tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43532184073903670512023-11-15T08:52:41.067-08:00Product Management for ProfitJohn Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-5574342117865990682011-11-04T11:35:00.001-07:002011-11-04T11:39:07.574-07:00Lightning Bug Road Maps<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> 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<w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Cambria;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">I met recently with the team from <a href="http://www.invotek.org">InvoTek</a> to review progress of their key not-for-profit program’s first year and plan for its second. As we looked back, what we found surprised us. It was no surprise that we worked with more clients than we had planned, nor that dozens of people encouraged us through donations and other types of support. What surprised us is how we got there.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We knew going in that the path we’d laid out for the program, <a href="http://be-x.org">Be Extraordinary</a>, would change. What we didn’t know was how radically it would change. We met people and organizations we’d never heard of twelve months ago and they in turn connected us with others. It was an amazing trajectory, almost like watching a lightning bug get from point A to point B.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Here are three imperatives I learned from this past year that are applicable for all marketers:<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left:38.5pt;mso-add-space: auto;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Be flexible</b> – the marketing journey is non-linear, which is a tough pill to swallow for a bunch of engineers. We like logical processes, where you complete one activity and the second one begins and each activity builds neatly on the preceding one. Life, especially life dealing with a disability, is anything but linear. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The team was open to new paths and had faith those paths would get us closer to our destination, which they did.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:38.5pt;mso-add-space: auto;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Be tenacious</b> – the Be Extraordinary program is a difficult concept for some people to grasp. We have to tell our story repeatedly to various audiences and at various times to get through. A great example is with a potential product distributor. We made numerous contacts with the distributor but could not get them interested in carrying InvoTek products. One day, a customer of that distributor called and asked if he could buy through the distributor. We told him of our experience. He contacted the distributor and in days we had a verbal agreement for them to carry our products. Had we given up earlier, we never would have begun this new relationship.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left:38.5pt;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Be patient</b> – tenacity and patience are two sides of the same coin. Tom, InvoTek’s founder, recently began meeting with staff of a major hospital to see how InvoTek could assist their patients. However, hospital procedures threatened to stop the relationship before it got going.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After backing off for a few months, those problems somehow worked themselves out and now Tom and this hospital are working closely with rehab patients. Knowing when to push and when to wait is an art. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What I learned from this is what I imagine people living with a severe disability already know: while you can plan your destination, you can’t predict how you’ll get there.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That’s a great lesson for all marketers to learn. <o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-57715829476246952532011-03-29T06:57:00.000-07:002011-03-29T07:01:47.288-07:00It's More Than Brown Sugar Water<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In their textbook, <u>Marketing Management</u>, marketing gurus Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller suggest companies tend to see the market place through various lenses.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Kotler’s preferred lens is the Holistic Marketing Concept, where a company creates lasting client relationships through integrating sales, marketing, customer service and all client touch points.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Another lens some companies use is the Selling Concept.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The Selling Concept states that, since consumers will not buy enough of the organization’s goods and services on their own, the organization must employ aggressive selling and promotional efforts.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The authors quote Sergio Zyman, former head of marketing for Coca-Cola as saying, “The purpose of marketing is to sell more stuff to more people more often for more money in order to make more profit.”</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>If you are over a certain age, the name Sergio Zyman and the irony of his statement are inescapable. Zyman presided over the classic New Coke debacle, the “Edsel” marketing mistake of the Boomer generation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Zyman’s quote conjures up the image of Herb Tarlek, the plaid coat / white belt advertising sales guy from the 1970’s television show <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">WKRP in Cincinnati</i> whose selling technique seemed to employ equal amounts of high pressure and begging. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Successful selling is not pushing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Successful selling is recognizing needs and meeting them better than anyone else.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Successful sales people do these three things:<o:p></o:p></p> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">They plan relentlessly:</b> They’ve done their homework. They understand the issues the prospect faces, the business drivers, and even the internal politics.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They know the players in the buying process and what personal agendas drive them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And they’ve worked up a plan to address each person’s perspective.<o:p></o:p></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">They listen aggressively:</b> Of course they listen to what is said, but they also listen to how it’s said, by whom, when it’s said, and what was not said.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They look for non-verbal clues and voice intonation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They look beyond the words to the meaning. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And they know the right questions to ask and when to ask them in order to generate dialog and uncover opportunities.<o:p></o:p></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">They think strategically:</b> The successful sales person lines up the stated and unstated needs and takes a big picture approach to matching those needs with his / her company’s capabilities.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They look for a way to improve the client’s business first. They think big but understand a successful relationship often begins with small projects. And, if their firm’s capabilities don’t match the prospect’s needs, they skip the chance for a short term sale with an ill fitting solution in favor of a more profitable, higher value relationship down the road.<o:p></o:p></li> </ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:.25in">Trying to sell more stuff to more people is not the answer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Helping the client meet a need profitably is.