Are You Making Innovations or Sinnovations?

I saw a billboard in Florida advertizing 55 calorie beer: the lightest beer ever made. This creation comes from one of the largest breweries in the country. Is there really an arms race to find the lowest calorie beer? Do you really want people to know your beer is so watered down it is barely beer?

Why innovate?

In the quest for innovation some companies will produce anything new just to satisfy some innovation craving, or to justify an R&D department, or to tell stockholders they are trying new things. Some innovations are more like sinnovations: a sinful attempt to make something new that just doesn't matter.

Innovation means an act to create something new. I would add to that definition; it needs to be something significantly new that shifts the buyer’s experience with your product. Budweiser has created barely beer, Coors has a label telling you the bottle is cold, and Coke now has plastic bottles resembling the old glass bottles. Do these innovations really appeal to the buyers of their products? Get real on innovations.

1. Do it right or don't bother

Imagine if I produced an entire marketing campaign to my clients that I was going to give them the same speech they heard at last year's conference but this time (drum roll) I will be in a brand new suit! (Hear the applause?) Honestly, do they care? No, and that is my point; to tell your customers about an innovation means they need to have a different experience with what you are now offering. If it isn't a significant different experience with the product, don't tarnish your brand by trying to sell nothing. A label? More water? Differently shaped plastic? Get real. Those are sinnovations.

2. Real innovation makes a difference

For years auto makers tried to refresh their brands with no innovations to make the newest models more attractive to buyers. The concept cars they would debut at auto shows created buzz, but the time those innovations reached the buying public, well, the sad story was seldom did they do enough to really get the buying public to take notice.

When Research In Motion entered the phone market with the Blackberry that was innovation. When Apple released the iPod that was innovation. When Lipitor brought statins to the masses that was innovation. All of these organizations are reaping billions of dollars thanks to their real innovations. Innovation in today’s market needs to cause a dramatic shift in the marketplace. These are real innovations.

Your innovation needs to be something people will take notice of. Your innovation needs to be dramatic. Your innovation needs to be with the customer in mind more so than the bottom line or some self-serving attempt. Real innovation grows companies.

What are You Exploring and Discovering?

Today celebrates Columbus Day in Spain and the United States. Columbus was an explorer and made discoveries in his journeys but instead of remembering what he did, think of how he inspires you to take action?

Exploration

When was the last time you explored unknown places, activities or ideas? We are moving so fast with the pace we are keeping, life seems to be keeping us within the walls of our ruts. Vacations are about packing every moment with activity, businesses abhor failure so we are encouraged to stay within our comfort zones, and the pounding of the 24 hour news cycle is causing people to be fearful of even the most basic of risks.

Consider using today to explore new places and try new things. Strike up a conversation with someone you've never met before. Eat a meal of food you've never tasted before, or drive home from work using roads you’ve never driven home on before without a GPS guiding you.

Feel a small sense of adventure. Now imagine the guts it took to travel by sailboat for two months across the Atlantic and think how much stronger a person had to be then to face such risk. We all need to explore more.

Discovery

Parents love to watch children grow up because the look of excitement on a child’s face as he discovers new things is something most of us have lost as an adult. When was the last time you had a new discovery? I know some of you are thinking, I’ve discovered how to be unemployed, homeless, etc. If so, what did you learn about yourself in the process?

The discovery I'm referring to comes from trying new things, going to places you've never been to before, or stepping far afield from your routines.

Use today to make a short list of explorations and discoveries you'd like to attempt within the next 90 days. Let me know what you learned from the experience. My guess is you will learn more about yourself than in what you went to discover.

Consider the Outlandish

Stretch your mind. Look over the walls of your rut/groove. Think like you've never been in business before. What is the most impossible thing you can think of to try in your business?

20 years ago if I had told you it was possible to have a consumer-based business without a store front and no catalog to mail would you have thought that possible?

15 years ago if I had told you a generation of young people would each have a private mobile phone they would not only talk on but type messages on, take pictures with and read their email with, would you have thought that possible?

