Guy Kawasaki talks about
how anyone can be an influential,
regardless of their sphere of influence.
He quotes Duncan Watts’ findings on
the importance of readiness of market.
“If society is ready to embrace a trend,
almost anyone can start one—
and if it isn’t, then almost no one can.”
I agree.
The market has to be ready.
However once the market is ready,
it does help to have some very noisy and vocal supporters.
Especially if you are on a tight marketing budget.
I was hanging around
after a tradeshow finished for the day.
Out came a group of employees,
all wearing the distinctive company uniform.
One employee proclaimed loudly
“There’s only so many freaks you can help
before you get pissed.”
My immediate thought was
“XYZ company thinks I’m a freak”.
Be careful with the company uniform.
Let the employees know that when they wear it,
whether during business hours or after hours,
they are representing the company.
Many bloggers
when talking about print journalists
have a us vs them mentality.
Foolishness.
And foolishness proven by a report
by Marketing Pilgrim.
27% of journalists confess to having a blog
(I suspect that number is higher).
70% check a blog list on a regular basis.
Over 75% get story ideas from blogs.
There is no us vs them.
Us IS Them
(and yes, I know that isn’t proper grammar).
Duct Tape Marketing had a great post
on what John Jantsch calls
the Most Relevant Conversation.
This concept takes the traditional
Unique Selling Proposition and
flips it so it is customer driven.
There are multiple unique selling propositions
for my business based romances,
business lessons, the language, a resource page, etc.
In early promo opps,
I’ve tested each angle.
The most successful?
By far?
That the hero or heroine loves
being a businessperson
(i.e. they’re not frustrated painters or writers).
As soon as I talked about how sexy business was,
I moved from leading the conversation
to being simply part of it.
“Selling” went from challenging to easy.
A guest speaker on book promotion
advised authors to repeat key information
three times.
Why?
Because repetition works.
Studies show that an opinion
expressed by an individual three times
is 90% as effective as
three people expressing the same opinion.
And it influences the group.
The group ends up holding the same views.
Of all the sponsor’s vying for attention
during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve show,
one stood out.
Yes, the mouthwash.
Throughout the show,
there were Scope moments.
Simple and short spots featuring
two people in the crowd kissing.
During the first spot,
everyone I knew ran for a gum or mouthwash or mint.
Then every time a couple would kiss,
there would be a wave of copycat kisses.
I saw people watching out for the spot
with smiles on their faces
(and a certain look in their eyes).
Brilliant, brilliant marketing.
I often hear from employees
that there is no room in their jobs for innovation.
That is a bullsh** excuse.
Take one “impossible” example:
a posting at a missle defense command center
during the fearful 1950’s.
No room for innovation or creativity, right?
Wrong.
In 1955, a department store promotion
accidently put NORAD
as their contact number for Santa.
Instead of turning the kiddies away,
the airmen not only took the calls
but added a military twist.
This year, on December 24th,
NORAD
(staffed by volunteers and
funded fully by donations)
handled half a million calls and
over a billion website hits.
If there’s room for
innovation and customer service
in the military,
there’s room for
innovation and customer service
in your organization.
Have you ever participated in
a discussion or interview and
wish that a certain question had been asked?
The Media Interview reminds us not to wait.
“Your key message should never be dependent
on an interviewer asking the right questions;
you’re responsible for getting your point across.”
There are always opportunities
to answer the questions
you haven’t been asked,
working the information into the discussion.
Brian Solis has a great post
on executives and public relations
including this point…
“Just because you created the product
doesn’t mean you’re the best person to sell it.
I’ve worked with some of the most passionate executives
that just don’t click with the people
they’re trying to engage –
no matter how hard they try.
Suck it up and get a spokesperson
who can help tell the story to the people
that will help grow your business.”
PR folks are experts.
Use those experts.
The latest trend in email is the empty email,
an email with the message in the title only.
Sure, its quick and easy but
use with caution.
Every time you send an empty email,
you’re training your reader…
to not open your message.
Is that what you want?
To never ever have your emails read?