a word on marketing

Sequel...

Something that follows; a continuation. 

Books and movies have been following this model for years.  When one movie, like Die Hard, is successful, why not make Die Hard 2?  When second books or movies are successful, sometimes a third comes out.  Sometimes more.  Soon, you've got what they call a franchise.

Now, some writers and producers are counting on this from the very beginning.  They plan to possibility of a franchise from the get go.  They leave certain plot lines open and give us not-so-subtle cliff-hangers.  Built right in.  Even though you know you're being set up for the next one, you're hooked.

We can do that, too.  Doesn't matter whether you make a widget or a washing machine, you can plan a potential sequel or even a franchise.  You can do it by conceiving possible enhancements early on and designing the product platform to accept them easily.  You can do it by creating a different product life cycle and pricing approach.  And, you can do it through branding by giving the product a sub-brand name that can be augmented or built upon in the future.

Too often we spend all our money and energy on bringing out the be-all-end-all product in our field.  But there's an argument to be made for keeping a little in reserve on purpose and producing a more constant stream of upgrades - or sequels.  How does your next big blockbuster end?  Or, can you keep it going and milk it for everything its got?  I can't wait to see what happens.

--Dave

Redundant...

Characterized by verbosity or unnecessary repetition in expressing ideas.  

Once again, here's a word that's not all good, but not all bad.

Repetition can be annoying.  You know what I mean.  If you've heard something and understood it, do you really need to hear it again?  No, you don't.  But some people might.  As individuals, we're sensitive about repeating ourselves.  But as marketers, we often have to state things over and over for people to understand and remember.  What might seem like overkill for us might be just the right amount for our target market.

These days, we also hear about redundancy in the job market.  We've all been forced to look more closely at our organizations to identify "waste" and, whether it was there or not, we found it and eliminated it.  We removed redundancy.  But for those we have left, we should remember that a little cross training is vital.  For example, a lean manufacturing approach called Demand Flow Technology calls for training people on the assembly line to do the job one up and one down from their own.  We should think about this in management as well.

Finally, there's one more definition of redundant that comes out of the computer industry and, in this case, it's something beneficial:  Having excess or duplicate parts that can continue to perform in the event of malfunction of some of the parts.  This is where safety, security and backup come into play.  Sometimes, redundancy is a good thing.  Sometimes, we'd be lost without it.

So, let me say this one more time in a slightly different way.  Or, maybe not.  I think you get the picture.

--Dave 

Abundance...

A great quantity;  plentiful amount.

Somehow the first reaction a lot of us have to seeing this word is the desire for more.  We see abundance and immediately jump to those things in our life or business that we think we don't have enough of:  stuff, help, time, money.  It can get to be a pretty long list.

Another way to approach the word is to start making a list of the things you do have in abundance at home and at work.  Some of those things, like friends, are important in quality, not necessarily quantity.  Unless we're out of business, we've got some really good customers for at least part of our product line.

There are two ways to manage your business and go through your life:  deficit-based or abundance-based.  If you look at your company's market share, find all the places it's low and focus all your energy and resources on "fixing" those, that's deficit-based.  Putting so my attention on those things sometimes helps, but can also bring everyone down or even become a continuing, self-fulfilling prophesy.

On the other hand, focusing on strengths and what's already abundant in your life and work - and concentrating on trying to do more of what works - will not only keep everyone motivated, but improves your chances of success.  It also results in market focus, something that strategy guru Michael Porter coaches us to get.

One last point.  In your search for abundance, you may find things you have too many of.  At home or at work, that usually means you need a garage sale.  Sometimes a plentiful amount is just plain excess inventory.

--Dave

Pledge...

To promise solemnly.  To bind by or as by a pledge.  To promise to join.

Reader Kathryn suggested pledge.  It was pledge Sunday at her church yesterday and it made her think of all the interesting implications of the word.

Let's start with the last definition, which refers to pledging membership at, say, a fraternity.  That leads to the noun pledge, which conjures up visions of Animal House.  Or my own fraternity house in college.  But there wasn't just an emphasis on the social scene, which brings up the second definition above.  There was also something serious about our binds and I remain very close to most of these "brothers" after many years.

The first definition, to promise solemnly, is what we may most associate with the word.  The Pledge of Allegiance.  A pledge of confidentiality.  A pledge of money to a non-profit organization.