10 years ago if I had told you that security in this country would become a multi-billion dollar business and constant fear in the national news mindset would you have imagined why that happened?

5 years ago if I had told you the housing market would crater and take huge banks with it threatening our world economy in the process would you have thought it would happen so soon?

Today, we need to be able to imagine impossible futures that our businesses are expected to thrive in. Are you looking? Are you searching for new trends? Are you considering the impossible? If not, you need to start this thought process because the future of your organization is counting on your ability and willingness to try new things.

What if...

You could make 85% of your revenue by only being open one day a week in a physical location? With such lower costs how much more profit could you make? Would you consider it?

Television ads no longer existed, spam filters caught everything and interruption marketing was no longer an acceptable form of getting the word out. How would you market?

Technology advanced enough that all white collar jobs could be done from remote locations like someone's home thus eliminating the need for downtown office buildings. How would this impact your products and services?

Finally,

What if your industry went into a freefall decline like the newspaper industry is at this very moment, what would be your next step to maintain the viability of your business? Are you agile enough to make a transition out of your current industry while still using common skills and employees?

These are the questions being pondered by aggressive, successful organizations that always seem to be on the forefront of their industry. Are you ready to think like this? If you are still thinking about how to make this year profitable, if you are still thinking how wonderful it will be once we return to a normal economy, if you are still thinking how long you've been in existence and counting the days until you can retire -- think again.

The 4 Rules of Hard Core Growth

No stories today. No rah rah today. Just hard core facts about four rules you have to have in place if you want real growth in your organization. The sooner you have these in place the sooner you will be able to control, drive and monitor growth. Remove the excuses, cut to the chase and make things happen.

1. Any business activity that can't be measured objectively is a waste of resources

For example, employee evaluations that are subjective are not effective and are a waste of time both, for the management who creates the fiction on the evaluations and for the employee who knows subjective evaluations are beauty contests. How much time is wasted on information that is purely subjective in your organization? Did your last marketing campaign work? If the audience you were targeting bought the product you were profiling then you got measured results. If your TV ad on local cable to talk nice about your company in general gave you a warm fuzzy but had no measurable impact, was it worth the cost?

If it's important find a way to objectively measure it. If you can't measure it, then forget about it because it's a waste of time to even consider worrying about something you can't or won't measure. You want quality customer service? Measure it. You want cross selling? Measure it. You want fewer mistakes? Measure it!

2. Forget core values and mission statements, the reason you are in business is to make money

Amazingly, executives and boards of directors still give a care about wordsmithing core values and mission statements and will waste hours on it. You want to grow? Make profits. Every measurement in an organization MUST have some contribution to growing profits for your company otherwise its wasted effort and off focus. Speaking of wasting time core values are unnecessary if you fully understand the goal is to make long-term growth and improved profits; therefore, no need for core values such as ethics and putting the customer first. Those are a given if you want sustainable growth in any organization! Cut out the fluff and get to the core -- making money and growing the business.

3. Everyone's compensation should be tied to their ability to generate profitable revenue

If you want performance you need to tie it to something that impacts the employee. Performance-based compensation is the key to getting people interested and involved in making a profitable difference. Every employee needs to understand how they impact the bottom line and their compensation needs to reflect their personal impact.

What if you can't figure out how to measure someone's job impact on the bottom line, like the janitor for example? Every job you employee needs to have a measurable link to the profits and growth you are trying to create, if you can't measure it, do something else with it. In the janitor's case, outsource that job so you don't need a measurement. Remember the first point of this information -- everything has to be measured.

4, Employees who object to being measured objectively are not doing their jobs

Your best performers will crave the opportunity to have measurement-based compensation because they know they can do what is asked of them. Those coasting, poor performers who are sucking you dry for a paycheck and benefits will whine like you put their privates in a vice. And figuratively, you did. Good for you! It's time to get your organization out of the hands of the coasting whiners and let your performers lead your growth.

Oh, and tell HR to get interviews lined up because there is a wealth of laid off talent who are hungry to make a difference, so now is the best time to restaff and clean house of warm bodies and replace them with people who care enough to make a difference.

