Nice idea, but what’s in it for us?

I took this photo while shopping at Australian supermarket giant Coles yesterday.

I’ll start by saying not returning supermarket trolleys, or worse stealing them is not cool. It probably adds some cost to our grocery bills, albeit small.

But when I saw this poster up in my local Coles, I tweeted it and made the comment that it was reasonably amusing. Then Cameron Reilly, made what I thought was an insightful comment from a marketing perspective:

then I responded with this….

and Cameron finished it off with this 140 characters…

Which to be honest is probably the sentiments of most of Coles’ customers.

I’ll say it again – ‘Incentives shape behaviour’ – on this occasion there is no incentive for customers to care. How hard would it be for Coles to offer a shopping voucher for lost trolley returns? Or some other small incentive? In fact, it’s an insult to their customers to ask for help in a such a one sided manner. It’s very 1970’s marketing.

Startup blog says: respect your customers and reward the right behaviour.

New distribution points

One of my favourite marketing strategies is this:

A new distribution point.

The thing that is cool about this is that we don’t need to worry about whether there is demand for the product or service (the idea is to pick a category which is hot) Rather just to ensure expanded availability creates value.

Been Squeeze are on the coffee wagon.

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When I first read about Coffee Drive in’s via Springwise I was a bit skeptical. But I’ve found it to be just the ticket while I’m driving down the coast for a surf. And every time I go there it’s quite busy.

Here’s what’s exactly the same with Been Squeeze and any other espresso coffee retailers:

– the coffee taste

– the price points

– the packaging

– The promotion (based on high traffic location )

Here’s whats different – the way & where you buy the coffee. So what this does for a startup is reduce strategic complexity because the ‘coffee model’ is proven. Demand for coffee exists – they are just leveraging it further. Ther are no prizes for originality in business – just making for making cool stuff and making profits.

The real kicker for me is their service which is very friendly – more like a cafe than a McDonalds. In fact on my last visit on Saturday than even asked for my other coffee cup from the previous day to put in the trash for me. And now I am talking about it.

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Business pulse

You have a pulse – it’s important it never stops.

Your business has a pulse – when it stops your customers assume your dead or dying.

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This why the following elements are crucial for your business or startup:

  • Advertising frequency
  • Newsletter updates
  • Web page changes
  • Twitter feed on your homepage
  • Regular blogging
  • Returning phone calls & emails the same day
  • Speedy invoicing (guilty)
  • Product iterations and improvements
  • PR & media exposure
  • Team, fan, member, evangalist get togethers
  • Conversing with your people on line
  • Conversing with people off line
  • Acknowledging (not hassling) everyone who enters your office, retail space or workshop.

Let your customers know you’re alive, and they’ll treat you like you are. Let them think your dead or dying and they’ll ensure you die for sure.

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Deus Ex Machina

I had the pleasure the other day while in Sydney to be taken to the Deus Ex Machina workshop. For the uninitiated Deus (as the in crowd call them) are re-built old motorbikes – think big 400cc 1970’s Japanese motorcycles, which are re-built with the greatest retro feel ever and style which is all it’s own. Apparently one of the owners is an Ex Mambo founder and you can see that they certainly have a flair for design and all things super cool. As the pics below show – these guys really understand ‘Theatre at Transaction’.

In summary it’s a great ‘Re’ business. A ‘Re’ business is where we take something old / second hand and make it full of awesome. My words – can’t do Deus ex Machina justice. So maybe this photo journal below can – enjoy!

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This last one is my personal favourite – I can see myself buying this Deus and strapping my Surfboard in the surfboard carrier and cruising down the Great Ocean Road searching for a few secret tube rides.

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Threadless – quotes from Ross Zietz

On Monday night I went to the Threadless in Conversation shindig in Melbourne.

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In truth I expected a bit more on the business side, and little less on the design fan boy love.

In the spirit of creating value I have written below some quotes I took from Ross which are in blue, and my thoughts are underneath which are in black.

‘We’d rather just have a conversation’

– Still largely one way. We listen, but to those who deserve to be heard.

‘Started in 2000’

– Another example of overnight success taking nearly 10 years.

‘We saw the idea for threadless and said what if we just did it?’

– Again ideas are free, ideas are everywhere, doing creates winning.

‘I saw a tiny little ad for it in a magazine & just submitted a design & got hooked’

– Action….

‘My interview was in an Irish pub on St Patrick’s day drinking green beer’

– Pretty cool, why do people sit in stupid rooms to conduct interviews, maybe alcohol should be at all job interviews?

‘My title (Art Director) doesn’t really represent what I do. I do all kinds of different stuff’

– Job titles are an outdated idea from the Industrial Era.

‘ Our prints are not selling well…’

– Even successful businesses have flops.

‘Interacting with the community is the first part of my job’

– They all say that. But I wouldn’t know as I prefer Neighborhoodies.

‘My eduction didn’t prepare me for it. It was on the job I learned.’

– Education is just a ticket to the ball game.

‘People want to win, so they tell their friends’

– Viral stuff is about them, it’s never about us.

‘We’re going back to American Apparel. Custom is too hard’

– They create the Illusion of customisation.

‘We’re good friends with the guys at Twitter’

– Collaboration and relationships win in business. Who you know matters.

‘They opened a store because it was a cool idea and people asked’

– Sounds like a diworsification to me.

‘Whenever we have a sale volume goes up like a 100%’

– Even cool brands have price sensitive customers.

‘We email voters to remind them when a shirt they voted on is printed’

– Sounds like a little like spam, er sorry, bacn, but it must work.

‘The oldest person in our company is like 35’

– Is culture age dependent? I’m really curious. Comment if you have the answer.

‘We had a CFO who was like 50 or something and he just didn’t fit in’

– hmm, Did you let him?

‘Our team at threadless has 32 people’

– Sounds like a reasonably tight organisation. We don’t need huge numbers of people to get stuff done.

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A real bootstrapper – literally

The other day I was in the RACV club when I ran into a business I had heard about.

shineshoeshine – which as you’ve probably guessed is a shoe shine business run by bootstrapping entrepreneur Kate Kay.

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I had a chat with Kate who has a permanent shoe shine location in the Rialto Towers in Melbourne – a classic corporate targeted location. But also sets up in lots of temporary locations as can be seen above in the RACV city club.

There’s a lot to like about this business:

  • low startup costs (Some polish, foot stools, a chair…)
  • Reinvents old world values and personal service
  • Instant cash payments for service
  • Ability to be mobile

and my favourite part which I’ll talk about in more detail….

What Kate is now doing is offering her services as a promotional tool. Where brands & company’s can hire her services as a special offer to their staff or customers. The cool thing about this idea is that Kate can become your personal selling agent and talk to her ‘captive audience’ about which ever topic you choose, while her and her staff are busy shinning.

I think it’s a great idea, with a cool point of difference – You can contact her here.

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New York Series – Coke is ‘not’ it

All cultures differ in terms of what is acceptable commercial behaviour. It’s become clear to me that the US has a stronger lassie-fare attitude when it comes to consumer goods and product claims.

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Coke with Vitamins!

The government allows this folly, and then wonders why there is an obesity crisis. More like an Intelligence crisis.

Startups – Don’t just make stuff people will buy, make stuff you can be proud.

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