Be Different or be dead

September 19, 2011

Great leaders do this one simple thing to be successful

Source: Unsplash

Great leaders do this one simple thing to be successful.

If ever there were a silver bullet for the leader of an organization to focus on, it’s how to be different; how to carve out a unique and relevant place in an over crowded marketplace

It’s not only a life saver, it’s THE critical driver of success.

This is what the competitive herd looks like:

— flogging products is the main tactic employed by herd members;

— lowering prices is the main strategy herd members use to acquire and keep customers;

— everyone copies everyone else in the herd under the guise of innovation;

— ‘follow the leader’ defines the typical business planning approach of all;

— product features are incrementally changed to match a competitor; delivering memorable experiences is a major void;

— mass marketing methods are used to try and sell; addressing the specific needs of individuals still lags as a marketing focus.

What an opportunity for an organization to break out from the herd and differentiate themselves by the value they create for people

Leaders need to spend more time asking their people…

▪️ “How can we be different?”

▪️ “How can we be more relevant to our customers in a unique way?”

▪️ “Why do we copy others?”

▪️ “Why are best of breed and best in class even in our vernacular?”

▪️ “Why do we have to rely on price discounting to sell our stuff?”

If leaders don’t ask the right questions they will never get the answers they need to create a remarkable organization.

The silver bullet is about differences. Go create them. Now.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 9.19.11 at 09:15 am by Roy Osing
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September 15, 2011

Why revenue targets should determine what your business plan looks like

Source: Unsplash

Why revenue targets should determine what your business plan looks like.

My business plan creation process involves answering 3 basic questions.

▪️ How big do you want to be — revenue growth goals;

▪️ Who do you want to serve — customer groups to target;

▪️ How will you compete and win — competitive differentiation strategy.

The answer to the How BIG question starts the process.

Your revenue growth goals determine the character and risk level of your strategy. A plan to grow revenue at 10% per year, for example, will look different than if your plan was to grow at 50%.

To assume that the 50% plan would be the same as the 10% plan would be folly; you simply can’t change the growth numbers and expect the plan profile to remain the same.

The latter could require, for example, more resources, new target markets and customer segments and an acquisition to get the 50% growth required.

The traditional approach to planning is to first develop the strategy and then determine the financial impacts — the numbers are set at the end of the planning process.

This has always been a problem. Typically the growth produced by the strategy is unacceptable by leadership, so the assumptions are tinkered with to produce new numbers rather than adjusting the inherent profile of the business plan.

This is a problem — you can’t change the growth targets without changing the strategy to deliver them.

The boldness of your business plan is governed by your growth goals.

Get your thinking straight on HOW BIG; then create your strategy to achieve them.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 9.15.11 at 09:00 am by Roy Osing
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September 8, 2011

Why the opposite direction is often the successful route to take

Source: Unsplash

Why the opposite direction is often the successful route to take

Distinctive. Unique. Remarkable. DiFFERENT. These words are used to describe successful organizations that know how to thrive and survive over the long term.

The challenge, of course, is to figure out how to get there.

One possibility is to be a contrarian. Do the opposite to what the faceless competitive herd is doing

Break from the trend. Get out of the box.

If the herd is doing it one way, go in the opposite direction. If they are going north, go south.

One amazing example of applying contrarianism is to look at what The Grateful Dead did. Several years ago, rock bands never allowed concert fans to record their music during a live performance due to copyright concerns bands had at the time.
The Grateful Dead did exactly the opposite and enabled their fans to do it, thinking that it made sense to have their music shared with as many people as possible and that record sales would increase as a result. They were right.

Another example is the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas that went against the trend of offering healthy food to offer a range of high calorie food including ‘the triple bypass burger’.

And a contrarian view might actually stimulate customer loyalty in the credit collections function in an organization. Organizations generally treat their collections function as a one-way collect the balance due task.

But what if you treated it as a credit management function where employees are empowered to manage credit risk and work with the customer to develop a payment plan that was a win-win for both the company and the customer? The move from collecting amounts owed to finding a mutually beneficial solution would go a long way to build a positive feeling about the company in the customer’s mind.

What if you went against the herd and focused on providing premium value at higher prices than others? The herd generally has a commodity mindset, believing that having the lowest price will garner business. The contrarian, on the other hand, plays the specialty game, looking for opportunities to create a unique brand that commands higher prices (and margins).

So, when you’re developing your business plan, specifically test the opportunities that might be available by taking a contrary position to what others are doing.

“What would happen if we went against the flow?” is the question that should be probed to see if you can BE DiFFERENT, get noticed and standout from the crowd.

Go against the herd. Practice opposition and get noticed

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 9.8.11 at 10:00 am by Roy Osing
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September 1, 2011

The Grateful Dead were amazing marketers for 3 simple reasons

The Grateful Dead were amazing marketers for 3 simple reasons.

The most successful touring concert band was The Grateful Dead. Some of you may have even been ‘Dead Heads’; members of their tribe who religiously showed up at every one of their shows.

Apart from their musical genius, however, was their marketing acumen.

Students of the Dead discover just how progressive their thinking was when it came to building a fan base and creating financial success.

Here are 3 things the Dead did to separate themselves from other bands.

1. Focus on your loyal fans for growth

Delight them and trust they will not only buy your stuff but they will talk about you to others. The Dead gave their fans the priority over others. Long before social media tools were available they made a point of knowing who their fans were and engaging with them regularly.

They engaged with them and kept them up to date on concerts and other happenings. Unlike most other organizations, their loyal fans were the first to get preference on seating and any other special deals the Dead were offering. Word of mouth was their focus for growth. It happened.

2. Create memorable experiences for your fans

If you WOW! their feelings, they will most certainly do business with you. The Dead didn’t set out with the prime purpose of selling records. They focused on blowing their fans away at their concerts; by creating an experience they would never forget. Their fans returned the favor by buying records.

3. Be contrarian; go opposite to the crowd

Don’t copy what others do. All that will do is perpetuate what the common herd does. Don’t conform; be different. The Dead made it easy for fans to record their music. They provided recording equipment to do it when every other band jealously protected their music from being recorded by audiences.

The Dead didn’t care what any other band did. They wanted to go against the grain to make it easy for their fans to record and share their music.

BE DiFFERENT marketing has its roots in unexpected places. Check out the Dead!

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 9.1.11 at 10:00 am by Roy Osing
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