Strategy180 | Critical Thinking

Jony Ive, Harold Ramis, copycats, and creative wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 18:01:00 +0000

I recently read that Apple’s lead designer, Jony Ive, was quoted about his disdain for copycats, calling them lazy, and their actions, theft. Elsewhere, I read of plans to remake Harold Ramis’ classic 1984 comedy Ghostbusters.

This got me to thinking that even as the products, services, and ideas we produce are later copied by weaker minds and less innovative companies, the original remains. The original contributes something that copies can never match; that is, the creative viewpoint of the originator.

Jony Ive’s creative contributions are widely recognized, and many of us benefit from his product design - and in fact will soon be reminded of these contributions every time we glance at out forthcoming AppleWatch. And when the writer and director of Ghostbusters, Harold Ramis, died earlier this year, he left behind not only an impressive body of creative work (including Animal House, Caddyshack, and Groundhog Day) but like Ive, also many wise, quotable insights about the creative process. The quotes from Ive and Ramis below are just a few that are applicable not only to creative professionals, but to those in nearly every line of work. Here are just a few nuggets of wisdom that Ive and Ramis have shared:

"A psychologist said to me, there are only two important questions you have to ask yourself. 'What do you really feel?' And, 'what do you really want?' If you can answer those two, you probably can leave your neuroses behind you." (Ramis)
"I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what's next." (Ive)
"My characters aren't losers. They're rebels. They win by their refusal to play by everyone else's rules." (Ramis)
"‘Different' and 'new' is relatively easy. Doing something that's genuinely ‘better’ is very hard." (Ive)
"The cutting room is where you discover the optimal length of the movie." (Ramis)
"True simplicity is, well, you just keep on going and going until you get to the point where you go, 'Yeah, well, of course.' Where there's no rational alternative." (Ive)
"First and foremost, you have to make the movie for yourself. And that's not to say, to hell with everyone else, but what else have you got to go on but your own taste and judgment?" (Ramis)
"What I love about the creative process, and this may sound naive, but it is this idea that one day there is no idea, and no solution, but the next day there is an idea. I find that incredibly exciting and conceptually actually remarkable." (Ive)
"Nothing reinforces a professional relationship more than enjoying success with someone." (Ramis)

The adage that imitation is the highest form of flattery is of little comfort when faced with copy cats, second rate knock-offs, and credit-stealers. Still, while it is nearly impossible to try to stop others’ imitations of your unique ideas, perhaps that is not what is important. Your contribution should be more than the sum of the patents, productivity, and profits you delivered. It is perhaps more helpful to remember that the true innovator has not only have contributed great ideas to the world, but like Ramis, Ive, and many others before them, have contributed the wisdom that only their unique perspective can create.

Can you answer this question? Your customers can.

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 15:21:00 +0000

At a casual business gathering this week, I overheard the CEO of a Fortune 1000 company being asked what his company did. He appeared to intentionally bite a cracker just at that moment, to buy time and think about his response. “Well, it’s complicated,” he finally replied.

This smart, educated Chief Executive Officer was elbow deep in company operations yet hadn’t an (uncomplicated) response to that 'simple' question - not because he was oblivious, of course, but because he had spent the last several years buried in finance, production runs, board meetings and other demands. Demands that took him farther and farther away from his customer, farther and farther from a good response. So when he was asked “What does your company do?”, he could only respond to the question by explaining details about the company’s software.

The ability to describe your product is a start, but it’s an answer to an altogether different question, that is, “How do you do it?”.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, the question “What do you do?”, whether asked about you or your company, isn’t actually about what you do, it’s about the value you offer. “What does your company do?” is a question that summarizes several others, such as, “Who do you sell to?” “Why do customers buy from you?” and “What’s next?"

“What do you do? …to provide value to your customers?” It's not a question that only the CEO needs to know. Everyone in the company from the receptionist to the CEO should be able to articulate the company's value, because it should be the motivating factor for going to work every day. If you’ve spent the last several years being pulled farther and farther away from your customers, it is possible that you yourself may find this question harder and harder to answer.

But your customers know. It might be time to ask them.

How the CFO can become the CMO's best friend.

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 14:33:00 +0000

My dog doesn't fetch. It’s a retriever that doesn't retrieve. In many ways our trips to the dog park resemble a CMO submitting a budget proposal to his CFO. That budget, like my dog’s ball, isn’t coming back, or if it does, it’s late and torn apart.

Not fetching is not my dog’s fault. It’s mine, for not properly teaching the dog that returning the ball will result in greater reward, getting thrown many more times. Similarly, as marketers, it is our fault for not instructing the CFO on how our marketing proposal will provide returns for the company.

Like dogs and their owners, finance and marketing need to learn how to communicate. As marketers, we cannot expect the CFO to understand what we are trying to accomplish if we do not use terms that finance can understand from their perspective. Using terms like mindshare, awareness, and – ugh! – ‘marketing investment’ are anathema to finance. They are unquantifiable, unreportable, and in the case of ‘marketing investment’ mean completely different things to a finance executive than a marketing executive. (An ‘investment’ has a specific reporting requirement according to GAAP rules, it isn’t simply a synonym for ‘budget’.)

