May 30th, 2009
Recently I had an encounter with @Just_Janie on Twitter. She told me she started a new account for her company @HouseofJerky. I proceeded to tell her that I’m not too big on jerky. She then offered to send me some of her jerky complimentary.
If you’re not always listening and paying attention as well as networking then you’re not doing enough. Janie Honeycutt was having a conversation with me on what was new with her. She wasn’t trying to force a product on me or sell me on it’s benefits. What she did was build upon a relationship and offer usefulness where applicable.
I could go into detail about each and every jerky but I won’t. I will tell you that the encounter and the person behind the company makes the product shine more. Running a business nowadays is all about timeliness and relevance. House Of Jerky took both of those into consideration when building on our relationship.
The key here is that this selling approach is a part of the long tail. She got to know me first. She sold me on me, me on her and ultimately me on our relationship. Once I buy into who you are I’ll definitely buy into what you have. Taking the time out to care about each and every one of your customers as they were an individual person ingratiates you in their hearts.
There’s no secret to this. This is about being a real person and wanting to connect. We all know we have something to sell. Take the selling out of the equation so the buying can exist more easily.
(notice the personalized 'Enjoy DB' card)
I haven’t tried jerky before so it was really thoughtful of Janie to send a House Of Jerky sampler. It included beef, buffalo, venison, ostrich, and turkey in hot, sweet & spicy, teriyaki, black pepper and exotic flavors. I recommend finding out which jerky you love by trying the All Flavors Jr. Variety Pack. It’s inexpensive ($36.99) as well as all-encompassing. The best thing about the jerky besides it’s taste (you’ve got to try the Teriyaki) is that it’s all-natural. I actually understand what I’m eating.
When someone gives me something I do not feel obligated to say anything about it. It’s only when I am truly impressed OR dismayed that I do. In the case of House of Jerky, Janie Honeycutt’s interactions with me laid the groundwork to allow her products to shine on their own merit. The interaction IS a part of the selling process. You’re fooling yourself if you think you can just push product alone.
With so many options of equal value, the great differentiator is real, open and honest interactions. A great product will sell itself but an even greater salesman will sell you on you. Care about the transaction from the start to the finish. Selling starts with the customer AND ends with the customer ALWAYS.
Tags: benefit, black pepper, branding, buffalo, business, communicating, communication, communications, consumer, consumers, conversation, conversations, differential, encounter, feelings, flavors, fool, heart, hearts, interaction, interactions, listening, marketing, network, networked, networking, ostrich, paying attention, personalities, personality, productivity, real person, relationship, relevance, running a business, selling, social, social media, taking the time, timeliness, turkey, twitter, Value, variety pack, venison
Posted in branding, business, featured | 1 Comment »
May 29th, 2009
Follow Friday is a plague on Twitter and social media. It’s a Trojan Horse. It’s a seemingly harmless interaction wrapped in niceties. Even giving in to it one bit is fueling the fire even more. You’re a part of the problem if you’re not a part of the solution. Here’s why those who participate in follow friday don’t get social media and never will.
Social media isn’t about sharing at all costs. It’s about sharing at the best cost. It’s about pull NOT push.
Let’s relate follow friday into offline terms. You’re at a party (I know, because social media is one big party) and someone walks in saying that everyone there MUST know Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane. Now that’s not exactly social is it? The person literally just disrupted the party to tell everyone who they SHOULD know. It doesn’t matter if you know the disrupter or not. What matters is that the disrupter decided that their opinion was worth more than yours. They didn’t think of you first.
Social media is about pull. Social media is about personalization. Social media is about those two things plus connections. Take out pull and personalization and you just have the old way of doing things- a connection based on me telling you what to do. When you act without thinking of others first you come up with a bunch of unintended consequences.
To those of you who are moving Follow Friday off of Twitter to other areas I have one word of advice to you: don’t. You are the worst type of person, the enabler. SOCIAL MEDIA ISN’T ABOUT YOU. Social media is about everyone else. Start thinking of them first, not yourself. Blanket recommendations are akin to stereotypes- you’re covering a large landscape and inadvertently encompassing those who shouldn’t be involved in the first place.
