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!