Of course, mindshare, awareness, and visibility are critical. So are a number of other objective measurements marketing uses to benchmark and improve. Cost Per Page View, Cost Per Lead, and similar measurements are useful, but only internally to the marketing team to test, adapt, and improve. And I've written before about my own concerns about Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI).

To build a better relationship with finance, marketers must do what we do best – communicate. We must work with finance to determine the most useful metrics to the CFO to help us to explain and defend our budget strategy and – this is critical – the way it will be measured. Finance measures revenue (EBITDA), growth, and costs, among other similar 'bottom line' numbers. If you cannot produce numbers to illustrate how your plan will contribute to these figures, you will lose your credibility and your budget. Use your internal measurements for tactical improvement, but then translate the results into metrics that reveal, say, Time to Payback (breakeven), Customer Acquisition Cost, and Customer Lifetime Value, among others. Agree with finance the target numbers for these metrics and ratios, and then build your plan to grow to meet them.

The CFO is naturally protective, growling often and bearing its teeth to protect the cautious spend of your company. But with a little communication, the CFO can become man’s, er, marketing’s best friend.

Building teamwork between marketing and sales

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 13:25:00 +0000

It goes without saying (at least I hope it does) that to be effective, the relationship between marketing and sales demands close cooperation. Yet even as the most critical of a company’s interactions, marketing and sales are often at each other’s backs, placing blame, demanding action, and generally acting worse toward one another than they do to the competition.

The metaphor I like to use to describe a well-functioning sales and marketing organization isn’t a Kumbaya campfire, but a relay race. In this example, marketing hands off sales tools and campaign leads, with sales taking the hand-off and running toward the finish line – the completed sale. Yet as simple as this example is, anyone familiar with track knows that the hand-off is the most difficult part of the race.

Before taking the hand-off, the runner ahead (sales) must start getting up to speed. The runner behind (marketing) therefore, needs to share plans and metrics so sales knows what to expect and can begin to prepare their customers, prospects, and accurately complete their forecasts. Efficiencies are lost when these racers aren’t fully aware of where the other is on the track; that is, salespeople are accidentally or purposefully unaware of what marketing objectives are, when campaigns are running, and what to expect in terms of number and quality of leads.

Further, in relay races, there is only a set amount of track space allowed to make the transfer – racers must understand the distance each racer will run. In my example, if sales expects marketing to qualify leads further or marketing expects sales to follow-up on leads in a certain timeframe, the baton can be passed too soon or too late, outside the zone, resulting in missed sales opportunities.

Even when the runners are up to speed and the transfer is made, disconnects between objectives, targets, and priorities can cause our metaphorical baton to be dropped and take an organization out of the race altogether. Marketing is in charge of evaluating the market and strategizing initiatives, but always with the input of sales so common targets, messages, objectives and timing can be established. This needs to be done quarterly to not only stay aligned, but to evaluate what is and isn’t working.

Relays are the most team-intensive sport in track, and therefore are won only when every participant is not only performing at their best, but makes certain that they’ve passed and received the baton smoothly between team members. To do well, marketing and sales need to do their best individually. But to win, marketing and sales need to cooperate as a team.

5 reasons to persevere through start-up obstacles

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 20:25:00 +0000

They said it was going to be hard. But you had no idea it would be this hard. Exhaustion, a poor diet, a parade of ‘no’s and disappointments. Plus mentors and advisers, including me, listing reasons to pack it in. It isn't easy to maintain your enthusiasm and energy in the face of all that.

So when should you not shutter your start-up?

The only thing I hate to see more than good people burning cycles on lost causes is to see good people giving up too early on good ideas when in reality the opportunity was far more promising than they could see from their trendy co-located office loft.

Persevere

So when are the discouraging obstacles not an apocalyptic sign, but simply short-term hurdles, perhaps requiring just a bit more effort and diligence? Here are just a few clues that it’s time to stick it out and renew the energy and resources to continue:

1. Required capital was initially under-estimated (this is common) but doors are still open to you for additional resources, even if from friends and family. You may be reticent to ask again, and that's a fair concern... and indicative that you are being wise with investors' trust and money. Still, it is your responsibility to manage your enterprise wisely and to sell your vision. But never confuse your very real fiscal responsibility with imagined guilt of the risk both you and investors are taking together.

2. You’ve not yet introduced your MVP (minimally viable product)... but it is because you’ve made a valid pivot from the original plan. If the delay from these pivots are based on honest and useful customer feedback, the delays are valid and a good reason for asking for more runway.

3. Your reasons for delays and obstacles are not excuses. There’s a difference between a problem you cannot control and therefore must accept and overcome, versus a crisis you created or could have changed but chose to ignore.

4. The market gap that your product/service is intended to fill is still not being adequately filled by established competitors. As long as it will fill a genuine need in the market (presuming you’ve done that diligence) then there is still an opportunity to be exploited.

5. You can identify all the voices telling you that you cannot do it - because they all sound remarkably like you. They are all inside your own head. Take a step back and look at yourself in the third person. Is the negativity you are hearing from yourself the same you’d tell someone in your identical position? Or would you be kinder, more encouraging while still realistic?

