Below is a short list of my favorite members of Twitterville whose passion is healthcare.  Each of these members consistently tweets links to excellent resources on healthcare, its challenges and opportunities, successes and failures and the reform debate (such as that is). If you're interested in Healthcare, you should follow them on Twitter.

2healthguru

kevinmd

jenmccabegorman

medxcentral

lend4health

ebechtel

CmSchroed

Mallikarjunan

Strategichealth

ConsultDoc

Please recommend others on Twitter with a passion for healthcare solutions, an eye for great and useful content to share, and the desire to share it. We need all the resources, including community and discussions and links, right now.

Just to reiterate, the focus here is on solutions and the resources to achieve through the community on Twitter. There are other places for ideological leanings, or lobbying firms staffed with PR execs posing as independent research organizations.

I know I have overlooked some on Twitter I now follow who meet this criteria. The oversight rests with my organization skills for this project. Remind me kindly.

]]>Below is a short list of my favorite members of Twitterville whose passion is healthcare. Each of these members consistently tweets links to excellent resources on healthcare, its challenges and opportunities, successes and failures and the reform debate (such as...http://zanesafrit.typepad.com/zane_safrit/2009/07/healthcare-tweeters.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/zanesafrit/~3/t7rC_kQ1L_c/blogtalk-radio-show-guest-highlights-jeffrey-summers-ceo-of-restaurant-coaching-solutions.htmlBlogtalk radioBrandingcash-flowscustomer evangelismemployee evangelismfacebookinspirationleadershipsmall businesssmall business leadersSmall business resourcessocial mediatwitterzanesafrit@lisco.com (Zane Safrit and Guests)Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:16:12 PDTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55197a0e18833011571eeb722970b

Restaurants consistently face the most daunting competition; competitors on every corner, revenues are based on consumer's disposable income and being too busy working to cook, margins are tiny and your employees can literally eat your profits. And this economy only adds to the challenges. Jeffrey Summers of Restaurant Coaching Solutions has brought success to restaurants for 27 years. His mission is taking good restaurants and making them great businesses. Jeffrey generously shared his wisdom on July 8 on how he helps make great businesses.You can listen here at this link.

Before the show started we talked a little bit about how is the restaurant industry doing. You surprised me when you said in some areas the restaurant industry is doing great. I expected a real gloom and doom story and asked you why or where were these successful restaurants and you said it wasn’t geographic areas but it depended on the operators and the concept.

You can find success stories in every industry!The restaurant industry is no different. The problem is we have a hard time getting the good news out about our industry.

980K food service businesses in the US and employs more people than any other industry. There are many pockets their are operators that are having tons of success. Bankruptcies get more success than stories of business having banner years. there are tons of success stories.

Restaurant coaching solutions has no client in negative territory.

One of the most successful clients we have and this may shock you is in Detroit Michigan, with same-store sales up over 20% from last year.

He had a successful restaurant before he asked us to join him. But he needed help sustaining the business and leveraging the concept to expend.

It is about leveraging what works and tell this story better to more people or better or getting through the noise.

You’ve written a book. What’s the title? How long was it in the making?

“Building Better Restaurants.” This book contains the core philosophies of creating successful restaurants. It took me 27 years to gather the knowledge. During this time, I had an ongoing business and I was writing a blog and association articles and on twitter. I write a bout 4 hours a day. When I decided to write my book, it took about 6 months to write the first draft, while I continued to help my clients, run my business, market it.

I never really thought about writing a book until my coach suggested that in order to take my business to another level I needed to compile my tips, my knowledge, my resources I’d gained over 27 years and write a book.

You list the top 10 reasons why people should not buy this book. I’ve never seen anyone do that. Why?

Ah, just to be different and just to filter the tire-kickers and those who are serious.

If you don’t have a passion for the business, success can sometimes not find you. And I decided a long time ago that I didn’t want to work with people who weren’t as passionate about success as I was.

And the list was to point out that “Look this might not be for you.”

What are the biggest trends effecting your clients now?

• Reactions to their economy.
  
• Addressing their restaurant concept now in this economy. Does it still work? Do I need to change it?
•  How do we scale our results?
  
• Working with social media. It’s having a tremendous impact. How do I leverage it for my customers.