The only way to break the cycle of me me ME is to think about you you YOU. If you care about the person you are promoting enough then TRULY care about them. Shouting to the world why they’re great is a step in the right direction but it doesn’t go far enough or stay true to social media. Personalize it.
Others and I have resorted to avoiding Twitter altogether on Fridays. The noise is so loud it drowns out the actual useful signal. I schedule blog posts around Friday now. If I’m writing about someone else they tell me to post it any day BUT Friday. This is the law of unintended consequences. It won’t be long until Friday is a day without any substance- the social media equivalent to junk food. It tastes good but you get sick of too much of it.
Remember, this is a party. What’s more meaningful- Having someone you may or may not know well proceed to tell the whole party exactly why Zoe is amazing OR having someone you know well introduce you two to each other because they feel the both of you would be a great fit? See the difference?
Social networking is a whole different ball game. Wait, no it isn’t. If you wouldn’t dream of doing what you do online in an offline setting then don’t do it. If you still think it’s okay to shout how awesome people are at other people (no matter how in-depth you get) then maybe you shouldn’t be in social media. Social media is about them not you. It’s not your time to shine it’s their time to shine. Be useful and thoughtful in all your interactions by micro-personalizing them.
THINK how your actions will affect another person before you do them. When you think of the other person first then it leaves little room for misinterpretation. Don’t be ‘that guy’ at the party and ruin it for everyone. Be the AMAZING party host that introduces two guests to one another. I GUARANTEE people will be talking about YOU before long.
Tags: advice, benefit, brand, communicating, communication, communications, conversation, disrupter, feelings, follower, friends, interaction, interactions, knowledge, landscape, life, media, network, networked, networking, niceties, personalities, personality, plague, promotions, social, social media, step in the right direction, stereotypes, thoughtfulness, trojan horse, twitter, unintended consequences, Value, walks, word of advice, words, zoe duncan jack and jane
Posted in featured, social media | 4 Comments »
May 22nd, 2009
Is the web 2.0 bubble balloon slowly deflating?
Recently Meg Pickard released an updated version of the now infamous Web 2.0 image map. This new map breaks down who is dead, acquired and alive (X, O, and no mark, respectively)
Kevin Eklund’s statistical analysis of the chart:
Web 2.0: Project or Business?
Mashable touted all those on the list (survivors included) as a testament to those willing to do rather than watch. While I tend to agree with Mashable and others concerning the survival/success rate of Web 2.0 businesses, no one is asking the important question. Only Doug Martin begins to touch upon it:
I created one of the projects Xed out on the first chart. Looking back it was a project and not a business – I got coverage on all the hot tech blogs and the associated huge spike in traffic but there really was not a business there. It did help me get my next job though and it was a fun ride.
Many Web 2.0 companies start out with a great idea, ambition and a rush to get it first to market. The problem with that is when you think like a designer or a developer you get those results. A businessman thinks of the bottom line: money.
Amazing ideas are all well and good but if you don’t have a proper monetization model in place before you launch you are setting yourself up for disaster. You also need short & long term road maps and an exit strategy. Core values and belief systems MUST be set up before you can start doing business. Crawl, walk, run, fly.
I’m not interested in a failure rate or what that means for a new web industry. What I am interested in is why. Why did these companies fold? Why are some still around? Why did some get acquired? Rates mean nothing without reason behind them.
Web You.0
Meg Pickard is at least asking one question, a question about creating a new roadmap:
“If anyone would like to make a new collage of startups in this genre for 2009, I’d be very interested to see it – please post the link in the comments. Here’s the collage above, but with all the defunct companies removed. There are plenty of healthy and exciting companies around these days which could fill those empty spaces. Who’ll take on the task of filling the gaps?”
I propose not just a new update to the Web 2.0 map but a new way to organize it as well.
- Create a maximum uniform height and width for logos.
