Brand Regeneration Pres.
December 29, 2010
KTVB Features Justin Foster
December 22, 2010
Above is a clip from my appearance last week on KTVB’s Noon News with Carolyn Holly. My topic was the “Myths of Word-of-Mouth”.
Here are the myths:
1) Myth: Word-of-Mouth is a tactic. A tactic is something you execute or do. Examples in marketing: media buy, creative, web, etc. All things you do. As such, WOM is NOT a tactic. It’s not something you do; it’s something you are. Of course, there are steps and processes to generate WOM, but WOM is not something you can buy.
2) Myth: Word-of-Mouth doesn’t cost money. This may sound like a conflict with #1, so here’s what I mean: It may not cost money to BUY word-of-mouth, but it certainly can cost money to CREATE it. The time, money, and energy that goes in to creating an interesting product or service is all part of the cost of WOM. That said, paying to be interesting can a lot less expense and for more sustainable than paying for attention. A portion of cost can also go towards grassroots marketing, creating sampling, conducting surveys, etc.
3) Myth: Word-of-Mouth means you don’t need to advertise. WOM is often positioned as the opposite of advertising. In reality, they are two separate issues. In many cases, brands need to use advertising to create interest, perception, behavior, etc. Boring brands need to pay more to make this happen. WOM-driven brands can still use advertising - often to further enhance a competitive advantage. These brands use advertising to “fan the flames” of excitement. Think Apple, Southwest, or Harley. They aren’t creating awareness, they are further stirring existing buzz.
I mentioned an ancient and timeless rule in the piece:
Being interesting = creating stories = generating word-of-mouth.
So if you wish you had more WOM and don’t, see the first part of the formula.
If you think you are interesting, but aren’t generating stories then either you are probably not interesting - or you are doing a poor job of capturing and re-telling stories.
If indeed you are interesting, then use your marketing dollars to tell and create stories - and it will create even more WOM!
Shaping Culture
December 8, 2010
At Tricycle, we are always talking about creating the right culture within your organization. The fastest way to shape your culture is to start by hiring the right people. I recently saw this contract application. It isn’t your typical job application…What do you think? For more about the actual position and even to apply, check here.
* Required
Your name *
The one your parents gave you…
Invent an application ID number *
Your initials followed by a four digit number that you won’t forget (e.g. SG1234). I’ll use this to anonymously post the finalists so people can informed about whether or not they made the cut.
Your email address *
So we can contact you
Where do you live now? *
City or state or whatever
A phone number
In case we need to make voice contact
More about you
Where do you live online? A blog or a Squidoo page or some other way to see who you are and what you do
Tell me about the books you read… *
Not by me… books that have changed the way you think or do your job
Where are you going? *
What do you want to do next? What are you hoping to learn?
True story #1: Tell me about a project you successfully shipped *
Preferably where you were in charge
True story #2: Tell me about working in a team *
A project you participated in
Publishing experience *
Check all that apply
Book publishing
Book editing
Online media
Magazine publishing
Other:
Publishing experience *
Feel free to fill me in on the above (if you don’t have any professional experience at this, don’t fret, it’s not the end of the world)
Skill testing question #1 *
Which superpower is more highly leveragable: flight or invisibility?
Skill testing question #2 *
A turtle and a giraffe leave Cleveland, walking in different directions. The turtle walks at 5 meters per second, the giraffe at 12 meters per second. What color is the street sign?
True story #3: Getting picked *
What’s the most demanding/exclusive application process you’ve ever been through? Who picked you and why?
Technical chops *
Tell us about your skills with various web apps or languages or whether you can operate a Zojirushi rice cooker
What do you do now? *
Where and what and how, etc.
Good Business Starts with Your Story
December 1, 2010
Good Business Starts with Your Story
Posted by: Today’s Tip Contributor on November 18, 2010
Something I learned early on as an entrepreneur and small business owner is that starting and maintaining a successful business depends on how well you understand and tell your company’s story. It sounds overly simplistic. Still, identifying and staying true to your new company’s story creates the foundation for a strong and healthy business. Consider the following tips:
1. Determine your MIT (most important thing). Passionate and excited entrepreneurs are often sidetracked by all the things they hope to accomplish with their new company, among a seemingly endless array of possibilities. Clarity of purpose is critical in the first months and years of developing a business. This approach provides the structure for how you make decisions and adopt strategies. You must be able to tell your company story in one sentence or less. This is your MIT. Wal-Mart does this exceedingly well. The company pledges to deliver the lowest-cost products, period. FedEx promises to deliver overnight, guaranteed. Achieving this level of simplicity and clarity is fundamental to success.
2. Live your story. Take your MIT and build a story around it that explains, as briefly as possible, who you are, what you are doing, and why it matters. In many instances, the only reason someone will pay more for your product or service than your competitors’ is because they believe that the story about your product demonstrates that it has more intrinsic value than your competition.
This is a critical point. It is all about value and values. People make decisions on products and services based on enlightened self-interest. They will weigh the dollar cost of the product with the story they want to tell about their own lives and how the product you are selling contributes to, or detracts from, their life story. Ultimately, if your product story is compelling enough to that customer—if it contributes to the story they want to tell about themselves—you win.
3. Write the Next Chapter. Last, live the story you tell and allow it to evolve. As your business grows, you will find that some of your assumptions and hypotheses are no longer valid. This may affect the way you tell your story. Like a good book, your story will have unexpected turns and twists but be sure to embrace them and allow them to be part of your company history, even if they require admitting you were wrong, duped, or naïve in the past. If your intentions are good and people can see this, they will appreciate you all the more for the honesty and humility demonstrated by your willingness to learn and grow.
Richard Averitt
Founder
A Part of Something Big
Nellysford, Va.
Dale Dixon, CEO of BBB-Snake River Region, brought this article to my attention. It is a simple, quick read that captures the essence of branding.
A few comments:
- All great brands are great stories. Great stories beat campaign slogans, tag-lines, media spin, and ad buys.
- Great stories can be compressed down to a 30 sec ad or a billboard, but you have to work at it. That said, great stories can be told in all mediums: word-of-mouth, a cardboard sign, a video, etc. If it can’t be told in multiple mediums, it’s probably not a great story.
- In today’s hyper-transparent culture, you can’t fake a good story or cover up a bad one.
- Unfortunately, the process of “getting your story out” has become commoditized and cliched. However, you still need a story - and it still needs to be told. The way to do this, as the article mentions, is to actually have a story. Go back and look at the definition of a story. It’s not just a beginning, middle, and end. It’s something captures the attention of the audience and holds them until a conclusion - then is naturally re-told.
Final thought … if you don’t know who you are (as a person or a company), there is no story. Start there.
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