Like my earlier post giving you good reasons to shut the doors, there are no hard and fast rules, and of course, any one of these are not a guarantee of a successful start-up deserving your continued effort. But just as it is unwise to continue to pursue a start-up out of obligation, it is unwise to make a permanent decision about shuttering it without taking a moment to review the real reasons for your current discouragement.

Few if any start-up situations ever meet ideal expectations. But with a deep breath and a little introspection, you might find that the reality of the situation is far from desperate.

5 reasons to shutter your start-up.

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 16:09:00 +0000

There's no lack of enthusiastic blogs, posters, and gurus out there encouraging you to follow your dreams and strike out on your own. So I am aware that my contrarian posts can be a real downer, as I’ve written several posts that discourage potential start-ups from, well, starting up, including the fallacy of expecting a ‘better’ product to succeed, or the idea that you should chase your dreams.

But there are great ideas that deserve your attention and enthusiasm. Yet once you’ve already sunk your heart and soul and 401K into your business, when is negative thinking just ‘nattering nabobs of negativity’, and when does it become a warning that something is wrong and you need to get out? After all, the sage tells us that ‘everything is temporary given enough time’, and we all know that even expected obstacles cost more and take longer to overcome than ever often predicted.

So when is enough enough? There are a few clues that it’s time to recognize that it’s time to close the doors:

You, yourself, are exhausted and cannot continue to infuse your discouraged team with requisite energy to soldier on through the current circumstances.
Resources are spent. This seems obvious, but resources are never really ‘gone’, just harder to raise - but if you are spending more time raising funds instead of selling an MVP (minimally viable product), you are on a slippery slope.
You’ve made little progress in overcoming objections from potential users either in fact or positioning.
You’ve missed initial, and extended, deadlines and milestones.
The market gap that the product/service needed to have filled is beginning to be adequately filled by established competitors.

There are no hard and fast rules, and any one of these are not indicative of a start-up needing to be shuttered. But any two or more create an uphill battle that takes the joy, enthusiasm, and health and finances of founders down with it.

Unless your start-up is a cruise line, there’s no glory in going down with the ship.

3 marketing topics to school yourself on this fall.

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 22:56:00 +0000

Labor Day marks the second start of a new year, an opportunity, as with the one in January, for a fresh start and self-improvement. As marketers, it’s a good time to take stock of what we don’t know, in order to stay on top of the latest innovations in accountability, effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.

Social media. It may seem obvious, but the proliferation of platforms, broad use of them for customer interaction, and still-experimental state of the industry can result in huge opportunities for you or colossal blunders. Study up to learn from past mistakes and to prevent your own.

Content marketing. Understanding the changes in creating intelligent dialogue with customers is a larger change in the marketing landscape in the past several years than even social media, which has merely accelerated the process. Marketing as a provider not only of information but also of unbiased value is a sea-change and must understood to be properly executed.

Mobile marketing. There are more mobile internet users online than desktop users. Understanding the needs of the mobile user goes beyond device compatibility. Get ahead of your competition because companies that do not adapt to mobile will suffer the same fate of the latecomers to the internet in the 90s.

There are many others, including marketing automation, search engine optimization (Google makes sure you are out of date almost monthly), and alignment of social and search.

What others are you studying up on?

Teaching entrepreneurship isn't impossible.

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 16:49:00 +0000

My son starts his junior year in high school Monday. His first class? “Entrepreneurship”. Given that he’ll have me, our clients, and associates as resources, I expect him to ace the class. Yet perhaps that is an unfortunate expectation, because I’m not sure entrepreneurism can be taught.

I also taught a college course last year on Small Business Management. I conveyed useful information as required by the curriculum, and included important speakers, videos, and motivational information for added emphasis for important topics. The students seemed to benefit, I’m pretty sure I did a good job, and I’m pretty sure my son’s high school teacher will also. Still, some students in that class will never venture off on their own, some will fail and quit, and still others will succeed. One already has.

But what part of entrepreneurism can be taught, and of that, is it truly entrepreneurism? Or is it simply management? What are the building blocks of entrepreneurship versus the innate personality required to be knocked down seven times and still get up an eighth?

Can you be taught to have a comfort with risk?

No, but you can teach risk management, and offer advice on where others have faltered

Can you teach passion?

No, but you can promote sacrifice and self-reliance.

Can you teach leadership?

Absolutely, but it grows with experience.

Can you teach commitment?

No, but you can inspire and encourage.

The rest, perhaps, is tactics and processes. This is why mentors are so important to the entrepreneur. Mentors are as much about reviewing operational plans and go-to-market strategies as they are about being an example, and a source of inspiration and encouragement.

On the whole, I don’t think you can pluck anyone off the street and make them a confident entrepreneur, ‘Trading Places’ style. But those who have a natural inclination to go against the grain and rise above the noise can learn to be entrepreneurs, even if it can’t be taught.

Should your start-up consider a convertible debt deal?

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 20:35:00 +0000

Recently a new friend and prospective client asked me about a financing opportunity that had been presented to his bootstrapped start-up. He asked me the advisability of accepting a convertible debt offer versus straight equity financing. The answer I provided was general, as the question was general, and because I was not familiar with his company's valuations or deal specifics. I am familiar, however, through my experiences with other clients and mentees, and through teaching a small business course, with the options.