How are these trends different from when first began working in this industry?

There are the same challenges. They are always the same challenges. The challenges we are facing are not so new and different than what was faced years ago.

And there are the same opportunities, too.

Only the tools have changed. Operators now have more tools to take advantage of these opportunities and fine tune these issues.

Now, there’s more of me around. 27 years ago there was no such thing as a consultant, much less a restaurant consultant.

The support network for operators is much stronger now, too.

What’s been the response of the restaurant industry to Social Media? Do you see your client and prospects embrace or reject social media tools more or less than their counterparts in other industries.

They’ve been tepid so far. Restaurant owners are slow to change most of them are hesitant. They are slow to change. The marketing that’s worked for them 10 years ago, is what they prefer to stay with, sometimes to their own detriment. even if the results are failing. They’re very cautious. They’re like to test a lot and see success stories. They’re waiting to see more success, with restaurants.

They do like the opportunity to save a lot more money and the broader reach. advertising.

It sounds like you’re recommending they drop traditional advertising in favor of social media.

Absolutely. Where it fits.

Where it fits their business. Only where it fits. It depends on whether they’re ready for it. But, not everyone is ready for it. If your business is not social, it won’t translate into social media success.

Great marketing can kill a good business. And the same thing goes for social media.

If your business lacks engagement, if it’s not authentic, if it lacks depth of authenticity and engagement, if you’re not transparent with your customers (and your employees), if you’re not focused on building relationships then social media won’t work.

Our radio show, Hospitality 101,  has a  3 part show that talks just about this.

25:05

Is there a common stage when clients contact you? Just before the doors close, they see a negative change in their business, they see change coming their way and they want to get on top of it.

They call at all levels of business, from start to finish.

A Wise man once said "Average operators try to predict the future, outstanding ones simply create it. Do you know who that wise man was?"

[laughing] That was me.

Helping operators to create their future it is important to have a shift in attitude. They must take down their blinders and meet all of the opportunities and expand their thinking. They should get in touch and reconnect with their passion of why they even wanted to be a restaurateur. They soon realize they have all of the answers within.

How do you help your operators simply create their future?

Sometime operators get the mentality that they are all alone. They continue to believe they are just fighting everyone, by themselves and become defensive. This is where coaching shows them that they are not alone! They can gain the strength with the support from a coach. It becomes a transformation!

Let’s help those listening. Can you offer three ways, three things they can do, to create their future?

1. Must have the want-to! Reignite why they got into the business in the first place. Reconnect and re-energize with their passion. Know their business. Where it comes from. How are profits created in their business? NO gimmicks.
2. Who are your guests? Understand how to communicate and engage with them? How to get them involved in your business, creating a loyalty
3. Know your community!! This is where your guests come from. Engage and develop your community.

Bill Clinton, that same Bill Clinton, campaigned on the famous slogan of It’s the Economy, Stupid. But you say It’s really not the economy. It’s your attitude about where you see your business headed.

You must have the attitude and mentality for success, especially in today’s recessive economy. The bad news is everywhere. You must not lose sight of why you are here and what you want. There are always peaks and valleys in every business and you must adapt or learn how to effectively leverage the tools you have. Recalibrate your business to meet the demands of your market! Provide value in this economy. Discover what your guests most want and need.

Can you share another case-study, keeping confidentiality of course, where a client’s attitude about where they saw their business headed, saved the day and continues to save it now? You have a case-study page on your site, right?

Oldest restaurant family and in the oldest city in the United States; They have been in business since 1956 in the downtown area. Due to the economy and length of time in business, they have hit a wall. They needed to discover some new opportunity and break out of their current stagnation. They needed something brand new – their historical success was having much less of an impact as time went on. If they wanted to continue and flourish, they needed to look towards the future. We suggested that the operators close their second store and build a $ 3 mil new restaurant into The Path of Progress. This September they’ll open that store.

The Path of Progress: In a city or market where the construction is going, the lifestyle, the activity, the growth of the city. Every city has its cultural place...the building growth and economic progress.

What can our listeners take from this example to apply in their own business?

