January 30, 2012

3 Alerts For Benchmarking

I know that Benchmarking is viewed as a necessary process for most organizations. But I have a major issue with it.
Beware of these 3 things:

1. It’s copying. It doesn’t make you special. It may help you improve your position in The Herd, but it does nothing to help you Stand-out from The Herd. Copying is the enemy of BE DiFFERENT. if The Herd goes East, go West. If The Herd says Black, say White.

2. It keeps you in The Herd. Best of Breed is still in The Herd. An imprint of the #1 Herd Member still keeps you with your ‘Sameness brethren’. The Herd is not your friend. You need to break away from it, not find consolation in it’s attributes.

3. It robs you of your individuality. Benchmarking forces you to conform. Forces you to BE SaME. Forces you to capitulate to the leader of The Herd. What’s your problem? Can’t think for yourself?

YOU owe it to yourself to express your uniqueness. The Herd is common. Invisible. Ignored.

Express yourself. Distance yourself. BE YOU!

It’s ok to observe what The Herd is doing and adopting from the Best what might improve your performance. It’s quite another thing to assume that copying them will help you win the competitive battle.

Winning is about Standing-out not Fitting-in.

Look at The Herd.
Go a DiFFERENT way.

Cheers,
Roy
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Posted 1.30.12 at 05:20 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 5, 2012

6 Mistakes Business Start-ups Make

Guest Blog - Frankly Speaking / The Power in Saying Hello.
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The Herd’s Brain Has 5 Parts

Got an idea you think can make you lots of money? Good. Chalk one up to you for coming up an innovative thought.

But the REAL challenge you have is to figure out HOW to monetize it. If you can’t turn your “Brave Idea” into a “Crude Deed” by getting people to buy it, your idea is wasted.

So…here are 6 mistakes entrepreneurs absolutely MUST avoid:
1. Not determining how your idea is DiFFERENT than your competition. Ultimate success will be determined by staking a unique claim in the market. If your idea is the same as, or similar to something already out there, it will be invisible. It won’t attract attention and no none will buy it.

2. Not clearly identifying who the POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS for your idea are. Winning is all about targeting your idea to very specific groups of people and giving them a reason to buy from you. It’s NOT about flogging your idea to the masses and hoping it will stick to some of them. If you can’t define your potential customers, STOP.

3. Not involving people who have a strong MARKETING and customer SERVICE background. Ultimately, the success of your idea will depend on “go-to-market” effectiveness. Better have people on board who have experience in serving customers and providing value-based solutions to people. Technology and finance expertise are needed as well, but in a supportive role. People responsible for customers must be your anchor.

4. Not TESTING your idea with potential customers. It’s not about how excited you and your friends are about your idea,  it’s about what your potential customers think. Get them in a room and present your idea. Ask them to evaluate it. Do they think it satisfies a real need they have? Do they think it’s different than other stuff out there? Would they buy it? How much would they be prepared to pay for it? Would they likely tell their fiends about it? Does your idea excite them?

5. Not defining the unique VALUE you are creating with your idea. Business success comes from supplying value to people. Figure out how you are satisfying a want or desire that your potential customers have. This will form the basis of your marketing efforts and your pitch to potential investors.

6. Thinking that technology will sell itself. It’s not about a product or service. It’s about VALUE. People don’t buy technology, they buy what the technology creates for them. Happiness. Joy. Pleasure. Solution to a problem. Make it easy. This kind if stuff.

Then there is the potential investor. What will it take to convince her to part with some of her money and help you launch your idea? If you fall into the above traps, your audience with her will likely be short and unrewarding.