Fortunately, my friend’s question was whether or not he should even consider a convertible debt deal, not advice on whether he should actually take it. (That took the pressure off of me.) I assured him that it was in fact a common practice for a firm at their level of maturity and it was likely to be a more favorable solution for them. This wasn’t financial advice (I’m a marketing guy, after all) but I thought I’d share my reasoning more broadly.

Firstly, however, let’s define our terms.

Equity financing is financing by issuing shares of the company. While rumored to be the simpler of the two approaches, at least for mathematics challenged types such as myself, in fact the tricky part for early stage start-ups is determining the valuation of the company. There are as many approaches to this as there are founders and investors (and stages of growth), but through several formulations and more than a little guesswork, ultimately the company value is “simply” the figure investors and founders agree that it is. Post-investment value is just the pre-investment value plus the investment. It can all contained within simple t-chart accounting.

Convertible debt is borrowing money where your intention, and that of the investor, is not to pay back the loan with interest as in a typical loan, but to convert the debt to equity in the company at a discount (typically 20%). The terms, timeframe, discount, any valuation caps, are all negotiable, and vary widely. The debt also has an option to be paid prior to maturity with an outright cash payment should circumstances change.

So which is better?

To quote my old graduate B-law professor, “it depends” (such was his answer for most hypotheticals).

A main advantage for equity financing is that it doesn’t require repayment like debt would, and is a simple calculation - assuming you can settle on an acceptable valuation. Disadvantages include the need to determine valuation (difficult for young companies) and a loss of some management control.

Convertible debt, alternatively, does not need to have a valuation upfront (it converts based on a valuation from a subsequent round of investment when presumably valuations are easier to calculate) but will need to be repaid, like debt does. While interest will not (usually) need to be paid in cash each month, there is a limited timeframe before it needs to be repaid, or convert automatically into equity at previously agreed terms. If the latter option isn’t part of the agreement, the repayment requirement can lead to unintended fire sales forced by holders of the debt. Still, as most founders believe their start-up will be worth more at a later date, this approach will result in less dilution, by issuing debt and leaving the valuation flexible in order to meet the requirements of the company and those of later investors. I also understand that this is a faster and cheaper transaction when compared to the legal paperwork of an equity play.

In the end, I recommended he welcome a discussion of convertible debt. But I hope he (and you, dear reader), remember this fine print: I’m a marketing guy. I’ve been brief here, and your circumstances will vary from your neighbor’s start-up, and even change as your company matures. Each company and each stage of growth requires a different type of financing. Ask a professional. Whatever you decide, try to limit the dilution, retain majority voting rights, and use your brain, but leave your ego at the door.

(Finance guys who want to clarify any points in this post are asked to comment.)

The 5 Most Important Marketing Spends for a Start-up

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 22:38:00 +0000

As I work with a number of start-up companies, I am often approached by these hungry entrepreneurs (and their investors) to help execute a demand generation campaign,largely in the 'lean marketing' or 'growth hacking' mode. However, there are a number of prerequisites I demand of prospective clients at early-stage start-ups. These prerequisites are fully marketing activities, but also have cross-functional utility because it helps young companies get a sense for themselves before promoting themselves to the outside.

1. Market and competitive research

Useful to finance, sales, and product development, gaining a full understanding of the industries and individuals (personas) that are in the target market is critical. Young companies should know their customers as well if not better than they know their own product or solution. The same goes for the competition – there is always competition, even where the product, niche, or industry is brand new.

2. Positioning strategy

The world of marketing is ruled by Venn Diagrams. Understand the similarities, differences, Unique Selling Proposition, potential black holes and growth opportunities in your market. Know the desired customer behavior and how slow or rapid adoption would reshape the market and your own assumptions.

3. Go to market planning

Plan the routes to market and go to market strategy for each channel; direct sales, online, partner, etcetera. I am always surprised at the number of companies (even large ones) seeking to promote their solution before they even fully understand how they will sell and fulfill orders. Really.

4. Branding and identity

In spite of the myriad number of self-proclaimed designers and fiverr designs out on the market, leveraging the knowledge and experience of a professional designer is critical to bring the above three investments to the public. A designer that understands your market, what you are trying to achieve, the emotional bond you want to create in a customer, how colors, typefaces, and imagery interact. Great marketing is easily undermined by an identity that doesn’t reflect the marketing message.

5. Inbound/content marketing strategy

Finally, the first stage, 'growth hacking' promotional, demand generation actions begin with the foundations of the content management strategy that drives initial value and interest among your target publics. As content management takes some time to spin up, this should be initiated as early as possible, and ideally prior to product release, in order to drive demand upon release.

Once these five prerequisites are established, then, and only then, should any shorter-term aggressive promotional lead generation activity be undertaken. Excepting perhaps the days of being featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things, there are no shortcuts to effective marketing and sustainable lead generation for a start-up, or for any established company.