1. Operators MUST have a plan to see success! You can not begin a journey without a roadmap.
2. Flexibility: plan must be flexible and take advantage of opportunities as they come up. If you can’t, then you will miss opportunities. Nothing stands still. You must lead, follow, or get out of the way.
3. Profitability: Must understand profitability, not just driving traffic, creating buzz or having the best dressed people. The nationwide average is 7.2 cents of profit on the dollar...focus on profitability!

43:28

You have a post on your blog titled the Yin and Yang of Restaurant Marketing. I love it. It’s about the two philosophies of marketing for restaurants: Transaction based and relationship based.

We’re focused on hospitality and restaurant, but this philosophy can relate to any business. Many owners are now just giving away FREE! Retail philosophy does not work in a restaurant. FREE stuff does not work in this business! You can’t treat the consumer like another transaction. You have to engage with them and if you don’t build the relationships, you will find yourself down the street at the mercy of someone else who is. Someone else will get it and they will be the winners.

Coupons and discounts are merely transactions. They are just driving sales, but you are not creating relationships, building loyalty.

You need to understand relationship marketing.

Create relationships. Your customers are NOT transactions! Avoid the gimmicks and schemes. Put yourself into people’s lives!

Be in touch with the lives of your guests. If you’re not a part of their lives, someone else will be.

Can you leave us with one more inspiring quote?

I’ll leave you with two of my favorites:

1. “Chance favors a prepared mind.” Louis Pasteur

You have to be ready and prepared for everything to be able to take advantage of all of the opportunities.

2. “The world is full of abundance and opportunity but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank card...a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result they get little.” - Ben Sweetland

You can follow Jeffrey Summers and gain more insights, tips and resources at these locations:

Twitter

Blog

Hospitality 101 each Tuesday on BlogTalk Radio.

I'm mulling over a couple of thoughts, posts, and ideas on innovation. ( I realize I run the risk of getting pounded on another blog for this audacity of whiteboarding here on my own blog. But, hey, that's the blogosphere we live in.)

I faced a modest deadline today. I owed an article on our economy to an editor by the end of today. And as I gathered my keyboard and mouse to write I realized I needed a deadline. I gave myself an hour. I finished in 1:05, including emailing it.

The deadline served its purpose. It focused me on the challenge at hand. Before I started, there were no good solutions at hand. The veritable tabla rasa of my screen mocked me. And a little caffeine, a competitive spirit and the clock ticking away I found some good solutions: an idea/angle, some quick anecdotes and data that expanded the angle's perspective, links to such content.

Less was more. Less time allowed me to find better, more targeted solutions. And left me with more time for other challenges.

This isn't rocket science, I know.

But as I filtered my favorite tweets on innovation I came across a couple of stories that made me wonder about how more resources help or hinder innovation.

The White House recently announced  its (our?) $50 million fund for innovation among non-profits. The announcement was accompanied with a reception where the audience heard from Harlem Children’s Zone, HopeLab, Bonnie CLAC and Genesys Works, who shared their stories about how their programs are improving their communities.

The point of this fund was to find and evaluate some of the most promising non-profits in communities across the country and help provide funding, with the help of private investments, for the most successful ones.

Would the added resource of more funding spur more innovation?

But does more money bring more innovation any more than more time?

I don't think more time for me today would have spurred more innovation. Granted, I'd love more money for that article. I'm sure these non-profits would like, need, more money, also.

But, what impact will more money have for a successful, already completed, innovation...if it's way past proof-of-concept, even way past alpha and beta versions...into the hands of users, in a not perfect but 'good enough' version?

If I had more time, maybe I could have created a short digital video, or added more graphics, or more data and examples, pulled in a youtube video, or added contributions from other authors.

Or maybe my article, like a simple innovation shared on an open site, will inspire others to do the same? Are we ready for  a more open collaboration? Am I? Are you?  

And if we are, will more money (or time) help? Or will it only increase the risk of wasted, misdirected investments? I think what's more important is the singularly unique resource that comes from an open innovation approach.

Get your ideas out quickly to:

• those that need its solution
• those that can build on it
• those that can expand it
• those that will critique it (constructively)

Make the ideas portable, the conversations, too. Portable, transparent, open. We're all one.

For the record, I'm happy that the White House gives even a paltry bit of attention to the work of non-profits in solving their communities' challenges. I hope in their efforts they recognize the values of collaboration among the volunteers at the non-profits, private/corporate donors, the recipients/those who need the innovative solutions, the overall community.