Sound hard core? Give each fired employee a pack of tissues on the way out the door. Who says I don't have a heart.

Kick Ass Friday: 10 Ways to be a Better You

1. Insecurities are costing you plenty. Take action starting today on one of your insecurities.
2. Define the meaning of your life. Not what it should be or could be, what it is now. If you aren't happy with that meaning, work to change it.
3. Where does your happy come from? How much happy are you putting into those people around you. Spread around some happy in your workplace today.
4.Passion is doing something because you love doing it. Demonstrate your passion at work. If you can't, get another job.
5. Play to win instead of not to lose. Prevent defenses only work when you have a huge lead and limited clock. There is no clock in business you always have to play to win.
6. Work on a long-term strategy today and forget the short-sightedness for an afternoon (for starters.)
7. Pick a lane. Do you want to be in the lane of safety and security or adventure and uncertainty? Make a choice.
8. Apply yourself in a project you've been avoiding lately.
9. Do something ridiculous, fun and cool at work today. How did that feel?
10. Book a dinner date for Saturday night with someone important to you. Make it a place you've never been to before. Eat something you never have eaten before. Feel your self grow.

What Am I Doing Here?

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself that question? It seems with the world spinning at such a faster pace, we lose days, weeks, months and sometimes we lose years and look up and realize its already one quarter deep into 2009. Anyone else remember Y2K like it was yesterday?

What am I doing here -- at work?

Inertia can keep you in jobs you no longer are suited for and you find yourself simply going through the paces from day to day. You may not have noticed your robotic pace but I'm sure your employees have. If you feel you are sleepwalking doing the same routine, you need to really address this question. If you are dreading Mondays and begging for the weekend to get here in a hurry (as I talked about in yesterday's blog) you need to ask yourself this question.

If you are not feeling that you are performing meaningful work or realize you are not making great efforts to inspire your employees in these turbulent economic times, then the question really fits: What are you doing?

What am I doing here -- with my family?

If you were a workaholic before this recession, you are an ever greater workaholic now and the stress meter is about to hit the bell at the top. Think your family has seen a difference in your behavior? Think the work stress is spilling over into your family? Stop. Think. What are you doing here? Under stressful working conditions, domestic violence increased, depression increases and family tensions can seriously increase as well.

Sure money is tight, but some solid family time or a road trip can do wonders for getting away from the stress. Turn off the phone, leave the laptop at home and put the watch in the suitcase and take a four days trip to a fav spot you and your family can drive to, and enjoy some relaxing family time. I hear it from executives far too many times how they sacrifice family for the sake of occupational achievement. Now is the time to question your behaviors and time demands, and move the family to the front of the priority list.

What am I doing here -- with my body?

Anyone else a stress eater? Anyone else already lost that New Year's resolution of hitting the gym at least three times a week? Anyone having a difficult time getting a good night's sleep? Stress will tax your body and sap your energy. In addition to that, when we are stressed we eat poorly and on the run, exercise takes a backseat and we get to bed late trying to entertain ourselves with late TV and then toss through the night dreaming of work. Ask yourself, "What am I doing here?"

Now more than ever is the time to grab some discipline in these health areas. I know in my case I need an accountability partner and about three or four exercise buddies. Because we all travel at least a couple of us can get together. If I am meeting someone I will be there for sure. If I am on my own, that snooze button looks too good and then hitting the drive thru for breakfast starts the whole bad cycle once again. What are the body maintenance habits you need to shift today?
If you never stop to ask the important question of "What am I doing here?" You will never make the necessary changes to keep you traveling the right path for your life.

Being sidetracked can be subtle and suddenly two years down that wrong path you realize how far off you are. Add this question to your weekly routine, and constantly search for your success path.

Are You Cutting Your Own Throat?

Imagine an organization that does a patchwork job marketing its products for a year because it wants to save money. Little was sold and then there is no money to put in the budget for next year to market products. Then it cuts salaries across the board by 10% until "things improve." How are things going to improve -- by divine intervention?

Leadership is about taking the tough situations and turning them into growth successes.