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-7714224548366322502010-09-30T13:54:00.000-07:002010-09-30T14:07:40.836-07:00Protect Your Brand Before You Have One<em>The following post originally appeared in the April edition of <a href="http://innovation.arkansasbusiness.com/">Innovate Arkansas </a></em><br /><br />For whatever reason, we love to follow big name brands as they spiral down in their latest public relations tail spin. Whether it’s Southwest Airlines and their recent and very public <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/02/kevin-smith-ill-never-sue-southwest-air-/1">encounter </a>with director Kevin Smith, or Tiger Wood’s travails, or BP, this year's poster boy for image mismanagement, we tend to be captivated by their problems.<br /><br />We’re so fixated we overlook those brands that get it right. Most of us have to go back to Johnson & Johnson’s handling of the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/23/your-money/23iht-mjj_ed3_.html?pagewanted=1">1982 Tylenol crisis </a>to find a role model.<br /><br />Is brand and reputation management relevant to a start up? “Hey, we just started, so we don’t have an establish brand.” Actually, brand management is even more important to a start up than to an established company. Here’s why.<br /><br />I teach a marketing management class at the local university. According to the textbook, released in 2009, the average dissatisfied customer gripes to 11 others. Now that Facebook and Twitter have gone mainstream, that number is probably 1,100 or more. Plus, smart-phones allow you to complain to the world in real time, while you argue with the ticket agent, while the server defends the well done steak when you most certainly said medium rare, or while the conference key note speaker is slogging through slide 12 of a 55 slide presentation. An established company has a reservoir of brand equity it can draw on. Start ups don’t. One crisis could sink a new firm.<br /><br />So how does a start up protect its brand when a crisis happens? Here are three imperatives.<br />1. Be human –Companies are made up of humans but often appear faceless. Remember that brands are emotional connections with customers. Connect with your customers by saying:<br />• “I’m sorry<br />• “I was wrong”<br />• “Please forgive me”<br /><br />This is risky and especially hard for technology-based firms, but it will start you on the way to repairing the relationship.<br /><br />2. Be transparent – Now is not the time to hide behind lawyers or techno-speak.<br />• “Here’s what we found”<br />• “Here’s what we’re doing to fix the problem”<br />• “Here’s what we’re doing to keep it from happening again”<br /><br />Common sense (and your attorneys) will guide you about how much to say, but the point is your customers want to know you’re doing something about the issue.<br /><br />3. Be quick – Finally, do what you said you were going to do and then tell your customers when you finished it. Quick, pretty-good results trump long drawn out excellent actions every time.<br /><br />The beauty of managing your start up’s brand is that your cycle time is usually a fraction of that of the larger firm. You’re closer to the problem (heck, you probably caused it) and you can fix it faster.<br /><br />How you respond to problems speaks volumes about your company and your brand and could turn complainers into advocates.John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-42717105364415762772010-04-13T10:14:00.000-07:002010-04-13T10:23:37.757-07:00Smart Customers versus Dumb Policies (the customer will always win)<p>Why is it that some companies seem to go out of their way to frustrate their customers? A friend of mine related the following story about his experience with a fast-growing regional wireless company, we’ll call them Wireless North (WN for short).<br /><br />My friend has four phones, unlimited texting, two data plans, and who knows how many other features in his plan. He also has two children in college. One of those children, David (not his real name, lest WN figures this out), lives in another state this semester at his co-op job. My friend got an email from WN saying David has used over half his calling minutes (400) outside the calling area. So, like any good Baby Boomer, Dad calls WN customer service to get more details. He’s told that the calling plan prohibits a customer from having more that 50% of their minutes “roaming.” He’s then told his two options are: 1) stop using the phone until David gets back into the calling area, or 2) find another provider.<br /><br />Now, is it just me, or does this not make sense? WN wants a long time customer to STOP using the service or go to a competitor? Do they not realize it costs at least 5 times more to get a new customer than to keep an existing one?<br /><br />Meanwhile, David, in true Millennial fashion, has a solution. “Don’t worry, Dad,” he said. “When I come home this weekend, I’ll call you before I go to bed. Leave the phone call going over night, and by morning I will have more than half my minutes in my calling area.” Problem solved.<br /><br />So what can we learn?<br />• First, don’t underestimate the intelligence of your customers. If you come up with a policy, rule, or process that is not in their best interest, they will find a way around it.<br />• Second, make it easy for existing customers to find solutions when the way they use your product conflicts with a company policy. Don’t suggest they go away….they probably will.<br />• Third, get rid of company policies that don’t make sense (see #2).<br /><br />The customer service rep was following the rules. Your customers, however, won’t. Recognize that up front and find ways to make it easy for your customers to deal with you. They are always smarter than you when it comes to spending THEIR money. </p>John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-74528781441299221702010-03-30T07:09:00.000-07:002010-03-30T07:21:01.964-07:00Learning from RejectionAs the parent of a high school senior, we are in our own version of March Madness. The end of March is typically the deadline for college acceptance letters… or, rejection letters. The rule of thumb is: big envelope good, small envelope bad. If you’ve even had a teenager anxiously waiting for a big envelope from The Perfect College of His / Her Dreams, you know what we’re going through.<br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2010/03/24/as-admission-season-gears-up-learning-how-to-handle-rejection/">Sue Shellenbarger </a>of the Wall Street Journal knows. Her <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704211704575139891390595962.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_careerjournal">article </a>about rejection is dead on. She profiles some of the biggest names in business and entertainment – Warren Buffett, Ted Turner, Tom Brokaw to name a few, who were rejected by their first choice. Their look back at the rejection and what it taught them should be required reading for every first semester high school senior (first semester because in the second semester their brains turn to mush and Senioritis is out of control).<br /><br />Listen to what the Oracle of Omaha says: “The truth is, everything that has happened in my life…that I thought was a crushing event at the time, has turned out for the better.” He went on to say ”You learn that a temporary defeat is not a permanent one. In the end, it can be an opportunity.”<br /><br />In business, you’ve got to face rejection. If you’re in sales, you face it daily. If you’re not facing rejection, you’re not pushing hard enough. As the leader of a small professional services firm, I hate being told “no” by a prospect. But sometimes getting a “no” is better than getting “maybe” or getting silence. “No” gives you direction. It can help you know what’s working and what’s not. And sometimes, a “no” from The Perfect Customer I Have Always Wanted to Get is a good thing.