And yes, these funds will be used far more effectively than than, ahem, other funds have been used, at least as we know today.

But what if the WH instead or in addition:

chose a startup, a different definition of non-profit, with a cool new open collaborative tool. 

then built a site for the award recipients to share their approach, challenges, solutions and learn from or with each other?

then allowed their community members to participate in the conversation with an open or moderated forum

then allowed us, the taxpayers to at least witness how our funds are used and learn more about open collaboration. We'd learn how to apply it in our non-profits, our companies, our communities. That would help spread the power of these non-profits as well as the power of open innovation or collaboration.

chose one or two collaboration/innovation facilitators*. I'm thinking of Gregg Fraley, author of Jack's Notebook  or Matt May, author In Search of Elegance: why the best ideas have something missing or Evan Rosen, the author of The Culture of Collaboration. They could help organize some of the open collaborations that would sprout among the recipients and even among their audience of community members or taxpayers/cheerleaders.

Somehow I think that would be as useful. Certainly the time would be used well, leveraged well.

What do you think?

* These three authors have all been guest on my BlogTalk Radio show. 

** Twip of the hat to the following for their tweets about innovations:

fei_innovation

Loriana

lindegaard

johnedelmann

For the last...oh, 6 weeks, the street in front of my office has been under construction. They've stripped the old asphalt, jack-hammmmmmmered out sections of the concrete base, repoured the holes, cleaned it, swept it, jack-hammmmmmmmered out more sections. All the time the lonely, hot, patient, sweaty flaggers direct traffic.

It's a good job at least for wages. You get a good tan. Mentally, it's pretty easy, though today's flagger seemed challenged with the concept of time and space (if it's 30 seconds before the next stream of cars drive...and it takes 2 seconds for cross traffic to cross, should the cross traffic cross...) but I digress.

I thought what's missing here?

Maybe, it's current technology.

What if a portable, digital, flagging...robot was created?

• powered by solar during the day and batteries at night (if needed, then)
•  motion detectors,
• sensors for turn signals of oncoming cars were installed
•  a GPS system to coordinate the location and movement of traffic.

Then the stand would know:

• the pace of the traffic flow
• the number of cars lined up waiting to move forward
•  how many cars have passed
•  how many wait to turn
• how far are they from entering the queue, etc?

I'm sure some software designer could design a code to integrate these functions into a smooth traffic management system.

It's basically a traffic light, on a portable stand, but complimented with more current technology including LED lights and sensors, motion detectors, GPS system and the ability to customize to a particular traffic environment.

Then think of:

• how many road projects have received stimulus funds
• how many flaggers are currently employed
•  how much stimulus funds remain for innovation, r&d
•  how many other applications could be found

Granted, there is the issue of flagman jobs lost. And yes, some are temporary, especially in the northern states.

But, given today's economy, these jobs could be incredibly important, more than a summer job for a college student as they have in the past.

On the other hand, there are the jobs created from the necessary startups needed to build this portable stand, market it, service it, research other applications, design for them, research them, etc.

What if?

We could call him, her, it...Franny the Flagman. It's kinda gender-neutral, right?

]]>For the last...oh, 6 weeks, the street in front of my office has been under construction. They've stripped the old asphalt, jack-hammmmmmmered out sections of the concrete base, repoured the holes, cleaned it, swept it, jack-hammmmmmmmered out more sections. All...http://zanesafrit.typepad.com/zane_safrit/2009/07/whatif-a-solarpowered-digital-automated-road-construction-flagman.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/zanesafrit/~3/pYbTLgUoYOQ/blogtalk-radio-guest-transcription-gary-hoover-founder-of-hoovers-inc-july-1.htmlBlogtalk radioBooksBrandingCurrent Affairsinnovationinspirationleadershipsmall business leadersSmall business resourceszanesafrit@lisco.com (Zane Safrit and Guests)Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:33:13 PDTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55197a0e18833011571d504f1970b

I am enjoying so much listening again to Gary Hoover from our conversation last week. You can listen here on-demand. There's so much he shares. Here is a transcript of but a few of his salient points.