Stop looking only at expenses

Cutting salaries of critical members of your organization will not have any positive outcome. It will either cause those under-appreciated (in their minds) employees to look for other employment, or provide more than 10% less performance. Cutting salaries says to the employee, "You are not important and I care more about my bottom line than I care about you." Trust me, it will not improve the situation and it will only make it worse.

Instead of taking the less courageous way out and cutting expenses, why not solve the real problem in the first place? The problem isn't these salaries are too high. The problem is, not enough money is coming in to pay for the well-deserved salaries. So what are your alternatives?

1. Determine your financial shortfall.

How much additional revenue would be needed to replace the 10% you think you need to cut? My guess, it's not going to be that much -- so go get it! Cutting salaries is the lazy way out, a stroke of the pen and as long as it's not your own salary (and it rarely is) problem solved pain-free. Wrong. Restore those cut salaries and restore those employees faith in your leadership, and then go find a way to pay for them. How?

2. Be creative.

The old quote says if you want significantly different results do something significantly different. It still holds true! Don't listen to; "It's a slow economy, unsavory or unfortunate conditions, and the old ways aren't working." Those are the excuses of people in positions of leadership not invested in the solution. Look for alternative ways to generate income. Look for new ways to market, sell, and position and work to drive new revenue. Instead of spending hours thinking how to cut your expenses, spend that time thinking of ways to increase revenue.

It's Not Just a Job -- It's an Adventure!

We all have options on how we approach the times we are living in. Leadership is still about inspiring excitement, enthusiasm and determination. Maybe now more than ever leaders need to take control and set the tone for the culture of their organizations.

Show me the love

Tough times can bring out the worst in people. Stress levels are high, worries are numerous and people are angry. Mix in some cold weather, gray skies and negative news in the morning paper and rage is just under the surface for millions of American customer and workers. It's a great opportunity to show some love and appreciation. Recently, I sent my long-term clients Peace Lilies to remind them I'm here to help them grow and to thank them for their business in these difficult times. It stood out and they knew it was sincere. It was a show of love that is in short supply.

Show the love to your customers.

If you have heavy customer walk in traffic, put a coffee pot in the lobby with some flavored creamers and a sign beside it -- "Although times are tough, we still, love you! Have a cup of Joe on us."

Show the love to your employees.

Take extra care to thank employees for coming to work. Thank them for their positive attitudes. Thank them for their hard work. During challenging times workplace appreciate counts double! Show the love.

Make conflict constructive

Because of the edge of emotion people are riding, conflicts are going to be meaner and happen more often. You can't just tell people to behave. It's in them and it has to come out. That's OK -- channel it.

Remind your entire workforce you are a solution-based organization and not a blame-based organization. Constructive conflict is a good thing. It's how innovation happens. It's how creativity is improved and it's how problems get solved. If you are successful at channeling conflict behavior into creating improvements in the workplace, in the interactions between employees and in the communications throughout the organization, you will benefit greatly from the conflicts that happen.

It's not just a job -- it's an adventure.

I remember that recruiting slogan for the military a while back and it applies perfectly to today's work environment. Do you know anyone who loves to go camping? I never go camping. I work hard to have a nice comfy bed with air conditioning and electricity and running water. I like those things. But I have friends who hike into the mountains, fight the bugs, freeze in tents and have restless sleep in a sleeping bag lying on the ground with no bathrooms, no electricity -- and they love it. Why? Because it's an adventure! Imagine if those same people will be thrown out of their homes and had to live like that for a while because they got laid off? Are they still all happy about camping? No, because the mindset is different. It's no longer camping -- it's hardship.

Which are you experiencing at work -- an adventure or a hardship? It's all in your mindset. That mindset will determine how you move forward this year in your efforts, commitments and drive. People like adventures because that are fun, unpredictable, exciting, and it is unstructured. One of my buddies has a camping story where a bear showed up at their camp site one night and sniffed the tent he was in trying unsuccessfully to sleep. He was scared to death and exhilarated at the same time, and it's his favorite story to tell. That is what adventure means -- scared to death and exhilarated at the same time!