How many of us actually have a pledge that we provide to our customers?  Regardless of whether we need a formal contract to sell what we sell, we can also offer something more.  We could have a verbal or written pledge, in which we spell out what customers should expect of us.  Even if you don't end up using it, it's an interesting exercise to go through - just putting it together.  The process forces you to determine what your product or service is really all about.  And, how much you really stand behind it. 

A pledge is not like a money back guarantee.  That's something that's reactive in case someone has a problem.  A pledge seems much more proactive and makes promises of things you plan to do - whether someone reminds you of it or not.  This is on you.  As a buyer, you'd like to have that pledge from those you buy from, wouldn't you?

The interesting thing about a pledge is that, in most cases, no real law holds you to keep it.  It becomes a matter of a different type of responsibility:  upholding your integrity.  We're all in the service business.  We should act like it.  We should serve.  I'll make an extra effort for the rest of this year.  Promise.

--Dave

Zodiac...

A band of the celestial sphere, extending about 8 degrees to either side of the ecliptic, that represents the path of the principal planets, the moon, and the sun.  The band divided into 12 equal parts called signs each bearing the name of the constellation for which it was named.

That's a long definition, but it sure is informative.  I have to admit I'm learning something here.  I really couldn't have told you what the zodiac was, really.  The basis of a horoscope is about the extent of my knowledge on the subject.  It's not like this is a new concept, either.  The first wheels of the zodiac were developed as far back as 700 BC by the Neo-Babalonians.

"So, what's your sign?"  Seemed to be a popular question in the 1960's and '70's.  Astrology is out of fashion now.  But here's a good bet.  I'll bet it's not going to go away any time soon.  Maybe we can even bring it back...but with a twist.  Consider this:

If you were born under a certain sign, then everyone's company - based on when they were founded or incorporated - has a sign, too.  Some companies are Scorpios, some Geminis.  Some Pisces, some Leos.  I wonder what would happen if we started an Astrology-for-Business marketing movement?  You'd have a different selling strategy depending on the sign of the person or company you were trying to convince.  Some you might just rule out as incompatible and not waste your time.  Some might be a match made in heaven, so to speak.

So what do you think?  Worth a try?  As the founder of my first employer, Leo Burnett, used to say:  "You have to shoot for the stars."  Maybe we should use those stars, too.  Might be a better predictor than today's economists.

Peace.  --Dave

Schedule...

A series of things to be done or of events to occur at or during a particular time or period.

This morning we found in a magazine an ad for the television network ABC Family.  The page is entitled "25 Days of Christmas" and lists all the holiday programs they have planned from now until Christmas, with the names, dates and times of the shows.  Where was this when we were growing up?

How many thousands of refrigerators have this page stuck on them with a little tacky magnet of some sort?  People are going to watch more of these shows because of this ad, the ratings will be higher for the shows, and then ABC can charge more for the advertising next year.  What a simple, obvious idea.

Now, shift that over to your business.  What kind of schedule can you put together for customers or prospects?  Do you have events, new product introductions, certain key employees making visits to various locations?  In addition to publicizing these one by one, why not put them all together into a schedule? 

This schedule may not make it onto anyone's refrigerator, but a few dates might make it into your target market's calendars.  They attend the events, they learn more, they buy more.  Then it's Christmastime at your office.  Or, as Frosty says:  "Happy New Year!"

--Dave

Dromedary...

The single-humped camel, Camelus dromedarius, of Arabia and northern Africa.

The Dromedary Camel has only one hump, whereas the Bactrian Camel has two.  If you were wondering. These camels were domesticated as early as 4,000 BC.  Unlike horses, camels will kneel in order to allow loads to be placed on their backs.  That's pretty handy.

Contrary to popular belief, camels don't carry water in their humps.  They store fat in case food gets scarce.  The Bactrian camel does have a couple of water sacs on its sides that hold a few gallons as backup, but not the Dromedary. Still, it can go a few days without drinking.   But when it needs to hydrate, look out.  It can drink about 30 gallons of water in less than 10 minutes.

OK, who feels a little bit like a Dromedary Camel?  We're making our way through this desert of a recession.  Someone's trying to tell us it's over but it certainly doesn't look or feel like it.  Maybe it's just a mirage.  A couple of years ago, we willingly knelt down to carry an even heavier load.  Now, we're still chugging along in need of some water.

