CK's Blog

Mouth-watering marketing...

Some posts just hit the nail on the head--and are clever, to boot. Here's a recipe for a 'Compelling Blog Casserole', compliments of Vaspers the Grate.

• Read quality literature and tech articles. Ponder.
• Mix in your own observations and insights.
• Season with the salt of skepticism.
• Add a dash of controversy spice.
• Toss in a sprig of robust rosemary, for feminine appeal.
• Thicken with the flour of web expertise.
• Make the whole mess connect with audience, by bringing to a slow but vigorous boil, over medium heat, while stirring constantly.
• Dish up while steaming hot.

Yield: Serves 50 million readers.

Note: I requested that Vaspers don a chef hat, get in the kitchen and create a vlog on this. No such luck (yet).

Greater 'Share' Empowers C2C Markets--and possibly, The New Capitalism. (Q&A with GoodStorm)

In this segment I'm speaking with Andrew Hoppin, director of business development for GoodStorm, a progressive e-commerce company launched in January to dramatically increase profit margins...for the little guy. Listen up marketers: a lot of little guys are making for one BIG market.

Since the dot-bust a raft of regulations have been pushing transparency, accountability and social responsibility. But what hasn't been addressed is the core issue with the economic model itself (read: too many people on the low-end of the profit scale).

Enter GoodStorm's fair-economics model, coined "Capitalism Done Right", emphasizing more share in profit-sharing programs. According to Hoppin, "We've explicitly built our business model such that we only do well when we're also doing a lot of good for other people. That's what we call 'Capitalism Done Right'."

So what does more sharing really equate to? A lot. Take MarketSpace, the company's service for setting up online stores. It's much like Cafe Press except sellers receive much more profit--up to 70% of profit on every sale, instead of only 20% to 30%. Or MeCommerce, the company's innovative product-serving technology for selling items like CDs and DVDs; it's akin to other affiliate programs except sellers receive 50% of profits from each purchase instead of just 4% - 8.5%.

A veteran to both the blogging and political communities, Hoppin managed the "Clark for President" campaign's voter data and open-source software volunteer program and directed business strategy for CivicSpace, the online advocacy software platform borne out of Howard Dean's Presidential campaign. Remarking on the intersection of politics and business, Andrew explains, "The foundation of authentic caring and hubris to believe we can change things for the better maps extremely well to a C2C business world."

Andrew illuminates how fair-economic models empower C2C markets--and how sharing the wealth makes for mighty good marketing practices. Here's the Q&A (and a link to a special podcast):

Fix me. Save Me. Don't let me break.

The theme of this week's marketing reads has largely revolved around fixing, saving, even breaking. Sounds pretty dismal, eh? Far from it. In fact, I want to share some hearty solutions recently contributed by our clan...

fix me: Paul McEnany started a worthy new "In the FIX" Series, with the 1st segment imploring, "We barely listen, and more often that not, become more caught up in our own dogma than our responsibility to the consumer. We work harder to preserve our way of life, rather than understanding what the consumer values most."

Ah, listening. I'm a big fan of that notion. Paul has also posted more insights through parts 2 and 3.

save me: Noah Brier provides 9 ways to SAVE marketing. Point #3 from the list exclaims, "Let go of the brand! That's not to say the brand is dead, just that we need to accept that it may be appropriate to deliver different brand identities to different groups with different needs."

Acceptance is good. And the multi-faceted positioning approach is resonating with me. We segment our customers and our messaging points, why not our positioning strategy? Good food for thought. Add your choice for #10 to his 9-point paradigm (I already added mine).

don't let me break: Paul Gillin's piece for Ziff Davis, Making It or BREAKING It with Customer Service, provides sage counsel with, "Think of the businesses you patronize that give you good customer service. What do they do right? Chances are they make a positive customer experience part of their value system. Whether it’s an efficient Web design, a helpful e-mail newsletter service, a pleasant telephone support staff, or a cheerful hello at the checkout counter, they show you that they appreciate you as a person, not just an account number."

