Michael,
I love your column, thanks for the daily lesson. I've got a question though and I'd love to get your thoughts.
I work in telecoms and thrash around with the conundrum of whether buying a mobile phone with a particular operator (Telstra for example) is a high involvement or low involvement purchase? I think that my colleagues and I fall into the trap of thinking it is a high involvement but I look at people int he street and think that it could be low involvement. Then again, younger people tend to spend a bucket of money and effort finding the coolest offer when older people don't.
As for the decision to choose which company for one's home phone, I think that different segments of the market probably differ as well.
You'd agree that this would change massively the type of marketing approach one would depending on the involvement level?
Perhaps this could be a subject of a future column - differing levels of involvement for the same product across age groups…
Cheers
Sean
Hi Sean,
Attitudes to a decision about a phone range from plugging in to a utility (land line connection for most people, except perhaps rural users for whom the phone is a life-or-death facility) to a life-changing milestone (a child getting their first mobile) and everything in between. The decision about the carrier is probably low involvement in cases where consumers don’t see a meaningful difference between you and your competitors. What differentiates carriers? Level of irritation, customer service ethic, cost, brand imagery, drop outs/coverage??? What determines the level of involvement of a brand choice? Risk? (Fear) Self esteem? (Craving approval) The level of emotion evoked in the consideration process would appear to be a key indicator of involvement. The context of the decision would appear to determine the level of emotion. You could segment consumers by how important brand is to them in your category. The importance of brand indicates level of involvement.
You could use my Quality Of A Sale Index (QOS) to reveal the level of brand involvement of your customer base vs competitors and consequently the long term stability of your market share. The QOS Index reveals the difference between sales that look the same on paper. A Low Quality Sale is driven by promotions, is churned from another brand, is likely to be followed by flight to yet another brand chasing yet another deal, generates no word of mouth, and does not represent an investment in the future of the brand. A High Quality Sale is not driven by a deal, is based on a brand choice, is a repeat sale to a customer, is likely to be followed by another repeat sale, generates advocacy and represents an investment in the future value of the brand. High concentrations of High Quality Sales indicates that a customer base is an appreciating asset. The reverse is the case with high concentrations of Low Quality Sales. Levels of involvement are also likely to be indicated as correlated with QOS. (I predicted the demise of Mitsubishi in Australia 6 years ago based on the QOS Index, as well as the decline of GMH and the rise of Toyota. QOS is a reliable measure of brand health.)
Cheers!
Michael
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Fakes, snakes and flakes
Hi,
On October 30, 1938, mass panic broke out across America and people hid in their cellars or jammed the roads leading out of towns and cities, trying the escape an attack from Martians. The stampede was set off by a radio play staged by Orson Welles. The production took the form of simulated news broadcasts with sound effects. Nearly 70 years later Lonelygirl15 is posting video on YouTube, slices of her life as a 16 year old which have shot her to the second most popular channel on the video blogsite, with 2.3 million viewings and 24,000 subscribers. Investigative journalists and online snoops smelled a rat and uncovered a Hollywood scam by a group of filmmakers who now claim to have invented “a new art form… [that will] usher in an era of interactive storytelling where the line between 'fan' and 'star' has been removed". Fakes. The online world is full of them. It is a viral marketing technique to spread your message far and wide by creating what purports to be reality footage of something amazing that will be passed on by the unsuspecting. Eventually, like the Blair Witch Project, all is revealed, and the marketers congratulate themselves on another successful scam. “Fooled you again,” they say. I have friends in the digital marketing industry who produce neatly packaged fakes for big brands. Can a brand afford to lie like that? How many times can a medium reveal itself to be a snakepit of simulated truth (aka lies) and not infect its image indelibly with the image of the snakeoil salesman and the porn site spammer. No, you can’t trust anything you see or hear on the Net.
PS. Americans are especially susceptible. 15% of them believe the Apollo moon landing took place in a Hollywood film set. And 20% of them believed The X Files was a documentary. And nearly a majority of them voted for an actor for President. (That’s right. George W. is really B-Grade actor Tolson Holmes from Jacksonville, Missouri, playing the President in a worldwide production called The End of Civilisation As We Know It.)
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
Morning Michael
Your emails are tops.
I'm currently working as a speech writer in the public sector, but hail from a fairly traditional marketing/advertising background...so your 'thought for the day' is a good way for me to stay plugged in to what's happening out on the street, in a way that my job often doesn't provide me the scope or time to do.
Marketing commentary, social commentary, WHATEVER - your words are looked forward to and enjoyed!
Cheers
Caitlin
On October 30, 1938, mass panic broke out across America and people hid in their cellars or jammed the roads leading out of towns and cities, trying the escape an attack from Martians. The stampede was set off by a radio play staged by Orson Welles. The production took the form of simulated news broadcasts with sound effects. Nearly 70 years later Lonelygirl15 is posting video on YouTube, slices of her life as a 16 year old which have shot her to the second most popular channel on the video blogsite, with 2.3 million viewings and 24,000 subscribers. Investigative journalists and online snoops smelled a rat and uncovered a Hollywood scam by a group of filmmakers who now claim to have invented “a new art form… [that will] usher in an era of interactive storytelling where the line between 'fan' and 'star' has been removed". Fakes. The online world is full of them. It is a viral marketing technique to spread your message far and wide by creating what purports to be reality footage of something amazing that will be passed on by the unsuspecting. Eventually, like the Blair Witch Project, all is revealed, and the marketers congratulate themselves on another successful scam. “Fooled you again,” they say. I have friends in the digital marketing industry who produce neatly packaged fakes for big brands. Can a brand afford to lie like that? How many times can a medium reveal itself to be a snakepit of simulated truth (aka lies) and not infect its image indelibly with the image of the snakeoil salesman and the porn site spammer. No, you can’t trust anything you see or hear on the Net.