- Separate into color groups according to what their primary service is (sharing, storage etc).
- Make each logo into an actual clickable image map that links out to each service.
- Show how the social networking services are linked together i.e. Twitter > Facebook > Friendfeed <->Twitter
- Repeat for a Web 3.0 (aka Semantic Web) map
- Tie both the Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 map together in parallel linked maps
Just remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Also, Rome is just a city now instead of an empire. Think about that.
Tags: ambition, belief systems, beliefs, blog, brand, branding, business, businessman, chart web, collage, colors, commenters, communications, core values, design, designers, doug martin, eklund, excitement, exit strategy, experiment, Facebook, failure, failure rate, Friendfeed, fun ride, functionality, grouping, image map, interactions, lists, marketing, mashable, models, network, networked, networking, one question, organization, road maps, roadmap, social, social media, startups, statistical analysis, statistics, strategy, success rate, tech, technology, twitter, update, Value, web industry
Posted in branding, business, featured, social media | No Comments »
May 20th, 2009
I usually don’t reblog anything but sometimes I come across something that is so on point that there’s no need for me to say it any other way. The following about core values is from the United States government National Park Service training website:
What are Core Values?
The core values of an organization are those values we hold which form the foundation on which we perform work and conduct ourselves. We have an entire universe of values, but some of them are so primary, so important to us that through out the changes in society, government, politics, and technology they are STILL the core values we will abide by.
In an ever-changing world, core values are constant. Core values are not descriptions of the work we do or the strategies we employ to accomplish our mission. The values underlie our work, how interact with each other, and which strategies we employ to fulfill our mission. The core values are the basic elements of how we go about our work. They are the practices we use (or should be using) every day in everything we do.
CORE VALUES:
- Govern personal relationships
- Guide business processes
- Clarify who we are
- Articulate what we stand for
- Help explain why we do business the way we do
- Guide us on how to teach
- Inform us on how to reward
- Guide us in making decisions
- Underpin the whole organization
- Require no external justification
- Essential tenets
CORE VALUES ARE NOT:
- Operating practices
- Business strategies
- Cultural norms
- Competencies
- Changed in response to market/ administration changes
- Used individually
By Way of Comparison
By way of comparison, here are examples of Core Values identified by other organizations.
DISNEY – to make people happy.
- Nurture and promulgate wholesome American values.
- Creativity, Dream, Imagination.
- Preservation and control of the Disney magic.
- Absolute, meticulous attention to detail
MERCK – to preserve and improve human life.
- Corporate social responsibility.
- Unequivocal excellence in all aspects of the company.
- Science-based innovation.
- Honesty and integrity.
- Profit – from work that benefits humanity.
SONY – to experience the joy of advancing and applying technology for the benefit of the public.
- Elevation of Japanese culture and national status.
- Being a pioneer, not following others, doing the impossible.
- Encouraging individual ability and creativitiy.
U.S. ARMY
- Courage – Face fear, danger or adversity.
- Duty – Fulfill your obligations.
- Honor – Live up to all Army values.
- Integrity – Do what’s right, legally and morally.
- Loyalty – Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit and other soldiers.
- Respect – Treat people as they should be treated.
- Service – Put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own.
Our Core Values are a statement of the framework in which we accomplish our Mission. They express the manner in which, both individually and collectively, we pursue our mission. When we are challenged in fulfilling our mission, our Core Values sustain us and guide us in meeting the challenge. - National Leadership Council, 2001
Tags: american values, basic elements, benefit, brand, branding, business, business processes, business strategies, collectibles, communicating, communication, core values, creativity, cultural norms, experiences, experiment, follower, government politics, guide business, happiness, imagination, integrity, interaction, interactions, justification, life, marketing, merck, meticulous attention, moral, national park service, nurture, organization, personal relationships, personalities, personality, politics, politics and technology, profitability, relationships guide, responsibility, social, strategy, technology, Tenets, united states government, Value
Posted in branding, business, featured, life | No Comments »
May 19th, 2009
What’s in a great brand?
You are.
