Author: skip
Last month, we conducted a ReVision for a Cleveland company that came to us with a serious problem. In our PreView, we worked through the problem and, in less than an hour, we had two very good solutions. We all felt good about both options and resolved to carry those into the ReVision session the next day. Clearly, it was going to be a short session. After all, we had solved the problem, right? READ MORE
Today, we take a break from Marketing concepts, Innovation principles, and Business discussions to learn a lesson from a six year old.
A couple of months ago, I introduced you to Poppi, our six year old YorkiePoo. Today, we say goodbye to Poppi. We lost our little Poppi dog last week in one of those freak accidents that makes you wonder how the earth manages to turn on its axis and how we keep from spinning off into space. It was sudden, it was tragic, and it made us want to pause the world. (more…)
Last Saturday, I jumped in the truck, turned on the radio, and there he was… the local DJ with the used car dealer urging me to “Come on down right now for free pizza, a chance to spin the wheel, and drive away in a certified preowned, like-new car with zero down and no interest… ” I had to laugh.
“Hurry on down!!!!!”
You know the routine. You’ve heard it. Maybe you even responded to it. But did you really buy a car because there was free pizza? Did you really believe today’s offer was a “once in a lifetime” deal?
No. You bought the car because you needed a car and you found the car you liked at the price you found reasonable. The advertising just happened to connect with you at the same time you had a need or interest.
Advertising is NOT Selling. It’s communication.
This is where so many marketers get lost. They confuse communication with selling and adopt a “used car salesman” approach to their communication. It’s dangerous territory. When you communicate “buy now”… especially on a major purchase… you diminish the value of your product or service and, more importantly, you insult your potential customer.
The message IS the brand.
To start with, people are not stupid. If you assume they are, you will treat them that way and they will know it. On the other hand, if you treat them with respect, they will respond with respect. Your message IS your brand, so choose your message carefully. You don’t have to tell people to “buy now”, “call today” or “apply now”. The more you do, the more you act like a commodity. The more you act like a commodity, the less respect your brand receives in the marketplace.
The used car salesman has an image because he acts like a used car salesman. Don’t be that guy.
Carney & Co and Marketing Innovation
We use a powerful, unique ReVision™ process to uncover innovation, generate bigger ideas, and produce better results for our clients.
Learn more at www.carneyco.com.
When we ReVision a client, we start the day with a few simple rules that begin with “Leave your ‘buts’ at the door”. You know the “but” people. They follow every new idea with a “but”. “But we tried that.” “But we can’t afford that.” “But we’ve never done that before!” (more…)
I just heard a public service announcement for the Highway Patrol. You’ve heard it before – “This is trooper B. R. Jones reminding you that speed kills. Slow down this holiday weekend. Yadda, yadda.
Sorry Trooper Jones. Speed does NOT kill.
The Autobahn. No limits.
Anyone that has driven on Germany’s autobahn can tell you that speed is not the enemy. When you are driving along at 130-140 kph and an Audi zooms by you like you’re sitting still, you get a whole new appreciation for “speed” and you totally understand it is NOT speed that kills. The statistics prove it: Germany’s fatality rate is nearly half that of the U.S.
So what’s the problem?
It’s not complicated. When you’re driving with your knees while holding a coffee cup in one hand and a donut in the other while talking on you bluetooth and answering texts, sooner or later, you’re gonna die. In Germany, it is illegal to even use a cell phone while driving, but I promise you, when you are on the autobahn, you are focused on one thing and one thing only…driving. It’s a matter of self preservation. You take your eyes off the road for a millisecond and you are in trouble. In reality, increased speed results in better driving. It’s distractions, lack of concentration, apathy and downright stupidity that kills, and that is the problem officer Jones should be discussing.
But that’s not really the point of this blog post.
It’s Conventional Thinking That Kills
It is this kind of (speed kills) thinking that kills innovation. Conventional wisdom says it’s not “logical” or “practical” to do something, and we immediately drop an otherwise great idea and miss an opportunity to solve a problem or create something new. It’s only when we question the status quo that we create. It’s only when we embrace counter-intuitive thinking that we open doors. Next time you hear something that sounds like conventional thinking, challenge it. You’ll be amazed what you will find.