Choices are about values...and it's obvious we've not valued customer service, for maybe decades (yikes!). As amplified by the AOl and Dell debacles, a customer-service revolution is afoot, this may be our greatest challenge in re-connecting with our customers.

Spotted any fixing, saving or breaking posts?  Do share!

Paul McEnany Noah Brier Paul Gillin

A blog does not a blogger make.

A few weeks back MarketingProfs' Ann Handley found herself blog-less (tech upgrades were keeping her blog and she at a remove). Still managing to post she published a piece over at Logic + Emotion asking "can one still be a blogger, sans a blog?" While the question may have intended to be existential in nature, I've been more focused on the down-to-earth, literal implication as of late.

When you first launch a blog, you're so singularly focused on getting the darn thing locked and loaded that, sure, you're a "blogger". But not really. It's not until you start participating in other blogs--and the overall conversation--that you really matriculate to blogger.

Sure, I feel like I'm contributing through my posts and helping give voice to others through my interview series. But when do I feel most like a blogger? When I click the comment button on other sites.

I query many clients, colleagues and friends on why they're not joining the conversation. Their answers are varied, but the tie that binds all their excuses is daunt: daunted by a new medium, daunted by time pressures and daunted by launching and maintaining their own blogsite. When I explain they needn't launch their own blogs, just get involved in others blogs, a sigh of relief overcomes them. A barrier is broken. And often enough, a new blogger is born.

So yes, Ann, you can definitely be a blogger (verb) without a blog (noun). Given the choice, I'd prefer to see more bloggers than blogs. While you were blog-less for a bit, I appreciate the inspiration -- thanks Ann! (psst: her post is in two places, the original post here and another with many more blog-less comments here).

Ann Handley

The Long Tail: Long on Value.

Since there's a ton of reviews circulating on Chris Anderson's book, The Long Tail, I'll work to keep my "chime in" brief. It's worth the time. Worth the bucks (like $18, maybe). If you liked Freakonomics, you'll love this book. Heck, even if you didn't like Freakonomics you might like it.

The book details why and how we've migrated to a market of niches--and why, amid an economy of abundance and choice, the looooong tail matters to marketers. Lots of why's and how's. So I dig it.

Chris walks us through why today's hits are missing the mark and how companies like Amazon, Google and iTunes have leveraged long-tail demand + Internet efficiencies to build strong businesses. He walks us through the genesis of long-tail economics with some interesting back stories on old timers like Sears & Roebuck.

The book's tagline, "Why the future of business is selling less of more.", pretty much says it all--and 'tis a great tag, to boot. Here's where you can buy it and here's la blog. Check out this "Day of the Long Tail" fun:

The Long Tail Chris Anderson

No Wizard Needed: These tin men's blog is all heart. (Q&A with Tinbashers)

In this segment we're going across the pond to East Lancashire England--about forty minutes from Manchester--and speaking with Paul Woodhouse, the blogger behind Tinbasher. Launched in May 2004, the tinbasher blog supports Butler Sheetmetal Ltd, a family-run sheet metal shop and its sister company, Tinpot Alley, which specializes in steel planters and other custom metal work.

Tinbasher covers sheet metal, stainless steel and manufacturing, pretty much what one would expect from the site's name. But thoroughly unexpected is the way it delivers information. Through a balanced dose of pictures, humor, current events and employee tales, the blog oozes personality and pride.

And the pride is paying off--2005 revenues were up 60%, business is set to more than double in 2006, with the company attributing nearly 90% of new business to the company's blog and websites. What's more, Tinbasher claimed the 2005 "Inside Blogging" Award and clocked 158,000 page views in June.