<br /><br />Early in my practice, I chased after a prospect who I thought would accelerate my fledgling business. He decided not to use me for his big plans. Eight months later the firm he did choose was fighting him over unpaid invoices, unrealistic expectations, and a Titanic case of scope-creep.<br /><br />In business, as in college, a rejection can be the best thing you could ask for. Good things often come disguised in small envelopes.John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-87365672781432212942010-03-15T16:26:00.000-07:002010-03-22T09:37:53.839-07:00This Anchor Won't Weigh You DownOk, you’ve come up with The Next Big Thing. It’s a "game changer". “It will revolutionize the way people (fill in the blank).” Cool. Now how do you describe it?<br /><br />Like most innovators, you struggle with telling people what it does. And forget about how it works. That’s way too complex.<br /><br />So you stumble around as you talk about it, all the while watching your audience get more and more confused about this product that’s going to change the world.<br /><br />What you need is an anchor.<br /><br />People need to have a point of reference for new things. In a recent Fast Company <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/dan-heath/switch/anchor-twist-how-sell-new-innovations?partner=homepage_newsletter">article</a>, <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/user/dan-heath">Dan Heath </a>uses the example of explaining NetFlix to someone who never heard of it. You could talk about mail order movies that or easy to return in a simple package. Or, you could say, “Think of Blockbuster, but by mail.” Having a frame of reference (Blockbuster) helps us understand in general, then the twist (but by mail) tells us why it’s different and better.<br /><br />Most of my clients are technology start ups. They’re run by extremely bright, passionate engineers and scientists who understand the mechanics but sometimes struggle with explaining their products.<br /><br />One company, <a href="http://www.nanomech.biz/">NanoMech</a>, was recently interviewed by the statewide ABC-TV <a href="http://www.katv.com/">affiliate</a>. Keep in mind NanoMech is an advanced materials and nanomanufacturing company. Not an easy subject to explain. But they were able to use anchors and focus on the benefits of their products rather than how they worked. The result was an easy to understand description that a general audience could understand, yet one that more sophisticated viewers could appreciate as well. Click <a href="http://www.nanomech.biz/">here </a>and scroll down to see the segment.<br /><br />For innovators, describing the value of your product is the key to your success. Anchors can get you there.John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-36996631963717627962010-02-24T09:36:00.000-08:002010-02-24T09:46:15.079-08:00Oh, You're From New Orleans? Do You Know Drew Brees?Feeling connected to others is a basic human need. And in these tough economic times, we are even more motivated to build or strengthen bonds we have to family, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances. Witness the remarkable growth of Facebook and LinkedIn.<br /><br />That connectedness is important in customer relationships as well. A recent article in the <a href="http://bit.ly/coDucB">Journal of Consumer Research </a>describes research where pairs of participants were given brochures for a “personal trainer” and asked for feedback. The resume of one of the trainers in each paring was altered to include their birth date, which just happened to match that of the participant. The participant who saw the altered bio was more inclined to enroll than the participant who viewed the bio without the birth date.<br /><br />The implication for marketers is that anything we can do to find commonality with a customer or prospect will increase our success. Not an earth-shattering finding; in fact we’ve probably known this intuitively for quite some time. But now we have proof that finding common ground is good for business.<br /><br />So, the next time your server comes to your table, look at her name tag and don't be surprised if it lists her hometown. It's a way for the restaurant to connect with you. And get you to order the pie for dessert.John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-85089730335676478142009-10-29T13:20:00.000-07:002009-10-29T13:33:20.295-07:00I Can Has A Profit?If laughter is the best medicine, then Ben Huh is Dr. Feelgood. Huh is CEO of <a href="http://www.icanhasacheezburger.com">Cheezburger Network</a>, the wildly successful family of websites that feature hilarious captions of cats, dogs, human failings, and other common topics. How successful? Well, for starters, the company was profitable from day one. How many website start ups can say that? Second, the company is averaging 8.5 million page views a week and 11 million visitors per month. That’s how successful.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.fastcompany.com">Fast Company </a>recently <a href="http://bit.ly/3NbtX">interviewed </a>Huh and asked what’s driving his company’s success. I came away with three lessons we marketers can learn from Huh and Cheezburger Network.<br /><br /><strong>Make it relevant.</strong> Cats, dogs, and humans are always relevant. And finding something funny about them is universal, especially with an economy in the dumps, high unemployment, higher underemployment, and an over generally blah outlook in society. Huh has found a way to connect. <br /><br /><strong>Make it a community.</strong> Users contribute photos and open it up to others to submit captions. It’s a place people want to come back to and bring friends. You don’t just stumble upon these sites. Someone tells you about them and gets you hooked. <br /><br /><strong>Make it simple.</strong> The sites are all arranged similarly, so when you go to a new Cheezburger Network site, it’s arranged like the other ones and is familiar and comfortable. Also, there are few moving parts, just a caption and a photo or video. You either get it and laugh or don’t and move on to the next one. Usually, you get it <strong>and</strong> move on. That’s what’s driving their skyrocketing page views.<br /><br />I’m a dog person, so my favorite is <a href="http://www.ihasahotdog.com">I Has A Hotdog.</a> In 5 minutes I can get a laugh without wasting a lot of time, which is easy to do online. That’s the beauty of Huh’s sites. They add just enough content every day to keep you coming back, but not so much that you have to spend hours staying current.<br /><br />Congratulations to Ben Huh for taking a simple concept and building a Cheezburger Empire.John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-32212525209730594462009-07-28T11:44:00.000-07:002009-07-30T16:52:54.277-07:00Charging for a Free LunchNo one likes to pay for something that used to be free. And no company likes to tell its customers they have to start paying for a service they got for nothing. Nevertheless, it happens all the time and, in many cases, it causes hard feeling and ill-will between customer and company.
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<br />The folks at <a href="http://www.pandora.com/corporate">Pandora</a>, the online streaming music service that allows you to create your own radio “channels,” faced the same problem. Due to royalty issues with its providers, Pandora had to begin charging for some of their content. As a devotee of the service, I was leery about what was coming. After all, <a href="http://www.jott.com/">Jott </a>used to be free, and after they hooked me, they cut off the free service.
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<br />Here’s an excerpt from the email I got from Tim Westergren, the founder of Pandora.