Adventures are always challenging and adventurers live for the challenge and to overcome the obstacles of that challenge whether it is climbing Pike Peak, whitewater rafting the Colorado or backpacking into bear infested mountains. Can you feel the excitement?

On the other hand, hardships are oppressing, suppressing and depressing. They are something you hope to simply survive and make the best of a bad situation.

How are you looking at our economic times? Do you see the adventure or the hardship? Those who see it as an adventure will come out on the other side of this turmoil as a much better business leader and person, not to mention how much they will enjoy the journey. Embrace the adventure.

You Suck!

Last night at the hockey game during the introductions of the opposing team, after each player’s name was announced some fans would holler “You suck” until the last player was announced and the fans chanted “You suck, too!” By the third period of the game and the home team up 3 – 0 a few fans were heckling the opposing team’s goalie with three chants of his name and then a loud “You suck!” During a break in play the goalie came over to where the hecklers were sitting and made a gesture toward them. Then the fans started chanting “We’re in your head!”

Can you imagine having a bad day at the office and dozens of people hollering at you “You suck”? Can you imagine making a significant mistake like letting the competition score a client (goal) and hundreds of people started booing you? Sports spectators can be brutal, and that behavior is making its way into the workplace as well.

Managers are calling down employees with harsh behavior, in some instances threatening their jobs if they don’t improve. Employees are challenging each other and pointing fingers toward each other. We have become a society who wanting zero defects, which are tense over the economy and insecure in our futures and are quick to point out where someone else failed.

Leaders need to recognize these challenging economic times are causing insecure behaviors in the workplace that could have lasting damage if not controlled immediately. Do you think one of those fans standing on his own with no glass protection between him and that goalie would still scream in his ear “You suck”? No, the protection of the glass and having other fans join in with them allows everyone to vent their anger. It becomes a culture. Leaders need to protect healthy work cultures so they are not taken into a “You suck” direction.

Now is the time for people in the workplace to tighten their connections, create a solution-focused environment instead of a blame-focused environment. Those leaders who replace the “You suck” culture with another sports chant: “You da Man (Woman)” culture is going to have more secure workers more focused on making improvements instead of sending each other to counseling or retribution behavior.

Have You Lost Your Identity?

So many companies are trying to be all things to all people and they end up being nothing for nobody. They have no clearly defined culture because it is totally fractured into mini-segments trying to serve the masses. They also no longer are able to differentiate themselves from the rest of the competition and are considered by customers to be a commodity.

Where is the appeal?
Where is the uniqueness?
When do you find passion is such organizations?

I see leaders making the same mistake in these recessionary times. They want to blend in, they are willing to do whatever the boss wants and conform to whatever the organization says because of fear of being the renegade, drawing attention to one’s self and being let go.

Renegades are what we need now more than ever!

We need leaders to break from the pack and try new things. We need renegades to shake things up and let go of the status quo that got us here in the first place. Leaders need to create their own identities and unique differentiations to stand out to customers and following employees. Uniqueness creates passion and passion creates commitment and commitment creates new ideas to solve problems. Now is the time to claim your identity as an organization and as a leader.

Overcome the desensitization

If you see enough ads on TV they all begin to blend together and become meaningless. If you see enough action in a movie there no longer is the spike of adrenaline from yet another car chase. We are becoming very desensitized to what we witness daily as a society and especially in the workplace.

As a leader you must reinvigorate a desensitized workforce!

Call a stand up meeting of employees to get them involved in solving a particular problem they've never had input on before yet deal with the problem regularly. Involve some of your front line employees in gathering ideas for a new customer contact campaign. Ask employees to suggest ways to stand out in the service to your customers. The key is to try new things and create a work culture that has meaning and importance.

Create your identity in the marketplace!
Stop being one of the pack!
Be the unique leader of a unique organization!

Most work cultures today don’t inspire employees to act, only to hide and blend in. Inspire your employees by creating some uniqueness in your organization and begin the process of building momentum for the emerging economy. Sales may be stagnant and orders may be off, but now is the time to be the renegade and out run your competition – by recapturing the real you and giving your organization a real identity.