Gary Hoover studied economics at the University of Chicago, worked on Wall Street as a securities analyst, worked for two giant department store chains, founded a pioneering book superstore chain (BOOKSTOP, now part of Barnes & Noble), and founded the company that became Hoover's, Inc., the operator of www.hoovers.com.

 Laurence Kirshbaum, CEO of Time-Warner Trade Publishing calls Gary a true visionary. Gary shared his ideas and solutions for small business growth, strategy, innovation and principles that separate winners from losers. You can listen on-demand at this link.

I saw 2 1/2 minutes of your envision presentation from 2007. There you talked about 8 principles that separate winners from losers in business.  Would you share with us those 8 principles and what makes them cull winners from losers.

Eight Principals that separate Winners from Losers in Business

   1. Curiosity: the people who lead and create great enterprises are always looking for answers in unexpected places.  People tend to see or discover new breakthrough ideas from outside of their industry. Information is everywhere; it is just waiting for us to see it.
   2. Sense of history:  learning the lessons of big history and learning the trends and how things change over time. Nothing in business is really new, but there is a huge amount to be learned from the past and its visionaries.  Trends – you can only look as far forward as you are willing to look. If you want to see 5-10 years into the future, you have to look that far into the past.  Trends happen slowly over time. Look at demographic changes or the changing role of women in the workforce...these changes have slowly evolved over time. Study them.
   3. Sense of geography: 90% of the business world does not know the metropolitan geography they live in. Americans are probably worse than most people at not knowing what is going on around us. You need to visit your own neighborhood. Discover that area.  Explore! We need to understand where it us comes from. It shapes us.  Having that sense of context is one of the most important advantages of an entrepreneur. The winners figure it out and put their business in context.
   4. Clear Vision: Clarity: no buzz words, plain English. Straightforward plain talk
   5. Consistency:  once you figure out what you are going to do and it works, stay with it. Be true to what you love, what you are good at, your passion.
   6. Service:  The only valid reason for the existence of any enterprise is to provide goods and services!  You must put the customer first.
   7. Unique:  need a unique vision to be successful. Do not copy other companies. You won’t be another great by doing what someone else does. Do your own thing and make it the best.
   8. Passion: You must love what you do and without that passion, you won’t be as successful.  Whatever you love is where you have the greatest chance of success.

28:46

Business is better learned during observation, exploring, and traveling; not just in the academic arena.  People who create successful enterprises have a breadth of vision.  The best of them have such varied interests that do provide more of a well rounded impact on their businesses.

Can you change to become any of these principles?

Yes! Especially curiosity.  People are naturally curious, but as we age, we lose our sense of wonder. This begins in the school system where we are instructed to listen to the teacher, the lesson and do not question the information. This is the way it is.

We should always wonder!

Most people do have passion and if it is lost, it can be rediscovered!!!  Our brains are just packed with information and memory capacity. Exercise it! We all have passions for something. Practice it.

Let’s say we have a roomful of business managers who want to develop an entrepreneurial mind. And they’ve asked you to tell them 3 things they can do as soon as they leave the room, and do them every day to develop an entrepreneurial mind. What are these three?

1. Make sure you are in touch with the birth down to earth.  See things in context! Getting back to basics – being real!  “Hanging out on the streets and getting close to the ground.”

2. Travel to unexpected places you wouldn’t think you would like. Travel with your eyes open.

3.  Start reading business history! Abe Books  for used books. Read backgrounds on who started your business or your industry. There is so much to be learned from the past. Don’t overlook it.  Read old Fortune Magazines. The best business book to read is, “The Visible Hand,” by Alfred Chandler, telling about how American big business rose up.

43:13

I’ve read a lot over the years about the need for entrepreneurs to hurry up, fire-aim-load. But in a blog post on Monday at hooversworld.com you encourage readers to Ponder First, Act Later. Does anyone have the time to do that?

Think about what you want first and then how to execute your plan. There is always a balance in how you build an enterprise. You must really think about your business at every level. If you are going to be a successful startup, you need to be one of the best experts.  Do whatever is necessary to really think about it, the lessons you have learned, what has been before you that you have just never taken notice of. Pay attention!!!