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<br /><p><span style="font-family:courier new;">First, I want to let you know that we’ve reached a resolution to the calamitous Internet radio royalty ruling of 2007. After more than two precarious years, we are finally on safe ground with a long-term agreement for survivable royalty rates – thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our listeners who voiced an absolute avalanche of support for us on Capitol Hill. We are deeply thankful.</span></p>
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<br />While we did the best we could to lower the rates, we are going to have to make an adjustment that will affect about 10% of our users who are our heaviest listeners. Specifically, we are going to begin limiting listening to 40 hours per month on the web. Because we have to pay royalty fees per song and per listener, it makes very heavy listeners hard to support on advertising alone. Most listeners will never hit this cap, but it seems that you might.</span></p></blockquote></span>
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<br />Ok, so far so good, although I was expecting the big “but” that was going to nail me with big fees. This is what came next:
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<br /><p><span style="font-family:courier new;">We hate the idea of capping anyone's usage, so we've
<br />been working to devise an alternative for listeners like you. We've come up with two solutions and we hope that one of them will work for you:</span></p>
<br /><p><span style="font-family:courier new;">
<br />Your first option is to continue listening just as you have been and, if and when you reach the 40 hour limit in a given month, to pay just $0.99 for unlimited listening for the rest of that month. This isn't a subscription. You can pay by credit card and your card will be charged for just that one month. You'll be able to keep listening as much as you'd like for the remainder of the month. We hope this is
<br />relatively painless and affordable - the same price as a single song download.</span></p>
<br /><p><span style="font-family:courier new;">Your second option is to upgrade to our premium version called Pandora One. Pandora One costs $36 per year. In addition to unlimited monthly listening and no advertising, Pandora One offers very high quality 192 Kbps streams, an
<br />elegant desktop application that eliminates the need for a browser, personalized skins for the Pandora player, and a number of other features:<a href="http://broadcaster.pandora.com/t?r=927&c=901377&l=38138&ctl=174B7C1:01163BB14228E756FA9F713CC8F08067050542759970026E&" target="_blank"> http://www.pandora.com/pandora_one.</a></span></p></blockquote></span>
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<br />Tim goes on to add that a third option is to stop listening once you get to the 40 hour cap for that month. He closed the email by saying they’ve created a counter that will let you see where you are to date toward your 40 hour cap and by thanking me once again for using the Pandora service.
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<br />What’s the catch? There is none. Pandora has had to change their business model and did so in a way that almost makes you feel good about paying a small fee to continue being a customer. What did they do right and what can marketers learn from this? I see three things:
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<br /><ol>
<br /><li>Lay out the issue clearly – Tim spoke of the royalty settlement and its impact on his business. No fluff, just straightforward talk.</li>
<br /><li>Give the customer options – I now have three choices (four if you count stopping listening altogether). One of these three will surely work for me.</li>
<br /><li>Give the customer time to react – I got Tim’s email in early July. His changes won’t be effective until August, giving me plenty of time to consider my options (not that this is a life-changing decision, but I do like my Bob Seeger and James Brown channels).</li></ol>
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<br />Product management’s role is to set pricing strategy. Part of that strategy includes how / when you change price. Pandora’s decision on how they increased their price says a lot about their brand and the type of company they want to be.
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<br />P.S. I responded to Tim’s email and got a prompt (less than 24 hour) response from Jasmyn, a “listener advocate” thanking me for my comments and my support of Pandora. Well done!
<br />John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-12623831901621833832009-07-17T08:13:00.000-07:002009-07-17T08:26:27.746-07:00Making a DifferenceBack from a mid-summer’s blogging break…..<br /><br />One of the reasons I love what I do is that I get to work with passionate visionaries. And sometimes, these visionaries have an idea that could change the world, or at least a piece of it. I’m currently helping a start up that is trying to change the world for all the right reasons. <a href="http://www.invotek.org/">InvoTek</a>, a firm based in the small northwestern Arkansas town of Alma, makes assistive technology devices that help people with high spinal cord injuries use a computer. Their flagship product, <a href="http://accupoint.invotek.org/">AccuPoint</a>, uses sophisticated laser technology to enable quadriplegics to operate a computer using head movements. This technology has changed the world of a small group of users who can now download pictures of their grand kids, send emails to friends, and organize a reunion of Navy buddies. For more on <a href="http://www.invotek.org/">InvoTek</a>, see the Fort Smith, AR City Wire <a href="http://www.thecitywire.com/index.php?q=node/5108">article</a>.<br /><br />Here is a for-profit company with a non-profit’s vision. It shows in their products, their commitment to their customers, and even in their tag line: Compassion Driven Innovations. They understand that a solid business strategy starts with changing someone’s world.<br /><br />It’s like a mentor once asked me, “Do you want to make a dollar, or do you want to make a difference?”John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-73368742600980638312009-05-21T10:48:00.000-07:002009-05-27T12:12:09.092-07:00The More Things Change, The More They ChangeFor those of you who are a bit overwhelmed by the rate of change we’re experiencing, here’s more reason to overwhelmed. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8&e">Did You Know?</a> is a short video based on a concept by <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/">Karl Fisch</a> that lists some enlightening facts about our exponentially changing world. For example:<br /><br /><ul><br /><li>25% of India’s population with the highest IQ’s is greater than the population of the entire US. That means India has more honor students than the US has students.</li><br /><br /><li>Information doubles every 2 years. That means that for a student pursuing a technical degree, what they learn will be outdated by their junior year.</li><br /><br /><li>It took radio 38 years to gain 50 million users. It took television 13 years to do the same. It took the internet 4 years, iPod 3 years, and Facebook 2 years to reach the 50 million mark.