Tell you what, when the water does come (the long-awaited rebound in all our industries), I'm going to drink like a Dromedary.  At first.  But I think I'll save like a Bactrian, too.  One of these days, it's going to feel good to have a little extra on the side.

--Dave 

Soporific...

Causing or tending to cause sleep.  Something that causes drowsiness.

This word sounds like one step beyond terrific, doesn't it?  Something you might say when your kid tells you they did great on a test.  "That's...soporific!"

Now if you were to say that after a good Thanksgiving meal - coming up this month - then you'd be accurate.  That's because turkey contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid that increases the body's level of serotonin.  However, turkey doesn't contain much more tryptophan than other poultry, so we probably feel tired after the big holiday meal because we just ate a ton of food.

Milk is a soporific, too.  It contains lactic acid, which is also a natural sedative.  That's why mom or grandma suggested a glass of warm milk before bed to help go to sleep.  Does anyone really suggest that anymore?  My daughter might accept it...if it had chocolate in it.  Sort of defeats the purpose.

When we do the same thing every day, and crank out the same types of marketing year after year (just changing some headlines or taglines or words), our work gets tired.  So do our customers.  Has your marketing gone from terrific to soporific?  I know lots of companies in that boat.  They're feeding turkey and a glass of warm milk to their target market.  And they expect new levels of excitement?

Well, it's time to put a little chocolate in that milk, isn't it?  Maybe give your marketing a Red Bull.  We've got to break through the clutter and wake some folks up.  What can you do that's the equivalent of crashing cymbals?  Now, that'll get their attention.  None of this falling asleep stuff.  We want action. 

My action right now is to get another cup of coffee.

--Dave

Snappy...

Apt to snap or bite.  Crisp, lively.  To speed up, hurry.

Reader Conrad suggested this word.  He actually used it in a business email recently to describe the speed of a website.  That relates most to the third of the three very different definitions above.

The first definition above represents the most common usage of this word.  It's the most literal use of the term:  "That dog is quite snappy."  Somehow it seems this word is most often applied to little purse-size dogs with names I can't pronounce.

The middle definition above is the one that intrigues me the most.  This use of the word frequently describes the way someone dresses:  "He sure is a snappy dresser."  What is a snappy dresser, anyway?  I think it's crisp, but also clean, colorful, coordinated and creative.  But it can't be over-the-top.  It has to be controlled and in good taste.  I think it's slightly different than a smart dresser, who may be even more controlled and a bit less colorful or creative.

I like the idea of aiming for things we produce to be snappy - in all senses of the definition above. Things have to work fast these days since everyone's in so much of a hurry.  Design something slow and you're asking for trouble. Next, things need to break through the clutter...and what better way than to make them crisp and lively...visually and operationally.  Finally, products and services should have a little bite.  A little edge.  A little spice.  Something to make them a little more special to set them apart from the competition.

So, let's go.  Let's get started on this.  Make it snappy.

--Dave

Beauty...

A quality that delights the senses and exalts the mind;  loveliness.

Why bother spending years developing a new piece of equipment full of the latest technology and not bother to make it beautiful?

Why create a fully functional intranet site for your employees and not make it attractive?

Why design a spec sheet for your product and overlook graphic design?

Every day in every single thing we do we have a choice.  We can let something out the door without caring what it looks like.  Or, we can care.  It's really as simple as that.  Too often, especially in B2B or industrial marketing - but even in consumer marketing - we just settle.  Or we don't even think about it.  Does form always have to follow function?  Or not even follow at all?  No.  We can have both, but it takes foresight, vision and creativity.

What if we applied the definition of beauty as a litmus test for everything we do.  Not at the end of a project, but at the beginning - as a goal:  create something that delights the senses and exalts the mind of our customer.  Wow.  That sound like a tall order.

And, we can't sacrifice functionality.  In fact, we could make the argument that the two are interconnected and the more beautiful something appears, the more beautifully it can operate.  Just look at Apple.

Why not become a little bit more of a perfectionist?  You won't be popular at first.  But when your push-back and high standards start delivering things beyond people's expectations, they'll begin to understand.  Aside from the beauty that'll be in the eye of the beholder, you just might see a new spark of understanding.

--Dave