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Fighting a Kingdom? Find the Back Door

MattLeave a Comment on Fighting a Kingdom? Find the Back Door

Many times in marketing we are faced with a similar challenge – dethrone the king and do it on time and under budget. Many of us relish this challenge, and it’s probably why I’m still in marketing today. It’s fun to be the underdog. Nobody expects you to win, so you avoid all the pressure and focus on the task at hand.

While it may be the initial thought, we don’t have to go to feature war on all fronts with competitors. They are simply too massive. Imagine Apple going after Microsoft in the late 90s – it wouldn’t have worked. Microsoft was too firmly entrenched and had too much money to spend.

Instead, upon his return, Steve Jobs focused on the back doors to the Microsoft kingdom of consumers. He went after the surrounding consumer market. Enter the iPod. By creating an all Apple, all new product that was second-to-none and the ecosystem to back it up – Jobs was able to introduce his company to the market at a lower price point than a new computer.

With the iPod, consumers got a taste of the Apple magic both in the hardware and software. When people saw how well it all worked, they wanted more. That means more sales of iPhones, iPads, and yes, eventually Macbooks, and the Mac OS.

It’s a powerful strategy if you can find the right button to push. Google is taking on Facebook in a similar manner. Though they have similar features, Google+ has yet to take off. By incrementally introducing features – Google is trying to slowly ween people ONto its platform. A great example is the automatic picture correction just announced last month at Google IO. Pictures are more “sticky” than comments. People like to go back and revisit them time and again. With mobile devices increasingly being used as primary cameras – Google is hoping to become the place people store and share them.

Other companies, like Path are taking a different approach. By limiting the number of connections a person can have – they seek to avoid the noise that people so often complain of with Facebook.

This strategy can also work with small businesses – highlight something that you are really good at. Lots of people are fitness trainers but you can distinguish yourself by offering services that others neglect. Instead of gym training, offer home training or public park training. Instead of losing weight, focus on scrawny people who want to gain weight. Instead of just focusing on training, offer consultation on nutrition and partner with someone who will supply the food.

There are plenty of opportunities to find your way around a giant – think about your market and go get-em!

Meetings As Contracts

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One of the biggest complaints I’ve run into in the past few years is that of the meeting. Done correctly, meetings are an efficient way to share information and make decisions. Done incorrectly, they are a dreadful waste of time and energy.

My advice is to treat meetings as contracts and to treat the people involved as clients. When you request to meet with someone have the end goal in mind. Don’t simply meet because you, “have several things to discuss.” Draw up an agenda for where the meeting will go and important questions that need answered and stick to the time allotted.

You wouldn’t show up late to a meeting with important clients, so don’t do it for your internal clients either. Encourage everyone to be there on time, if one person is 15 minutes late for a meeting with four other people – that’s one hour of productivity lost forever. End on time as well – you never know what other meetings yours is running into.

Some other quick tips: Produce and circulate summary of the decisions made and next steps to help keep everyone on the same page. Only invite those people absolutely necessary to the process, if they can’t make the call, they probably don’t need to be there.

Video Games and Marketing Leadership

MattLeave a Comment on Video Games and Marketing Leadership

So here is where my parents get to feel validated for buying me that first Nintendo way back when. Feel free to keep this argument in your back pocket. Video games used to be considered a waste of time. However, I believe they’ve taught me and countless individuals how to be proactive and curious.

Whenever I first played Super Mario Bros. with my brother and cousin we were so excited to play that we died very quickly. We just wanted to see what it was like. There wasn’t a fear that if we died, we’d never get to play again or (as in the arcade) we’d run out of money.

This is an important concept in leadership and on a career path – don’t be afraid to jump at new opportunities. Be curious. Yes, it can be scary and yes you might fail, but in failing, you learn how to come back the next time and jump that hurdle (or Koopa Troopa or Bullet Bill). Sure, in life we don’t have unlimited time, resets, or funding, so choose wisely – but choose, and get moving! Don’t be paralyzed by a fear of failure – the biggest failure is not trying. Soon using the experience you’ve gained, you’ll be flying through like an expert.

The Hidden Dangers of Micro-Management

Matt2 Comments on The Hidden Dangers of Micro-Management

I don’t think you’ll find too many management consultants espousing the benefits of micro-management. But, a lot has been made of Steve Jobs’ command-and-control-style management. Legend has it that Mr. Jobs was deeply involved in each project, including designing the Apple stores’ famous glass staircases.

We are all well aware of the success that Apple enjoyed under Jobs’ watchful eye. What we are yet to see, is whether he succeeded in passing on his passion for detail, design, and simplicity.

When we micro-manage everything, we may think we are relieving our co-workers of work. In the end though, we aren’t relieving them, we are depriving them.

Micro-management deprives co-workers of the lessons learned from first-hand experience. It stifles creativity, favors inactivity over pro-activity, breeds dependence, and creates workers that are robbed of the thrill of a victory or the agony of defeat (both are important).

One of the main rewards of the employer/employee relationship is that the employee gains experience that can be used to succeed in a more senior position within or without the company. By teaching workers to wait for someone else to give the answer, we rob them of that reward. When you teach someone to depend on you for everything – they depend on you for everything. That’s a great ego boost for you and that’s fine for folks that just want to keep their head down and float along. It’s a death trap for career-minded people. And what happens when you are gone?

As leaders, we need to build environments that thrive on creativity, managed conflict, independent thought, and responsibility. Set goals, provide vision, and give feedback, but try to steer away from becoming the micro-manager-in-chief.

Words, Words, Words

MattLeave a Comment on Words, Words, Words

Here’s a quick hit for Friday thinking.

If people make these statements, it’s probably not good for your team or your business.

“It’s just one client.” – I just heard this the other day and it made me cringe. It’s most assuredly not one client. That client knows a ton more. And if this person is willing to write one client off now, it’s guaranteed they’ll do it to another, and another.

“No” (All the time) – I’m sure you know these folks. The ones that are resistant to change. The “We’ve always done it this way,” people. A healthy dose of pragmatism is warranted. A constant source of negativity is not.

“Yes” (All the time) – Your title probably dictates how many of the people are in your life. While we all like to hear it, it’s not a sign of a healthy dialogue. No one is right all the time and if someone is telling you that you are – you better check your wallet – they want something from you.

What are some words or phrases that you think lead to issues?

Words I love to hear:

“Thank You” – At times we all get swept up in our head-down daily grind. It’s important to remember to thank the people beside you that are working just as hard and maybe getting paid half as much. A good thank you is always a good idea!

“Figure it out” – This could be a double-edged sword, but in the right environment, you are fostering your team to think creatively and be proactive. Those two traits are highly desirable in anybody!

I bet there are a ton of key words that tip you off to someone’s true intentions. What are some phrases you hear that are inspirational to you and your team?

3 Ways Netflix Could Have Handled Pricing-Gate Differently

MattLeave a Comment on 3 Ways Netflix Could Have Handled Pricing-Gate Differently

By now, I’m sure you have heard, Netflix intends to split its streaming and DVD services in two. Customers that were once receiving DVDs and streaming, will now how to pay for both. Not so bad on its surface, right? It actually sounds like a smart move, separating the company into dedicated segments allows employees to specialize and deliver more expertise. The problem is not what Netflix is doing. It’s how it did it.

Netflix has grown a loyal following through the years by over-delivering when other carriers under-performed. Blockbuster charged way too much on the way out the door and the way back in (late fees). Netflix charged an acceptable amount and made going to the mailbox fun again. When most other streaming services suffered from frequent buffering and only allowed us to watch on our computers, Netflix delivered a strong, reliable solution that made consumers overlook the dearth of content.

Instead of building on this brand equity Netflix  under-delivered AND under-performed. The brand began by alienating the enablers of its tremendous growth, its customers. Some customers (like me) did not receive notification of the change in a timely manner. The news exploded on social media and some customers had to find out from friends and the Twitterverse before hearing directly from the provider.

Recommendation Number One: The Customer Comes First
No matter what the message, it’s important that the first news of the change comes from the brand. Otherwise, the noise from social channels amplifies the negative and drowns out the positive. If your brand can get the first word in, it’s at least a building block towards understanding. Be proactive with the message.

Recommendation Number Two: Be Honest
The blog message that Netflix used to announce the pricing changes was informational in nature but I’m still questioning if the “Lowest Price Ever” angle is the best way to go. Consumers in this digital age are smart, and if they aren’t all smart, they’re probably friends with somebody that is. So let’s not try to spin this in such a positive light. Let’s be honest. What if Netflix were to lead off by saying thank you to all the customers for the tremendous growth. Then explain that in order to continue offering a strong selection and incredible service, we have to make changes. The low price angle just doesn’t resonate when, for most customers, it’s actually a price hike (to continue the same service(s)).

Recommendation Number Three: The Customer Always Comes First (and Last)
Now, let’s consider how Netflix is implementing these pricing changes. They go into effect immediately for new customers and in September for existing. Most of the posts I’ve read felt like this treatment was a slap in the face for existing, heretofore, loyal customers. These customers have helped fuel the company’s meteoric growth and they get a 60 percent price hike and a 45 day respite for their efforts? Why not reward those that have been with the company by grandfathering them in or offering special loyalty rates? In an age where competition is high and switching services is as easy as downloading a new app, customer appreciation is key. Verizon recently moved to tiered data plans but avoided similar outrage by grandfathering in current unlimited plans.

The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that Netflix has built its brand around convenience. A price hike is not convenient and finding out about it from second-hand sources is also not convenient. Be proactive, be honest, be consistent, and always think of the customer – or someone else will.

What Oprah Can Teach Us About Social Media

MattLeave a Comment on What Oprah Can Teach Us About Social Media

A few weeks ago, I set out on the great Twitter adventure. As much as I like to call myself a marketing professional, I was pretty late to the game with that. Nonetheless, I dove in head first trying to read, click, and absorb everything I could about what works and what doesn’t in the Twitterverse.

I’m still very much a novice and if you count followers as success, I’m pretty far down the chain, but I did learn a few things. Mainly, I’ve learned that a lot of people claim to have “steps” for social media success. My timeline is filled with “5 things” and “3 things” and “how NOT to’s” but after further observation, I realized that everybody is really just following the same formula — Oprah’s.

Yep, Oprah. She has succeeded by doing a few things very well. Not coincidentally, building a social media following is strikingly similar to building a media empire.

    • Listen to Your Audience – This is probably the hardest of the steps to prove with anecdotal evidence. But I think it’s fairly plain to see that Oprah has achieved success by listening to the audience. This helps keep the show focused on issues that matter to that audience. By taking the pulse of the audience, Oprah had the ability to deliver what the audience wanted. Use searches or just browse your follower’s profiles to see what everyone is talking about.
    • Be Authentic – One of Oprah’s greatest talents is the ability to relate to her audience as a normal person. She asks questions as a lay person, not as a celebrity. She also has very publicly struggled with weight issues. By publicly enduring these ups and downs (whatever they may be), she proved to her audience that they are all struggling with the same things. Common experiences help form relationships. This is Twitter’s real draw, we get to see behind the curtain. While it certainly can go too far, it’s important to let your audience know that you are human.
    • Deliver Valuable Content – After listening to your audience to find out what they like and what they’re like; It’s time to deliver the goods. Convince the audience that you have something worth listening to, or reading, or talking about. Oprah does this by selecting  experts that deliver no-nonsense advice for the problems that every day people are going through. This is interesting because Oprah isn’t necessarily developing the initial content herself, she is playing editor-in-chief and selecting which articles to publish to her audience. We can do the same thing.
    • Be Consistent – Now I have to clarify, I’m not actually an Oprah watcher, but just about every woman I know is at least a fan and an occasional viewer. By delivering high quality content every weekday, Oprah has become a reliable, resource for day-to-day life. She will be hard to replace simply because it is so hard to deliver value on such a consistent basis.  So the next time you think it’s too much work to send out an @reply or compose a blog, just be thankful you aren’t producing a one hour talk show. If you aren’t there delivering content every day, someone else is.
    • Syndicate – Oprah is a very wealthy lady and part of the reason is because of the syndicated nature of her show. Her show is available in every market, every day, sometimes at two different times in the same market. This means her viewers simply have the opportunity to stay abreast of her content wherever they are. In recent years she has taken the syndication farther with O Magazine and yes, even Twitter! We have the same opportunity with social media. Take the content you create and syndicate it throughout your social networks.

 

Share. Share. Share.

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One of the keys to long term growth is innovation. One of the keys to innovation is sharing. When all sorts of different ideas are floating around and bumping into each other, chaos (and creativity) ensues. Let it happen and encourage it to happen in your absence through creative seating, facilities design, and social media. Working in groups is often more challenging but the product is often a more complete offering.

Though Lennon and McCartney are legendary for their creativity, perhaps there is a reason neither’s solo work did as well as when they worked together.

‘Tactical Strategy’

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I came across this phrase today and it sounded great at first — then I went back and thought about it.  Does it really make sense? The interesting thing about this phrase was that it gave up something about the presenter. The presenter was more concerned about tactics than the overall strategy.

This person routinely struggles with building and adhering to an effective strategy. Instead, each new task is of the highest priority. The problem with that is that when everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. Everybody soon puts their head down in an effort to get things done, and they never look up to see where they are headed.

If your day-to-day actions are tied to tactics and not strategy and vision, you will get things done. But, simply getting things done  does nothing to get us closer to our objectives.

Lay out a strategy, identify priorities, and plan tactics that feed into that strategy like a hot air balloon. Doing this helps transform disparate self-centered entities into a cohesive force building towards a common goal…soon there’s only one place to go.

Lose What You Know (or at least give it a long leash)

MattLeave a Comment on Lose What You Know (or at least give it a long leash)

As we progress through our lives and careers it’s easy to get stuck in the same thought patterns and procedures. I encourage you to stop every once in a while. The next time you find yourself in a meeting and someone brings up a weird idea, give it a chance. It may not work on the whole but there may be pieces in there that can help you improve some aspect of your game. At the very least, you’re showing your co-workers that you appreciate and respect their contributions.

The bottom line is that things change. Ideas become outdated. And with technology driving change every day, process can quickly become obsolete. Take the time to examine new ideas or your competition will.