</li></ul>Now, I’ll assume Mr. Fisch has his facts straight. I guess I could go to <a href="http://www.snopes.com/">http://www.snopes.com/</a> and check to see if it’s an urban legend. But the point is we’re in a world that is changing at a breakneck pace. The amount of information (correct and incorrect) is exploding. The way we get that information (print, online, social networks, and so forth) changes daily. The winners in this race will be those who can best distill the information into “This is what it means” and then “This is what we should do about it.”<br /><br />For marketers, this translates into helping our companies or our clients articulate why we can solve a problem better than the other guy. It’s not about features and functions or speeds and feeds, it’s about results. And it’s about doing if faster than the competition.<br /><br />By the way, in the time it took to read this post, 198 babies were born in India. We’d better get busy!John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-37984447947349493802009-05-19T10:11:00.000-07:002009-05-19T10:19:12.939-07:00Radar O'Reilly and Client RelationsI recently had the chance to speak to a group of communicators at one of the nation’s largest energy companies. Their leader was trying to get the group to add value to their internal clients instead of just taking and executing orders for press releases, newsletters, and the like.<br /><br />The guy that came to my mind as a model for a client-focused, action-oriented employee was Radar O’Reilly, the Army clerk on the long running MASH television show. Radar was always one step ahead of Col. Blake, Hawkeye, Trapper, and the rest. He could anticipate what others wanted and, more importantly, what they needed before they could articulate it. I used this acrostic to prove my point:<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">R</span></strong>esourceful – Radar knew everyone. He knew the supply officer in Tokyo, the motor pool guy in Seoul and the secretary to the commanding general in the Pentagon. Consequently, he could get things done no one else could. How’s your network? Are you spending time growing the people you interact with? And by interacting, I mean giving them a bit of knowledge or a pat on the back or some other “gift” to form a bond with them.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">A</span></strong>ttuned – Radar listened aggressively and was sensitive enough to know the others’ motivations. What excited them? What scared them? What turned them on? Do you know what motivates your customers? What are their key metrics? How are they evaluated and compensated? Knowing what’s important to them, personally as well as professionally, puts you in a great position to solve their problems and speak to them in terms that mean something to them.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">D</span></strong>eliberate – Radar always had everything ready for Col. Blake to sign. All of the Army forms in quadruplicate. All Blake had to do was scribble his name to a requisition or a promotion authorization. Are you disciplined enough to handle all the details for your client and make it easy for them to say “yes” or to sign the contract? Early in my career I worked for an executive that drilled into me the concept of “completed staff work.” That meant, I had done all of the research, presented all the alternatives, had the recommendation and everything the exec needed to make his decision. When we take the concept of completed staff work to our clients, it shows them we’re not only prepared but we understand their business enough to prepare them to make the right decision.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">A</span></strong>ctive – Radar took the initiative to go to his “customers” and make something happen. He set the agenda for most of his interactions with Blake, Hawkeye, Trapper and the others. Do we set the agenda for our clients or do we wait for orders? I worked for the Chairman of the Board at one of the country’s largest energy companies and would ask to see him on occasion. After walking past his attack-trained secretaries, you entered the hardwood floor office, with the Persian rug and massive mahogany desk. It was pretty intimidating. At the end of the desk, facing you was a 3x5 note card that said, “What Do You Recommend?” You knew that if you came to him with an issue, you better have 2-3 alternatives, a recommendation, and your rationale for that recommendation. But he appreciated people who identified a problem and then offered a solution. What if we made it a habit to ask our clients, “What if…?” or “How about trying….?”<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>R</strong></span>elentless – Finally, Radar didn’t take “no” for an answer. He was results focused and wouldn’t stop until he completed his mission. When we focus on results instead of activity, we’ll do what it takes for our clients. We’ll break down whatever barrier stands in our way. And we’ll earn our client’s respect (and hopefully lots of additional business).<br /><br />So, next time you think about building close client relations, think <strong>RADAR</strong>. He was more than the company clerk on MASH. He was the model for making you indispensable to your clients.John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-15167155660252911282009-05-14T08:30:00.000-07:002009-05-14T08:37:28.684-07:00Desmond TutuLast Sunday, the University of North Carolina had Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa, Desmond Tutu as their <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3F4QU_PaQM">commencement </a>speaker. He was everything that most commencement speakers are not -- funny, encouraging, challenging, reverent, and irreverent.<br /><br />This Nobel Prize winning champion of the anti-apartheid movement presented a message of hope mixed with urgency that transcends our current economic slowdown and the dismal job prospects most of these graduate face.<br /><br />You would expect preachers to be effective communicators. After all, that’s a big part of their job. But Tutu’s address is a template all of us can use in our professional and personal lives as we attempt to get our ideas to others:<br /><ul><li>Connect with your audience – it took Tutu all of 30 seconds to bond with the thousands in the stadium. Once he had us, he never let go. We were captivated and a bit disappointed when he had to end his speech.</li><li>Humor is the universal language – Tutu’s jokes, stories, and often self-deprecating humor dissolved any age and cultural barriers that might have existed between him and the twenty-somethings in the caps and gowns or, as he called them, those “blue-clad creatures.” At one point he laughed so hard at his own joke, he almost lost his train of thought.</li><li>Finish strong – I won’t spoil the ending, but his last words to us were more than memorable…they were haunting. As we communicate, we need to leave our audience with an indelible mark that won’t easily wash away.</li></ul><p>As the father of one of those “blue clad creatures” I left the ceremony uplifted by Tutu’s optimism and passion and re-energized to be a better steward of what God has entrusted me.</p><p><br />And, by the way, guess who UNC’s cross-town rival, Duke University, had as their commencement speaker that same morning? Oprah. UNC wins again…. </p>John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-23527971930225617502009-04-01T11:52:00.000-07:002009-04-01T12:29:31.391-07:00Reading, Writing, and Red Sauce?