This brings us to understanding the role of failure in a business.  And, you’re very public with sharing your failure, such as it was with Travel Fest. I admire you for labeling this as a failure when it wasn’t your fault that the airlines cut your commission.

Why do you call it your failure? What did you learn from that experience? What did you apply in starting Hoovers and your future projects?

You must be accountable for the failure and learn the important lessons. Look hard at what you could have done differently. What would have made the difference?  There is always something to be learned from a failure, making it a success strategy for the next time.  You learn what you can from it and how do you pick yourself up. Keep on moving.

What are the three biggest trends you see effecting entrepreneurs here in this country?

Depends on the industry: we are moving to a service economy. Most opportunities in the service industry.  Manufacturing is declining on a global scale... takes less to create the same products because everything in automated.

There are so much greater opportunities in the service industry: healthcare, arts and entertainment, the Presidency, pet services, or financial services.  People will have to add services to their businesses or enhance their current offerings.

The next thing is globalization and trade.  We really are at turning point where it is pervasive in our lives. Huge shares of the things we buy are made overseas.  It is the biggest force for world peace in the history of the world. People are much less likely to attack each other when you are economically intertwined.  It touches all of us!!  You must understand the globe if you want to be a successful enterprise.

Let’s say we talk a year from now. What’s going to be the biggest change in our culture for business.

Nothing earth shattering in the next several years. It will be interesting to see how the government unfolds.  We are all linked together – Europe – China. At the end of everyday everyone should ask themselves, “What did I learn? How might it relate to my enterprise, my mission?”  

We are developing a nation of entrepreneurs and that last statement ties into the curiosity factor of becoming a business owner.

One of my favorite quotes from you was Saying a business exists to make a profit is like  saying a car exists to get good gas mileage.

Can you leave us with one more inspiring quote for entrepreneurs, their passion and purpose?

 “You can not know too much about your customers.” Get inside their head; find out that correlation that your competition does not see. Do whatever it takes to get in touch with your customers! Ultimately the understanding of your clients is up to you!!  Get in touch with your customers and get deep in their eyes. Not just fluffy focus groups!

You can follow Gary on the web at his website:

HooversWorld

LinkedIn.

]]>I am enjoying so much listening again to Gary Hoover from our conversation last week. You can listen here on-demand. There's so much he shares. Here is a transcript of but a few of his salient points. Gary Hoover studied...http://zanesafrit.typepad.com/zane_safrit/2009/07/blogtalk-radio-guest-transcription-gary-hoover-founder-of-hoovers-inc-july-1.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/zanesafrit/~3/B0_CGuEijHE/blogtalk-radio-guest-jeffrey-summers-founder-of-restaurant-coaching-solutions.htmlBlogtalk radioBrandingcash-flowscustomer evangelismemployee evangelismleadershipsmall businesssmall business leadersSmall business resourceszanesafrit@lisco.com (Zane Safrit and Guests)Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:51:31 PDTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55197a0e18833011570dfd3d4970c Restaurants consistently face the most daunting competition. And this economy only adds to the challenges. Jeffrey Summers of Restaurant Coaching Solutions  has brought success to restaurants for 27 years. His expertise, tips and resources, can apply to all businesses, startups or global brands, who recognize that serving customers is the key to their success.

Join us tomorrow at 9:30 AM Central on BlogTalk Radio to listen as Jeffrey shares some of these tips and resources than can help your business survive in any economy, too.

You can listen live or on-demand at this link.

You can also call in at 646-915-9212.

After listening to the show, stay in touch with Jeffrey at Twitter with his username of ...JeffreySummers.

]]>Restaurants consistently face the most daunting competition. And this economy only adds to the challenges. Jeffrey Summers of Restaurant Coaching Solutions has brought success to restaurants for 27 years. His expertise, tips and resources, can apply to all businesses, startups...http://zanesafrit.typepad.com/zane_safrit/2009/07/blogtalk-radio-guest-jeffrey-summers-founder-of-restaurant-coaching-solutions.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/zanesafrit/~3/j51R99oR7HY/chris-anderson-nothings-free-sorry-chris-anderson-author-of-the-long-tail-has-stirred-the-pot-again-with-his-book-fr.htmlBooksBrandingcustomer evangelismsmall businesssocial mediatwitterWOMzanesafrit@lisco.com (Zane Safrit and Guests)Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:20:17 PDTtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55197a0e18833011571d41627970bChris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, has stirred the pot again with his book, Free. You can get a free copy here. (Thanks to Jay Ehret, TheMarketingGuy on Twitter.) Chris has stirred it with an egg-beater this time, enough for Malcolm Gladwell to chime in with an excellent rejoinder at the New Yorker: Priced to Sell.