Leaving the nest

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 20:47:00 +0000

One of the greatest opportunities for a young start-up is to find itself in the feathered nest of a larger firm with whom they’ve partnered. Often these start-ups are services providers for enterprise software, VARs or ISVs; or offer integral technology, new applications, or differentiating product ingredients. The leads from the partner organization are plentiful and the protection strong, and this warm partner nest is an ideal place to find the needed runway and references for a start-up.

As young start-ups mature however, they often find themselves as overshadowed as they are emboldened by the larger firms with whom they partner.

Therefore it is critical that even while enjoying the partner’s nest, these companies begin to direct their own destinies to grow broader than their current dependencies on their larger partner companies. To accomplish this, they must leverage branding to elevate themselves into an independent and more credible visibility to their industry.

Differentiating and identifying the unique value the smaller organization offers customers of the larger company’s product is the main function of branding for a young company in this type of mutually beneficial relationship. It establishes market credibility for later product extension, product introduction, and establishes a distinct market value helpful for investment, merger and acquisition.

Simply being able to walk through a branding exercise and begin to articulate the unique value provided allows a young company to strategize their growth. As the branding is then communicated out to the marketplace through content marketing, event sponsorship, public relations, or myriad other tools, this strategy begins to identify potential customer personas, inform product and investment decisions, and that free it from the decisions and whims of their larger partner.

Strategy180 understands that in the cacophony of demands from operations, finance, engineering, and sales, longer term strategy often takes a back seat. Yet it is important that the longer term vision and goals of the organization are tended to with as much attention, or the short term fight for ideal position within a large organization’s nest may soon prevent a young start-up from ever having the option to leave it.

Networking is a waste of time…

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 15:55:00 +0000

Yes, networking is a waste of time…

…if you can’t answer the question, “So, what do you do?”

This is a common networking question that everyone should be able to answer. Interestingly, however, few actually answer it. Like a good politician or crisis management firm, most people answer the question they wish they had been asked, the easier one to answer. Instead of answering the question “So, what do you do?”, they’ll tend to answer a different question. “So, what do you do?” becomes “What is your title?” or “What can you do?”. Answer those two questions instead and you are just wasting your time by networking.

Instead, “So, what do you do?” is best accepted as a marketing question, as if someone rang up your office and said, ‘let me speak to a salesperson’. Treat the question this way and you’ll immediately focus on the value you provide – not a laundry list of capabilities or a corporate title earned that may or may not suggest anything about what value you or your company can offer others.

And if you aren’t certain of the value you offer others, how do you expect anyone else be expected to figure it out?

That's a clown question, bro.

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 13:19:00 +0000

Who knew? Ron is a brand ambassador. But, "what, at this point, does it matter?"

To belatedly welcome 2014 to this blog, I lazily link you to this spot-on criticism of the makeover of make of Ronald McDonald.

Build a marketing plan using old school journalistic style

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 01:55:00 +0000

There are as many ways to write a marketing plan as there are marketers in the business. Ultimately, each has to answer six fundamental journalistic questions, that is, akin to the 5 Ws (and one H) taught in any undergrad journalism school: WHO am I selling to? WHAT am I selling? WHERE will I sell it? WHEN will I sell it? WHY will they buy it? HOW will I reach my customer?

WHO you are selling to is your demographic and psychographic, who they are and what makes them tick. “Everyone” isn’t helpful. Even products that have nearly 100% saturation identify their customers and those customers’ unique reasons for buying.

WHAT you are selling is less obvious than simply naming the product. It encompasses the reason the product was created, the problem it was meant to solve.

WHERE you sell it is key to reaching the correct demographic, above. You can’t reach the middle class at Tiffany’s, you can’t reach the super-rich at Target. And you can’t reach anyone if the display and packaging fails to engage the shopper.

WHEN you sell a product is more than seasonality, it can also, and more often does, involve identifying the ‘compelling event’ that triggers a desire for the product. Experience, such as a burglary that precipitates a security system sale; information, such as a health alert on the news the encourages a purchase of a supplement are important to understand.

WHY will customers buy it? What alternative do they have? What are the competitive, ‘substitution’ products? What do people do without your product? What benefit does only your product offer? This is oversimplifying a critical part of the plan, so take some time to really study current and desired consumer behavior.

HOW will you reach them? This is the last part of the puzzle – the tactics. The ads, the media, social outlets, PR, events. The marketing mix that makes customers aware of and interested in your product or service.

The format and style of the marketing plan is not important. As long as it addresses and honestly answers these critical questions, it will improve your chances for success exponentially.

Where's the shame?

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 17:53:00 +0000

I hereby proclaim my intention to mount a grassroots campaign to restore the concept of 'shame' into political and popular social discourse. Seppuku, the Japanese ritual suicide response to being shamed might be an extreme action in response to it, but the now-absent emotion leading to Seppuku is immensely valuable to a society.

Anthony Weiner, Bob Filner, Eliot Spitzer, Mark Sanford, Bill Clinton retain their ability to mount – and win- political campaigns.

Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian – the latter with her mother’s encouragement-have built empires on the back of sex tapes. Farrah Abraham and Sydney Leathers hope to be so ‘lucky’.

The term “Sex Scandal” returns 399,000,000 Google hits. “Shame”, less than half that many.

And it isn't just about the sex, really.

