Archive for July, 2007

Is it possible to know too much? To know too much about what marketing reports say people want or to know what everyone else is doing so that you can market yourself in just the right way to set yourself apart from them… Is it possible that when you first came up with your brilliant, creative ideas they were bold and fresh and … if not completely new (goodness knows every new idea is a derivative of an older - also not new – idea), they at least had the energy that came from the first thought? Let’s call that the “pure” thought.

And then after meetings, and convincing your peers and compromising on your ideals and shifting and renegotiating the concept, your pure thought is now acceptable. You’ve sold the soul of your idea to the corporate devil (how’s that for some flashy, if poorly worded, poetry?) and have pandered to the lowest common denominator: your boss.

Mark Twain used to say that… or was it Stephen King? … One of them used to say that you write your first draft with the door closed, and then you revise with the door open.

Whether you are working on a new business model, a new marketing campaign, a pitch or a book… start with your door closed. Don’t let outside influences, especially the naysayers, bump into you too early in the process (we call this pandering, go check the Punk Marketing Manifesto for what we think of this) and stay ignorant of other people’s opinions while you’re doing the most important work for yourself and your company: the creative, brainstorming work.

Informed Yet Open,
Nadia Cornier

Disclaimer:
All the ignorance portrayed here is the product of Nadia’s brain and not in anyway associated with the brains of the Punk Marketing authors (they know everything). Misspellings: What are misspellings? Concerns and gripes about poorly formed ideas… well, you get the point.

When it becomes obvious to me, after spending five minutes associating with you by phone, email or in person, that walking out the door each morning to go to work makes you die a little more each day… Please, oh please, quit your job.

I know there is nothing fun about taking my food order. I know that you’re not going to be excited to deliver my mail every day. I know that there are certain times when you receive my calls and roll your eyes… but, think of any good business interaction as a relationship. Even better, think of it as a sexual relationship, and in order to keep the relationship healthy and happy, sometimes you have to fake being into it when you would’ve rather just stayed home to read and drink tea.

Everyone can remember the one or two times where a person truly loves what they do, and you wonder why? But, there is something in their essence: they smile, they make you feel good about spending your money, they are having fun with it and they go above and beyond. It is not simply about getting the job done and picking up the paycheck. They enjoy something about being there.

We always remember these people because they are so rare to come across that they stick out like beacons in the dark.

Next time you want to kill yourself at work…or your boss, or your new employee that doesn’t listen and acts like he already knows everything when – in reality – he couldn’t find his (ahem) kneecaps with two flashlights, a map and a tour bus to guide the way – and yet you have to shoulder on, do me a favor and ask yourself:

Do I really want to be here? Am I doing the best job I can possibly do, today? How can I do my job better? Could I do another job better than I could ever do this one?

And if you simply can’t answer those questions, perhaps it is time to quit… find a new job where you want to answer those questions. I know I (and everyone else you come in contact with) will be happier that you did.

Punk-Quits,
Nadia Cornier

Disclaimer:
All the passive aggressive ways of bitching at her local phone company by suggesting (through blog posts) that people should quit their jobs if they can’t do them properly, are all Nadia and not at all reflective of the passive aggressive tendencies of the Punk Marketing authors. Misspellings: Screw you, what misspellings? Any and all concerns or gripes about poorly formed ideas can be addressed to…. ::yawn:: Oh, I’m sorry, are you still here?

Celebrity is an old-fashioned word. Back when the gossip pages used to follow one or two people around town to parties and through marriages, or the rags used to ask who is pregnant, cheating, an alien… this was our only way to learn about the lives of famous people and we assumed, since we were reading about them (over and over again) that they were somehow worth reading about: hence the idea of celebrity.

But then along comes a google.

Now, each industry has its own “celebrities” and they are easily found and tracked. When a new employee or client wants to learn more about you, you are a simple net-search away. It seems as though everyone is worth reading about, if you just have the time to go searching for the reading material… and those who do have the time and inclination are more than likely to see good and bad material (if they see anything at all).

Being ungoogleable is completely unfashionable. Now with everything on the net, to not be able to find you, your company, your CEO on the internet is a big red flag for some people. Being able to ‘place you against your will’ by finding out information that feels relatively third-party (like other people blogging about you, or your information through information sites like ZoomInfo) lends you an air of legitimacy.

Don’t just do searches of your current name, do searches the way people might search you: first and last name, first and maiden name, first name and company, last name only, email address(es) only. Get a full view of what other people are seeing about you on the internet.

Even while using the articles of Punk Marketing (about being transparent and not pandering), you still want to have some control of the image that you put out in the world and many times that is as simple as starting small (i.e. with google) and finding out what is out there to begin with. Then, you can make appropriate changes and at the same time get a good sense of what vibes others are getting from you and be able to address their needs directly and not just market an image that you think other people want.

I always think of Volvo – who, when they were first released were a very economic car to run, and they kept trying to push that through their early marketing, and then when everyone kept calling it a very safe care to own … they were smart and changed their angle (at least for a while, recently Volvo has been acting up). They heard what others were saying and they highlighted (not pandered) those conversations and facilitated them.

So, um… what conversations are you facilitating?