What's the secret? What shrewd strategy are these tin men exacting that we MBAs can't plot on charts or uncover through a battery of focus groups? The answer is so simple it will surprise you; according to Woodhouse, "I try to convey what we'd be like if you actually came 'round to the workshop for a brew. It's informal and colloquial." At first blush, Paul admits employees were suspect (they called it a "blob"), but now embrace it as part of the Butler family. In fact, they are all too happy to spew tales of what happened during any given week...with the proviso that it would make for good blog material.

Referring to himself as "some average Joe Soap with a computer," more marketers would do well to take a page from Paul's book and focus less on sales, more on sincerity--perhaps the blogosphere's true killer app. Here's the Q&A:

Caution Marketers: Mind Your Tone, Watch Your Words.

This marketer has a miff, but I won't rant without offering a remedy. While I'm surrounded by gracious marketers much smarter than I, far too many clients and colleagues are telling me they find the blogosphere to be more elitist than empowering. And it's making them tune out...when we want them tuning in.

Is everybody sending the wrong message? Absolutely not. But there is some attitude and I'm concerned it's compromising our cause.

Words have power. Tones make all the difference. So let's each do our part to encourage the entire marketing community to switch the conversation from "You just don't get it!" to "Can you see the opportunities?" The former shuts people down, the latter opens minds. The former ends a conversation--the latter begins one.

Here's a fine example: Take Al and Laura Ries. I've had the honor of interviewing them twice in the last year. Responsive? Completely. Attitude? Not one iota. An exemplary model from two thought leaders who, let's face it, could get away with being elusive and arrogant. But they aren't. The result? They've engaged us for decades. And there are many others setting equally terrific examples that I'm privileged to call colleagues.

Let's encourage others to follow this lead. When you think about it, it really is our responsibility to promote the high road--and push positive, inclusive agendas. So just encourage social-media savvies not to get too big for their britches (but instead be bigger people). Maybe the words will fall flat, but maybe they'll flatten any hierarchies. Worth a try, eh?

Remember, the majority of businesses aren't blogging yet, or blogging at all regularly. They find these uncharted waters to be scary (eek!). And silly as we all know that notion is, the fact is that people avoid what they fear. By encouraging others to veer away from combative words ("you don't get it!") and using more nurturing tones ("let me show you why it's valuable to get this!") we lessen the "fear factor". It really can be that simple--the best lessons in life often are.

As for marketers who are still skeptical about joining the conversation...c'mon in, the water's fine!

Thanks to the many marketers, bloggers and podcasters that set such fine examples, you inspire this marketer :-).

Post-posting note: Since this was originally published, Mike Gore called my attention to a post by MarketingProfs' Eric Kintz asking what it will take to spread the "epidemic" to the other 99% of marketers (the post and comments are equally great). If we encourage others who are employing the "You just don't get it!" tactic to use words and tones that influence conversations, we will beget the marketing community a whole lot more bloggers. Off my soapbox now.

A sign of MAJOR progress (pass it on...)

Mack Collier of The Viral Garden has made a viral call-to-arms for all marketers--and I'm more than happy to do my part. Seems one small step from one MAJOR movie studio (Universal) could signal that the biggies are starting to --really hope I don't jinx it!-- "get it."

By showing bloggers they care, Universal is getting a whole lotta love (and boy they need it, remember the parent co. is NBC-Universal, whose TV ratings are in the toilet). Smart move to start engaging bloggers. Amazing what a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T will get you, eh?

According to Mack's post: "A representative from the studio was smart enough to contact Chris at Movie Marketing Madness, and give him all the information he needed on how Universal is marketing the upcoming release Miami Vice.

What impressed me the most is that Universal contacted Chris. Normally bloggers have to bend over backwards to even get companies to give them the CHANCE to contact THEM. Now because one rep at Universal took 30 minutes out of his day, a movie that Universal is banking on being a summer blockbuster, will get primo exposure on the internet's most influential movie marketing blog, and one of the Top 25 Marketing Blogs.

