Egg Baskets

When I was young, I had a best friend, Jimmy.  I spent most of my time playing with Jimmy.  We'd catch grasshoppers in the vacant lot, build forts in the strangest places, and and ride our bikes everywhere we could and a few places we couldn't.

Then one summer, something changed.  I didn't realize something had changed until Jimmy stood me up at the bus to go to the city pool for the third time. It bothered me when I realized that Jimmy just didn't show up instead of telling me that he didn't want to go to the pool.

While it hurt a little that Jimmy had found other friends, the larger problem was that I spent most of my time hanging out with Jimmy.  I really didn't have that many other friends.  It was a long and lonely summer.

A lot of businesses, particularly small businesses, have the same problem.  They have one or a few customers who make up the bulk of their business.  All (or most) of their revenue eggs are in that basket.

This creates a difficult situation for those companies, especially if they are small or medium-sized. Company A cannot afford NOT to focus on #1 Customer.  They can't divert precious resources (at least very many) to finding and cultivating new customers because they need to keep #1 Customer happy because without #1 Customer, Company A will have little or no revenue and they will be done as a business.  On the other hand, Company A needs other customers to make up the revenue if #1 Customer ever moves on to another supplier, for whatever reason.

When your company finds itself with most of its revenue eggs in one basket, there are two primary things you need to do:

1. Take care of the basket with all of the eggs!  First and foremost, keep that #1 customer happy.  Make sure they don't have a reason to move on.  Obviously, to this point the company has been geared to serving this customer or small collection of customers.  Keep that focus on specialized customer service as strong as possible.  Innovation and new services, to the extent that you are able to offer them, should be geared toward addressing the needs of your current customers.  Meanwhile...
2. Put a few eggs in other baskets...just in case.  Whenever possible, cultivate additional customers.  For small companies, this most likely will be a small move at first.  But if done with regularity, you will be able to build up a more diverse client list, which will mean more relationships for the company and, more importantly, more diverse sources of revenues.  The services and innovation you introduce to keep and grow your relationship with the #1 customer is bound to address the needs of other potential customers.  It is important to do this because you never know when you might drop your main egg basket!

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Design and Telephones

I have a complicated relationship with design.  I am a big believer of the value of quality design.  Design can make a marketing piece.  Design can help communicate your marketing message, or get in the way of it.


I once worked with a designer who was very talented but very disconnected from the marketing process. She would create incredibly creative designs that in no way communicated the message we were trying to convey with the chart or literature she was working on.  We had many spirited "conversations," that often led to frustration on my part and anger on hers.

So I had this learned (and erroneous) feeling that design is a hinderence to success.  That design is all about form over function.

And then I read this article on Huffington Post about the Dutch designer, Dave Hakkens, that completely and forever changed my mind.  His design idea is brilliant on so many levels.

An exploded view of the Phoneblok

Hakkens has introduced the concept of Phonebloks.  The idea behind Phonebloks is that the various components of a cellular phone would plug into a central baseboard.  When someone wants to upgrade or a component no longer works, they only have to replace the corresponding block.  This eliminates the need for disposing a whole phone when one component stops working.  It allows for highly customizable and long lasting phones.  AND it looks like it would be fairly easy to do.  Watch the short video on phonebloks.com to get a better idea of this groundbreaking design Hakkens is promotiong.  . Hakkens is conducting a Thunderclap campaign to try to show the world of telephony that there is support for this concept.  I encourage you to add your voice to this campaign if you find this design as innovative, intriguing and refreshing as I do.

This month's issue of Fast Company is about design.  In his forward, Editor Robert Safian describes his evolution of thought about design.  It closely resembles mine.

"When I first arrived at Fast Company...I still had an archaic understanding of design.  Like many businesspeople, I equated design with tangential aesthetics and fleeting style trends.  I was taught by the Fast Company staff...that good design is really about problem solving, that it offers a more sophisticated perspective on modern business challenges than traditional spreadsheet-based approaches.  You could go to consulting firms like McKinsey and get an answer based on established business models.  Or you could go to one of the rising design firms such as Ideo, and maybe you'd come up with something never before seen."

Like the Phoneblok.

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Watching Butterflies

The other day I went for a hike on a beautiful autumn day.  I went in part to enjoy the day and in part to clear my head of some things that have been bothering me lately.

