Theory vs Practice

While discussing marketing theory with a colleague from Melbourne University – lecture Jeremy Apsey, he came up with a cool quote:

“Theory is nothing more than the accumulation of our historical knowledge.”

He then went onto say… “We need to be able to think both ways, theory into practice and practice into theory”

As entrepreneurs I’ll word it as follows:

‘We must be able to think then act, as well as act then think’

Retail Madness

I took this photo in a local mall in Melbourne on August 9thThe coldest part of winter.

Anyone who lives in or has been to Melbourne knows it’s still very cold until November. Yet the clothing retail chain above already has summer clothes only in the display window. And they’ve already started their winter clothes clearance – in the middle of winter!

The top temperature on said day was 11ºc / 55ºf with snow falls down to 400m.

Here’s the weather forecast for Melbourne for the coming week:

This is retail gone mad – for a few reasons:

They are selling their ‘winter’ stock ‘during winter’ at a 70% discount?

Consumers don’t care about their buying seasons, just what the weather’s like – right now.

Melbourne people don’t care what the weather’s like in Queensland.

People’s lives are too busy to buy clothing 4 months in advance.

They are letting their supply chain get in front of what consumers actually need and want.

No prizes for guessing the store was empty.

If we buy hot soup on cold days, and ice cream on hot days, why should clothing be any different? It’s not. And is less so, as time becomes the finite resource.

If you’re a start up in the retail arena.

Startup blog says: make your range, match the ‘real’ world. You’ll be far ahead of any retail chain.

It’s not me, it’s you

This brillaint piece of communication by bringtheloveback summerzies the biggest opportunity for startups in the last 100 years. Small startups and entrpreneurs can have the conversations most large companies refuse to have. Or do in an overly  moderated environment – which just doesn’t work.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZDXfB0Rd4Q]

In truth most large dominant companies from the old production based economy are probably too scared to have a warts and all conversation with their people.  The truth might get out. Truths like, companies reducing the quality of ingredients to keep prices low.

In fact they never did. They investigated, researched and even spied. Maybe they should have just listened and conversed.

Thanks to Ross Hill for the link!

The best brand you can own

The best brand you can own is ‘you’.

You can’t be cloned, can’t be counterfeit, can’t be me too-ed.Other people can do what you do, copy your methodology, but they never can be you.

This was never clearer to me than when Zach de la Rocha left the band Rage Against the Machine. (RATM)

Some of the remaining members then formed another band called Audioslave. Sure it was a different band, but in real terms the guitar riffs and music style was exactly the same. Just a different singer with different lyrics. In my view the magic was lost. It just didn’t have the same sound, feel and energy. As a massive fan of RATM who owns all of their music, I could never get into Audioslave. With only one ingredient changed, it didn’t work for me.That ingredient was one person (Zach) with a massive personal brand. A brand that doesn’t just stand for something, but delivers everything he does with a certain edge.

Have no doubt that successful entrepreneurs also develop a personal brand. A brand which will represent their persona, style and techniques. Those who do it well develop something which is transferable wherever they go. It is often of incredible value, a value which will live on, even after they sell their killer startup.

What about your people?

All our startups, businesses and brands have their people. It’s members, it’s customers. The humans that matter in whatever we do. So how do we connect with them? Not talk to them or worse, at them, but how do we really connect with them?

Here’s what we are doing at rentoid. We are having an coffee session in the CBD of melbourne (our home city) where members can come and grab an espresso and simply chat. If only 1 person turns up, that’s fine by us. Because that one person matters as much as the 250,000 others. In fact to them, they are the only person that matters.

The discussion will be whatever the people want it to be about. Not a contrived focus group. What matters is making a connection with them, being a group of people trying to help each other, breaking down the traditional corporate facade. Not having any gatekeepers.  And quite frankly we can’t wait.

If you’re in Melbourne came and meet the rentoid team for a chat and an espresso on us before work. We can chat about startups, marketing, life and maybe even rentoid. We’ll be at Journal in Flinders lane. All the details are here.

When’s the last time you took time out to hang with your people?

Best Pitch Ever

London Advertising Agency Prima, were pitching for the Ford Motor Co advertising account. This was in the halcyon days of advertising circa 1969.

They decided to do the following:

They dismantled a Ford Escort car. Took it up the stairs piece by piece, part by part and then put it back together in the board room. This was where the pitch was to take place. The people who did this were not mechanics. It was the people who would be working on the Ford account. The creatives and the account managers. The idea was entirely conceived and executed by the people who would be working with Ford on their advertising.

When the Ford people arrived for the pitch. They were flummoxed to say the least. And immediately asked how they got the car in the building?  Given there was no obvious way for the actual car to get in the building, let alone up the stairs!

The pitch then commenced with the Prima advertising team telling the story. Which no doubt included some of the trials and tribulations of dismantling & building a car piece by piece. But more so, showed all the intangibles which ultimately won them the account:

Passion, Ideas, Creativity, work ethic…

And a willingness to stretch themselves as a partner and an understanding of what Ford do, beyond that which any other advertising agency could have.

This is the benchmark. What will your next business pitch look like?

Internet Marketing

It’s easy to forget our websites need to be designed for people who haven’t, don’t or rarely use computers and the internet. Our interface must be simple – so simple. When our people can’t navigate our site, or find stuff. It’s our fault, every time.

Bill Gates understood this – which is why he was for a long time the worlds richest person.

Unless we market directly to the ‘digirati’ or have a website about websites (which many web 2.0 sites seem to be), we must design for the most ‘inept’ user.

Remember that usability wins, not technology.