A Shark Won’t Let You Park

The average American watches 30 plus hours of television in week. That's a little over four hours a day parked on the couch, letting your mind idle making no progress to be better. Ever wonder if your life feels stale? Maybe it's time to turn off the TV and get into some shark infested waters.

The Japanese population enjoys fish as a steady diet, and to feed this population fishing boats had to venture further and with larger holding tanks to catch enough fish. Freezing the caught fish wasn't an option as frozen fish doesn't suit the Japanese palate. So the problem facing the fishing industry was how to transport large holds of fish without the fish arriving stale tasting. The fish in these large holding tanks on the boats for days became listless and sluggish without a predator in the tank and actually tasted poorly and people stopped buying fish.

So how did the fishing industry solve this problem? They put a shark in the holding tank on the ships. Although the sharks would eat their small share of the caught fish in the tank, the rest of the fish would arrive alert, and quite lively, and yes, very tasty.

We are creatures of habit. If our habits are sitting on the couch watching TV, then we are embracing listlessness and our minds dull in the process. Put a challenge in your life and you will be livelier, alert, and be able to rise to overcome more obstacles.

What shark do you want in your tank?

Creating The Insider: Every Customer Wants "In"

Back in the dark ages I owned record albums with “hidden” soundtracks and “backmasking.” Monty Python’s Matching Tie and Handkerchief album had a second, or “hidden,” groove on one side of the album that only played if the stylus hit it accidentally. We called this the “third side” of the album.

The Beatles White album has a message recorded backwards under the song Revolution Number 9. I had access to a radio studio turntable, so I could play the album backwards and hear what the words really said. These were the surprise prizes that were shared from person to person; the “inside” information made us feel in the know, clever for having figured it out, and part of a special crowd.

DVDs now do the same thing with Easter Eggs. They are exciting to discover, and the customer feels special and rewarded. And the best part for the customer -- sharing the “secret” with someone else! For example, the Cars DVD has hidden treasures aficionados enjoy. If you’ve seen “Boundin’ with Mater,” you are an Insider!

What are you doing to create the buzz of word of mouth marketing for your surprise prizes?

Do you know about the “secret menu” at In and Out Burger? Have it “Animal Style!” Are you a Maker’s Mark Ambassador with your own barrel of private stock bourbon? Now you want to be an Insider don’t you?

Define the “Insider”

Insider: A customer who feels special. A customer possessing special knowledge. A customer who has been given a unique and remarkable gift. A person who resists the invasion of the masses.

Insiders are going to be the best salespeople you have -- and they will sell your company and products for free, and with greater enthusiasm than many in your paid sales force. With the speed information now travels across the Internet, a single person can create a tidal wave of information and buzz!

Create the “Insider”

Resist the temptation to overexpose an Insider opportunity. Let your customers do it for you! Avoid publicity. This flies in the face of conventional marketing wisdom, which is, in fact, its special power. It is non-conventional. It creates selectivity. Here are steps to consider in creating your Insider:

1. Define who you want to “qualify”

Who you want to qualify establishes your parameters. Are you looking to create buzz through a “membership” program? Correct mistakes overwhelmingly? Let your customers create the “inside” information? Have customers occasionally have discoveries and tell others where to find them? Your Insiders need to reflect the culture you are creating with your organization and products.

Maker’s Mark is a small distributor of high quality bourbon that is worth the extra expense to their clientele. Maker’s Mark’s “Ambassador” program is focused on those loyalists who want to be part of the Maker’s Mark family. Both the company and the loyal customer like the family feel and status identification of their product.

2. The discovery

Insiders love the discovery. It’s the surprise prize. The discovery has to be exciting, remarkable, and of value. In the early days of HBO, the movie channel used to offer a gift movie at midnight one night during the end of year holidays. In the listing it simply listed it as “movie” with no fanfare or promotion. One year, it was the movie Ghostbusters, which was a real surprise because it hadn’t been released on videotape and was barely out of the theaters. The unexpected discovery was exciting! I got to tell everyone the next day what they missed. I was an Insider who got a treat others missed out on! The discovery creates buzz, creates scarcity and makes the Insider feel special.

