Going Out On The Limb

Sometimes to get the recognition and notoriety that our brand or service requires, we have to be willing to go out on the limb to get people to take notice.  Whether or not this is smart or not, we find out when the limb holds us and causes others to look up, or the limb breaks and we fall. 

We are in the age of being able to crawl out further and further because of the support of low cost technology and infrastructure support.  We can try small things, at low cost and if they work, continue them.  If they don't, then discontinue and look to the next idea. 

Google and Amazon are the leaders in this.  It seems every month, they each offer something new and they climb a little further out on the limb.  Not all of their moves work, but lots do.  Their latest moves?  Google:  Google Express Shopping.  Amazon: Kindle Fire Streaming device.  We are looking up to both of these to see where they lead us next. 

What are you offering that has you inching out further on the limb?

Going Direct!

Part of the power of the internet is that we can go direct to consumers without having to go through third parties, like retailers, brokers or dealers.  But, not all industries are allowed to do so. The most glaring is the car industry where a manufacturer can't sell directly to consumers but must have a car dealer in the middle to make the sale.  I don't know where this practice came from, why or who it protects but it is causing problems for Tesla as they try and expand across the U.S. with their electric cars.  We might take for granted how great it can be to build a direct relationship with our customer and consumer, but we shouldn't.  If we were the music, book or movie industry we would try anything to establish and keep that relationship. 

Who really knows our customers/consumers?  It's Amazon. It's Apple.  It's Best Buy, Target, etc.  Where we can, go direct and go with all humility as this is the best relationship to have.

Cyber Wow!

Yesterday appears to be a day of cyber wow!  

Early reports are saying that Cyber Monday shopping topped $2B in sales, achieving a 17.5% increase over last year.  For those not used to keeping score, that is a huge year over year gain.  Without a doubt we have crossed over the online hurdles and even with sales tax being collected in most states, and no Amazon drones delivering our packages yet, we are firmly okay with search, buy, and wait.  

Traditional retailers were scratching their heads after the lackluster days on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, but when they add it all up, it might just be okay. That is, unless Amazon took the biggest bite from the apple.  I know anyone reading this has already accepted that online is the future, now the question is how that future unfolds.  On this post Cyber-Monday Tuesday, I'd be thinking now about what we can do for next year to further engage and ready our consumers for next year so that we are their first choice.  

To do that, we have to go well beyond the lowest price or the the most extensive choices.  We have to create (and yes this will feel so 1999) "community" that brings them back over and over.

Story Layering

It was once unheard of that someone could/would be able to take a piece of fiction and be able to manipulate the story or add their own layers.  It would be considered somehow disrespectful to add on or have an idea that is different than what the creator intended.  And the, copyright laws would be the enforcer of this sacred ground. But, the world has changed. 

Not only has the internet opened up the possibilities, but even creators and artists realized that having other collaborators, including fans, get engaged had a positive multiplying effect. My best friend from college went to work for Disney in the early 90's.  He was given a Disney character bible that detailed what characters could do and not do and as you can imagine, it was strict.  No one messed with Mickey Mouse.  By the early 2000's Disney had licensed their characters to the makers of the Final Fantasy video game for a successful video game called Kingdom Hearts.  This week Disney promoted their Story Theater apps where kids can now manipulate the characters and story lines to create their own stories for others to experience.  The same is happening in the book industry as Amazon Singles now give a place for these types of layered stories to live.  This all points back to the desire and advantage of engaged consumers and fans.

I can also make the argument that Mark Twain understood this better than anyone when he created the character Tom Sawyer who knew that getting others to paint the fence for him was the best way to go.

(For a further faith based application of this post you can visit:  http://purposedworking.blogspot.com/ )

Incentives Need To Be Aligned To Work

An article on Friday, October 22nd in the New York Times on page A14 described a number of Governors who are running for office, or are already incumbents, who are recommending or providing tax breaks to create jobs. Frank Caprio in Rhode Island (yes, the guy who told the President yesterday to "go shove it") is recommending a Business Finder Tax Credit that would provide $1000 for a company who brings a new business to Rhode Island and both companies would share a $10,000 reward if the new business hires 20 or more people. He also wants to waive the filing fees for any new corporation that creates a new job.

The Iowa Republican candidate wants to waive state income taxes for start-ups for their first three years (this is great, but I'm not sure there is a realization that most start-ups don't make a profit in their early years so there aren't any taxes due). the recommendation also wants to waive start-ups paying sales taxes up to $50K in their first three years. That could be good on their capital purchases. but, $50K in sales tax breaks would mean that the company would have to spend a lot to get the full benefit. Costco tables and chairs, a few PCs with a 5% sales tax takes a long way to get to $50K of savings.

Other candidates in Illinois, Florida and Maryland are trying to come up with their own ideas.

In 2006, in our book; Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business (can be found at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0131855239/qid=1136138630/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-1629927-8463150?s=books&v=glance&n=2 ) Hank Stringer and I called for "Free Talent Zones". This is where states could attract talent and therefore would want to relocate to these states. The incentives we recommended would not be about tax breaks to companies (which one side or another seems to have a problem), but instead provide incentives to workers directly. Give them a break on state income taxes, real-estate taxes, education fees, etc. Allow a company so many of these incentives for new hiring and believe me, the talent will come and the companies will will have incentives to hire. Imagine being able to recruit telling candidates about these types of incentives.

Rather than postulate on things that don't seem to make a difference or are so small in impact, I sure wish our politicians would be bold enough to think outside of the box and focus on those things that would really make behaviors and actions change. "Cash for Clunkers" was a success because the incentives went to the buyer, not the seller. Sellers finally picked up on it and then made it into an advertising bonanza and all parties got the benefit.

Let's try and think like this for talent, employment and rhe real creation of jobs!

Kindling a new fire

I don't watch Oprah. That is, I don't watch Oprah other than when Patti says I have to and I get forced through TIVO to do so. Last Friday, Oprah revealed her "new technology find". She went on a rave about the Amazon Kindle and had Jeff Bezos on the show. Jeff didn't have to talk at all as Oprah laid out every feature and she was so positive about the device that Jeff couldn't get a work in edge-wise. He did offer $50 off of a purchase if you go to Oprah.com by Friday 10/31. That's a pretty good deal. I had already decided that the Kindle was my Christmas gift request for this year so this just reinforced what I already knew. It just makes sense to me; convenience, cheaper books, greening by not buying paper, no more room in the house for books, data and history files, cool factor, etc. But, that is not what amazed me. What amazed me was that even before the show was over, Patti said, "that is what I want for my birthday". See, Patti is not one who adopts new technology easily. She still uses a 2-year paper Hallmark calendar for her scheduling, a Casio address device for her contacts, a cell phone without a camera, she just moved from AOL email to Outlook finally, and she fought me and told me she would never use TIVO when we bought the TIVO Series One way back when (of course like everyone she quickly adopted and adapted to time-shifting). To have Patti, in an instant, say, "I want one" demonstrates either the power of Oprah or the power of a simple but dead-easy to use piece of technology. I think it was both, but like the i-pod, Amazon may have nailed it. The market may not be quite ready for mass market penetration for e-books, but by V.2 of the Kindle (word has it that V2 is coming already), Amazon may have won the electronic book reader war. And, it doesn't hurt that Oprah is there too. The fire has been stoked with a Kindle. Let's see how big and fast this fire can burn.