<p>A Pocatello, Idaho teacher is trying to do his part to fill his school's budget gap by offering <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102358627&ft=1&f=1001">advertising </a>on exams. On a recent history exam, at the bottom of each page in 1" red letters was: MOLTO'S PIZZA 14" 1 TOPPING JUST $5. The principal wasn't thrilled, but Jeb Harrison convinced him that it helped to illuminate topics such as the Great Depression.</p><br /><p>Molto provided 10,000 sheets of paper, valued at $315 for Harrison's five classes, with their ad on each page. I would suspect the $315 was more than offset by the PR storm the school had to handle.</p><br /><p></p><br /><p>I won't get into the merits (or demerits) of advertising and branding in schools. But you have to hand it to Molto Caldoro Pizzeria. They:</p><br /><ol><br /><li>Understand their target market (teenagers)</li><br /><li>Understand the importance of being first in a new channel (at the bottom of exams)</li><br /><li>Understand the value and receptiveness of cash strapped intermediaries (school districts facing budget cuts)</li></ol><br /><p>As an instructor at a local university, and as a parent of a high school student, I don't want ads on the bottom of tests. But we marketers should all take a lesson from Molto and look for innovative ways to engage our customers. </p>John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-72412149469066076702009-03-19T09:05:00.000-07:002009-03-19T09:25:54.158-07:00March Madness 2009For those of us who follow basketball, this is THE time of year, especially if our team is in the NCAA tournament (a special shout out to the Mississippi State <a href="http://www.msstate.edu/">Bulldogs</a>). We will be glued to whatever media we can to get our fix of scores and analysis.<br /><br />Every year at this time, the HR consulting firm of Challenger <a href="http://www.challengergray.com/">Gray </a>puts out their estimate of the amount of lost productivity due to employees watching the basketball games during work. Last year the estimate was $1.2B for 2007 (a number widely <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2187031/">ridiculed</a> by Slate and others...see my <a href="http://therigginsgroup.blogspot.com/2008/03/march-madness-myth.html">post </a>last year).<br /><br />A funny thing happened this year, though. CG decided not to put out their estimate, citing the economy: <em>“In light of the fact that employers and employees have more important things to worry about, we feel that any attempt to estimate the impact of </em><a class="kLink" oncontextmenu="return false;" id="KonaLink1" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,1);" style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline! important" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,1);" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,1);" href="http://www.usnews.com/blogs/the-inside-job/2009/03/12/march-madness-more-like-march-mildness-this-year.html#" target="_new"><em>March Madness<br /></em></a><em>on productivity would be counterproductive and inappropriate,"</em> John Challenger said in a statement.<br /><br />So, what about it? Are you still going to watch the games online while at work? How much time will you spend? I'll probably spend an hour or two per business day (more if MSU gets past round 2). Let me hear from you. And don't worry...I won't tell your boss!!John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-24665230525597255102009-03-08T19:25:00.000-07:002009-03-08T19:35:17.518-07:00What Classic Rock Can Teach Us about Marketing in a Down Economy (Part Two)<span style="color:#000000;">This week we continue looking at what those sages from years ago (specifically the ‘60’s and ‘70’s) can teach us about getting through and thriving in this dismal economy. </span><br /><br /><ol><span style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></ol><p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>#6</strong> Tiny Dancer (Elton John) – Think small. Find and deliver small, high value projects for clients. In the baseball world, this would translate to “singles and stolen bases.” Our clients are very now focused, so find pain points that you can solve today. This cuts down the sales cycle, gives your client immediate value, and positions you either for another small project or a bigger engagement as we pull out of this recession. </span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>#7</strong> Light My Fire (The Doors) – Go on the offensive and make something happen for your clients. Customers are looking for creative ways to solve their problems or get what they need. Look for problems they might have overlooked and suggest a remedy. By staying connected with your customers (remember idea #2 from last week – Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand?) you’re better able to uncover meaningful solutions to their problems. </span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>#8 </strong>Different Drum (Linda Ronstadt) – Try a marketing channel you haven’t tried before. These are once in a lifetime (hopefully) days. Many of the economic theories and assumptions have been shaken to the core. So it is with marketing. Maybe now is the time to begin that newsletter you have been putting off. What about a sponsorship? Trade show? Perhaps volunteering to speak at different professional organizations will jumpstart your marketing efforts. Business as usual went out the door sometime last year. Now is the time to do the unusual. </span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>#9 </strong>Good Vibrations (The Beach Boys) – Emphasize benefits over features…those things that “tingle” your customers. We know intuitively that customers buy benefits, not features, but these days highlighting benefits is even more critical. I know a company that took pride in discussing the fact that it had seven acres of raised floor space in their data centers. Cool factoid, but so what? How does that help the customer? Take a day to review your messaging, your collateral, and your website. Are you promoting “speeds and feeds” or are you talking about what’s in it for your customer?</span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>#10</strong> Thank God and Greyhound You’re Gone (Roy Clark) – Ok, so this is a country song, but it’s good advice. Some customers just have to go. You know the ones: you can count on them to return the product, tie up your customer service reps, pay late, and so on. Now is a great time to look at each customer and their profitability. If they’re costing you money (and time), fire them. And you can do so diplomatically, by raising prices, changing terms, unbundling your services, pricing for things that were free, etc. As hard as it is to lose a customer these days, losing an unprofitable customer is a win.</span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;">Make no mistake, we are in extremely challenging times. As I write this, the Dow is hovering around 6,800, the national jobless rate is now 8.1%, and 12% of home mortgages are under water. But solid, aggressive companies will survive. I’m optimistic about our future, so I leave you with advice from the (formerly) hardest working man in show business.</span></p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>#11 </strong>Got Ants in My Pants and I Need to Dance (James Brown) – If we take care of our customers and bring value (in their eyes, not ours) to everything we do, our companies will be poised to lap the competition when the economy turns around.</span>John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-22209340761305120272009-02-27T13:18:00.000-08:002009-03-01T19:00:46.401-08:00What Classic Rock Can Teach Us about Marketing in a Down Economy<div>At our house, everything can be related to a classic rock song. For example, my son was getting ready to pick up his date for the homecoming dance and came out in his suit, tie, polished shoes, and somewhat combed hair. My wife and I immediately broke out the line from ZZ Top, “Every girl’s crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man.” He rolled his eyes, but appreciated the compliment.<br />As bad as our present economic situation is, classic rock can give us direction for not just surviving, but thriving. Below is part one of my Top Ten list of what we marketers can learn and apply from the songs of our youth. Part two will follow next week.</div>