Many companies simply don't feel that it's worth their time, from a promotional standpoint at least, to talk to bloggers. I get that. This is a space that unless you are interacting within every day, you truly can't comprehend how easily thoughts and ideas spread. That's why I think it's our responsibility to ourselves, and companies that are smart enough to embrace bloggers, to reward their efforts. I think we need to send a clear message to Universal that their 30 minutes spent talking to Chris was the best promotional move they will make this week. We all need to link to Universal Studios, and tell the story of how they were smart enough to embrace bloggers."

Well said, Mack. It's my hope that Universal ALL studios learn 3 key lessons:

• Mountains can be moved in 30 minutes: all you gotta do is reach out to your markets, they'll even do much of the heavy-lifting.
• Bloggers are GREAT people: once you stop avoiding us, you'll see what you were missing ;-).
• The blogosphere can be your best friend or your worst enemy: the choice is entirely yours. So join the conversation already (it's tons more fun than P&L meetings).

Shout outs: Thanks to The Viral Garden, Movie Marketing Madness and yes, Universal for the oh-so-needed positive news, you made this marketer's week. Pass it on, guys!

Good News, Kermit: it's getting easier to be green & guilt-free.

It's not that consumers don't want to be earth-friendly--it's that we don't want to drastically change our habits in order to do so. Look how long it took to get recycling underway. However minuscule a portion of the diaper-toting population, I'm in awe of moms who don't use disposable diapers (but I do wonder if the energy usage from all those extra loads of laundry offsets the benefit to our landfills).

I'm always delighted when marketers attack this problem from the angle of making it convenient to enact positive change, rather than sounding the fire-and-brimstone bell. Make us change as little as possible. Ask us to do so in itty-bitty, easy-breezy ways. Don't play upon our guilt (that'll last as long as a NY minute). Focus on breaking the barriers to market entry and acceptance, instead of forcing your religion upon us (yawn).

Speaking of dirty diapers, here's a kid-friendly example: take Fresh Baby, a company that develops feeding accessories. Their latest innovation on the right, called "Good Clean Fun", gave me a giggle. They're a lot like other place mats, you even (yikes!) toss them after use. But these color-on place mats are made from plastic...that's made from corn...with crayons made from soy. So they're biodegradable and easily renewable--while money doesn't grow on trees, corn does (sort of).

Point is, you've got the same kid, same meal, same table, same trash can, same exhausted parent. No new routines or rules--only a quick decision to be made at the point of purchase. Bye-bye guilt, bring on the green. Got any green examples to share? Or initiatives pushing the positive play, rather than serving up the guilt card?

Fresh Baby green marketing

Posts Get Jiggy with these Pimps.

Apparently the blogosphere doesn't need any more marketers, just a few good pimps. The oh-so-clever PR strategists at Media Orchard have introduced "Pimp my Blog Post" where, once monthly, they pick a submitted post from an aspiring blogger and share the love by critiquing, editing and promoting it.

What's more, once the post has been pimped, primped and polished, they track how well it does. The marketer in me just lives for programs like these. Why?

• Share the love: Fine example of bloggers helping bloggers.
• We all learn: They provide clear, step-by-step feedback on recommendations and revisions, so we all get a lesson in what makes for a worthy post (check out their first episode).
• Personal gain: The program gives me an excuse to use the word "pimp" on my blog.

Guys, you can pimp my posts anytime.

Mom, the blog is in the mail. (learning to LOVE the learning curve)

My mom is dying to see my blog. She's been nagging me to "send" it to her for a while. Never mind the tricked-out computer I bought her a few years back. Forget the AOL account I've subscribed her to for over 2 years (from which the only e-mail I've received is the test one I sent myself during the training lesson I gave her). She's convinced people "send" blogs to each other all the time. I explained a blog isn't a greeting card.

Still, mom can't get over why people I've never met--much less people who didn't give birth to me--get my blog and not she. So I printed the damn thing out and sent it to her priority mail. While eagerly awaiting my snail-mail blog, mom heard that people "send blogs everyday"...and asked when I will be sending the next one. I've only myself to blame.

