more than $5 for a foot long sub again? Are newspapers dying off because they no longer are capable of reporting on the news, or is it because they began to give it away free on the Internet? When Costco gives away a cracker with lobster spread on it, it is a sample. When they give away an entire container of the spread it's devaluing the product.

Free is a slippery slope that only works if there is a payoff of more loyal customers down the road. Denny's had people lined up in the parking lot for their free breakfast day where they estimated 2 million people participated. Have you seen a line since then?

Know your market and when you offer something for free, be sure there are lasting returns and you aren't just the freebie of the day.

If you want FREE to work for you:

1. Make sure it is a tease opportunity to sample something you want customers to buy later. Giving the full product away devalues the product, unless it is in scarcity like a lottery winner.

2. Monitor the traffic or sales of the free product to see how your actual sales were truly impacted. Just because they now know you doesn't necessarily mean they are buying from you. The Taco Bell dog was recognized as their brand over 95% of the time, but those ads showed no bump in sales.

3. Free is a great way to get your name out on new products or as a new entity, but you have to have a strategy in place of where free will lead to profits within a specific time frame. After all, you are running a for-profit business.

When is Good Enuff, Enuff?

Years ago I was working on a yard project putting a park bench on a small brick pad. I cut out the square for the pad poured the sand in the hole and began setting the bricks in place. Next thing I know my mother is bring out a level for the job. Are you kidding me? After the first rain the sand is going to shift making the bricks unlevel anyhow.

As long as I eyeballed it well, I was fine. She wanted to spend the extra time to get it exactly right. But it was my yard! Was it really worth arguing over 1/64th of an inch? We laugh about this today, but the same battle is happening all over the business world and...

Good enuff is winning

Because of the economy or our drive to have everything right now and easy to use, the level of acceptance of good enough is changing how we make products. My Flip video camera or my Nikon Coolpix photo camera are hardly the tools of exerts, but they are the fastest selling products in the digital video and picture market. What happened to multiple lens cameras and home move cameras with 100 different features? There are much better quality products with many more features but what is important to the customer?

What was important shifted.

Home movies no longer had to be about options, vibrant image colors and clarity. Most important now was how fast a video can be loaded onto the computer and uploaded to the Internet. Still cameras no longer had to be about zoom capability and lens features; it's about immediate feedback and the ability to share with friends.

Is a $5 pizza a work of culinary art? No it is cheap and filling, period. As Ray Croc, builder of the McDonald's brand used to say: We don't serve food fast -- we serve fastfood.

Do you know your customer?

Had I been paying my mom for that yard job and she charged me two extra hours to get that last 64th of an inch level, I would be upset. As the customer that wasn't what I wanted. That's like taking an extra few minutes to make sure the pepperoni is exactly placed across a $5 pizza!

The $5 pizza buyer wants it hot, wants it cheap, and wants it right now -- who cares if the pepperoni looks perfect!

Customers and suppliers are seeing things differently in the shift of importance. Some customers are looking for top quality and have the willingness to pay for it, which is why expensive photography equipment still has a piece of the market, although that market has shrunk significantly and it now more niche than mainstream. The suppliers are committed to their products want the best quality that can be made, but are customers willing to pay for it? You need to meet your customers where they want to be met. Know what they consider important.

Are you focusing on the right service with the customers in mind? If you are spending time on what used to be important to customers, you most likely are losing customers and don't understand why. Figure out what is important to them today and give them what they want.

Is Your Baby Ugly?

"The Illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn." -- Alvin Toffler

One of the greatest obstacles to accepting innovation and the need for new business methods is to accept old methods, practices and rules may no longer apply. When working with executives and board of directors on strategic planning we have discussions on "Sacred Cows." Invariably, more exists than anyone wants to admit. I can tell the depth of the "cow commitment" by how vigorously they defend it.

Unlearning has to be one of the most challenging things a person can do. Even when you know there are better habits (dealing with eating, exercise, and communication; for example) people will fall back into old habits, patterns and comfort levels.
How do you unlearn something?

When you are convinced old learned behaviors are bad enough to cause damage, you begin to unlearn those behaviors. Weight Watchers, Alcoholic Anonymous are there to help people unlearn bad behaviors and then they are able relearn and replace bad choices with better behaviors.

