Strategic Limitation For Profit

Social Networks and indie movies teach us a valuable lesson: popularity begets popularity. Facebook and hit movies works better to more people talk about it. But what if you don’t have the budget to launch everywhere at once, or the product is the first of its category and will need time to permeate your niche?

Set limits as to who can use it.

Facebook launched first only within Harvard University where half the student population used it within a month. This simulated the “everyone uses it” attraction within that smaller market. Once it had it dominated, they expanded to Stanford, Columbia and Yale. Word spread and they went from there.

Two of the greatest sleeper hits of the decade “Slumdog Millionaire” and “King’s Speech” both had limited release, meaning that they only launched on a couple of hundred cinemas (as opposed to the typical thousands) in a specified geographic area. Once the word had spread about these movies, national release followed, then eventually the films were unleashed upon the world.

Even Google+ had a small launch, with access to the website only allowed at first through private invitations.

Having a loosely scattered customer base makes it hard to hit the Tipping Point. Start small, then dominate.

Free Marketing That Works

Easy to give these cards away. No need to sign up for membership. Couple the offer with a remarkable, wonderful, edgy product and you’re unstoppable.

What dead easy, hassle-free way do you have to let your happy customers spread the word?

I love the dentist.

The other day I went to the dentist. You know how they kind of spray water in your mouth and it just sits uncomfortably in the back your throat? That suction tube the dentist intern/assistant uses to get rid of said water just doesn’t work very well. In most situations this is not noteworthy. Heck, it’s even gross to talk about. But then my dentist did something a little special:

He let me control the suction tube.

I knew where the water was bothering me so I knew where to place the tube. That one move made me (and my dentist) much more happy and comfortable.

Good intentions are admirable, but sometimes your customers can just do it better themselves.

What can you let your customers do to improve their experience with you?

Dutch Uncle

I just found out that Google became public using Dutch Auction IPOs. There a number of advantages and disadvantages to this, most of which is too extensive to mention here. But a key point I related to marketing was the idea that Dutch auctions level the playing field. That is, it provides equal opportunity to small investors as well as institutional investors to get allocated shares.

As marketing… how smart is that?

This method matches Google’s business strategy; to support small advertisers. Indeed, Google’s Adsense and Adwords are particularly appropriate to small advertisers, just as Dutch Auctions don’t discriminate against small investors. The IPO method was a ‘fit’ with Google’s positioning.

Not only that, but a Dutch auction are like all other auctions in that it generates an important intangible asset: hype. Headlines. Buzz. Discussions. Publicity. Brand awareness. It’s a marketing campaign disguising as a equity raising event. It’s important to recall that at that point in time, Google was not yet a verb. Now, of course, they’re well on their way to world domination.

Up until now I wasn’t aware of that I had separated finance and marketing as independent business functions in my mind. Now I know better. Strategic Marketing is all-encompassing.

The internet never forgets

In finance, they teach a concept called ‘information asymmetry’ which is the imbalance of negotiatory power between parties in which one party has more complete information than the other. It occurs to me that such an idea applies to marketing. It used to be that the consumer’s only contact with the company is through targeted marketing communications and with employees strictly trained to talk only within the boundaries of all-purpose scripts. That is to say, the wall between companies and consumers allowed the former to gain an unfair advantage due to incomplete information. A case of an unsatisfied customer stays with the unsatisfied customer (and with their ten friends, but who cares?). No longer.

The internet has torn down the wall and the case of the unsatisfied customer is now public domain. A small local blogger with a hundred readers who got made to wait on the phone for two hours to solve a minor issue. The loyal customer who complained about the unfair treatment she suffered due to a minor infraction of ‘company policy’. That local restaurant you heard of? It’s nearly empty now because of poor reviews on an influential food website. In Japan, Takami Akai of Gainax Productions was pushed to resignation at a company he helped found all because he made some disparaging remarks about a colleague on 2ch, the nation’s largest internet forum. No longer is mediocre or ‘average’ good enough. Average is risky. No longer is planned public exposure of image good enough. Authenticity is required all across the board at all possible points of contact. As Donald Trump once said; “Marketing is 24/7”. Exceptional and remarkable customer service is the only way. I read a book recently called Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz (2009), and my favourite suggestion from it was for managers to hire employees specifically to surf the net to say kudos for praise and to solve any possible problems. Locally, TPG is doing the same thing. I had a problem setting up my internet so I jumped on Whirlpool Forums, lo’ and behold, within the hour a TPG employee posted and fixed my problem. The internet is wide-reaching and ever-pervasive. The internet never forgets.

Don’t take yourself so seriously

This applies to personal advice and for your business as well. Everybody is too serious nowadays, have some fun and your customers will love you for it (and talk about you more too).

Case Study 1 – nudie

Yes, you read that right. The drink’s name is nudie… and yes, that’s a picture of an embarrassed naked cartoon person on the label. No it’s not a pornographic related drink. Just your regular juice, but with an awesome word-of-mouth twist.  Here’s the back of a nudie smoothie:

In case you can’t read that, here’s the text version:

“What is a nudie smoothie?
Okay, so you’re thinking ‘where’s the fruit in this one?’ It’s not hiding. It’s vanila! Somewhere along the line we found out that vanilla is the only edible fruit in the orchid family. (A handy fact to keep up your sleeve for awkward silences or BBQs.) As for those happy cows, they’ve been partying non-stop ever since they discovered the word ‘moo’ in smoothie. At first they were concerned about subliminal advertising but we quickly assured them no nudie drinkers would be harmed. The cows are now over the moon.”

