The Strange Case of Otto Rohwedder...or...Is your business the best thing since sliced bread?
I was skimming through Wikipedia (don't ask...) and I came across the story of Otto Rohwedder. Apparently, he invented the first single-loaf bread slicing machine in 1928. The thing is, when it was first launched it didn't really catch on. It got him some regional attention but most people thought it was unnecessary and kept right on going to the bakery for a whole loaf.
Then two things happened that made sliced bread the staple that it is today. First, Wonder Bread started marketing sliced bread nationally in 1930. Wonder Bread was already a popular bread bakery, but they used the innovation of sliced bread to launch their national brand. Even with this national push, it still probably wouldn't have caught on as well if it wasn't for another man named Charles P. Strite.
Who is that? He's the guy that invented the spring loaded, single slice toaster. He invented the machine in 1919, but he couldn't sell more than a few as a novelty. But it soon became apparrent that the Wonder Bread slices fit perfectly into the toaster. Now there was a practical reason for both sliced bread and the toaster and as a result, sales for both skyrocketed.
What struck me is that the biggest beneficiary of the invention of sliced bread wasn't the inventor of the new innovation. The biggest beneficiary was the one that was able to spread the IDEA of the innovation. In your own business, you could (and should) probably boil your company down to one Big Idea. This is the problem you exist to solve. The improvement that you represent over what was there before you. Whatever your Big Idea is, this is the idea that you want to spread. A good portion of your marketing effort should be directed to ensuring that the IDEA of your company catches on. Especially if you're offering something that either wasn't there before or hasn't really caught the mainstream attention yet.
So think about what the Big Idea of your company is and look for ways that you can invade the public conciousness with that idea. After all, at the end of the day, who would you rather be: Wonder Bread, or Otto Rohwedder?
Go forth and be Ruthless!
The Social Networking for Business Project: Using Social Media
Social Networking is actually an umbrella label. Within "social networking" in general are several different categories of social networks, each with its own value. So in my social networking experiment I got to know all about the world of one of those categories: Social Media.
Social Media, specifically, is a network built around user generated media. From the more ubiquitous YouTube, to sites like Digg or Twitter, these types of sites can present several unique and valuable opportunities to communicate with your audience.
YouTube, for example, has several possible uses. First, you can try to create your own viral video. You know, the kind of video that someone forwards to you with the note: "You've got to see this!" That's a viral video. So named, because it spreads like...well, a virus.
Although most viral videos have been humorous, perhaps even silly or weird, there have been established brands that have used it very effectively to build buzz. BMW, for example, had a series of videos about a fictional kidnapping that the hero foiled using his BMW. The object was to build buzz around a new model that was launching.
Viral content should be used carefully in a way that never undermines your brand. If you don't want to be seen as silly, don't create silly content. On the other hand, your content must have a sharp hook that will make it something that "you have to see!"
Another use for YouTube is less "pop culture" oriented. You can start a YouTube Channel that features your videos. Here you can expound on topics, post clips from workshops you've given, etc.
However you use it, you can see how the immediate connection is made. That's why it is such a powerful medium. Plus it's set up to be shared. Every video carries with it instructions on how to link to the video, embed it in their website or share it through other social networks like Facebook and MySpace.
Another type of Social Media is the one you're reading now. That's right, blogging. If you don't have one, you should. They are easy to set up and carry the same viral capacity that YouTube has. In addition, it's possible to carry your blog with you onto other sites to increase your exposure potential. For example, this blog that you're reading now is being simultaneously broadcast on Facebook, Linked In, Plaxo, and my local newspaper.
This should give you a brief overview of Social Media and some ways that you can use it to promote your business. Have fun with it and let me know how it works out!
Go forth and be ruthless!
The Social Networking for Business Project, or... "I donated my business for science."
For the last couple of weeks, I've been conducting an experiment in the use of social media for business. A lot of talk is going on about the value of social networking sites as a grass roots way to market yourself. As a Ruthless Marketing Guru, I felt it was my duty to take it out of the realm of theory and make some practical analysis of it's true value.
Most people still think of Myspace and Facebook and others as simply toys for the young. But there is a real power in social media that, if used properly, represents real marketing potential. Having said that, it is not the medium for everyone (but we'll get to that later)
For the purposes of my experiment, I decided to really dig in to these sites and find out what treasures might lie within. I was familiar enough with most of them, but beyond the broad, common benefits, I wanted to find the less known benefits, if there were any to find. The results of my experiment were surprising to me, and I got a lot of useful information that I'll share on the blog in the days ahead. For this first post, I wanted to lay some foundation about the use and value of social networking.
Before you go off half-cocked and jump on every site you can find, you must first determine what the goals of your strategy will be. This is a basic planning step that for some reason is usually skipped when attempting internet marketing. But just like any marketing strategy, there should be measurable goals that determine whether it was successful or not. Are you looking to drive more traffic to your website? How much more? Are you looking for appointments or calls to your office? What about foot traffic? Whatever it is, you should have a clear and realistic goal for what you're undertaking, so that you can judge its effectiveness.
What types of social media will you use? There are several to choose from. There's Digg, Facebook, Myspace, StumbleUpon, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo, (getting tired yet?) YouTube and others. Then there's blogging... *whew*
So as you can see, if you don't know what you're getting into and why, it's easy to get confused or even worse...waste valuable time.