Chris. I don’t think what you describe is free. Sorry. I think what you describe is another way for companies to A. Add value; B. Differentiate their brand based on that added value; C. Hide the costs to the consumer for that added value.

I was prepared to be swept off my feet, in a veritable swoon of abject adoration, with the logic of Chris Anderson. But I wasn’t. Maybe the problem was my expectation. Like that of going to see an expected great movie, maybe I created unrealistic expectations.

But while the writing was great, the examples fun to read (and remember) and the anecdotes illustrative,  I thought....what he’s talking about isn’t free. It’s merely a way of adding value to the experience while hiding the corresponding costs to the consumer of those experiences.

By Chris’ logic, shipping costs for our groceries is free. We’re not charged for it. The grocer’s...give it to us for free. But we all know the costs for shipping grapefruit north from Texas or Florida during winter are not free. They’re not absorbed as an act of generosity by the grocers or shippers. They’re passed on to consumers in higher retail costs. Grapefruits during winter are very expensive.

Maybe it’s called bundling. Companies, especially in media and telecom, bundle services. Cable offers ...300 free channels, charges you for the 10  ‘premium’ channels you want, 4 of which are ESPN. Everyone nods and winks at each other like blind horses to the ‘free’ stuff being offered.  You can claim the consumer gets something for free. But they don’t. You just hide the ala carte itemized cost to the consumer.

Some companies also bundle their costs for these products and services. In effect, they hide these costs from prying eyes, even their own. But that only feeds the delusion that they have somehow outwitted market dynamics, creating a truly new business model, one based on free stuff and the freedom it offers to avoid boring things like accounting and cash-flow reports and unpleasant decisions like which stuff is generating profits and which isn’t, given the costs associated to deliver it.

Giving stuff away for free makes everyone like you. It also makes you broke and oddly no one remembers your name, then. And remember the dotcom bubble? Lots of companies thought a revenue-free business model was quaint.

Back to Chris. He starts with examples on page 2 that include Monty Python’s site on YouTube and free wifi at coffee shops selling $3.00 lattes. Let’s look at the first one:

Monty Python’s site on YouTube.

The members of Monty Python noticed their videos being shared for free on YouTube.  The members of Monty Python decided to join this conversation with a public notice they were building their own site to stop the ripoffs, the poor quality of the videos shared by their fans in desperate fealty to Monty Python.  Monty Python would share the highest quality videos and in return they wanted their fans to buy their videos.

The results were surprising. Monty Python rose to No. 2 on Amazon’s movies and bestseller’s list, saw 23,000 percent increase in their sales and as chris Anderson wrote:

So there. Free worked and worked brilliantly.

Not so fast, Chris, I think. The videos Monty Python provide for YouTube viewing had been paid for long ago in a galaxy far away when television ruled the day and Monty Python’s show was one of the few original programs available...on PBS (or any network). Their syndication fees had been paid not by individual viewers unless they donated to their PBS affiliate but by the affiliate itself. The viewing experience then was as free then, via PBS, as it was now via YouTube.

Monty Python was smart enough to not charge their most fervent fans, their customer evangelists, for the opportunity to be a loyal and volunteer sales force for Monty Python. Had Monty Python found any other effective means to market their services over that 3-year period, clearly they would have continued to ignore this community of devoted fans for another 3 years or until a more effective means to market was offered, whichever came first.

And in return, they asked their customer evangelists for :

None of your driveling, mindless, comments. Instead, we want you to click on the links, buy our movies and TV shows and soften our pain and disgust at being ripped off all these years.

Only Monty Python and its fans could have this conversation with tongue firmly planted in their cheeks.
Why?
 Because their fans and their dedication had kept MP’s brand alive in their hearts and were now sharing it with their family and friends in an act of true evangelistic devotion.

