|
put an ad on TV |
spread your idea virally |
| sell to consumers | collaborate with community |
| modify for the masses | overwhelm a niche |
| compete on price | charge what it’s worth |
| focus on volume | focus on revenue |
| sell through intermediaries | no middle man |
| use spin to trick consumers | be transparent and authentic |
| mass media, mass production | digital networking, craftsmanship |
I went to have an MRI scan on my back. Not getting old, just injured! For those who don’t know MRI machines are big and scary.
Not so good for the paranoid and claustrophobic. The thing that stayed with me was the experience and how the staff made me feel. They metaphorically held my hand through the entire procedure. They managed my expectations right from the start. The doctor told me about the machine asked questions. At the clinic they again advised the machine looked scary and told me I’d be in a tunnel with no space. Handed me an emergency panic button, and told me the machine makes noises like a car smash. Then gave me a list of CD’s to listen to while having the procedure. (headphones & catered for all tastes too). All this cost nothing.
Net result was to minimise an uncomfortable experience. Not all products are about providing emotional highs and discretionary expenditure. Maybe your start up is about providing a service people don’t like, maybe you’re a dentist. What things can you do to make it a remarkable anxiety reducer?
I went to the Apple website to view a keynote speech by Steve Jobs on the iphone. I needed to download Quicktime. Only problem, was I changed my mind and went to click out. Unfortunately I couldn’t click ‘back’. I was locked in.
Isn’t this the equivalent of locking the doors on a retail store? It’s bad form.
Note to web entrepreneurs: If a customer wants out let them. It also means you need to revise something.
Tom at Panther House points us to Espresso Art. I know I keep raving on about theatre at transaction…
Theatre doesn’t have to be expensive. In this case a net cost of zero.
Theatre always allows premium pricing. Theatre spreads.
Do any of my readers know the address of a coffee house in
Melbourne that does this? I heard there is a place in
Richmond somewhere.
Talking with the launch team today, we were reminiscing about what we should’ve done 6 months ago. It’s true we’d be much further down the track if we knew then, what we know now.
Then we flipped it to what we don’t know now and tried to work a reverse hindsight theorem. We couldn’t work out what we are doing wrong right now.
We’re certain our current path is correct…
We’re certain we’ll be wrong…
The irony of this is that there are no short cuts on the journey. Mentors, books and blogs will provide insight, but they’ll never give us hindsight.
The only path to the knowledge of hindsight is doing.
Is 911 a brand?
Sure it is. As soon as I mentioned it you had a bundle of attributes, images, prejudices, and memories fly into your mind. You probably remember where you were the second you found out about it. You know what it represents both to the producer and the target. (victims)
The 911 brand has massive awareness. You don’t get launches much bigger. It dominated the airwaves for 2 weeks with unpaid media. This is exactly what 911 was. It was a launch. Albeit of a terrorist cell.
But what does 911 mean to you and me? It means fear. What does fear do? It builds prejudice. Isn’t this what marginalised minoroties are fighting against?
When you launch, be clear with your message and what that builds. Once a brand takes meaning in the mind it is very hard to change.
I am about 70% of the way through The Long Tail by Chris Anderson.
This book possibly defines a new economic order. I’m inspired.
I think it really explains where the opportunities are for entrepreneurs in a web 2.0 environment and why.
It also demonstrates how broadband cables and the digital networking of niches may just save the world from bland homogenization.