Corporations need to do the same thing. Ask yourself, what old behaviors do you need to be convinced are no longer good for the company? Is your branding outdated? Mr. Whipple lasted longer than his usefulness for the bathroom tissue that is squeezably soft. At the beginning of that campaign he was your friendly grocer; in today's world he would be perceived as a pervert! Societal attitudes change, so must your business.

Three steps to unlearning:

1. Make a list of those things you need to unlearn that no longer apply to today’s business environment.

Marketing methods, interviewing processes, performance evaluations, leadership development, product R&D, sales approaches, even the products you offer need to come under a strict review complete with employee and customer survey information to get the real picture.

Because frankly, sometimes you have to ask someone outside of the family whether your baby is ugly or not.

2. List the specific reasons why these are no longer the right way to operate your business.

Once you have created the list of behaviors and habits that have to be unlearned you need to delve deeper in to the whys. Rarely, does a smoker quit smoking for good until a health scare happens. Unfortunately, in some cases it is too late, and the same can be said for businesses. The reasons why behaviors no longer apply clarify the immediate need to unlearn.

Entire industries are disappearing because they failed to recognize what they needed to unlearn and why it must be done sooner rather than later. Once information became so prevalent on the Internet for free, the previous purveyors of daily news delivery (newspapers) should've taken note. For many of those newspapers it is too late, and they are no longer in business.

3. Accept that transition is painful

Anytime there is significant shift in expected and acceptable behaviors there is pain involved. There is pain for people who need to learn new skills, pain for people who liked the comfort of the old ways, pain for people who refuse to comply and must move on, and pain for those driving the changes because the pushback can be relentless.

To unlearn is to admit your ways are wrong. To convince others in the organization to unlearn is not only to convince them current methods are wrong, but to trust your assessment of the situation and to follow you down the harder path of change.

Most people only unlearn when the pain is too great employing the old ways of doing things. Great leadership has the presence of mind to recognize the fallibility of old ways and begins the unlearning process before the pain gets too great. Obviously, this year has been a painful economic experience. How are using this opportunity to unlearn what put your organization in this level of pain?

10 Important Questions for Kick Ass Friday

1. What meeting rules do I need to hold all meeting to, so everyone feels they have the right to speak up, the need to express their opinions, and the desire to contribute?
2. What am I afraid of in the workplace that is holding me back from being the best me I can be?
3. How do I intend on addressing those fears?
4. Who is the person I need to have a private conversation with to rebuild our communication lines?
5. Do I feel meetings are ever a safe environment to speak my mind? If not, how can this be corrected? What would be the benefits?
6. How does my management team shut down good ideas brought up in meetings? Has everyone been shut down so much no one even brings up those ideas anymore? What can correct this failure?
7. What work environment could I create to make everyone feel more comfortable and more productive?
8. Is my management style a push strategy or a pull strategy? A push strategy means you have to keep pushing people to get work done. A pull strategy means your work and leadership pulls people along because they want to be following you. Which do you think is most effective?
9. How well do I handle negative feedback? How can I improve my ability "to take it"?
10. What pain do I need to go through in order to become a better person on the other side of the painful experience?

What Are They Afraid of?

When you use social media for communication you have to be open to all of it.

Recently I made my first entrance to an MLM venture. I loved the concept and the cutting edge marketing approach. The months of build up were exciting and the Efusjon Energy Club grew significantly. In July, the big day hit for the Facebook marketing app that was to be the cutting edge approach to product placement and marketing in social media. It was DOA.

The game RAD was BAD and the noise began from the distributors. The figure head (Derek Broes) who was the driving cult of personality fueling the growth and excitement suddenly disappeared from Facebook for the first two weeks of the application. Wild rumors began.

A notice was distributed, not addressing the most pressing question of what happened to RAD and Derek, rather stating that compensation plans were going to be negatively adjusted. The club was full of energy being released in Facebook posts. Some posts were very supportive of the company and some were viciously opposed to the changes and the over-promised and under-delivered Facebook game app that was supposed to be the driving marketing force in social media.

