The riskiest thing you can do is be safe

Why? Because going always Safe in marketing (in life as well) means setting you up for Ordinary. Anyhow, nobody likes to admit that, but many marketers do that by default, thinking that Safe means Good, and Good is an acceptable currency in every business. 

The great news is that you don't have to settle for Good, or Ordinary, you can choose to be Great or Extraordinary. How? Think harder, listen harder and take all that and put it into a new idea. No, not a new wonderful creamy soap ... we have enough of those. Dare to do something which was never done before.

In case you are wondering where to start looking for such brave ideas, well, start by looking for trouble ... better said: look for problems. Yes, try to identify problems -- if you cannot find the solution to these problems (you must see some, unless you are perfect blind), then here is your opportunity!

If you are looking for a different source of inspiration, start watching Droopy cartoons, also keep your eyes wide closed and listen well, then come up with a solution that will help you achieve greatness.

Cheers to you and a great 2009!

Customers First -- A Key Ingredient for Success

We've all witnessed good ideas taking off in front of our eyes, powered by few basic human desires: the pleasure to publish or share news (blogging), the satisfaction to be part of something good & useful (volunteering), the desire to help other people (donations), or the ambition to leave our mark on something that goes beyond us (open source).

Google is one of the best examples. Google took off only by word of mouth due to its customer-centric focus. And so did The Body Shop। And these are just two examples of people centric, good ideas that became sound successes due to their customers who found them useful, attractive, honest, good, empowering, and worth supporting.

Although not every business is a Google or a Body Shop, the basic principles for building a business are the same। Stay focused on your customers and they will reward you.

Every business, not matter how big or small should be able to come up with some good answers to the following questions:

1.) How does this business better people's lives?

2.) How does this business inspire people?

3.) How does this business reward loyal customers?

4.) How does this business make people want to spread the word about it?

5.) How does this business inspire people to want to be part of its success?

Fueled by goodwill and trust, businesses take off a lot easier. Good, inspired marketing is never to be underestimated, but like anything else, good marketing puts the customers first.

In an open society powered by Tivo, blogs, RSS feeds, forums, brand evangelists, networking groups, advocacy groups, consumer groups, free thinking, and free speech, a business survives only if it truly answers these questions with insightful answers.

How are your customers doing? Are they in good hands?

VistaPrint – what’s beneath their success?

Robert Keane, CEO and Chairman of Vista print shared a while ago an interesting insight into VistaPrint’s success: “The marketing prowess we have in Janet’s (Janet Holian, VP Marketing) team and the 100-plus people doing direct marketing, we spend significantly more money on marketing and direct marketing than we do on printing. We spend about 20% of revenues on printing, low 20s and mid 30s in terms of marketing. Secondly, we have six-plus years of software developing in over 100 people in the technology and development group, and those - both marketing, tech and development, are growing roughly in line with revenues.”
What can we learn from Robert’s comment of his company’s success?

• having a great product is an essential, but letting people know about is paramount to your success
• a product which is excellent today must be improved to remain competitive tomorrow
• direct marketing works miracles – especially when you do it skillfully

If you like numbers, here are some related to VistaPrint: “revenue in the first quarter of fiscal year 2007 surged 73% to $50 million and net income came in at $6 million, up from $2.9 million in the same period a year ago”.

These are pretty impressive numbers, especially if you think about the fact that this on-line business serves small business customers, like you and me. It is even more impressive if you experience their services and notice how fast and well they respond to their customers and how their products are as good as they say they are.

Is your marketing in-tune with your goals?

Consumer-centric marketing

If there is one thing I can say for sure after 15 years of marketing brands – big brands, new brands, local brands, global brands, etc. - is that consumer is truly in charge now.

This is wonderful for all of us -- as consumers. But as marketers -- we should never lose sight of this. By breathing and living this reality into our products or services, we will manage to succeed into this consumer-driven marketplace.

To give you the best example, let me remind you about the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment, back in 2006. If it doesn’t ring a bell, here is the amazing long story short, demonstrating the infinite power of the consumer and the success that surrounds in-tune, smart marketers:

In 2006, some of us saw the Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments by Fritz and Grobe. This video was viewed more than 10 million times -- quite an awesome record!

What do you think was the reaction of Coca-Cola and Mentos to this experiment?

• Later that same week, Mentos called to offer support. They said to Voltz: “We love what you're doing, how can we help?" Immediately, Mentos began shipping EepyBird thousands of mints for their experiments. Now this is what I call “in-tune, smart marketing.” Follow what your consumers love and let them have fun with your product. So many other people will follow and your brand’s sales will go through the roof!

• Now, Coca-Cola had a different reaction: on June 12, a Coca-Cola spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal: "We would hope people want to drink [Diet Coke] more than try experiments with it." She added, "The craziness with Mentos… doesn't fit with the brand personality of Diet Coke." That summer, Voltz and Grobe received two T-shirts and baseball caps from Coca-Cola, along with a note wishing them well.

This is a screaming example of “out-of-touch-marketing” coming from one of the most well known company in the world. What a shame! What a missed opportunity!

Nevertheless, when a company learns from its own mistakes, we tend to forgive that company for previously being... dumb. So not long after, Coca-Cola decided to change gears and listen to its consumers. On July 9, Coke decided to include on their corporate websites The Coke Show -- a series of user-generated videos created by people who loved Voltz and Grobe’s experiments. Toward the end of summer, Coke and Google approached Voltz and Grobe about a deal. That’s what I call “Good morning, Coca-Cola," and "Yes: the consumer is in charge today, not you."

Is your marketing in tune with your consumer?

To network or not to network?

Is this even a question anymore?

“ Over 90% of the consumers site Word of Mouth” as their most influential source of information when buying products & service”. You get the picture.

So far, no new news. But think about this: how do you generate word of mouth? How do we know which voices will bring credibility to our product/service and which ones will not?

Like with any marketing tactic, word of mouth should be well though and planned for in advance. In the end, no surprise is the best surprise in marketing.

Here are a couple of key things you should think about when planning for your word of mouth activities:

• A happy customer tells 5 friends about her experience; an angry customer tells 500 people about her experience.

Learning: strive to keep all your customers happy if you want to succeed.

• People who have had a positive experience with your product are your best messengers.

Learning: don’t settle for the low hanging fruit when it comes to choosing the voices who talk about your product/service – go with the best: your happy customers.

• Good news travels extraordinarily fast.

Learning: go the extra mile with your clients, make them extra-happy first and then reward them again for telling their story (about your product/service) to their friends. Don’t try this the other way round!

• If you are thinking that paying people to talk about your business is a good idea, consider this: for each 100 people who get paid to generate word of mouth for you, there is only 1 credible voice.

Learning: don’t waste your money on paid “positive opinions” – go for the real ones.

• Fish where the fishes are.

Learning: when you spread the word, make sure that the word gets to your potential customers.

• Any good news needs a media to travel.

Learning: when you receive great feedback from your customers, ask them to allow you to share their testimonial with other potential customers.

• Less is more.

Learning: it is not how many voices talk about your product, but how credible they are and who’s listening to them.

How are you planning for your word of mouth marketing?