Let’s see:

1. They told a brief and entertaining history about the drink
2. Gave you a quick fun fact
3. Personified cows
4. Made some more jokes
5. Made a reference to an old nursery rhyme
Bonus: They give you their address, email address, and website URL as well. Seriously?!

This whole company is positioned as light-hearted and fun. I don’t even drink it, just checking out the label alone made it worth talking about. As a consumer and a marketer, all I can say is “that’s freakin’ awesome!”

Oh and one more picture. This is what I get when I searched for their website on Google:

Yep.

Give them a visit: www.nudie.com.au

Case Study 2 – Zappos

Zappos, big online shoe retailer as you know, made about $1 billion in sales last year. This is probably old, but I went to their site, scrolled down and found this (highlighted with a red circle):

Naturally, I clicked it. Even big money-printing corporations can have some fun. Here’s the video it led me to:

Yep. Just got RickRoll’d by a billion dollar company.

Visit Zappos: www.zappos.com

Give your customers the gift…

My favourite restaurant of late is Mamak in Sydney’s CBD. While the food is spectacular, that is not the best thing about this restaurant. The first sight that greets you every night is the long line of customers snaking outside the door and into the street. As you approach for a closer look, you see a kitchen through a large clear window; cooks flipping, twisting, turning and stretching the next roti canai to serve a customer.  It was almost mesmerising. If the line wasn’t enough proof of the quality of the restaurant, that certainly was. This is a diner that has nothing to hide and openly flaunts its popularity. Everytime I eat at Mamak, I join the queue, accompanied by the doorside kitchen. By the time I’m seated I’ve already gotten my money’s worth.

Lesson: Don’t be afraid to show your potential customers that you are the real thing. Build it up. Give your customer’s the gift of authenticity and anticipation.

I’m tired of it.

I’m tired of it.

I’m tired of hearing from my friends that they haven’t read a book since high school.  There’s a reason why they made you read at school.

I’m tired of hearing them say it as if it’s a badge of social pride.  Except one of the premiere partiers of our generation loves to read.

I’m tired of hearing people claim books are boring. I say you’re too lazy to exert the effort. Too lazy to use your imagination. It’s no secret that many of the most successful people in the world read. A lot.

I’m tired of hearing people say that they have better things to do. Then they go spend 2 hours a day watching TV.  Over here is an aspiring writer who doesn’t read (just kidding).

I’m tired of hearing people who want to read say “I just don’t have the time”.  I say you’re just not trying to find the time. How about during breakfast? Lunch? While you’re on the throne? On the train or bus? Twenty minutes before you sleep? Or you can just set some time aside per day to read. If you really try, can you honestly say that you can’t find any time at all? Really?

To the booklovers in the world: Thank you, spread the love.

To the people who intermittedly read: Thank you, spread the love.

To the people who have an excuse for not reading: I’m calling your bluff.

Favourite Stories from ‘The Big Moo’

The Big Moo is one of my favourite marketing book. Filled with good ideas. Admittedly some of the ideas are conflictling, though I believe that is point. Nevertheless, here a few of my favourite ones:

• Real Artists Ship. Don’t aim for perfection during the development stage. Compromise, make it good enough (remarkable) and get it out the door before someone else does it with competitor product.

• “It takes 99 percent of the time you spend just to be average. The remarkable stuff can happen in a flash.” (Spend 5 minutes and do something special. Become remarkable)

• “But” Or “And”. Don’t say “but”. Give it a chance. What if you had to say “Yes, thanks!” or “Sure, how” every time someone had a suggestion”

• Google has a policy for employees to spend 20 percent of their work time on projects of their own choosing (which often evolve into new features and product lines for the company). Understanding the value of cultivating these personal passions.

• Ask customers about various business ideas. “Your customers are you best advisers”. Pick 3 of your best customers and call them this week. Ask them what you’re doing right/wrong and what can be done better. What else do they wish you would do. Tell them your biggest ideas about your company’s future.

• Keep an “idea wallet” – record any ideas, insights and inspirations in a notebook. Carry it with you.

• Capitalise on what you’re good at. Don’t compromise to be like the other guy.

Everything you know about Marketing is wrong

What is ‘Marketing’?

My (non-marketing) friends define marketing as such;

“People who use ads and other promotional tools to make a product or service profitable”.

My high school textbook defined it as:

The management of the 4Ps in such a way that it creates value for the customer and helps achieve organisational goals.

Kotler defined it as:

“A social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others”

They’re wrong. Everything you know about marketing is wrong. At its fundamentals what makes promotional tools work? The ability of it to the spread the idea of your product. What are the 4Ps but just another way to frame your idea to your market? What do people want? What is the exchange of products and value? Ideas. Ideas and stories that the idea tells.

So what is marketing?

This is Seth Godin’s take on it:

“Marketing is about the spreading of ideas”.