A bad brand pushes their products on you. A good brand sells their benefits to you.A great brand sells you to you.
- A great brand shows you how you are integral to them.
- A great brand personalizes your experience.
- A great brand draws you in because you see yourself there.
- A great brand compels you to share so your friends want to get involved.
- A great brand knows that the most important thing to you is you.
- A great brand is a great host.
- A great host makes sure that each guest is the center of attention.
A great brand doesn’t tell you how you need them.
A great brand shows you how they need you.
Terminate Yourself | Trek Yourself
via Adam Cohen‘s blog A Thousand Cuts Is User Generated Content the New Campaign Standard?
Tags: benefit, brand, branding, consumers, experiences, experiment, friends, integrity, networking, personalities, personality, productivity, selling, social, technology, Value
Posted in branding, featured, life | 4 Comments »
May 18th, 2009
GREAT BRAND
or
GR8 BR&
SAY MORE WITH LESS.
The advent of 140 characters has forced us to choose our words wisely.
We now convey more info in a shorter time/space.
Why use ___ when you can use ___?
The old standbys:
lol, gtg, ttyl, brb
The new standbys:
retweet, RT, Via vs. ~
look vs. QQ
open vs. <->
close vs. >-<
this or that vs. %
The difference?
Old shortens to initials.
New creates ideas.
A GR8 BR& CRE8s
Tags: advent, brand, branding, communicating, consumers, conversation, designers, functionality, goals, initials, interactions, knowledge, productivity, retweet, rt, social media, standbys, time space, ttyl, twitter, Value, words
Posted in branding, business, featured, social media | No Comments »
May 17th, 2009
We all wear items that highlight our personalities. Some of us follow trends. The ones that do feel like they’re trying too hard. You can spot them from a mile away. If this describes your brand then you have a huge problem on your hands.
Branding is as much about image as it is about communication. The communication of that image is all your customer has to go on.
A flashy gimmick may get my attention right away but what about down the road? An image that’s more polished and pulled together will stay with me much longer than a “look at me” outfit.
Gimmicks for gimmick sake don’t feel authentic. People get that instantaneously. Your image doesn’t need to be one of a corporate shill to feel true. You can also look really relaxed, fun or just down to earth.
Don’t turn someone’s true way of being into your flash-in-the-pan eyeball-catcher. Own it.
Make it yours; don’t take someone else’s.
Tags: attribute, attributes, authenticity, brand, branding, communicating, communication, communications, corporate shill, down to earth, eyeball, feelings, flash in the pan, follower, gimmick, gimmicks, personalities, personality, sake, true way
Posted in branding, business, featured | 1 Comment »
May 16th, 2009
I’m simplifying my life. In order to focus on what matters I am getting rid of what does not. It was really timely when I came across Clear Your Clutter, Find Your Life. The article makes a major point under the sub-head ‘Chip away at what isn’t you’:
Go through each shelf and drawer and remove absolutely everything that detracts from your brand or drags you back to some old idea of yourself.
An article focused SOLELY on cleaning out the clutter in your personal life and space refers to YOUR BRAND.
This should NOT be forgotten. You are what you surround yourself with. Does everything in your life reflect who you truly are? If not get rid of it. Less IS more.
This brings me to another resource I came across while I was doing a little digital cleaning: John Maeda‘s Laws of Simplicity. To live holistically, apply the Laws of Simplicity to optimize your brand.
Here’s a video someone made that showcases the Laws:
The Laws of Simplicity listed below can be read in fuller depth here
John Maeda talking about the Laws of Simplicity at a TED talk
If you’d like to buy the Laws of Simplicity in a physical copy:
What you focus on is what you will get more of. You have to decide for yourself what truly matters.
Clear the clutter in your life by applying the laws of simplicity. Your brand will be better for it.
GET IT?