I paused during my hike at the top of a kame, which is a type of hill left by the glaciers in my part of the world.  I was catching my breath and enjoying the vista.  I was also watching a little yellow butterfly flit between early autumn flowers.  It was peaceful and grandiose and very nice.

Clouded Yellow butterfly (Calias crocea) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I was enjoying the butterfly and the scenery, another hiker came along.  She was a serious hiker, which I could tell because she carried two hiking poles and was moving at a steady clip.  She appeared very goal driven.  She wanted to get her miles in!

We nodded hello and she disappeared over the hill without really looking up at the scenery.

It got me to thinking about how often we are so driven by accomplishing our goals that we don't take the time to pause to enjoy the view along the way.  It is very important to be goal oriented.  One of the hallmarks of successful leaders is that they set actionable goals and work toward them with their teams.

But it is equally important that the goal is not ALL that drives us.  It is important to occasionally lift your head from the task at hand and resurvey the terrain.  There are 4 reasons that this is important.

1. Work-Life Balance:  I am not going to expound too much on this, but it is important to have balance in your life.  Achieving most goals is a long hike.  Pausing allows you time to take a breath, connect with the world around, and recharge your energy, which is an important part of gaining that balance.
2. The Terrain Changes.  We often set goals with a bit of crystal ball gazing.  Goals are set based on a number of assumptions.  If we don't occasionally make mid-course corrections on our goals we run the risk of successfully completing the goal and completely missing the mark.  
3. Small Observations Can Lead to Big Discoveries.  The pages of Inc. and Fast Company are filled with stories of business leaders and entrepreneurs who noticed something happening (or not happening) in the marketplace that no one else noticed.  Leaders who pay attention to the off-hand comment by a customer or the side observation of a beta tester can find a goldmine in those little moments.  Those observations became product features, products, or businesses that generated a lot of revenue, and a whole other set of goals!
4. Occasionally You Get a Sense of the Larger, More Important Goals in Life.  Sometimes, it is remarkable what a little yellow butterfly can do!

Why?

Last Friday, I published my 200th post to this blog.  When I hit 100 posts last December, I vowed to myself, and publicly to all of you, that I would get the second hundred posts written and published within a year.  I kept my promise.

I get asked from time to time, why I spend the time and effort writing this blog.  I mostly get asked that question by my Dad.  "What do YOU get out of it," he asks when the topic comes up.

There are many reasons, all simple AND complicated, that I write this blog.  One of those reasons is that it gives me a chance to write.  On topics of my choosing.  In a format of my choosing.  According to a schedule of my choosing.  Have you noticed a pattern?

I also write this blog because it gets me reading all of those books and magazines I keep meaning to read.  I need to read to get ideas, keep current on marketing and communications issues and find good stories to share with you.  I need to read so that all of my blog rantings aren't based just on lessons I learned in college way back in the 70s and 80s.

I write this blog because it is one of the ways that I exercise that creative muscle that I talked about on Friday (see here).  Trying to write interesting, somewhat original blogs three times a week takes some time and practice.  But I find that the more I do it, the easier it is and the better I am.  At least that's what I tell myself!

I blog in the hope of finding an audience.  Nothing thrills me more than getting a comment from someone who wants to explore a point I made in a blog.  Nothing surprises me quite so much as when someone out of the blue makes such a comment.  Every writer wonders if there is an audience for what they scribble.  I occassionally get an indication that there is.

I write this blog because it is fun.  I enjoy writing and being able to tell stories and share ideas.  I enjoy working on ways to enhance the look and appeal of this blog.  I enjoy trying strategies to find new audiences.

But to me, probably the most important reason I write this blog is it is a way that I can give back. Perhaps it is the latent teacher in me, but I feel a need to share all of these life lessons learned and stories I've heard or read.  I feel driven to try to stimulate some thinking about marketing and communication, business and social responsibilty with whomever wanders by.

I feel drawn to teaching, and this is my classroom.

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Exercise your creativity muscle

Creativity CAN be learned.  Creativity CAN be nurtured and grown and devleoped and enjoyed.  But you have to exercise your creativity muscle.

On the other hand...Creativity CAN be lost.  Creativity CAN be ignored, shunned, unused and distrusted.  Creativity treated this way will be exorcised.

It frustrates me when someone says that they just aren't creative.  These people act as if creativity is like brown eyes or dimples.  Either you were blessed with them at birth or you are just out of luck.