Punk-esque,

Nadia Cornier

Disclaimer: All the ideas and obsessive googling are Nadia’s and not necessarily reflective of the ego-centrism of the Punk Marketing authors. Misspellings? Still her. Using a word like google as a noun, verb and adjective? Priceless. Any and all concerns or gripes about poorly formed ideas can be addressed by signing the following petition, we believe in giving you the opportunity to have your voices heard: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NoTalkNadia

Your wait time is now 3:43.

I called my bank because they screwed something up (read: I screwed something up but I’m still sure it’s somehow their fault… or my mother’s fault. I’m ok with either), and while I was waiting for an operator an automated message announced: how much time I’d be waiting (approximately), the site where I could check general information and then, that I also had the option of entering my phone number at which time I could hang up and an operator would call me back without me losing my spot in line.

Nobody likes being left on hold, but the things I hate most about being on hold were all addressed by this company’s system:

1) I hate not knowing how long I’ll be on hold – sometimes it’s easier to go to the place of business rather than sit on the phone, so I feel empowered with the information I need to make the decision to wait or to hang up.
2) Isn’t there an easier way? Telling me where I could find the easier-to-answer questions on the internet was great. I didn’t feel like they were patronizing me (um… and yes, I have often felt patronized when I’ve listened to automated messages tell me I can find out information on the internet. As if I haven’t already tried that.)
3) If I wanted to wait and talk to a REAL LIVE PERSON (I feel like it deserves the caps and the bold, as it is so rare), I could actually have them call me back – and they even said that I wouldn’t lose my place in the order. It’s like this phone system was made for a neurotic person and oh, did I appreciate that!

Seriously, the only thing that they could do to make my experience better would be to allow me to choose my own music to listen to while I wait. Please Press 1 for Elton John.

(A side note – if you ever have the chance, call the company that handles the motivational speakers for Fish! Philosophy, I’ve never actually asked a person to put me back on hold before… but I did want to hear the punch line of the joke I had just been listening to).

Everything you do is a reflection of your business ideals – even your phone voice automation. What does your company tell your clients when you put them on hold?

Punk-Fresh,
Nadia Cornier

Disclaimer: My annoyance with being put on hold is only a reflection of my own personality flaws and does not necessarily reflect the feelings (or flaws) of the Punk Marketing authors or anyone else, actually. Misspellings are my own. Great ideas are stolen, but names and particulars have been changed to protect the guilty. Any and all concerns or gripes about poorly formed ideas can be addressed to my favorite HS English Teacher, Mrs. Smith of Toms River HS East in New Jersey.

Never underestimate the value of convenience.
Customer convenience is responsible for:

Shop & Go gas stations, mini-malls, regular malls, supermarkets, Amazon, Netflix, drive-throughs, credit cards, debit cards, checking accounts, the popularity of the internet, express trains, soccer, toothbrushes with rotating bristles, liquid soap, Velcro, cell phones, text messaging (and therefore, also responsible for the depletion of our youths’ ability to write in complete sentences without using numbers in place of words), Two-In-One shampoo-conditioner, motels, inclusive vacations, theme parks, I was kidding about the Soccer, wristwatches, pasteurized milk, Britney Spears (trust me), Tivo, MTV 2-5, etc…

I’m not sure if convenience became so important as customers began to have too many options (which they do) or too many daily obligations (which they do) or if it’s just because we’ve become lazier as time has gone on (which we have) – I’m not going to speculate so much (at least today) on why we’ve become such connoisseurs of convenience…

But, let’s assume I’m right and that people are willing to pay a little bit more, and perhaps veer a little bit from what they want, if a ‘good enough’ product is already right in front of them.

This means that you can overcome the other things that might impede a potential sale by being a more convenient choice to your clients. Or, you can really improve customer and brand loyalty by making it more convenient for your client to buy (and keep buying) your products.

But there is a cost to convenience, so you have to be smart about it… Sometimes the price is too high (for the consumer and therefore for the company) to pay.

For instance, when I want to purchase a new pair of shoes, I don’t want it to be difficult to find a great style in my size, but I also don’t want to be wearing the same pair as every Tom, Dick, and Sally.

• Make sure convenience doesn’t mean common.

When I am having trouble with a product or service (like a cell phone or computer program), I want help right away – at any time of day or night – but I don’t want troubleshooting to become a whole other procedure when I’m already feeling overwhelmed.

• Make sure convenience doesn’t mean complicated.

When candidates try to differentiate themselves from one another during elections they often forget that a difference needs to stand for something: have context and purpose. Keep this in mind when you try to distinguish your product or service within the market: your clients probably already expect something from you (good/bad/whatever) and any change you make from those expectations should be done with intent. Helping your clients notice your differences is helpful in an overloaded market, but if you do so without context and purpose… you’re not distinguishing yourself, you’re just being contrary.

• Make sure convenience doesn’t mean contrary.

Go through the typical experience a client or customer will have in engaging your services or buying your products and remove anything that complicates the experience and makes it less enjoyable. Or at the very least, make unenjoyable tasks (think going to the DMV) less unenjoyable by making them go as quickly as possible.

Yours in Punk*,

Nadia Cornier

*Disclaimer: All ideas about customer convenience and the list above are my own and do not necessarily reflect the feelings (or list making abilities) of the Punk Marketing authors or anyone else, actually. Misspellings are my own. The made up words (like unenjoyable) were stolen, but the correct spellings have been changed to protect the guilty. Any and all concerns or gripes about poorly formed ideas can be addressed to my mother who will, undoubtedly, empathize and tell you that she “did her best.”