<br /><ol>
<br /><li>Love the One You’re With (Crosby, Stills, and Nash) – Focus on your current customers. We all know the statistic: it’s three to seven times more expensive to get a new customer than to keep an existing one. Now is the time to make sure we’re meeting their needs, keeping them satisfied, and making it easy for them to stay with us. I recently called American Express about a billing question. After resolving the question, the representative said that since I’ve been a cardholder since 1980, he’d like to upgrade me to another card for less than what I was paying currently but one with more benefits. He didn’t have to do it, but it was a nice gesture. What made it even more appealing, is that two days earlier Discover notified me that my interest rate was increasing by a third. And, oh by the way, the increase was retroactive to the previous month. Guess which card is now my card of choice?<br /></li>
<br /><li>Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand (Diana Ross) – In the down times, what do most organizations cut first (after training)? Marketing and communications. Yet, we need to reach out to current customers now more than ever. Not trying to sell them something necessarily, but to engage them. What would happen if you asked them what your company could do to help them? Short of giving your product or service away, probably nothing. But what if your customer had a problem and you knew another organization that could solve it? How do you think your customer would view you if they felt you were looking out for their success? <br /></li>
<br /><li>R-E-S-P-E-C-T (Aretha Franklin) – As you’re reaching out to them, make sure you’re abiding by the permissions they’ve given you. For example, are you honoring their opt-out preferences to your e-newsletter? What about respecting their sensibilities? The makers of Motrin found out the hard way that appearing condescending has some significant results. Customers are on edge. We need to respect them and the pain they’re going through. <br /></li>
<br /><li>Heard it Through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye) – Lots of companies (and people, for that matter) are tempted to hunker down in bad times. They just want to get through. Successful companies take this opportunity to build networks, establish new relationships, and expand their circles of influence. They use social media such as LinkedIn and Twitter to make new contacts and reconnect with old ones. They understand how word spreads, and that take advantage of it.<br /></li>
<br /><li>Me and Bobby McGee (Janis Joplin) – As they are building networks, companies are discovering something amazing: there are partnership opportunities all over the place. I’ve found this in my practice. Firms I approached a year ago about a partnership are now contacting me. Why? Good companies want to differentiate themselves and find that edge. Take this chance to broaden your offerings by hooking up with another aggressive firm that complements what you do.<br /></li></ol>
<br /><p>In part two next week, we’ll hear great advice from other songs from my college days. Stay tuned! </p>John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-55933995259560763702009-02-22T19:28:00.000-08:002009-02-27T13:24:05.857-08:00General George Patton on ImageThis is the second in a series on General George S. Patton, famous American military figure during World War II. Last month we looked at what old Blood and Guts had to say about speed versus haste. This month, Patton talks about image.<br /><br /><em>“I am tremendously proud of your deportment, the way you behave towards private property. But the way you carry yourselves is shockingly bad. You, the soldiers of the greatest army of the greatest nation in the world, wander around like furtive pickpockets with your shoulders sloping, your stomachs sticking out, and your hands hanging down. The act of standing properly gives you that feeling of superiority which you have so nobly won. Show the world how great you are. Look like soldiers!”</em><br /><br />What image do we portray? As marketers, we should know better than anyone about impact of a compelling “brand.” Do our companies “wander around like furtive pickpockets” in the market place? Our image includes everything from the way our employees answer the phone to our e-mail tone to our website to, yes, the way we dress.<br /><br />In this challenging economy, most people will forgive you for becoming lax with your image. But they will remember you for standing tall and showing the market how great you are. Look like soldiers!John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-47607411901617281702009-01-13T16:40:00.001-08:002009-01-15T18:48:46.990-08:00Fish = Sea Kittens?Some topics just beg to be talked about. This is one. Our friends at PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have upped the ante on branding. A recent “Day to Day” <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99249669">segment</a> on National Public Radio featured PETA’s effort to save the fish. They’ve started a campaign to get people to think of fish as Sea Kittens. To quote Dave Barry, “I’m not making this up.”<br /><br /><br />Campaign coordinator Ashley Byrne explained it this way, “PETA thought that by renaming fish sea kittens, compassionate people who would never dream of hurting a dog or cat might extend that sympathy to fish, or sea kittens.”<br /><br /><br />Make no mistake. I am not a fan of PETA’s mission or tactics. But you have to hand it to them for trying to remake an image that’s thousands or millions of years old (depending on your view of Creation). General Motors has been trying to change its image for years with no success, and they’re only a hundred years old.<br /><br /><p><br />From a marketing standpoint, they’re going about it the right way:</p><br /><ul><br /><li><strong>Think small</strong>: the campaign is being tested in North Carolina before going nationwide. That gives them a chance to test and tweak positioning and messaging early in the process.</li><br /><li><strong>Think long term</strong>: a cornerstone of their campaign is aimed at getting children to think in terms of Sea Kittens. PETA understands rebranding doesn’t happen overnight.</li><br /><li><strong>Think emotionally</strong>: brands are nothing more than an emotional reaction to tangible and intangible stimuli. Fish don’t melt your heart. Kittens do (for some people).