The big mistake happened when someone representing Efusjon told people in the Facebook media essentially, if they didn't like the club anymore please stop following them on Facebook and there was no need for the negative comments. Within a day that lengthy conversation string on Facebook was removed by efusjon.

What are they afraid of?

When an organization engages in social media for business purposes the concept is open communication and the worst thing you can do is attempt to censor that communication. Censorship of an open forum speaks of fear; it speaks of a company not savvy in the media they are only happy to use when it's all good news.

The town hall meetings are falling into the same category. People are using the public forums to sound off their concerns and opinions; something elected officials should and have been listening to for years. It is how they get in touch with their constituents, the people they represent. But, because of the volatility and the numbers showing up for the town hall meetings politicians are claiming rabble-rouser groups are stoking the flames of discontent or some politicians are not having the events at all.

What are they afraid of?

As a leader it is critical to stay in touch with your employees or followers not only when things are all running well, but when there are concerns. People want to hear from leadership they respect. They want to find someone they can trust and believe in. Leaders have the opportunity to gain better credibility in the tough times by how they respond to the problems and concerns they are responsible to correct.

Removing social media comment strings and blowing off intensely negative feedback in meetings doesn't build leadership -- it builds fear.

What are you building with your communications in your organization?

Are You Using Your Voice?

This morning I went to a meeting involving a small business owner who is running for a state house seat representing a nearby district in South Carolina. He isn't about party representation, he isn't about grinding an agenda, and he isn't about working for special groups. Ralph Norman, a Republican candidate for S.C. House Seat 48, is about thinking like a business owner at the state political level.

This got me to thinking about how critical it is for business owners to have a voice speaking for them on decisions that are important to small businesses. Think you are not involved in politics? Do you pay taxes? Are you impacted by government regulations? Do government decisions impact your competitive abilities? Your ability to secure financing? Your ability to operate a business in a business-friendly environment? Absolutely.

I have clients being adversely impacted by new federal legislation with the CARD bill. I see tax law changes and lending limitations that are crippling to small businesses. I see a government currently more interested in the underprivileged individual than in those who can create jobs and increase the tax base: the small business owner.

Do not fall into the trap of focusing only on your immediate bottom line and internal fires that need fighting. Without being involved or having representation at the state and federal levels looking out for your macro-needs, you are figuratively straightening deck chairs on the Titanic.

Get involved to make sure the voice of the small business owner is being heard to protect your rights to grow a successful business. We face enough obstacles to growth without our government bodies forcing us to act against all odds.

Three action steps you must prioritize:
1. List all of your local, state and federal representatives who speak on your behalf.
2. Find their voting records on issues pertaining to your business.
3. Let them know who you are with a simple letter thanking them for their decisions or letting them know you disagree and would like the opportunity to meet with them about it.

Business owners create success by taking action. Now is a critical time to ensure we have the support of our government entities or detect those who want to work against us. If you don't have government working with you, it is much tougher to grow your business.

The Work Culture that Works

The fallout from downsizing and knee-jerk reactions of corporations dumping labor costs to balance budgets will be detrimental to these companies. People in their 20's and younger have heard enough about parents and friends losing their jobs and believe they have found a better way: Entrepreneurship.

This generation has been encouraged to be self-confident and optimistic and they are now using that mindset to decide corporate America no longer fits their employment needs. Dress codes, standard hours, and high pressure demands for profitable months no longer fit a generation that wants to move at their own speed, with their own priorities and enjoy life at whatever level of lifestyle they can afford at the time.

Customization and individual expression have been available ever since theyve been alive so is it any wonder they want to do the same with their lives? With the technology available today an entrepreneur can raise venture capital, find a manufacturing facility in China and market online from the comfort of a small office suite staffed by a few friends with the skills to manage the technology.

This is a fun-loving generation. Baby Boomers also were a fun loving generation until the end of the college years, and then they felt it was time to take on responsibility and toe the line to climb that career ladder. As with every generation's desire to have something different than their parents, the Generation Y members are looking for the fun balance in life they heard their parents wishing they could have.

Could the resistance to changing the work environments to fit this lifestyle be jealousy on the part of Baby Boomers?