Driven by the fame of reality television and tabloid journalism, we’ve come to not only to accept but to celebrate the ignorance of young Italians from Staten Island (home of the Jersey Shore roommates), be amusingly appalled at guffawing Cajun swamp dwellers; giggle at ignorant pageant queens and cheer nouveau riche housewives. We concern ourselves with the lives of pregnant teens and celebrate their ‘bravery’. Even Ryan Lochte was an Olympic hero until his own reality show unforgivingly exposed him as a brainless dolt. We reinforce stereotypes and fuel race baiting by giving the worst of us far more attention than the best of us.

Of course I know as a marketer that we air, publicize and laud that which sells. And in a social, economic and political environment that constantly reinforces what is wrong with us, and politicians leveraging this to tell us that it will never change (at least without a handout to you or a contribution to a PAC), it is far easier to glory at others’ faults far worse than our own than to think better of ourselves, our circumstances, and take action to improve them. As for the ‘performers’, they fulfill their media-manufactured need for identity in an increasing anonymous society by farting on camera to gain 15 minutes of fame, and then are easily forgotten thereafter.

Television, and the media in general, has always been populated more by mindlessness than by great art or even modestly passable programming, but only in the past several years has it been about not only publicizing, but celebrating and encouraging what is, (not by puritanical - but ‘contemporary community' standards, to quote our own government (FCC) regulations), strictly aberrant, overwhelmingly embarrassing behavior for political and public figures – and then to feed the ensuing frenzy by actively creating new public figures of citizens willing to do the same things publicly. Only in this environment can "Pregnant and Dating" be a real show, and not a punchline. Sigh.

Shame was once a powerful motivator for social obedience. I understand that society moves on and social mores liberate. But moving on needn't be moving backward; liberation doesn't mean public exposure of activities reserved for the bedroom, a celebration of ignorance, or reinforcement of negative stereotypes. Further, the ubiquity of internet doesn't require that you be validated by mentions, re-tweets, and ‘likes’.

We’re better than this. I’m ashamed of the abandonment of shame.

Why marketers owe a debt of gratitude to IT

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:21:00 +0000

In this Forbes article by Eric Lai of SAP, Lai addresses a recent report from Gartner that predicts marketers will outspend CIOs in just a few more years.

As I've been saying for years, marketing is far broader than marketing communications, the role with which it is often wrongfully equivocated as marketers become increasingly reliant on data to drive decision-making .

Today Mr. Wanamaker would know which half of his advertising is wasted because today's Wanamakers have professional, data driven marketers fine tuning lead generation, demand generation, lead nurturing, campaign analysis, social media automation, mobile marketing, and so forth.

It's the thing of science, not art, and marketing is increasingly the purveyor of both, making marketing a 'real job' in the eyes of executives and mothers-in-law alike.

Avoiding a 'Nightmare': Small business lessons from Gordon Ramsey

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Tue, 14 May 2013 21:46:00 +0000

I’ve noticed, from watching too many episodes of Kitchen Nightmares (a DVR is a curse), that all small business can learn something from Gordon Ramsey's formulaic approach to restaurant turnarounds. The show is eminently predictable but entertaining nonetheless. It's formula, and it's lessons, are applicable to many small businesses. First, the typical revelations for featured restaurateurs on Kitchen Nightmares, followed by the truism for all small businesses:

· KN: Your issues are grounded in the fact that you have no prior restaurant experience.

o A track record and case studies are important tools in selling. Know what it is you are offering your customers

· KN: You think Gordon will love your food and you just don’t know why business is poor.

o You can’t be so close to your business you miss the bigger picture.

· KN: You will be surprised and angry when Gordon doesn’t like your food.

o Your business is your baby, but you have to be realistic about how good and how unique what you are providing actually is and be prepared to change. A lack of complaints is not a series of endorsements. Regularly poll customers to identify areas of improvement.

· KN: Gordon will not like that you use a microwave and use canned and frozen ingredients.

o Your offering must be unique to you. What is your vision, mission, your unique value proposition? You cannot simply do the same thing faster or cheaper

· KN: You will yell at Gordon and ask him who he thinks he is.

o Invite criticism. Criticism and failure are difficult but necessary to success. Do not create an atmosphere where employees fear complaining or offering suggestions.

· KN: Gordon will find icky things in your kitchen.

o Stay organized and responsive to your customers.

· KN: Gordon may close your restaurant for a good scrubbing if it is extra icky.

o Remain ethical and fair in all your business dealings.

· KN; Gordon finally makes you realize some things about yourself.

o Take time to think, strategize, and redirect.

· KN: You will agree to start acting an owner.

o Know your goals, your priorities, and create plan to move forward.

· KN: Gordon will simplify your menu and feature fresh, simple ingredients from local merchants.

o Keep it simple, stupid. Always worked, always will.

· KN: Gordon will update your drab, 80s décor.

o Thought leadership is critical to your brand. Stay on top of changes in your industry. Better yet, create them.

· KN: Your service will initially be poor on re-launch night.

o Change is painful. Change takes time.

· KN: Suddenly your staff will get it together.

o Hire good people and trust them to get the job done.