ADDENDUM:
[this was posted on Twitter right after I finished this article]
@donforan: RT @db: “If you don’t know what you want,” the doorman said, “you end up with a lot you don’t.” ~Fight Club
Tags: brand, branding, clear the clutter, john maeda, life, lists, optimization, optimize, personal life, personalities, personality, reading, reflection, showcases, simplicity, ted, video
Posted in branding, business, featured, life | No Comments »
May 15th, 2009
What’s the difference between these two products?
Positioning.
Breyers has used all-natural ingredients for years. Their customers have taken this fact for granted as being a part of the brand identity. It’s not special anymore.
Häagen-Dazs chose to highlight this fact and market this benefit as a new luxury product.
The way they’ve ensured that their new Five product line will not cannibalize their bottom line is by this: limiting the ingredients to just FIVE ingredients. There are four essential ingredients that you must have to create ice cream. The fifth is for flavoring.
People understand that in order for them to have ‘crazy crap and the kitchen sink’ ice cream there must be more than one flavor. By limiting the scope of this new product Häagen-Dazs tells us that it’s limited and therefore special. The packaging gives off an air of luxuriousness and exclusivity by looking sparse, modern and white with minimal ornamentation. In an age of more, less truly is more.
Breyers’ step up? Take what’s already ‘All Natural’ and make it ‘Organic’:
Tags: all natural ice cream, benefit, bottom line, brand, brand identity, branding, breyers, crazy crap, essential ingredients, exclusivity, Häagen-Dazs, ice cream, ice cream brands, kitchen sink, limited, luxury product, marketing, natural ingredients, organic ice cream, organization, ornamentation, productivity, scope
Posted in business, featured | 3 Comments »
Has the Web 2.0 bubble burst?
Is the web 2.0 bubble balloon slowly deflating?
Recently Meg Pickard released an updated version of the now infamous Web 2.0 image map. This new map breaks down who is dead, acquired and alive (X, O, and no mark, respectively)
Kevin Eklund’s statistical analysis of the chart:
Web 2.0: Project or Business?
Mashable touted all those on the list (survivors included) as a testament to those willing to do rather than watch. While I tend to agree with Mashable and others concerning the survival/success rate of Web 2.0 businesses, no one is asking the important question. Only Doug Martin begins to touch upon it:
I created one of the projects Xed out on the first chart. Looking back it was a project and not a business – I got coverage on all the hot tech blogs and the associated huge spike in traffic but there really was not a business there. It did help me get my next job though and it was a fun ride.
Many Web 2.0 companies start out with a great idea, ambition and a rush to get it first to market. The problem with that is when you think like a designer or a developer you get those results. A businessman thinks of the bottom line: money.
Amazing ideas are all well and good but if you don’t have a proper monetization model in place before you launch you are setting yourself up for disaster. You also need short & long term road maps and an exit strategy. Core values and belief systems MUST be set up before you can start doing business. Crawl, walk, run, fly.
I’m not interested in a failure rate or what that means for a new web industry. What I am interested in is why. Why did these companies fold? Why are some still around? Why did some get acquired? Rates mean nothing without reason behind them.
Web You.0
Meg Pickard is at least asking one question, a question about creating a new roadmap:
“If anyone would like to make a new collage of startups in this genre for 2009, I’d be very interested to see it – please post the link in the comments. Here’s the collage above, but with all the defunct companies removed. There are plenty of healthy and exciting companies around these days which could fill those empty spaces. Who’ll take on the task of filling the gaps?”
I propose not just a new update to the Web 2.0 map but a new way to organize it as well.
Just remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Also, Rome is just a city now instead of an empire. Think about that.
Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Tags: ambition, belief systems, beliefs, blog, brand, branding, business, businessman, chart web, collage, colors, commenters, communications, core values, design, designers, doug martin, eklund, excitement, exit strategy, experiment, Facebook, failure, failure rate, Friendfeed, fun ride, functionality, grouping, image map, interactions, lists, marketing, mashable, models, network, networked, networking, one question, organization, road maps, roadmap, social, social media, startups, statistical analysis, statistics, strategy, success rate, tech, technology, twitter, update, Value, web industry
Posted in branding, business, featured, social media | No Comments »