Exercise your creative muscles regularly and you will be surprised at how powerful they can get.  Practicing creative thinking is no different than practicing any other skill.  You do it often enough and you will build up strength and skill.  You repeat creativity often enough that you lose your self-conciousness and develop your creative "muscle memory."

And the thing is that it is practice.  It doesn't matter if the pictures you take are compabable to Alfred Stieglitz or Ansel Adams.  It doesn't matter if the short stories you write aren't publishable.  It doesn't matter if no one can tell what you are drawing! It is practice.

Michael Jordon whiffed on thousands of jump shots so that he could make bakets when the game was on the line.  Henri Matisse did sketches and field studies so he could try out different things, most of which he painted over or threw out, so that his finished work would be unique and perfect.  Robin Williams told a lot of jokes that didn't even get a chuckle so that he would get belly laughs on stage.

Stephen King writes several hours per day, every day of the year.  He does it to keep his creative muscle in shape.   He turns out a lot of very popular books along the way, but he has indicated that he does it more for fundamentals than for results.

Just like Mike, Henri, Stephen and Robin, you need to practice your creative muscles so they are ready when you need them.  And it really isn't that hard.  Keep your camera with you and be on the lookout for interesting images.  Write a poem or a letter in the morning before work or in the evening after dinner.  Write a blog.

At first it is a slog.  At first you creative muscles hurt from all of the exercise.  But bit by bit, it gets easier.  The ideas flow faster; the images seem more obvious to your well exercised creative mind.  Before you know it, you will be ready to run a creative marathon!

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Falling Out With the Fall Line-up

In the newspaper recently they were profiling the fall lineup of new TV shows.  It got me to wondering why there is even a fall lineup anymore?

If I were running a network, I would thumb my nose at the tradition of starting all my television series at the same time.

I would start shows a month before everyone else to try to capture audiences before everyone is out with their new shows.

I would start shows a month after everyone else to give viewers something new and intriguing to check out once they realize they are bored with all the month-old series.

I would release shows throughout the year, not just in September and May, because people who watch television have many ways to watch television at their convenience and according to their schedule.  Having new shows coming out all of the time seems like the best way to keep excitement up about my network. Besides providing high quality content, of course.

I assume that most of you who are reading this blog don't run a television network.  But think about traditions and customs in your business and industry.  Can you make yourself stand out by breaking with tradition?  Can you generate a strategic advantage, even if only for the short term, by not following "the rules"?  Can you generate "ratings" by doing something different?

Then do it!  Because if you don't, most likely all but your most loyal customers will be turning the channel.

Taking the Pulse

They say that you are supposed to survey your customers to find out what they think about your organization.   You tell yourself, "My customers ARE NOT shy about sharing their complaints opinions, especially when they perceive something is wrong.  Why should I spend time and resources asking for more?"

They say that it is important to understand your customers' motivations, interests and feelings.  You think to yourself, "I know when they make a purchase.  Why do I care about anything else?"

They say they can tell you within one standard deviation how your customers will respond to your new product or ad campaign or store location.  You wonder to yourself, "What the heck is a standard deviation?"

Market research is often the most neglected tool in the marketing tool box.  There are many reasons for that.  First of all, many business people who understand a lot about marketing don't really understand the processes or the terminology of research.  Second, market research often seems to gum up the works and slow things down.  We just want to get started and research seems to delay things with no tangible payoff.  With research, not only do you have to take time for the survey, but you have to analyze the results and hope that the results don't indicate a change in plans.  It seems easier to avoid it.  Kind of like the dentist.

But ultimately, I think the primary reason that market research is so often skipped is that marketers don't see the value. They have a view of the world that they are comfortable with and they don't want to risk disrupting that view with research.  As Nate Silver says in his book The Signal and the Noise, "[w]e focus on the signals that tell a story about the world as we would like it to be, not how it really is.  We ignore the risks that are hardest to measure, even when they pose the greatest threats to our well-being.  We make approximations and assumptions about the world that are much cruder than we realize."  Well-crafted research can help refine those approximations and assumptions.

Marketing is primarily about building and nurturing relationships.  Those relationships are with customers, staff, suppliers, board members, media, the industry, the public, politicians, the local community, the international community, regulators and the competition.  The degree that you develop relationships with any group on that list depends in part on your industry, in part on your product or service and in part on your marketing strategy.