MP’s disgust, such as it was, was misplaced. The disgust was either at themselves for not recognizing this for 3 years or at their ad agency for deluding them into thinking yet another ad campaign would work.

That aside, none of this was free. The costs were minimal and easily absorbed by the resulting 23,000% increase in sales. If I had the time, I would look back to see if there was a slight increase in their retail prices at/or about the time of the launch of their YouTube site for their fans. Regardless, a 23,000% increase in sales and you don’t own Australia means any costs to digitize your existing content and create a custom site for your brand would be easily absorbed in the resulting sales.

Free ? No. They absorbed the costs. They hid them, as grocers hide the costs of shipping in either higher unit prices or more units sold or as cable companies hide the costs of the channels you want to receive.  Or, they redirected their existing ad/marketing costs from their previously unproductive, but traditional and safe, strategies into this new strategy, the strategy that worked. And finally, their marketing matched their brand and connected with their audience. And they saw 23,000% increase in sales. And no one noticed the relatively miniscule costs for digitizing existing content and building a site around it.

FREE WIFI.

Yes. It’s free at least if you define free as a feature/service/product whose costs are not itemized as part of the retail price for it or any part of another service where it's included.

And, it’s good. It may even offer higher speeds than your landline DSL.

But, Mr. Anderson, it ain’t free. The daily cost of that wifi to the shop owner is about the cost of one patron’s cup of coffee, latte or not.

It’s not free to the customer. $3.00 cups of coffee aren’t free. Nor are the over-priced pastries.  It’s cost to the coffee shop patron is bundled in with the cost of the coffee and the over-priced pastries and assorted juices and cups.
These costs are no less free than the cost for the patron to drive and park, walk to the coffee shop, wait in line...then walk back to their car and drive home or to the office.

No. All these costs are disassociated from the experience of that cup of java, hot and steaming.

Shop owners (and smart hotels) no longer charge for wifi any more than they charge for clean bathrooms. The expense is bundled in the price of the products and services delivered. The hotel doesn't charge for a clean bathroom anymore than coffee shops, except Starbucks, charge for their Wifi. Offering ‘free wifi’ at coffee shops is now considered a standard part of the experience as are clean bathrooms in hotels. Neither choose to itemize the costs to their customers. Instead, they bundle it into a single cost for a cup of coffee or a night at a hotel with a clean bathroom.

Claiming free wifi  creates the illusion of freedom for the consumer. It’s free...like butterflies, free from the constraints of gravity and the reality that it would be far cheaper, and we’d be far more productive if we either stopped drinking coffee or had an espresso machine in our homes or offices. 

Chris.  Creating your ebook  for your fans to share for free is the same plan that Monty Python offered. Give your devoted fans a means to share your product with their fans. And we’ll do it for free. I’ve done it for free here in this post, except for my opportunity costs of writing about something else. Nothing’s free.

But tip of the hat to you for writing so eloquently and inspiring me to encourage others to read your book and comment. We disagree. While I doubt it matters to you, for what it's worth, I only disagree where I find articulate, passionate, clear and concise writers.  But ain’t it great that we can disagree. ( It’s still not free. But, it’s great.)

I recommend the ebook (and site), My Healthcare is Killing Me.

Why?

Let’s look to its reasonable aspiration* or hoped-for goal. In the words of their authors at Change Healthcare, the book seeks to educate, encourage, and reward savvy healthcare consumers...

If you already are a savvy healthcare consumer, then they arm you with more tools and resources in your negotiations with healthcare providers, primarily health insurance companies as they set the prices for the providers.

But, more importantly perhaps, I think they go one step farther. They create....savvy healthcare consumers. The state of our healthcare system, and its poor delivery of quality to its consumers, indicate the majority of healthcare consumers are not savvy.

This book will move  us all quickly up the path to becoming one.

The book is:

• smartly written
• concise( 60 pages )
• well-designed
• well-illustrated
• free

And these help it fulfill it's vital purpose as the healthcare reform debate heats up. And as we, the consumers, realize we must participate in this debate.

Arm yourself with knowledge from  My Healthcare is Killing Me. Then join the debate.

* reasonable aspiration is a term coined by author, consultant and coach, Erika Andersen, in her excellent book, Being Strategic. She defines it as our hoped-for goal.