If large corporations want to continue operating and attract the right talent, they are going to need to rapidly mold their workforce culture to fit the needs of this generation.

Are you ready to build a work culture that encourages self-confidence, self-directed work teams, a high use of technology and individual-specific schedules? Are you ready to accept an office cubical with a TV on, music running through the computer and social networking all during work hours?

This is the work environment they prefer and can have on their own. What are you doing to make your workplace a preferable option?

Have No Regrets

Tiger Woods is the unbeatable, the dominator, and the standard of perfection. Yesterday Y. E. Yang stood toe to toe with the Goliath of the game and won in a significant major championship. How did this happen and what does this mean for your business? It means plenty.

So often I hear business owners and executives accept defeat when the economy is rocky, when a new player comes to town or when the industry has a significant shift. It's as if they want someone, anyone to make things change in their favor.

Even yesterday golfers were interviewed before the final round of the PGA and to a man they were imploring someone to step up and beat Tiger in these situations. Obviously, they were waiting on someone else to do it.

Don't Wait on Someone Else

When I hear business leaders tell me "We have to wait and see what the economy does." Or, "Once the government stimulus package breaks us out of this situation we are in." Or, "Once things turn around in this industry, we'll be able to go back to how we used to do things." Each of these are direct quotes from people who supposedly are business leaders.

Y. E. Yang didn't wait for someone else to beat Tiger; he didn't wait for someone to tell him Tiger was ready to be beat. He didn't wait for someone else to intervene to "level the playing field" of talent.

He took his best game, and as he told reporters, he plays with no regrets. He knew he had to take risky shots to win and he knew sometimes that means it could go badly if he makes a mistake.

No regrets

When was the last time you hung it all out for the win and played your best knowing you had to take risks? Play with no regrets. Often the best decisions, the best efforts, and the greatest positive shifts happen when the decision maker has no regrets in going for it, regardless of outcome.

Have no regrets, and go for the win.

10 Important Questions for Kick Ass Friday

1. How can you revamp your web copy to incorporate the F-shaped reading patterns of your visitors? (See Thursdays post for more information.)
2. How will your customer buying behaviors be different in 12 months than they are today? Are you ready?
3. What are the desired product characteristics that will speak to your customer in 12 months? Get developing those now.
4. What could you create that would tilt the marketplace in your favor?
5. What type of permission marketing approach will reach my customers?
6. How can you create more agility in your organization to make changes fast enough to stay in front of customer demands and expectations?
7. What new products are you creating for the shift in your customer buying habits that will emerge in 12 months?
8. What are the new methods for product delivery that will get your prospects attention?
9. How can you inspire your customers right here, right now?
10. What products do you offer that customers demand to own? How fast can you create one, because you don't currently have customers lined out the door for your products?

The Eyes Reveal Winning Marketing Copy

What if you knew the viewing habits of your website visitors? Eye tracking research is finding fascinating results of what marketing copy grabs attention and where is should be placed.

We all know for proper exposure we need to have an active website that generates the right attention. But how do you know what is working?

Do you know how is your website is viewed by your visitors? So often we get caught up in the number of how many hits and page views our blog or website gets, but what does that really tell us?

Eye tracking reveals higher validity in data compared to conventional marketing research methods. Eye-tracking visualizations show that users often read Web pages in an F-shaped pattern: two horizontal stripes followed by a vertical stripe.
According to Jacob Nielsen's research, of the 322 people he studied, although not everyone had the exact F-pattern they all resembled the quick read pattern of two horizontals scans and then a long vertical scan. So what does this research tell you about your web writing for maximum marketing exposure?

1. Users will not read your text as written.

Writers tend to fall in love with their words and spend hours working on the correct prose of their articles, marketing pieces and web information. The fact is, we have such an unlimited access of information and such a limited time to take it all in, people don't read web copy as if they were reading a novel. (Come to think of it, I wonder how novel reading habits have changed in the information age as well?)

2. The lead is really the lead.

Readers are going to read your first paragraph most likely word for word so your most important information must be right up front. A mistake many copy writers make in web marketing is "burying the lead." Get to the point of what you want to say and say it -- fast.

