Jul 30, 2009 | Innovation, Marketing, Sales, Strategy
The digital age has made the notion of copyright as an enforceable protection of an income stream outmoded. How then do you make money out of an idea?
In the past, people created stuff to be heard (or read, or seen) and that meant you could make money, because people were prepared to pay for the privilege.
In the present, and presumably, into the future, stuff is being created and everybody who chooses can hear you, for free, so the question becomes how do you make money from something you give away.
The answer is tangled up with what people do with what they hear for free, the value they can add in other ways than just flogging a single copy of a book, or CD.
Science fiction writer, blogger and all round interesting character Cory Doctorow has his books on his site, free to download, just click and there it is, saving in Australia at least $23.99 on a purchase. You can also order a hard copy, signed if you want it, and see the other stuff he has written, and get an opportunity to be exposed to his views.
As a writer, his objective is to get over a point of view, as well as making a living, and that happens any time someone reads his words. “Free Books” attracts them to the site, and often they end up buying, something, even if it is only into an idea. Most people prefer to read a book, so often an engaged reader will buy a copy of a book they have read for free, and they refer others to the book, buy it as gifts, and generally act as apostles for the specific book, and the body of work.
A number of headline bands are following the same strategy, download the music for free, and come to the concert, where they will sell you a seat, merchandise, an experience you will remember, and a place in the “triiibe”, the term coined by Seth Godin and explained in his book which he initially gave away, but has subsequently inhabited the best seller lists as a result of the value of the ideas articulated. That book gets referred to in places like this, and sales sometimes result, sales powered by the initial freebie, and the power of an idea.
Jul 24, 2009 | Management, Marketing, Sales, Strategy
The new conventional wisdom is to use the net as a marketing tool. I am certainly one who believes that the net is as influential as was the introduction of TV as a marketing medium, but the “rules” for brand building remain similar on the net as they have always been, just the emphasis, and degree of control of who receives the message is different. The focus of activity is now onto the individual, rather than a group of people who display some commonality.
The first and biggest challenge is to recruit visitors to your site, and gain their permission to engage with you, and this is getting harder by the day as the number of sites explodes, as does the sophistication of the strategies to attract users.
However, once you have a “user” to leverage the power of the net, you must:
Motivate consumers by using stories, have a narrative which individuals can use to guide their behavior, and that of their various groups of peers.
Engage with consumers individually, on some level, and facilitate connections amongst individuals who can relate to the narrative.
Leverage the power of the individual communication, by giving people something to do, a way to engage, a reason to buy.
Jul 21, 2009 | Management, Marketing, Strategy
Yesterday Telstra, Australia’s largest, formerly monopoly Telco announced that they would put a $2.20 administration fee on all payments made in person.
Even for Telstra, who have over the years dug up creative ways to convince their customers to go elsewhere, this is a coup.
Have the accountants finally taken over the madhouse? Is there anybody in marketing home (or are they all out to lunch with the ad agency?) Even if they are actually just catching up to the usurious practices of several of their competitors, the opportunity to spotlight the raping of their retail customers pockets has not been missed.
We all know that in-person service is more expensive than electronic, it is also a pretty good way for a business to connect with and understand its customers, but that is clearly of no value to Telstra who apparently know all there is to know about marketing and their customers.
Pity about the shareholders who have seen an impressive erosion of the value of their shareholdings, even before the impact of the WFC is taken into account. Is there a connection here?
So to the award, a new category, recognizing excellence in marketing stupidity, the “Twit Of The Year Award” (TOTYA) has been created to recognize Telstra’s excellence in pissing off customers. A stellar performance this year, on top of the continual failure of their bigpond servers to work reliably, a hefty premium sought for mobile internet connection, and just a general “get stuffed” attitude displayed to just about everybody throughout the year. Well done Telstra, a super performance!
Jul 19, 2009 | Management, Marketing, Sales, Strategy
On the surface, these appear to be the same coin, different sides, albeit three sides?.
Not so in business.
Foresight is often little more accurate than the musings of the gypsy at the local fair, whereas hindsight is capable of being 100% accurate.
Modelling has become the commercial equivalent of the crystal ball, offering the capacity to predict the future, but relies on the assumptions accurate in the past (seen with the benefit of hindsight) being consistent into the future, usually better than rubbing the crystal, but often not much.
Software has given us the false sense of security that comes with reams of paper with numbers all over it, and we often forego the benefit of experience, wisdom, and plain common sense, lured by the sirens song of the “certainty” generated by the numbers .
Bring back the value of common sense, and suspicion of anything that smacks of certainty when predicting the future, and we will all make better decisions.
Jul 16, 2009 | Management, Marketing, Sales, Strategy
Planning for your business takes up a lot of time and resource, which is often hard to allocate, particularly in small businesses.
It is a bit like the planning that goes into your daughters wedding, many things seem trivial at the time, but when it goes right on the day, aren’t you glad you did it?
Think about the cost (to your sanity and peace of mind) of stuffing up the flowers, or the cars on the day, and consider the relative value of a bit more planning.
Many small businesses do not spend the time planning, they are so busy getting stuff done that the time is not easily available. Often when they think about it, much of the activity that takes all the time is fixing things that have gone wrong, or take more time than necessary, that could have been mitigated by a bit of planning.
You plan your daughters wedding to the last detail, shouldn’t you do the same for your business?.
Jul 16, 2009 | Management, Marketing, Strategy
The notion of an organized, planned, tidy strategy development and implementation process, whether it be for a multinational, or a small local business is profoundly flawed by the simple fact that it requires forecasting accurately a number of things, including many beyond the control and understanding of any business, and the only thing we know for sure about forecasts is that they will be wrong.
Strategy development and implementation is an organic process, filled with false starts, blind alleys, and pain, all of which add to the evolutionary “learning” process, which sometimes delivers commercial sustainability.
To be useful strategy implementation must have the capacity to “learn” , to see the impact of its actions, and adjust to accommodate changes, misunderstandings, and opportunities.
Most SME’s do not think much about strategy, they are usually tactical in outlook, and that is a failing. Strategy is as important to a small business selling through “alternative” channels, as it is to the multinationals selling through established channels.
Only with hindsight is strategy implementation an orderly process, when all the speed humps can be ignored or explained away
