Monthly Archive for August, 2006

The right priorites

Published
by
Nick Rice
on August 5, 2006
in advertising, branding, business, management, marketing and strategy
. 0 Comments

This image from Hugh Macleod got me thinking.

Trust in a seller/customer relationship truly is paramount. Big advertising blew it - people are sick of being screamed at. Big business blew it - employment for life? The social media push is all about trust. It’s an amplified globe-shrinking Word of Mouth push. It is about customers taking back control and recognizing the power of their tribe.

I’ve seen it happen a thousand times - and I’m guilty of it myself. Once a creative firm (in-house or outside) sells a new idea; the client usually jumps right into “so how are we going to do it”. I’ve always thought they should be more concerned about ensuring their brand is elevated in the eyes of the customer instead of the technical details. I’m sure the thought process is “if I understand how it’s going to work, I’ll be able to know if it’s right”.

Most clients are focused on the wrong thing and it’s puts them at a disadvantage that is next to impossible to overcome. Focus on what your customer wants to hear (the why), not the technology (the what or how). Focus on solving the true business problem that’s prompting you to market/publicize/advertise/etc… Be brave enough to peel back the layers and write an honest creative brief. Make trust a priority.

technorati tags > marketing, branding, advertising, priorities, strategy, customer, trust

Brainstorming tips & tricks

Published
by
Nick Rice
on August 3, 2006
in business, entrepreneur, management and strategy
. 0 Comments

I’ve used the SCAMPER methodology for brainstorming quite effectively over the years.

SCAMPER stands for:

  • S - substitute
  • C - combine/create
  • A - add
  • M - modify/magnify
  • P - put to other uses
  • E - eliminate/elaborate
  • R - reverse/rearrange

This is a great way to get your creative juices flowing. We’ve all seen that ingenious little tweak on someone else’s idea that sparks a new flurry of ideas. The SCAMPER methodology allows you to create in bitesize chunks. Instead of having to have an ideal moment of inspiration, these techniques get your brain thinking in ways that you may not be used to.

Let’s take a basic pencil.

S - substitute pencil for crayon, marker, chalk, lead, paint anything that play a similar role
C - combine pencil with lead pencil, #2 pencil, pencil and pen, pencil and paper
A - add pencil to a messy desk, journal of dreams, a sketchbook
M - magnify a part of the pencil you want to focus on - clean erases, visual display of how sharp the lead is and how much is left
E - what would a pencil be like without the six sides (easier to hold or harder), is it better w/ blue lead, does the audience need a pencil/pen combo
R - is there a way to rearrange a pencil? Not sure, it’s pretty well baked.

After a while, you can see how these methods get you thinking differently about a simple pencil. It’s easy to put yourself in the shoes of the Dixon-Ticonderoga marketing manager planning his/her next campaign.

Anyway, use the SCAMPER techniques to find new solutions to problems. Once you begin to understand and apply each letter, you’ll be able to dissect how other companies came to their conclusions on product names, features, and design.

technorati tags > brainstorming, techniques, scamper, product, development, features, design

SmallBusinessBranding.com - It’s official

Published
by
Nick Rice
on August 2, 2006
in business, entrepreneur and management
. 0 Comments

Just a quick post to let you know that I’ve officially began writing on SmallBusinessBranding.com.

Here are my two initial posts:

  1. Hi, my name is…
  2. 5 tips to getting the biggest bang for your buck

I’m truly excited about the opportunity to work with business owners and executives. Helping corporations and organizations improve has been a passion of mine for a long time.

technorati tags > small business, branding, blog, marketing

Gen Y is driving technology consumption

Published
by
Nick Rice
on August 1, 2006
in ROI, business, management, marketing and strategy
. 0 Comments

According to Forrester, North American 18-26 year olds are integrating technology into their lives faster than any generation previously. They spend twice as much time online as baby boomers. Almost half have broadband at home. Whether its blogs, IM, or social networks like Facebook, Gen Y is driving technology consumption.

It’s amazing how much this trend is changing the face of America. Pay phones are gone. Travel agencies are very hard to find. Land line phone subscriptions are falling. To most folks in the blogosphere this is not new news. But I’m still surprised at how many corporations are not embracing the shift.

Loyalty is the key to long term growth. The Web 2.0 trend is only exposing & amplifying what has always happened. People have always recommended products the love and bashed products they hated. Technology has enabled those local conversations to happen globally. It has created massive tribes of like-minded consumers with the power to shower explosive growth on a company or tank it.

Now more than ever you must make products/services that customers will love, not just be satisfied with if you want to grow. Keeping your customers happy is more important than short term Wall Street-driven changes. Be more competitive by beating the competition. Not by simply cutting price.

You should leverage technology to enable conversations. There’s still room for traditional market research, but you can learn a lot by paying attention to what is already being said. Before you had no idea what college kids in Idaho loved about your product without expensive focus groups that were automatically filtered because they’re staged research initiatives in a controlled setting. Now you can just tap right into Bebo, MySpace, Flickr, del.icio.us, xanga, etc… The list goes on and on.

Here’s the key; take advantage while you can. Every corporation on the planet is heading down this same path. If you don’t beat them, all you’ll hear is corporate marketing crap that is coming not the users themselves.

technorati tags > forrester, strategy, customer, loyalty, marketing, technology, integration