3. Start bullet points with information-carrying words.

The research found that viewers will notice information words when scanning down the left side of your copy; therefore, all of your marketing copy bullets, subheadings and highlighted information must jump with information. If you can make the reader stop they are more apt to scan a few words beyond what catches their attention. Otherwise, the scan of the marketing copy on your website may last less than five seconds.

Have someone outside of your organization do a quick look at your web information and see what jumps off the page at them. What specifically pops? What grabs their attention? Did they lose interest quickly? One caution I will add: too much of a good thing is a bad thing. If you revamp your copy to be so busy with grab words, icons and "hit me" buttons you will only confuse the reader into thinking they just walked into an arcade and went on input overload.

Make your words count where they need to be located.

Get a Hammer and Beat Your Head with It

Customers are probably the most informed, savvy and intolerant of BS than customers have ever been in the history of customers! So why are most companies taking the same products and giving them different names to try to appeal to the current times. You should be ashamed.

This year's car is the same as last year's car. The big development in your beer product is the can turned blue when it's cold -- as if I couldn't tell it was cold by touching the can! The discount you used to give all the time is now the "stimulus discount." Why doncha just get a hammer and beat yourself over the head if that is the best you can come up with.

Come on people. If you want customers you need to act like it. Hundreds of companies all over this country are having great years financially. Many of my clients are showing significant growth this year, the year of recession, depression, and suppression.

So what gives?

Where are your new products and new delivery systems that will get the cynical consumer to sit up and take notice and say to themselves, "I gotta have one of those!"

Do you think a car with 100 MPG capability is going to get the consumers attention when gas stays at the $4 a gallon mark? Do you think the technology exists to make that a reality? Count on it.

Where is the WOW in your products and services? Where is the WOW in your marketing? Where is the WOW in your approach to kicking the competition's ass?

Consumers have very high expectations and feel they have seen it all. Why else do amateur YouTube videos go viral into the millions? Because people want to see something they haven't seen before. They want something that reaches them. They want to be inspired.

What are you doing to inspire your customers with products and services that hit them where they live? That speaks to them? That makes them want to but it right away?

Try this question on for size:

What products do you offer that customers are demanding to own? The products they will eagerly wait in line to get?

If you don't have this -- you need it. If you can't think of what that could be -- find someone who can. If you want to dominate your marketplace, grow your business and have customers demanding your product you need to get off your ass and THINK what would it take to make that happen?!

Cash for Clunkers did it. Concert tickets do it. Every Christmas there is a toy that does it. Now what are you going to do about it?

Are Your Customers Using the Cloak of Invisibility?

This year many business owners and executives feel as if their customers all borrowed Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak because they simply have disappeared. Were you expecting that to happen when you looked forward from 9 months ago? Did you think about how your market was going to shift? Are you prepared for the shift in the marketplace that will happen in another 9 months?

Because we have become such short-sighted in our planning and reporting and we feel the marketplace is changing too fast for us to keep up, executives are being reactive instead of being proactive. Leadership of growing companies need to constantly be looking for the pulse of the customer. What are they craving, what will they be craving in 12 months, what can we offer them they will love but don't even realize they want it?

Did you know you needed an MP3 player before one existed? Did we realize that cell phones were a necessary personal item? Did we even realize back in the day we would need highly interactive websites before we even knew the Internet existed?

Customer choices are driven by what they want and what they think they want. Right now customers want value, personal selling, and low cost. When the credit crisis hit last September and it appeared the American market was in dire straits did you gather your executives to talk about what consumer behavior was going to look like in 12 months? I think most executives were sharing in the panic of looking for survival and getting through current times. Imagine, if you spent the right amount of time to predict where consumers would be right now how much better you would be positioned?

The reason customers are disappearing is because no one was ready for this moment in time. What if GM had decided in January to offer a "Cash for Clunkers" program as a way if stimulating growth? The response has been overwhelming. Could they have saved the company from going into bankruptcy instead of their feeble attempt of begging for money in Washington?