Regardless of your industry, product or strategy, understanding those whom you seek to market to gives you an advantage.  Understanding their views and feelings about your organization and your product can help you take shortcuts to providing a product or service that exceeds their demands and expectations.  A simple, well crafted survey of your customers, prospective customers, or staff can help you break through the myopia that Nate Silver was writing about and see the world, and your product, as your customer sees it.

Ultimately, you do market research because you need to know what "they" say: about your organization, about your product and about their needs.

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10 Tips on Writing from David Ogilvy

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the importance of learning from our elders, even if they have never used Twitter.  With that in mind, today I bring you a 10 tips on writing by advertising great, and original "Mad Man," David Ogilvy.  As I read these tips, I find myself reaching for a skinny tie and a martini as much as a pen and paper.  The tips below can be found in the book, The Unpublished David Ogilvy.  Enjoy!

The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather.

People who think well, write well.

Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches.

Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well.

Here are 10 hints:

1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing.  Read it three times.
2. Write the way you talk.  Naturally.
3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally.  They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
6. Check your quotations.
7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it.  Read it aloud the next morning -- and then edit it.
8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
10. If you want ACTION, don't write.  Go and tell the guy what you want.

                                                         David

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The Local Newspaper

There is nothing quite like a local newspaper.  It is a unique information source.  It is a unique community resource.

It is the local newspaper that lets you know about the high school soccer team or the city council debate on zoning law changes.  It is the local newspaper that highlights the local almost-celebrity, tells you about the opening of a new business, and provides you a review of a local theater production.

It is a local reporter who works for a local newspaper that often uncovers a local politician who bends the truth, or the law.  It is that reporter who writes the Freedom of Information Act requests and sits through the city council meetings to ensure that someone is paying attention to the actions of those in power.

It is the local reporter and the local newspaper who hold up the small town heroes, philanthropists, business owners and politicians when they do something extraordinary.  It is that same reporter and newspaper who tell you, sometimes with barely contained disappointment, or rage, when those same people puts their own interests in front of the interest of the public.

Because of these things, I subscribe to several local newspapers.

Because I want to make sure there is someone to sit through the municipal meetings, I subscribe to a local newspaper.

Because I think the fourth estate is a vitally important part of the United States governance structure, I subscribe to a local newspaper.

Virtually every major news story started with a local reporter, somewhere, noticing something and following up on his instincts.  Because I want a strong and active news media and because I feel that local newspapers are more independent and more likely to follow a lead regardless of the implications, I subscribe to local newspapers.

I understand that my subscription fee actually does very little to cover the expenses of publishing the newspapers I read.  BUT, those newspapers sell advertising based on the numbers of readers and subscribers they have.  By subscribing and reading my local newspapers, I am helping them sell advertising and stay alive.

By subscribing and reading local newspapers I am supporting grassroots journalism and community development, community focused media and editorial engagement.  I am supporting an open and informed society.

Not bad for a little bit of newsprint and ink!

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False Advertising

The reputation of the advertising industry is such that most people expect a certain amount of exageration and stretching of the truth in commercial messages designed to sell you a product or a service.

It has become somewhat anticipated that the hamburger won't be as big or juicy as it is in the photo, the shampoo won't make your hair as shiny and manageable as it shows in the video, or the service provider won't be as cheerful and knowledgeable as they claim in the webinar.  Many people expect that the three out of four doctors who recommended the toothpaste/pain killer/weight loss treatment are getting paid or are relatives of the CEO.

This cynicism is exponentially more true for those born since 1980.

Think about the shock a company would create if they avoided hyperbole and puffery and simply shared the facts and told the truth.  Anticipate what the reaction would be if they said, "You need a car for transportation and our car will get you there safely and at a reasonable price."  Imagine the ripple effects it would cause if consumers responded to a straightforward recitation of product features and how those features might help address some of your needs.

Some would probably be looking for the catch.

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Abraham Lincoln: Management Coach

I am a great admirer of our 16th president.  Not only was Abraham Lincoln an inspired leader and a thoughtful man, it seems that he would have made an impressive business coach as well!  Following are some quotes from Honest Abe and my brief thoughts on the marketing and management lessons he alludes to.

"I don't think much of a man who is not wiser than he was yesterday."

Education was very important to Lincoln and should be important to anyone who intends to be successful in today's world.  Ongoing education is one of the hallmarks of great leaders.  Education can take many forms, from formal studies to reading a lot to 'ciphering on the back of a coal shovel by the light of the fire.  