We use a powerful, unique ReVision™ process to uncover innovation,
generate bigger ideas, and produce better results for our clients.
Learn more at www.carneyco.com.
It’s clear. A company needs a vision. It has to know where it’s going, why it’s going, and it needs a plan to get there. Without purpose and passion though, a vision is just words on paper…a body without a soul. This is what separates the great companies from the good ones.
JohnDeere was a blacksmith in the 1830s and he built a new kind of plow to help the local farmers cut through the soil better. He envisioned a company that would supply midwestern farmers with reliable, affordable equipment. That simple vision was backed up by a passion for excellence that has driven his company for over 185 years. Reliability is so completely ingrained in the company and its culture, that no one questions the statement “nothing runs like a deere” because nothing does.
While Steve Jobs has been hailed as the greatest visionary of our times, it was his passion not his vision that made Apple the number one brand in the world. He was determined to build “insanely great products” and his never ending search for the next great product drove him and the company to greatness.
Though separated by 150 years, Deere and Jobs had a lot in common. While their competitors were busy copying their ideas and building tractors and computers, Deere and Jobs were busy looking for better solutions to their customers problems.
That’s what innovators do. They are never satisfied with just building more stuff or making more money. The focus is always on the customer, the customer’s needs and solving the next big problem…passionately.
We use a powerful, unique ReVision™ process to uncover innovation, generate bigger ideas, and produce better results for our clients. Learn more at www.carneyco.com
I was taking a morning walk around the marina in New Bern the other day. Lots of folks were out for their morning coffee. There were joggers, walkers, talkers… It was a busy, summer morning and I encountered what seemed like an unusual number of attractive ladies. As they approached, each one broke into a huge smile, slowed down and said “good morning”, “so cute”, “awwww”. And not a single one was looking at my eyes. No, they were looking at Poppi, my daughter’s six year old YorkiePoo. Or maybe she’s a Pookie since she is more poodle than yorkie.
To be fair, Poppi is extremely cute and she has never met a stranger. Never. And she still acts like she’s three months old. But seriously, am I invisible? Shouldn’t I get a nod or something?
The answer, of course, is no.
People like what they like and ladies like cute little dogs way more than they like the cute little dog walkers. (That is, walkers of cute dogs.)
What’s in your marketing?
Too much of today’s marketing ignores this fundamental fact. People want what they want, even if they don’t know what they want. Too much of today’s marketing simply says “look at me, look at me” instead of just being so doggone irresistible that the buyer can’t help but look. Now, it’s not easy to be irresistible (unless your name is Poppi). It takes hard work to create an offering that cuts through the clutter and strikes a chord with the buyer. It takes effort to craft a message that speaks to the issues that the customer cares most about.
It’s not easy to solve your customer’s problems in a unique, creative way. But, I can tell you this: It’s worth the effort. Better margins, better sales, more loyalty, and less competition.
Take the time, do it right and it’s like walking around with a cute dog on a leash…only better.
We use a powerful, unique ReVision™ process to uncover innovation, generate bigger ideas, and produce better results for our clients. Learn more at www.carneyco.com
I was in Cincinnati recently and saw a sign that intrigued me…. Doughby’s – Calzones, Crepes, and More. My wife loves crepes, so I thought I might pick one up on the way back to the hotel. As I got closer, I saw another sign…for sale. Doughby’s was out of business. No crepes today, so I ambled down the street to join my friends at the Hang Over Easy (HOE, for short). The breakfast was spectacular. The place was packed.
vs. 
Why does one business fail and another succeed?
It’s easy, actually. When the Doughby team got together, they had an idea. It probably started with a great calzone. College kids love calzones. (They are one block from University of Cincinnati.) And then someone said, “Let’s sell crepes, too. They’re made with dough. ” And before you could say holy mozzarella, they had a menu that included calzones, crepes, wings, salads, cookies, and more.