· KN: Gordon will meet with you and your staff afterward and tell you how far you’ve come.

o Reward and recognize small wins along the way.

· KN: You will hug Gordon.

o Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

...and there will be cursing. Lots and lots of cursing.

What are your 'real' priorities? A simple test.

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:17:00 +0000

One of the most difficult questions we answer to ourselves are 'what are our priorities?'.

To be clear, that's not, 'what do you say your priorities are', but what they really are. That's the hard part.

To determine how well your stated priorities align with your actual priorities, try this trick: Next time you say to yourself, "I don't have time to... (activity)", change 'time' to 'priority', by saying instead "It's not a priority to me that I..."

It's revealing. And in some cases, disappointing. It quickly reveals the real priorities we've set for ourselves.

Because when the average American spends hours in front of the television every day, its easy to allow time to slip away unnoticed. But time is a finite resource that must be placed into a triage - and that simple change in wording will help you determine if you truly do not have time, or you simply have other priorities.

Next time you miss the kids' school play or ballgame, skip studying a new language, or stay in instead of going for a run, is it really a lack of time, or simply not, truly, a priority for you?

Your dream is a sunk cost: Facing reality with your start-up

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 23:06:00 +0000

This article from the New York Times underscores a point I've made to unemployed friends, my college students, even in articles a few years ago for the Dallas Morning News, and I've alluded to it in this blog, here.

Treat your dream to build a business as a sunk cost.

Feel good Successories posters and legions of Twitter career coaches would have you think otherwise. They've no skin in the game. Of course they're going to tell you to 'go for it'. They aren't investing their savings, their time, their energy.

A sunk cost is a cost that is irretrievably lost. Business professors tell us to ignore them when making go-forward decisions. Any entrepreneur, hell, any gambling addict will tell you that it's hard to do. One more sale, one more roll of the dice, and it's all alright again. But it's not real. Your dream is a sunk cost. No getting it back - that is, it's there, it's been imagined, it exists. No turning back on having the idea. The 'one day'. It's a yearning, and therefore a drain on your energy, but not yet your wallet, or your family. Turn your back on it. Because everything that follows is not, not yet anyway, a sunk cost.

Now, hopefully this allows you a bit more objectivity. Every additional moment you put toward this dream is a sunk cost. An opportunity cost. At some point you invest in research and site location reports, engineering drawings or trips to see investors or check out competitors. Sunk costs of time, energy, initial but modest expense. But you still have money in the bank and a steady job.

The dream, the drawings, the unsigned lease agreement, a logo, and business cards. Sunk costs.

Now the question is, IGNORING your sunk costs, ignoring the biggest sunk cost, that is, IGNORING the fact that this design/store/studio/idea is 'your dream', are you ready to move forward?

Really?

Because if you are really ignoring the 'sunk cost' of this emotionally compelling dream of telling your boss to f- off and instead go it alone, then you need to be able to tell yourself this: That you are sufficiently distanced from this dream such that even if this was someone else's dream, you'd still invest this level of energy and money into it.

Because in the end, dreams aren't real. Sunk costs, on the other hand, are real. And bankruptcy, particularly self-inflicted bankruptcy, is a nightmare.

Okay, still? Great. Dream's over. Wake up and get to work.

Squirrels first. Golfers second.

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:47:00 +0000

I live on a golf course and more than occasionally golfers either walking, searching for a ball, or in golf carts driving near the wrought iron fence toward their lay get too close for my black lab and he'll bark incessantly with a menacing tone until they move on (I try to keep him quiet during the backswing). He doesn't understand that the entire golf course - even just the fifth green - is not his to protect.

No, his focus should be on his own backyard. A modest yard, two mature live oaks, a flower garden, shrubbery, patio, arbor. Not acres of well manicured greens running the length of the neighborhood.

But I, myself, too often try to 'boil the ocean' when all I can really control is my own pot. In truth, that's all we ever can do. But if we do a good enough job at that, collectively, the ocean - world peace, world hunger, the environment, the industry, the company - will come along in time.

Seeking to solve the bigger issues is noble. These issues may be they charitable, or simply problems at work beyond your authority (not ability) to change. Ultimately they are past our own ' fence'. In reality, our real responsibilities lie within our sphere of influence, in our own backyard. While we need to keep our eyes on the ultimate, broader objectives (in my Lab's case, ridding the world of golfers) it is because results matter that for our objectives, our sanity, our accomplishments, we focus first on what we can impact most directly in our own sphere of influence, that is, within our own backyards.

Proving that social media is not a slam dunk.

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:04:00 +0000

Here's a broad, but direct and succinct analysis about the role and effectiveness of social media... as a tool, clearly not a solution in itself. Numbers tell the story on Oreo's real-time response to the Super Bowl blackout - what I still see as perhaps the best use of social media (creatively and contextually) since we as marketers started talking about it. But as good as it was, it wasn't a slam dunk. Read more here.

Three rules for managing third party resources

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:04:00 +0000

Harvard Business Review publishes an interesting article here on how smaller companies can hire third party services to get the same data insight (as in the case featured) or resources as bigger competitors. Managing these resources is a separate issue altogether, but there are best practices for getting the most out of, well, companies like mine. Essentially this involves three key areas: Shared objectives, regular benchmarking, and communication.