“Things may come to those who wait, but only things left by those who hustle.”
Lincoln is encouraging us to make our own destiny, to not leave things to fate.  As a self-made man, it is natural that Lincoln would have an affinity for those who blaze their own paths; for those who hustle.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.”
Preparation, preparation, preparation!  Just as a sharp axe makes cutting down a tree easier,  preparation and planning makes problems smaller (or non-existent) and challenges surmountable.

“That some achieve great success, is proof to all the others can achieve it as well.”
This is one of his quotes that speaks directly to entrepreneurs.  With this quote, Lincoln seems to be saying that if it is achievable, anyone can achieve it.

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."
How we look at an issue makes all the difference in how we address it.

"If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?"
Humor can be disarming in a conflict situation.  I imagine that Lincoln said this in response to some accusation about his honesty.

"I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends."
Whether it is people or obstacles to achieving your goals, it is better to embrace the challenge than to hide from it.

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”
If every leader and every manager said this to each of her employees (and meant it!), it would change the way workers see their work and their place of employment.  To feel safe to try new things and possibly fail with impunity, can increase staff innovation, dedication and morale.  Failing at something is ok, Lincoln tells us, as long as that failure bothers you and motivates you to try again and try harder.

"Human action can be modified to some extent, but human nature cannot be changed."
This quote speaks to an essential truth about marketing.  Marketing that tries to change or force people into actions that are against their nature is bound to fail.  Marketing that gently nudges people in a particular direction is much more effective.

“And in the end, it is not the years in your life that count, it is the life in your years.”
What more can I say to that!

The ever-expanding collapsing world

There are a lot of amazing things about the information and capabilities the internet now places at our fingertips.  There is little that a curious mind can't access at a moments notice.  You don't even need to be in front of a computer anymore!  Phones and tablets and Google Glasses allow us to access the web from virtually anywhere!

The sheer volume of information available has prompted a plethora of tools to help us manage the information we are bombarded with.  From news to music, friends to movies, there are websites and web tools that will evaluate what we have read or watched or listened to in the past and tailor our news feed or internet radio stations accordingly.

This is amazingly appealing!  No longer do I have to scroll past the latest exploits of Justin Bieber or the dust up in Syria to get to the football scores or the report on the city council meeting.  No longer must I suffer through the latest alt- country hit to listen to my favorite dub step tunes.  Netflix will even tell me what movie I should watch!

But like so many things, there is a cost to that convenience.  A cost that I often worry about being higher than most of us believe.

I worry that we are greatly reducing the opportunity for accidental discoveries.  When you read the newspaper, you cannot help but see an article or two about something you never knew about.  And if you never knew about it, you probably didn't have it in your pre-programmed news feed that pops up on your screen each morning.  When you listen to the radio, you have to listen to a lot of music that you would never have picked.  Since traditional radio doesn't have a skip button, you have two choices.  Listen to the song or stop listening to the station.  Occasionally, one of the tunes strikes your fancy.  Occasionally, you will run into an artist, or a genre that you you love but would have never considered listening to previously.

Ultimately, however, I am not worried about people's exposure to music and literature as I am to their awareness of the world.  We have seen example after example of the powerful things that happen when the internet opens up the world to a community, a country or a culture.  There are wonderful stories of people expanding their horizons and achieving great things despite their age, physical limitations, geography or previous education because of the resources of the internet.  We have seen people around the world respond instantly with words of support and donations of dollars, euros, yen and rubles.

It seems ironic then that this same powerful tool that has done so much to expand the world for so many seems to be intent on collapsing it on many of us, all in the name of convenience.

I am not arguing against recommendation lists.  I use them regularly.  The danger lies in relying on them and them alone to identify what parts of the world you interact with.

Its a wonderful wide world.  Don't close the door on it!

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Fun and Inspired Marketing Ideas

In honor of US celebration of Labor Day, instead of laboring over a blog, I thought I would share some fun and creative examples of marketing that I have come across.  I only wish I had labored on these creative and unique ways to raise awareness of a brand.  The link after the last picture takes you to a longer list of these fun and creative examples of marketing.  What are your favorites?  Let me know in the comments.  I have a hard time choosing between the radio station air guitars stand and the hot wheels billboard.  Happy Labor Day!


































http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2012/02/23/48-inspired-marketing-ideas/gallery/image/ngg-image-5648/