You’ve got to stand for something.
Doughby’s mistake was trying to be everything for everyone. You can’t do it. You have to declare a position. You have to be proud of it. You have to own it and live it. Saying “we have everything” is the same as saying “we have nothing”. Plus, the idea that you’re making a calzone right next to my banana/nutella crepe is just plain creepy. Italy and France just don’t belong together. Chicken and waffles? That’s different.
When less is more.
Hang Over Easy, on the other hand, offers an easy reason to believe. They keep it simple (breakfast and lunch anytime) and they promise a big, hearty hunk of comfort food to make your hangover “easy”, if that’s your problem. If you just like comfort food, that’s okay, too.
Hang Over Easy actually offers more by promising less.
And because of that, they are making a lot of dough…a lot more than Doughby’s.
We interrupt this blog for breaking news:
I can now watch every game in the NCAA Tournament on my iPhone or iPad or Computer. It’ free. It’s easy
and it’s innovation…in a retro kind of way.
This is BIG. Imagine an entertainment model where the product is delivered absolutely free to the viewer and it is paid for with advertising. Imagine the conversations at the NCAA and CBS when someone suggested such a radical idea. Imagine the BGO (blinding glimpse of the obvious) moment when someone said, “Hey, didn’t we used to do this with broadcast tv?”
OR we can make it hard.
Try to watch live TV on your phone right now. You download the apps, log into your cable or satellite account (if you can remember how), answer a magic question, enter a magic code while whistling the national anthem and standing on one foot. This was somebody’s idea of how to “allow” us to use our mobile devices to watch TV. And, by the way, you can only watch the latest episode or two, maybe.
Enter innovation.
Along comes the NCAA saying “We want more people watching the games. Why can’t they watch them in the airport, or in the back seat of the car, or sitting on the couch?” BAM! We got games. All of ‘em. I watched four games last weekend, on my phone, while riding on a train.
Or we can make it easy.
Somebody said, “Let’s make it easy and maybe more people will watch more. More people means more eyeballs, which means happier advertisers.” And that’s innovation. Give people what they want and they will reward you. I predict the highest viewership ever for the NCAA Tourney and I predict that this “broadcast” model can work right along side the “pay per view” model.
If the networks will just wake up and let it happen.
There’s only one problem with the March Madness thing.
Carolina is out and I’m losing interest. I am, however, ready for next year.
Every MBA school in America will tell you the importance of a 5 year plan. You have to have a clear vision of where you are headed, where your business will be, and what it will LOOK like five years from now. How many employees, how many customers, what kind of product mix? You have to have vision.
Five years from now is 2020. So, do you have 2020 vision? Is it enough?
Frankly, I think the five year plan is overrated.
I’ll bet Motorola had a five year plan. So did Sears and Palm and General Motors and Eastern Airlines and they probably all had 5 year committees and strategy teams, too.
The problem with most five year plans is they often fail to take into account the most important and unpredictable factor in the equation – the customer. The customer doesn’t have a five year plan. The customer wants what she wants, when she wants it, and as soon as somebody offers her a better widget, she’s going to want that new widget. Now. Your plans be damned. Bean counters and MBAs spend countless hours plotting strategies to maximize profits, streamline performance, and increase ROI assuming the future is going to look very much like the present.
The answer is NOT another focus group.
Henry Ford said if he had asked his customers what they wanted, they would have said “A faster horse.” He was right of course. His five year plan was not to build a car. It was to build a better mode of personal transportation. The result was a car.
No, real visionaries aren’t looking at their balance sheet in five years, they are looking at their customers now and how they might make their lives better in five years. The companies that lead year after year are the companies that focus on innovation… creative solutions to their customers’ problems. Those companies see change happening before it happens, usually because they are creating the change. The companies that aren’t innovating see the changes too late and find their business model, as well as their five year plans, irrelevant and obsolete.
So, if you want 2020 vision, focus on solving your customers’ problems in new and exciting ways and you’ll be surprised how clear the future becomes.
Request a FREE copy of Marketing Innovation by Skip Carney