Tomorrow's lawsuits start here

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 22:27:00 +0000

I've written for years about the failure of the biggest companies failing in the most fundamental ways, like here, here, and here.

And now there's this. East Carolina University Suing Cisco Systems Over Slogan ‘Tomorrow Starts Here'.

Simple due diligence. C'mon people. If you're gonna steal, don't steal from a client. And if you steal from a client, at least make sure it's a good slogan. This doesn't even pass the 'bakery and bedpans' test.

When Harry met silly

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 01:51:00 +0000

So tomorrow I start teaching my college class and curriculum be damned, I’m going to do my best to once again speak to the class of teens and twenty-somethings about personal brand, privacy, and the impact on their future selves.

I posted once or twice before on this topic, notably years ago when Michael Phelps was photographed taking a hit off a bong, and my essential points are the same: nothing is private. That is true of royals and celebrities, and it’s true of little ol’ you, too. The difference is whether we have the coverage thrust upon us (Harry, Michael) or we go looking for it (future employers, clients).

I don’t think the point is lost on Gen Y and Millennials (after all, Harry was quoted in Vegas, in a prediction worthy of Nostradamus, that he had to be careful or else he’d be ‘up on Twitter or Facebook or YouTube thanks to somebody’s mobile phone camera’ ) but the understanding of privacy and long-term impact of their actions is lost on young people. Even on young men like Harry - steeped in tradition, highly scrutinized, with a closely guarded upbringing. In fact, it should be noted that unlike the US, and in spite of its tabloid history, the UK has laws meant to keep certain scandals out of the papers. The Royal Family argued that if UK papers were to publish photos of Harry’s Vegas game of strip billiards (which he apparently lost) it would violate UK press and privacy laws. Of course, the UK’s Sun argued that the photos are already in the public domain, and that publishing them is therefore not a privacy violation. It’s an antiquated notion... it's just not possible to take back a digital photo or badly worded tweet. As former democratic representative Anthony Weiner certainly understands, once it’s out there, it’s done. That’s the benefit and the curse of communication technology today.

So let me suggest to those who find temptation…, well, too tempting. Be aware that every decision you have made has led you to this moment. Every decision you make from here on out will determine the course of the rest of your life. That has always been true, but in today’s digital age, there is no longer an opportunity for a do-over. Every decision you make is one-and-done.

Here are three things to understand to help evade the seemingly inevitable:

1. You do not need to be on camera to legitimize yourself. Learn to understand the importance of private moments, private thoughts, private actions, and private lives. Work hard to keep them that way. There is power in having and keeping secrets.

2. You must choose your friends wisely. You may only have only had a single beer at that party, but there you are in the photo, standing next to the naked dude being held upside down on the keg. I’m not suggesting you can’t let loose and have fun, but you need to understand that the concept of ‘guilt by association’ is valid, like it or not.

3. Remember what Ben Franklin said. No, not “early to bed…,” although that’s a good one. I’m thinking of “Three people can keep a secret only if two are dead.”

Finally, remember this, which ties in particularly well with pictures of Prince Harry’s ginger crown jewels: Privacy is like virginity: It’s the most valuable thing you possess, and once it’s gone, it’s never coming back.

When a tree falls: The one skill every marketer needs

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Gardner) — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 22:37:00 +0000

A fallen tree in a field. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve mentored students and spoken at many industry luncheons and as a result I am asked more than occasionally what the skills are for a successful marketer. Not a run-of-the-mill, forms-filling automaton, but a ‘real’ marketer, one that is insightful, creative, innovative, and focused on results.

The good news is that it’s really simple, but the bad news is, it can’t be taught. What separates outstanding marketing professionals from the merely satisfactory is the ability to actively listen.

And right now, reading this, you’re wearing the same expression I get when I say it to others face-to-face.

“Yeah, yeah, I get that,” they’ll say. “But what else?”

“Nothing, that’s it,” I’ll reply.

“But they need to be able to write, right? Or design? Or understand statistics? Or ‘know’ social media?”

Silence.

“Okay, so you’re all about results, right? So they need a finance background?”

Well, maybe, but that will define what kind of marketer they’ll be. What field, what industry, what specialty. But listening is what will make the difference whether they are good at the process of marketing or good at intuitively understanding audiences and the messages required to reach them. And that’s what really matters.

Especially in an age where marketing is about relationships above all else, good marketing increasingly resembles any decent relationship. And we all know (directly or indirectly!) that relationship counselors will remind us that all relationship issues eventually boil down to listening to what the other is saying.

In business, communication used to mean managing what we say as companies. What, how and when we express our brand, our values, and our products’ benefits. But if anything at all has changed in the past couple of decades, it is that communication has a great deal more to do with listening than talking.

It starts before the first pen is put to paper planning a first product, and doesn’t stop even after the product is launched to an eager marketplace. It’s a cycle of listening and iteration. Listening so closely that you can hear what isn’t even being said so you can build a product and create a story that users didn’t expect but that absolutely captivates them. And that’s when they’ll start talking... and their friends and peers will be listening.

So if a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one there to hear it… what does it matter anyway?