Be Different or be dead

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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August 25, 2011

Why customer appreciation days are an insult to people and don’t work

Source: Unsplash

Why customer appreciation days are an insult to people and don’t work.

Customer appreciation events are commonplace in business.

Customer appreciation day, week or for the more ambitious, month, are intended to show customers how much they are cared for.

Why? I don’t get the logic. And in most instances it’s hypocritical.

Do we only appreciate or care for people one day (or week, or month) a year?

Do we save up all our love and dump it on them at one time and expect them to thank us and believe we sincerely want to develop a deep intimate relationship with them?

I have always been offended by this marketing tactic because it implies that the business doesn’t give a damn about someone for the rest of the year

Even worse is the situation where a company with marginal service does this believing it will mend broken customer relationships. Really?

Think you’re fooling people? Think again.

So, to those who want to throw their money into an event that few customers believe in, I say this: invest in providing caring service to your customers every moment of every day and you shall reap the rewards of rich fan relationships and maniacal advocates who will spread your word to others.

Keep ‘grinning’ your most precious asset once during the year and you won’t be around long.

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

• Posted 8.25.11 at 09:59 am by Roy Osing
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August 15, 2011

Why magical feelings are created by the best marketers

Source: Unsplash

Why magical feelings are created by the best marketers.

There are four basics of storm marketing.

▪️ Create value; don’t flog products and services;

▪️ Focus on your loyal customers to grow your business. These are the people who care about you and what you do;

▪️ Create packages of value to reflect the broad range of wants and desires people have as opposed to a narrow set of needs;

▪️ Target individuals with your offerings rather than the mass market.

What is value?

First, it is different for every person. Everyone values different things. What is valuable to one person is of less or more value to the next.

Next it is the feeling or emotion people get from what you do or supply.

Value is described by words that complete the sentence: “I felt ...”: happy, surprised, joyfull, pleased, important, honored, amazed, listened to and cared for.

If you create these feelings in the people that do business with you, you provide value.

Value is derived from an experience.

Think about the last time you were in a restaurant and you had an amazing experience. What made you feel incredibly delighted?

Whatever it was defines value. The personal service. The caring attention. The comfortable surroundings. The elegant atmosphere. The funny server. The chef that visited your table. All dimensions of the value you received.

Marketing should be in the feelings creation game.

Like it or not, your product doesn’t really matter as long as it works 24X7X365.

Add another dimension to the position of Chief Marketing Officer.

Bring in the Chief Feelings Officer.

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

• Posted 8.15.11 at 11:00 am by Roy Osing
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