To look forward and predict your marketplace in 12 months you need to be asking the following questions:

1. How will my customer buying behaviors be different than they are today?
2. What are the desired product characteristics that will speak to my customer then?
3. What could I create that would tilt the marketplace in my favor?
4. What type of permission marketing approach will reach my customers at that time?
5. How can I create more nimbleness in my organization to make changes fast enough to stay in front of customer demands and expectations?

By spending time on these questions for the coming year, you will engage in creating predictability through your research and proactive choices. We learn from our hits and our misses, but we have to take action. To please an every changing customer marketplace we have to anticipate those needs before they arrive and create accurate predictions that will guide important decisions for growth.

Market Predictions are Like the Weather

Have you ever seen markets shift as quickly as they do today? GM found out that as fast as they could go from concept to delivery and debut a new car model the market no longer supported such a vehicle. Technology and customers shift like a flock of birds on a windy day making CEO's lose sleep.

What can you do about the whipsaw changes we are seeing as the norm in the marketplace? Get better at predicting those changes, and get more comfortable with accepting mistakes.

We are standing at the cross roads of market forecasting and zero tolerance of mistakes. Something has to give. Ever notice how infrequent the weather forecaster is in her weekly predictions for what weather is approaching your area? Imagine if she were being held to the standard of zero tolerance of mistakes. What to hear her forecasts? "It’s going to be dark tonight, and the sun will come up in the morning – everything else is too sketchy to predict." Does that forecast really do anyone any good?

This week I am going to talk about how to view market predictions from a technology, customer and product delivery standpoint.

Today I am here to encourage you to get comfortable with making mistakes. No one can predict exactly what is going to happen next in your marketplace. The key is to be right most of the time and be able to take immediate action on those correct predictions.

I understand the evolution of zero defect products and thankfully that mindset has improved product quality extensively in many industries. I am in no way saying to relax your production standards. I'm saying you need to be willing to tolerate some miscalculations in long term predictions in order to have any meaningful predictions at all.

Go back to the weather forecaster. When she is asked to make predictions with no mistakes, one of two things happen. Either she makes the safest predictions a person can make (dark at night and light during the day) or she inspires widespread panic, "I know a tornado is coming to this general area, and since I am not allowed to be wrong, everyone run for cover!" Weather is unpredictable and so are markets.

Years ago, the music industry knew if one in 20 bands they promoted and invested in had to be strong enough to make up for the loss on the other ones who failed. The challenge was in knowing who were the winners? More market predictions are going to be the same way. Apple lost millions on the Newton, but they made up for it with the ipod and the iphone.

The key is keep moving and making better educated predictions – something you can't learn if you have to hit the bull's eye every time. Sometimes you have a band that comes out of nowhere and becomes a megahit. Be ready to capitalize on those missed predictions.

10 Publicity Ideas for Kick Ass Friday

1. Forget dress down Fridays. Go for "Dress up Fridays" and have people come to work in their finest clothes. Imagine a VP walking through the lobby in a tux. That will generate publicity!
2. Develop a creative, funny video for why everyone should want to work in your company. Use employees and let them be their selves unedited. Post it on YouTube. (If this scares you then you need to work on your work environment!)
3. During the middle of a lunch hour at the "power lunch spot" restaurant, stand up and get everyone's attention for an important announcement: Free cheesecake dessert for anyone who wants one! Be sure your business card is delivered with each cheesecake you bought. This will create buzz.
4. Begin a post card campaign to contact your business clients. Something attention-getting. My next post card will have my red boots with the caption: These Boots are Made for Talking! That is sure to get noticed!
5. Roll out new products for the current times (new means not repackaged old stuff) and let the world know in a splash of announcements across all online media.
6. Create a list of something people will pass around. My Kick Ass Friday lists are consistently the most viral of my blog entries.
7. Create a quiz for people to answer. Surveys, quizzes and mind bender puzzles are always attention getters that can create buzz, in fact…
8. Have a brain buster puzzle at your next trade show booth. People will keep coming back every 30 minutes to see the new puzzle and get the answer to the old one. About the third visit they will want to know more about your products and services.
9. Use a compelling image. It could be a cartoon where you invite people to write the caption, or just one of those images people find humorous and will pass along, with your attached information of course.
10. Create a simple video on how to use one of your products. Whether you rent ditch digging equipment, want to walk someone through your new fast loan process, or teach someone how to eat your sub "properly" (think how much fun you can have with this!) The video is an opportunity to have fun, educating customers while answering some questions they might have, and showing your personality or corporate culture that sets you apart from the competition.