<br /></li></ul><br /><p>It will be interesting to see how this plays out. If they can pull this off, what’s next? Used car salesmen will be rebranded yellow Labs? Lawyers become koala bears? This could become the “golden age” for marketing consultants!!! </p><br /><p>What do you think about PETA’s campaign? </p>John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-55229194644131154792009-01-08T17:03:00.000-08:002009-01-08T17:06:38.676-08:00General George Patton on PlanningIn June 1945, WWII was hurtling toward victory for the Allies. My father was a 27 year old Captain with the 101st Airborne, fresh from a historic defense of Bastone at the Battle of the Bulge. At the time the 101st was attached to the 3rd Army Division. The commander of the 3rd Army was General George S. Patton, “Old Blood and Guts.” Patton sent a memo to all of his officers encouraging them to finish the job and win the war. In his memo, I find several ideas all marketers can apply to our current troubled economy and companies. In the follow weeks, I’ll outline some of Patton’s wisdom. Here are his thoughts on planning.<br /><br /><em>“Don’t confuse HASTE with SPEED. It may take three to four hours to set up a battalion attack from two directions, but will get home in thirty minutes – that is SPEED. If you try to put on such an attack in thirty minutes, it may take several hours to get home – that is HASTE.”</em><br /><br />Too often we fail to plan adequately and end up either failing or taking too long and costing too much to reach our objective (market introduction, brand launch, etc.). Patton’s advice would be to invest the time and money to do the research, create a workable plan, collect the needed resources, get in position, THEN attack. That requires discipline, a trait few companies have today. As marketers, it is our job to push back when leadership wants to act before the time is right. We have to have a sense of urgency but, as Patton suggests, not be hasty.<br /><br />The former head of Product Management for Microsoft once described knowing when to launch a new software product was like holding a bowl of Jell-O. At first it wiggles and shakes, but as you hold the bowl still, the Jell-O settles down. At a certain point it’s still enough and that’s when you launch it into the market.<br /><br />As we’ve heard all of our careers, failure to plan is a plan for failure.John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-74001501921796106512008-12-10T12:06:00.002-08:002008-12-10T12:18:51.671-08:0012 Ways to Survive This Nuclear Winter (Part 2)Here's part two of Josh Quittner's advice on how to survive (and thrive) in the current dismal economy. Josh is Consumer Technology Editor-at-Large for TIME Magazine.<br /><br /><p>Number 7: Obsess about data -- cash flow, web traffic, number of customers, etc. Now is the time to let the numbers guide, but not dictate, your decisions.</p><p>Number 8: Reconsider your business model. Are you doing what generates revenue? Or are there tangential functions that don't add money to the company or value to the brand?</p><p>Number 9: Study the big picture. Where are the major players in your market? What are they doing? Are they leaving niches under-addressed?</p><p>Number 10: Overcommunicate with customers, employees, vendors, investors, and all other stakeholders.</p><p>Number 11: Work on stuff that matters -- In other words, is this what I really want to do with my life? If not, now is a great time to find that other something and get after it.</p><p>Number 12: Have I got a good back up plan? To quote that great philosopher from SNL of old, Rosanne Rosanadana, "It's always something." When you try to predict the future, you will be wrong. So have a Plan B (and C, and D).</p>John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-57995244159083436492008-11-25T16:49:00.000-08:002008-11-25T17:08:07.526-08:0012 Ways to Survive This Nuclear Winter (Part 1)Josh Quittner is the consumer technology Editor-In-Chief for TIME Magazine. He recently spoke to the Arkansas Venture Forum and shared his thoughts on how entrepreneurs and firms who support them can weather this current economic "nuclear winter." He presented 12 strategies for success. This week I'll present the first 6. Part 2 next week will outline the second six.<br /><br /><ol><li>Have an "immigrant" ethic....be very careful with your money; work tirelessly</li><li>Get cash flow positive NOW</li><li>Outsource and distribute those things that are not essential to you</li><li>Spend smart</li><li>Get hypercompetitive and get aggressive in winning new business and delivering</li><li>Focus on improving essential features, not nice-to-haves</li></ol><p>More next week.</p>John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-52381303268165609512008-11-11T10:25:00.000-08:002008-11-11T10:27:22.662-08:00Life and Business CollidingI haven't forgotten about the blog....will return after Thanksgiving....thanks for staying with me....John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-49902527502854738362008-08-28T10:01:00.000-07:002008-08-28T10:30:40.236-07:00The One Call You Always TakeTwice in the last two days, I've been talking with colleagues who interrupted our call by saying, "Hang, on, I've got to catch this call." In both cases, the call was from a child at college. My daughter is 14 hours away at college so I perfectly understood being put on hold. You always take the call from a kid at college, whether the topic is "I need money" or "The oil light came on last month....should I worry?" or "My professor hates me, I hate my roommate, I hate college, and I've just signed up for the Peace Corps, cut off all my hair, and got a tattoo." Some people are just too important to ignore.<br /><br />Do your clients feel the same way? Do they interrupt calls to take yours? How do you become the "interrupter" and not the "interruptee?" Here are three ways to make sure they take your call:<br /><ol><li><strong>Offer a gift</strong>. Every time you talk with a client, you should give them something no one else can give them. It could be a compliment, a tidbit of free advice, a tip on a new technology that would make their life easier, or just a juicy piece of news about a mutual acquaintance. </li><li><strong>Keep it short</strong>. We're all busy, so keep the interruption to a minimum unless, of course, they want to talk. </li><li><strong>Listen more than you talk</strong>. Once you offer the gift, let the recipient do the talking. If they're busy or don't want to talk, fine. But you may have caught them in the middle of an issue. We all want someone who listens to us on our terms. This might just be the time the client wants a receptive ear.</li></ol><p>Give 'em a reason to take your call. They'll appreciate it more than the call that begins, "Daddy, who is our insurance company....?"</p>John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353218407390367051.post-85600306901782796062008-08-19T14:01:00.000-07:002008-08-19T14:16:07.065-07:00IVR RevengeSeth Godin mentions in his <a href="http://www.sethgodin.typepad.com/">blog </a>a company that has found a way around those interminable phone trees we get when we call a large company. <a href="http://fonolo.com/">Fonolo </a>is in beta with a service that "spiders" phone trees for, say, your bank, and then allows you to "deep dial" the number you want. You bypass the language choices and the inane "Please listen carefully because we've changed the options" speeches we always get and you get directly to the number you want.<br /><br />Fonolo is an example of consumer backlash against companies that place operational efficiency ahead of a positive customer experience. It will be interesting to see if the large companies fight this or accept it. The excellent companies will take a lesson and make getting to the right number quickly a normal part of their process.John Rigginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17276784390615461414noreply@blogger.com0