So stay with me and we'll take this journey together. At the end of it, I might add you as a friend on Facebook...
Go forth and be ruthless!
What is "Ruthless Marketing?"
Well, it's been an exciting day already! My first official day as a blogger and I've gotten more feedback than I thought for my nascent entry into the blogosphere. No negative rants yet (knock on wood) but a few interesting questions. Essentially they all boil down to "What the heck is Ruthless Marketing?"
Ruthless Marketing. Sounds rather violent, doesn't it? Well it should. If there is one thing that I've learned in all of my years in marketing and sales, it's that marketing and communications is a full-contact sport. Most people diminish the effectiveness of their marketing because they take a passive approach to their marketing efforts.
Now I'm not advocating a marketing mindset that says "I'll crush my competition under the heel of my boot! (insert evil laugh here)" However, I am advocating strategic planning that plays to win. For example, I'm advising my clients to buy as much media time as they can right now. Radio, TV, billboards, whatever they can afford. Now I know some of you are looking at me (or the screen, anyway) like I'm crazy. "Don't you know how tight the economy is right now? I'm trying to save my bottom line here!" Well that's exactly why I'm advising them to buy. Because most people are pulling back on marketing right now, it's a great time to get your message heard. That kind of counter-intuitive thinking is the essence of Ruthless Marketing.
It's pressing the attack when other businesses call for retreat. It's going after the big contracts, even though you're a one man show. It's being absolutely relentless about keeping your name in the community until the big guys don't know you're the little guy anymore. It's not being ashamed or afraid of being David to the marketplace Goliaths, 'cause you know how that turned out!
That's my approach to marketing. That's the way I advise my clients. That's the way I market myself. That's why I like working exclusively with small businesses. The big guys have plenty of people falling over themselves to work with them. I want to give Fortune 500 marketing help to the small business owner, and show them how to run with the big dogs and end up the leader of the pack.
And I'm absolutely ruthless about it...
Marketing and the Presidential Election
For those that are familiar with me, I tend to have a winner-take-all approach to marketing. Not that I play dirty, but I do play to win. The marketplace is crowded and it takes an all-or-nothing approach to cut through the noise and make your audience pay attention to your message.
In my experience, the only thing more ruthless than business is politics and this campaign was an excellent case study in Ruthless Marketing. No matter what your political affilliation is, or who you voted for, there are some key lessons that can be learned from the process and most importantly, from the winner. While there are several, I'll only list 3 main ones here...
Lesson #1 - Find your message and stay on it.
From the beginning, Obama ran as the "change" candidate. He ran on that message all the way to the White House. But more than being catchy, it followed two basic branding rules (1) your brand should be a reflection of who you are, not who you want to be and (2) use your competitive advantage as your main brand leverage point, especially if you can use it to mitigate a potential weakness.
His resume wasn't as long as his opponents and that could have been a disadvantage, but he obviously had some savvy MarCom people working for him and they used his youth and short resume and positioned it as an advantage in a marketplace tired of the "old." This is a great tip for startups in a market with older, more established names. The disadvantage of being new is that you don't have an established history. The advantage is that you don't have an established history. You're starting with a clean slate, and no negative marks on your record. No disgruntled customers or bad service experiences. Use that to your advantage and let it differentiate yourself from the competition.
Lesson #2 - Always sell to your strengths, not the competition's weaknesses.
This is a basic sales strategy that was played out on a grand scale in the election and you can see the results. Obama's campaign focused wisely on their core strengths (for the most part), and used those as contrast points, without specifically tearing down the competition. The assumption was that the audience already knew the competition's negatives, so by making simple benefit statements, the comparison and contrast would be understood.
Conversely, the McCain campaign focused almost exclusively on Obama's percieved weaknesses. In a sales scenario, this is one of the first things they tell you NOT to do. It diminishes your credibility with the customer if you spend the whole time running down the competition. If you want to position yourself against a competitor, do some research and find out what the common negative perceptions of the competitor are. Then create a marketing message that positions you as an implied contrast, without addressing the negative directly.
A great real-world example is Visa's "everywhere you want to be." The perception of MasterCard or Discover is that they're not accepted in as many places as Visa. Rather than say that explicitly, they use a simple statement that defines their advantage over the competition's percieved weakness.
Lesson #3 - Operationalize your brand
What does that mean? It means that your brand, in order to be effective, has to be reflected throughout your organization. Not just in your logo or your tagline, but in the way the phones are answered an in the way your sales staff sells. It's in your billing and collection practices as well as your customer service procedure. It should show up in the entire operation of your business and every employee should know it, understand it, believe it, and exemplify it.
Every campaign had surrogates, but the Obama campaign's surrogates seemed to have the same script wherever they went, and it was the same script that Obama had. Their message remained consistent from the senior level, to the volunteer level. They had several checks and balances built into their organizational structure designed to keep every aspect of the campaign on-message.
Your brand should be seen and felt throughout your organization. This allows for consistent communication of your brand to every customer, every time. Without that consistency you won't be successful in establishing penetration for your brand.
There are lots of other great lessons to be gleaned from the election cycle. Let me know if you agree or what others you might have noticed.