Is That For Real?

Viral commercials that create publicity are commercials that people enjoy watching because of the creativity, audacity of the participants or humor that strikes a chord with the viewer.

When the right combination of these attributes are found in an ad it goes viral successfully, and in some cases can catch people by surprise. Take for example:

Derrie-Air

This airline was selling seats at the price of $2.25 per pound of the passenger for a cross country trip. Their newspaper ads had banner headlines such as "Nice Tail!" and "We are a carbon neutral luxury airline." And "The More You Weigh, the More You Pay."

The one day ad campaign was immediately covered by CNN and many other news outlets prompting outrage from some pundits and support from others. The airline's website in the print ads received thousands of hits in the first 24 hours after the ads ran. But the airline never got off the ground. Because? It never existed to begin with.

It was a one-day advertising campaign about a fake airline by Philadelphia Media Holdings, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s owner, and Gyro ad agency. At the bottom of the website ran a disclaimer labeling the ad campaign "fictitious" and says it is designed "to test the results of advertising in our print and online products and to stimulate discussion on a timely environmental topic of interest to all citizens." "In other words," it says, "smile, we're pulling your leg."

News agencies later had to retract their stories and the publicity for the newspaper was significant with their no-harm tweaking of media noses, thus proving their point of the effectiveness of a well-crafted print ad. Check out the website:

www.flyderrie-air.com

The Honda Choir Commercial

A choral group was given the task to vocally make the sounds of "what a Honda sounds like." The two-minute video received hundreds of thousands hits and even spun off a "Making of" ten-minute video. The choir makes the sounds of wipers, driving on different road conditions and even shifting of gears. The video still receives frequent hits years after its release. Not many commercials have that type of staying power, yet this ad continues to be spread virally. Check it out at:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuyaVcqTgic

What made these two viral marketing ideas get so much publicity? Their creativity and uniqueness. The Derrie-air idea came on the heels of all the airline discussion about charging for two seats for large passengers and the furor that idea created. They capitalized on a newsworthy idea and had fun with it.

The Honda ad was viral in its creativity and appealed to their buying audience. Neither idea warranted expensive computer graphic ideas, or was overly expensive to do (keeping in mind Honda was going to purchase a television ad to begin with.)

Sometimes something as simple as two guys sitting in a car having funny conversation for 30 seconds like the hugely successful Sonic ads will do the trick just fine.

Can You Say: Kamikaze Marketing

On January 31, 2007, police officers mistakenly identified small electronic devices found throughout Boston as some type of explosive devices, when in fact, the devices turned out to be battery-powered LED placards with an image of a cartoon character. The magnetic placards were part of a guerrilla marketing campaign (gone bad) for Aqua Teen Hunger Force on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim late-night programming.

True the publicity was significant throughout the country, but the negative impact on the city of Boston and on the television network was significant. A creative idea completely misunderstood is not the type of free publicity you are looking for. The days of the adage, "All publicity is good publicity" no longer holds true.

In the "I Can’t Believe This" Department: I read where Suzuki is releasing its new midsize sedan, the Kizashi. It's made at their facility in Sagara, Japan. However, they chose to unveil it in Detroit. Not just that, but at a WWII memorial in Detroit. Can you say Kamikaze Marketing?

How can savvy marketers be so wrong with these creative ideas? They failed to consider the reasons marketing goes viral.

1. Know your target market. Who are you trying to reach? What are they most likely to enjoy enough to pass it along to their friends? Where is their funny bone and is it a common thread they share with people they know?

2. Understand the environment you are releasing your message into. Don't you think large cities are twitchy concerning safety and security? Get to know what your customers want to hear and what they will be unreceptive to. Recognizing those differences is critical to getting good viral marketing working.