Lesson learned: Whenever we marketers think a "quick fix" will quiet our markets, we only serve to create a long-term problem for ourselves. Tedious as it is, be patient with "old world" constituencies, it will only strengthen your relationships--and serves to make you look like an expert. I know it's annoying when people don't get it, but they will. And they will a lot sooner if we learn to love the learning curve.

Don't give up, just give them some extra attention. For the price of buying a few extra books for clients, I've re-upped accounts. And for the time it takes to send prospects some articles or blogs of note, I've solidified entirely new relationships. All because I took a few extra steps when other marketers marginalized them (btw, my bank account thanks you for blowing them off).

As for mom, I'm going to try a new incentive and tell her a "full-color version" of my blog can only be accessed on the computer ("color" is a hot button of hers; she fondly recalls getting her first color TV). Regardless, I've stocked-up on postage.

What tactics are you leveraging to migrate your markets--or your mommas--to this new medium?

Blogging from Baghdad (Q&A with Sergeant Joshua Salmons)

This week I'm veering from my marketing beat. I'll get back on track next week but, being that it's July, the month we celebrate democracy's birthday, I started thinking about where we go--and where we don't--for information on the war. Military bloggers give us first-hand, first-person accounts, yet most of us look only to CNN, Fox and MSNBC. Perhaps it's because we're concerned the government is censoring military blogs. Or perhaps we assume citizen media only pertains to "civilian" media. But in this direct line that is the blogosphere, why aren't more of us going straight to the source?

So going straight to the source is what we're doing in this segment, thanks to Sergeant Joshua Salmons, the military blogger behind Talking Salmons, stationed at Camp Taji, Iraq, a few miles north of Baghdad. Josh launched his blog last year, shortly before leaving to serve his first tour of duty in Iraq. Due to time zones and the war we needed to hold the entire interview via e-mail, but we started our discussion on July 4th. I hope it made him feel closer to home that day, it was certainly the highlight of my Independence Day.

Joshua's job as Public Affairs Non-Commissioned Officer (military speak for "journalist") is to cover the soldiers of the logistical unit to which he's assigned, mainly through writing stories and taking pictures of tasks that include: providing supplies, unloading cargo and delivering food, water, ammunition and repair parts. The Sergeant explains, "While it may not seem so much on the front lines as, say, someone storming the beaches in 'Saving Private Ryan', in this conflict there are no set front lines. Convoys are hit, patrols are hit, everything is hit as the bad guys get opportunity. We all have to be on guard."

His job entails "telling the Army's story", but the views he expresses on his blog belong only to him. Here's the Q&A: (and yes, this interview was approved by the military.)

Blogging through a Bruisin'...bravo!

Hats off to Hee-Haw Marketing's Paul McEnany--this blogger may be bruised but his spirit and smarts are far from broken. A victim of mistaken identity, Paul was jumped by a group of guys...and even posted pictures of his beat-up face on his blog. Making light of what had to be a traumatic experience, Paul writes "a Concussion, Broken Nose, Stitched up face, and 3 broken teeth later, my Hee-Haw moniker is now a way of life". How can you not adore this bruised blogger?

I'm not sure what is impressing me more, his attitude about the attack or the quality of posts he's written a la painkillers: check out The Art of Timelessness, his coherent list will teach you how timelessness is truly more art than science.

We all gripe how so many marketers aren't "getting it" and are in need of a big dose of reality. I'm certainly not advocating they're in need of a bruisin'...perhaps just some painkillers. Show Paul a little love, his posts (and yes, the picture) are worth the trip.

Shout out: Thanks to Mack Collier for calling my attention to the great read.

The "new integration": left brain meet right brain.

I'm a fan of tapping both sides of the brain, in fact it's why I most enjoy this profession. We marketers frequently jockey between left-brain analytical solutions and right-brain creative strategies...but perhaps more of us need to rely on both sides as rule, not exception. And perhaps the "new integration" isn't cross platform, it's cross thinking.