Cheers,
Roy
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Posted 1.5.12 at 05:01 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 16, 2011

Saturday: 3 To Do’s for Starting a New Business

Saturday: Trauma Marketing
So you have a cool idea that you think people will love. You think it will make you lots of money. You want to start your own business.
How do you go about it? What are the things you should do to at least increase your chances of success?
1. Before you do anything spend time asking yourself “How will I BE DiFFERENT from my competitors?”. If you don’t have your competitive strategy figured out you will be in The Herd doing what they do. You won’t get noticed and will likely fail. Be the ONLY one who does what you do. Get your “HOW to WIN” thinking straight first.
2. Keep your Planning Horizon short. Think in terms of what you want to achieve over the next 24 months. The bank may want a 5 Year Plan but you need to keep your eyes on short term goals. EXECUTION is critical and is enabled through a focus on “What am I going to do in the next 30 days?”. Remember: the 5th year of a 5-year an never shows up!
3. Create a Fan base for your idea. People who love it. People who want you to succeed with it. People who are willing to commit their time and energy to spread your word to others. Use them to start your marketing efforts. It’s the most inexpensive and effective way to get going. And if you have trouble organizing a group of support for your idea then maybe it’s not a good idea.
Key concepts: ONLY competitive positioning, monthly goals and Fan Marketing.
Good luck!

Cheers,
Roy


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Posted 7.16.11 at 05:00 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 9, 2010

MUG Solutions: A Great Case Study for Start-Ups

MUG Solutions of Vancouver, BC has developed an innovative solution to an increasing used drug needle problem in urban centers: a product that prevents biohazard such as used syringes from being stuffed into manholes. The value of this solution: work safety improves (the manhole environment is no longer contaminated with used needles) and manhole maintenance costs goes down (no need to clean in manholes ever again).

Tina Thompson, CEO, describes how she took her ‘Brave Business Idea’ and turned it into reality.

“Having a unique product or concept really does make some things easier, but doesn’t mean you can simply turn on the lights of your business and think everyone will just come to the party. You have to BE DiFFERENTin the market, be responsible to stakeholders, get credibility, and then tell EVERYONE.

Here are some specific Practices I adopted to launch my Company:
> The Guiding Principle Roy Osing gave us was: ‘To make a brilliant business out of a bright idea you have to BE DiFFERENT!’ This was critical in keeping us focused on what we had to do to be successful.
> We took this Principle and created the only statement to express our uniqueness:

We provide the only permanent solution that prevents biohazard contaminants (such as used syringes) and all other debris from entering manholes.

> We required a deep understanding of our customers’ secrets. Worker health and safety is critical to our clients such as Hydro and Communications Companies, but ultimately what expedites their decision making process are economics.The ability to provide a product that keeps EVERYTHING from going into the manholes was translated into the HUGE savings these companies would realize by never having to clean the manholes.
> Being DiFFERENT provides tremendous opportunity for recognition and press. We have an interesting story, with a unique product that solves a very real problem for everyday workers that most people aren’t aware of. We pitched as many media sources as we could and secured significant opportunities to tell our story.
> Essential to getting media attention: the ability to communicate your relevance (the important problem you are solving), your uniqueness (how you are DiFFERENT), and your elevator pitch (your only statement).
> We had to establish our credibility in the community, and there is nothing more effective than having a large well respected company providing a testimonial for your company/product/service. In our case we had the great fortune of working with TELUS and receiving a testimonial from them.
> We received two of the prestigious Stevie Awards for Women in Business 2008: Best New Company of the Year and Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year. We were also a finalist for two other Stevie Awards: Best New Product of the Year and Most Innovative Company of the Year. In addition, the Canadian Society of Safety Engineers awarded us with Outstanding Achievement by a Safety Professional.
> Ultimately, no matter how cool the product is, what matters is the human connection. There is a social issue that exists that results in the need for MUG Solutions and we are always sensitive to that. We meet with all stakeholders from occupational health and safety advocates, to company executives, to those who work at fixing the addiction issues in urban areas. Therefore, as a company we have a responsibility to hire human being lovers and we take that responsibility seriously. Our hiring principles, and our corporate strategy as a whole, focus on people who have a sense of social responsibility.”

Nicely done MUG Solutions and Good Luck!

Cheers, Roy

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Posted 9.9.10 at 07:59 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)