3. The gift

Maker’s Mark sends gifts unannounced. They just appear in my mailbox. Surprise! They are always gifts of quality that I can display, use and share with friends and are linked to the use of their product.

Some are gifts of immediate practical value such as engraved glasses and stirrers, and some are gifts of prestige. I’m proud to say there is a barrel of Maker’s Mark in their warehouse with my name on it. It’s a gift of recognition that my “Ambassador” status has significance.

I received a certificate announcing the birth of my barrel. I receive updates on its progress. My barrel will not be ready to be tapped for 7 years (how’s that for anticipation marketing!) -- and notice how I say it is “MY” barrel. Roughly 18 names are on the 50-gallon barrel, but it’s mine! I can even have special engraved bottles made to share with friends. The extra expense for these VIP bottles? Who cares -- I look like I am “The Man!” giving those away. This is what most Insiders value: the peer recognition of owning such a gift. I have given some of my Insiders golf towels from Augusta National, home of the Masters. It’s not the towel -- it’s the comments from their friends that are the gifts.

4. The access pass

Insiders like special access. Whether it’s the password to a special website page or access to a “forbidden zone,” Insiders like the special treatment. On a distillery tour, the tour guide decided to take the small group where “we really shouldn’t go” through a door that read “No Unauthorized Admittance.” The buzz of the group at the end of the tour was being able to see behind the scenes.

It was doing the forbidden that made us feel special. It’s the backstage pass. It’s the press credential to get onto the field. All insiders want to feel special. It’s what we tell our friends about.

5. Keep it fresh

McDonald’s Happy Meals regularly change the toy inside with savvy movie tie-ins. The kids may not be in the driver’s seat but they make the fast food selection. They are the Insiders who were able to get the “limited edition” Mater toy.

You need to keep your Insider’s attention fresh. Your Insiders want to be intrigued. If every year you send out pocket knives (as one of my vendors still does), they lose their appeal. Since I fly so much, a pocket knife is now actually undesirable because if I forget it’s part of my normal pocket contents, not only will I lose it at airport security but I now have the inconvenience of getting pulled for a special security check. I no longer feel special. The vendor is no longer in touch with my needs, therefore I no longer feel like an Insider.

Insiders want to be appreciated, pampered and know the company is in tune with them. The minute you lose freshness with your Insiders they will feel less appreciated.

6. Listen to the Insiders for what they create

If your organization is lucky enough, your customers will create their own Insider information (I mean the good kind.) Nothing is better than word of mouth you never had to initiate. It’s information that takes on a life of its own. Be familiar with the buzz, enjoy it, and work to keep it for Insiders only without trying to overly capitalize on it. Why?

7. How to lose Insider buzz

A. Allowing the masses in.

Waffle House once had its Insider lingo: Scattered, Smothered, and Covered. It was the inside way to get special treatment to your hash browns for the after-midnight crowd. Word traveled fast about the lingo, and people knew there were options but not sure what they meant. Sadly, now some menus actually explain the words’ meaning and promote those options. Insiders no longer feel part of the inside few because now everyone is an Insider.

You will lose your Insider once the masses become the Insiders and the buzz will be lost.

B. Easy entry premium clubs

Airlines have their premium clubs trying to make frequent flyers feel special but the clubs have lost much of their meaning. What good is early boarding for premium club members if 85 percent of the passengers are in the club? What good are upgrades to first class seating if, as a flight attendant told me, the bean counters are removing 25 percent of the first class seats and replacing them with coach seats to make more money once they realized 25 percent of first class seats were being filled with premium upgrades? Thanks, USAirways! Now I feel so special!

A premium club has no meaning unless it has scarcity.

What are your scarcity items Insiders crave? What is the Top Secret information only given to Insiders? How are your customers creating buzz about your company or products? What are you allowing Insiders to discover? It’s the multi-million dollar marketing advantage you need to get in on.