3. Learn where the edge is. Edgy marketing is all about knowing where the line is. GoDaddy likes to dangle its toes over the edge and tease the viewer to go their website for the rest of the "uncensored" advertisement. Janet Jackson went too far with her Superbowl halftime publicity stunt. You have to learn where the line is for your target market.

In creating cutting edge marketing you hope to go viral by avoiding the mistakes and missteps of those who don't consider the process. Find your sweet spot to reach your customer in the way they want to be reached.

The $1200 Shower Curtain Wedding Dress

In 2004, Larry Star wanted to raise some money for "beer and baseball tickets" and decided to sell his ex-wife's wedding dress on ebay. He described the dress as a "$1,200 shower curtain" and posed in the sleeveless dress displaying his tattoos, barrel chest and grinning bearded face. 16 million hits and five wedding proposals later he got a winning bid of $3,850.

What else did he get? A national tour as a guest on news programs across the country. Some would call it Free Publicity!

Did he look that bad in the dress that so many people wanted a peek? No, it was also the copy he wrote that drew people in. For example, when asked what his next wedding would look like he responded, "For my next wedding, I will be wearing a hairy, flesh-toned ensemble, because I will be buck naked with a toe tag lying on a slab in the morgue, because I would have killed myself."

When asked about what he thought of the popularity of his ebay listing, he responded, "This thing has taken more hits than that pothead that lives in the next building."

This was his magic: The magic of humorously worded prose on a simple wedding dress listing. His creativity is what people took the time to find on ebay. We now call this permission marketing, when people give you the permission to market to them; in fact, they come looking for your marketing.

The free publicity was being interviewed by newspapers, television hosts, and commented on by internet information sources that came as a result of his great idea. This "computer geek by day, guitar player by night" possessed the skills to create a viral wave of attention for a used wedding dress. Do you think a company could do the same thing by creating a funny scenario to sell their own products? Absolutely.

Free publicity is going to follow the newsworthy, attention getting ideas that are the buzz of the news outlet's customers. How can you crate such viral prose?

1. Look for the humor in customer situations or uses for your products.

2. Discover the employees in your organization who have the capability to write funny material.

3. What juxtaposition could you come up with in using your products (like a tattooed man in a wedding dress) that would be attention getting in a funny way?

People love to laugh, people enjoy those who are willing to poke fun at themselves, and as jokes get passed around through millions of emails, so could your humorous marketing productions.

Create Publicity Moments -- Now!

A speaker acquaintance of mine created the ultimate in viral videos with his Evolution of Dance. 123 million views later his video is the top ranked viewed video on YouTube of all time! Does that make him a marketing genius for creating the video? No, but he did capture lightning in a bottle without a marketing machine behind him.

How many wedding movies have been created? Hollywood has arguably the best writers who are coming up with the most creative ideas to get butts in seats to see a movie. Yet, one wedding party making a grand entrance dancing down the aisle captured on a home video and posted on YouTube gets over 14 million views. Within a few weeks time this viral video has a life of its own and is being commented on by magazines and new outlets all over the country. This is free publicity. Once again, without a a marketing machine making it happen.

Did the wedding party expect to have 14 million viewings of their wedding entrance? No. I imagine they, like Judson Laipply with his Dance video, posted something they thought was cool they'd like to share with friends and it simply went viral.

Even during the last Superbowl, the showplace of television ads, one of the top rated ads by viewers was the concept of an amateur marketer entering a contest.
What does all of this mean?

Everyone is capable of capturing lightning in a bottle with the right idea. And, that right idea can lead to an amazing amount of publicity.

What's the first step? It's a willingness to start the creative machine working and then working those ideas into online opportunities that can bring great publicity.
The rest of this week I will profile creative ideas that have generated great publicity without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to make it happen.
The key components of generating good publicity for your organization are:

1. Be willing to try new and different things.

2. Make sure the ideas are in line with your organization's culture and the image you want to project. (I'm guessing that wedding party was not introverts who just wanted to be left alone!)
Have fun with it.

3. Think viral because the word of mouth is king in the land of viral opportunity.

What should you expect to see the coming week? The man in a wedding gown, good ideas gone wrong, great ideas that worked, and 10 Promotional Ideas for Kick Ass Friday. Don't miss the week of publicity!