Before the new economy--which went from being hailed "The Information Economy" to being coined "The Creative Economy"--marketers who employed a comprehensive, full-brain approach to problem solving  or innovation were viewed as unique thinkers. Now our success is depending upon how well we integrate logic + reasoning with imagination + creativity. Wrap your (entire) mind around that and definitely check out Ted Mininni's "Left Brain, Right Brain: Creating a New Business Model" article. In it he explains how integrated thinking has spawned innovations like Starbucks and Swiffer...and even how Einstein's theory of relativity was fueled as much by imagination as intellect.

Thanks to Ted Mininni and MarketingProfs for the great read.

Strategy, markets and mushy middles (Q&A with Al and Laura Ries)

In this segment I'm speaking with Al and Laura Ries, the father-daughter marketing team whose thought leadership has counseled--or perhaps the apt word is "focused"--many companies in the Fortune 500. After scores of bestsellers (Al has written or co-authored eleven books, Laura has co-authored four), one could assume their best material is behind them. Not a chance. Tireless in their pursuit to make us all better marketers, there's fresh thinking below (a special takeaway, too). Here's the Q&A:

In your latest book, The Origin of Brands, you advocate the more proactive method of creating markets vs. the traditional practice of serving them. Why is this a crucial change in mindset for today's marketers? It's the difference between being a follower and a leader. When you serve a market that already exists, you are automatically a follower because some other company created that market. When you create a new market, you are automatically the leader. (Intel in microprocessors. Red Bull in energy drinks. Starbucks in high-end coffee shops.) It's an enormous advantage to start off as the leader because it is very difficult for someone else to take your leadership away from you. When you start off as a follower, it is extremely difficult to ever become the leader.

Today's PR: Less control, More Flow

I've been having a lot of clients asking me about social media's implications on PR; specifically, how to maintain control of their messages amid all this 'new media madness'. While control is no longer the order of the day--nor ever really was--I appreciate the way a colleague of mine, Neil Vineberg, is framing the conversation. In his post he articulates: "Today's PR is no longer about controlling the news cycle but facilitating the flow." He also provides some tactics on how to respond to citizen media with "as much alacrity as mainstream media"--advising us not to kid ourselves...we're already as accountable for our relationships with bloggers as we are with journalists. Some smart, sensitive advice worth checking out.

PR Neil Vineberg

Video as Quality Play, not Popularity Contest (Q&A with VideoSift)

In this segment I'm speaking with James Roe of VideoSift, a new video-sharing site that provides a democratic new take on the space. Positioned as a "community-driven video clearinghouse", VideoSift users submit and rate videos from sites like YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo! and iFilm, with the top-rated videos "sifted" to the site's front page. So "best in show" is driven by opinions (quality) not page views (quantity).

According to Roe, "The number of views a video receives is not a strong indicator of quality, although it is a relatively decent indicator of popularity. Lots of the most popular videos on all of the video-hosting sites derive their popularity from factors that are not necessarily quality, such as scantily clad people, hate in the form of racism or general intolerance, or just plain frivolity...lip-synching videos come to mind in particular here."

It makes sense when you compare it to video across other media platforms--take American Idol: while the zaniest, least-gifted singers (William Hung, anyone?) may raise a lot of chatter and spawn countless parodies, they've never been voted Idol.

Just launched in February, the site is already ranked 591 out of 46.1 million sites tracked by Technorati and has clocked 4.3 million page views. But what drew me to VideoSift was not their ranking methodology so much as their rules: with the exception of special monthly promotions, all videos are submitted by third-party viewers, not the authors.

Why do they only allow third-party submissions? "Because we think that anyone promoting their own video is less likely to see it objectively and it helps to limit the abuse of our site by advertising agencies and self promoters". So by providing an agenda-free safe haven, VideoSift's value proposition becomes stronger as marketing abuses exacerbate. There's a BIG lesson there folks, many more in the following Q&A: