Marketing – Demand Generation Consulting

The Elusive Smartwatch (Why Every Manufacturer Wants One)

August 16, 2013September 8, 2018MattLeave a Comment

Once again, rumors are rampant that a big manufacturer is just weeks away from introducing a smartwatch. This talk has been around for years but this time it looks like Samsung will be delivering.

So why have so many manufacturers been linked to the smartwatch or wearable device trend? The article linked above states that it’s about creating a new niche in a market that has not seen much innovation. While this is certainly true, it’s also attractive because it’s linked to a more basic marketing principle – social proof.

Social proof essentially states that when faced with an ambiguous situation, people will do what they see their peers doing (BTW if you haven’t read, “Influence” by Robert Cialdini, stop reading this and get it now).

Smartphones recently outsold feature phones for the first time. And it would be hard to argue against their visibility. It’s impossible to sit in a busy public place and not see someone using one. But there’s a big problem with phones. They are in your pocket a large percentage of the time. Not the best trait when trying to spur mass adoption of a device.

In the early days of the MP3 player, you could identify an iPod user by the white earbuds. They stood out and gave consumers a way to show off their purchase. By increasing visibility and identification, Apple was utilizing social proof. People who weren’t sure if they wanted or needed an MP3 player saw these white earbuds everywhere, and (consciously or unconsciously) registered a vote for the iPod each time they were noticed. When they explored purchasing an MP3 player, guess which one they looked at first?

The smartwatch increases the visibility exponentially. Where a smartphone (or MP3 player) is in a pocket, a wristwatch is always visible. If Samsung, or Apple can get early adopters to begin wearing these devices, it’s easy to see them being conversation starters. There are people who use cell phones as status symbols, whipping them out at every opportunity. Just imagine how easy this gets when it’s always visible.

I’m not sure what these devices will look like but I’m betting on one thing; Look for these devices to be quickly identifiable as an Apple or Samsung product. Look for this generation’s white earbuds. In this way, companies can start racking up those social votes, even with people who never considered a smartwatch. The race is on to capture this market and the high-octane fuel is social proof.

Think about how you can leverage this principle with your product or service. Can you give your fans a way to identify as a fan and to show it off even when they aren’t saying a word?

“sent from my iPad” 😉

When You Think You’ve Done Enough…

July 3, 2013September 8, 2018MattLeave a Comment

Do More.

This is a quick motto that I keep in my head for those days when I just want to get that euphoria (I can’t be the only one) that can only be felt by clicking the task as completed in Outlook.

We all have project timelines and it’s important to keep to them. But, the difference between good and great could be that little extra effort that you put in when the competition has already gone home. This is especially true when working with customers. Take the extra time, make the extra effort, and they will reward you by coming back and telling their friends. If you don’t, they will still tell their friends, but you won’t like what they say.

Fighting a Kingdom? Find the Back Door

June 6, 2013October 16, 2018MattLeave a Comment

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!

Between the Customer and the Bottom Line – Who Wins?

October 10, 2012September 8, 2018MattLeave a Comment

In the business of marketing it’s our job (among others) to drive new sales. Often, we get caught in the middle between a sales team that wants all-or-nothing, no holds barred tactics, and our own sense of ethical marketing. While gimmicks and tricks can help boost the pipeline in the short run, in the long run they can be a death sentence. Think about these facts from SCORE :

The High Cost of Losing A Customer

The lowest-ranking employee in a business can lose more customers than can be gained by the highest-ranking employee.
In the average business, for every customer who bothers to complain, there are 26 others who remain silent.
The average wronged customer will tell 8 to 16 people (about 10 percent will tell more than 20 people).
91 percent of unhappy customers will never purchase goods or services from you again.
If you make an effort to remedy customer’s complaints, 82 to 95 percent of them will stay with you.
It costs about 5 times as much to attract a new customer as it does to keep an existing one.

The fourth bullet really stands out to me. 91 percent of unhappy customers will NEVER purchase goods or services from you again. In tandem with the last bullet, it’s plain to see that we want to do everything we can to keep customers happy.

The temptation is always there when it comes to e-mail marketing. It is simply too easy, and too quick to push a button to see if you can move the needle. Keep customer interests, not your bottom line, as the number one priority. The beauty of it all? Find where those two intersect and you’ve got a winner!

If you are asked to choose between pulling tricks to pull in revenue and honest, effective marketing, remember these stats!

3 Ways Netflix Could Have Handled Pricing-Gate Differently

July 18, 2011July 18, 2011MattLeave a Comment

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.

Gift Wrap

December 23, 2010December 23, 2010MattLeave a Comment

Preparing for the upcoming holiday, I realized how poor my wrapping skills are. For a moment I thought that maybe I should take my gifts to the mall and have them wrapped by a pro. Then I thought about how my friends and family would react to me telling them that. I think they would have been disappointed.

Here’s why: Giving a gift isn’t just about the material transaction. It’s about the emotional transaction.

A gift says that you took the time out of your day to focus on that one person. The gift wrap shows that not only did you spend money, but you spent more time and more effort (to at least try) to make the present look nice.Taking the easy way out and having someone else wrap the present, shows an unwillingness to spend that extra time and effort.

In a competitive market where the product life cycle is shortening by the minute, the only thing you have to offer is gift wrap.

What can you do to let your customers know that you’re focused on them?

It’s Not About What You Want

May 5, 2010May 13, 2010MattLeave a Comment

As marketers it can be relatively easy to get sucked out of reality into the dream world where our company offers everything WE could ever want it to. Everything WE offer is cutting edge, revolutionary, and safer than ever, even if that’s not necessarily true. Problem is, WE don’t matter. What matters is providing, to quote McCann Erickson’s enduring slogan, ‘Truth well told’.

The moment marketing collateral begins to edge away from truth, brand equity begins to chip away. And when people can’t believe what you say, whatever you do say starts to matter less. In the age of social media, brands can’t afford to be disingenuous.

So the next time you’re thinking about rounding the corners to make your brand look good. Think about the last time you bought a product that was grossly overstating its potential and how you felt about that brand.

You don’t have to exaggerate to be successful. You just have to concentrate on finding real benefits. Real benefits beat unmet expectations every time.

Spring Cleaning – Welch Style

April 2, 2010MattLeave a Comment

Jack Welch is famous for removing the lowest performing (bottom 10%) from his staff. So this year I challenge you to do the same. I’m not saying go out and start handing out pink slips in the parking lot, but take this opportunity to evaluate your marketing programs.

What has been performing above average, about average, and below average? Has this trend been about the same for the last few quarters? Years? If something is continually performing below others, cut it out. Money and time are precious, don’t waste it on things that aren’t giving you back what others could.

And if you find any Boston or Kiss records while you are doing your other cleaning, send them over. Mine are skipping!

Manufacturing Inspiration

March 4, 2010Matt1 Comment

Slightly NSFW –

I love this episode from “The D” . In their own way, they talk about trying to force inspiration when a deadline is approaching. As Jack says, sometimes the best thing to do is to get out of your traditional thought process. Don’t keep trying to do what your competition is doing (only slightly better). Do something completely out of the ordinary – make them copy you! You might want to keep at least a towel on while your brainstorming though!