PS. Americans are especially susceptible. 15% of them believe the Apollo moon landing took place in a Hollywood film set. And 20% of them believed The X Files was a documentary. And nearly a majority of them voted for an actor for President. (That’s right. George W. is really B-Grade actor Tolson Holmes from Jacksonville, Missouri, playing the President in a worldwide production called The End of Civilisation As We Know It.)
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
Morning Michael
Your emails are tops.
I'm currently working as a speech writer in the public sector, but hail from a fairly traditional marketing/advertising background...so your 'thought for the day' is a good way for me to stay plugged in to what's happening out on the street, in a way that my job often doesn't provide me the scope or time to do.
Marketing commentary, social commentary, WHATEVER - your words are looked forward to and enjoyed!
Cheers
Caitlin
No news is good news
Hi,
If ever you despair of the world, try my failproof remedy. Say to yourself: "There was a time before [here name what is bugging you] and there will be a time after it is gone." You can insert anything you like: feminism, John Howard, Alan Jones, George Bush, the ALP... It will make you feel better.
I choose to insert the word "newspapers". Last weekend I did something out of the ordinary: I bought a newspaper. A big fat newspaper. When I had skimmed it and read 2 or 3 items, I was finished with it and had the problem of what to do with it. Half a tonne of paper to go into the waste stream. I used to read 4 newspapers before breakfast each day. Now I get my news on radio, on websites or delivered in special interest newsletters online. And I'm no trend setter in media usage. Little wonder then that The Economist has predicted the death of the newspaper. It has shrunk 50% in 10 years. (Bloody boring rag, really. Bleak world view - money money money.) The Australian wrote an editorial (who reads editorials?) saying news content is king and that Rupert's favourite populist platform in Australia would survive. But news content isn't king anymore. More people every day are switching off the news - which makes them feel frightened and powerless - and amusing themselves with cookery, gardening, collecting, gossiping - live and in the studio (either doing it themselves or watching it on TV). They say that bad news is good news for newspapers. But I believe it's choking them to death. The flight to lifestyle chat is a desperate plea for media culture to be put out of its misery - anything that can make a star of "Kochy" has got to be bad for you. No, the newspaper will go the way of the Town Crier. (Noisy git in a bad costume.)
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
I think you're right, the average newspaper readers will wither away.
Information is too easily available these days.. Particularly for free..
But the mega publishing companies won't lay down without a fight.. Their
livelihood is at stake.. So I'm betting page 3 girls will start
appearing in the Herald-sun/Daily Telegraph within a couple of years..
To help prevent the rot
There will still be the die hard purist who would still buy a newspaper
and devour every inch of it (I'd like to think I'm probably one of them,
information junkie). There won't be many of these kinds, but they'll
keep making newspapers for us... However I'll look forward to being
charged $10 a copy. And what of train reading??.. An institution the world over for daily travellers.. However I guess with the introduction of digital novels and readers.. This will evolve to digital newspaper readers one day..
But ultimately the demise of newspapers will inconvenience millions..
What will children use on their paper mache's?.. How will serial killers
send their taunting letters to police with the words comprising of
letters cut from newspaper headlines?.. How are we going to move houses
without our cups and plates not smashing because they aren't stuffed
with newspapers anymore??
Oh the humanity!!!! Damn you evolution of media technology!!!
Luan
................
I am the biggest fan of this.
When I listen to the radio I change the channel when the news is on. I
also don't read newspapers because its all lies. And I also don't go to
news websites unless something has crashed into the world trade centre
or Steve Irwin has just died.
Give me targeted relevant content from gurus as opposed to junkie 3 day
researched reporters!
Fred
..........
Hope all is well. Just wanted to say I enjoy your daily "news"
broadcasts. Cheers, Michelle
If ever you despair of the world, try my failproof remedy. Say to yourself: "There was a time before [here name what is bugging you] and there will be a time after it is gone." You can insert anything you like: feminism, John Howard, Alan Jones, George Bush, the ALP... It will make you feel better.
I choose to insert the word "newspapers". Last weekend I did something out of the ordinary: I bought a newspaper. A big fat newspaper. When I had skimmed it and read 2 or 3 items, I was finished with it and had the problem of what to do with it. Half a tonne of paper to go into the waste stream. I used to read 4 newspapers before breakfast each day. Now I get my news on radio, on websites or delivered in special interest newsletters online. And I'm no trend setter in media usage. Little wonder then that The Economist has predicted the death of the newspaper. It has shrunk 50% in 10 years. (Bloody boring rag, really. Bleak world view - money money money.) The Australian wrote an editorial (who reads editorials?) saying news content is king and that Rupert's favourite populist platform in Australia would survive. But news content isn't king anymore. More people every day are switching off the news - which makes them feel frightened and powerless - and amusing themselves with cookery, gardening, collecting, gossiping - live and in the studio (either doing it themselves or watching it on TV). They say that bad news is good news for newspapers. But I believe it's choking them to death. The flight to lifestyle chat is a desperate plea for media culture to be put out of its misery - anything that can make a star of "Kochy" has got to be bad for you. No, the newspaper will go the way of the Town Crier. (Noisy git in a bad costume.)
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
I think you're right, the average newspaper readers will wither away.
Information is too easily available these days.. Particularly for free..
But the mega publishing companies won't lay down without a fight.. Their
livelihood is at stake.. So I'm betting page 3 girls will start
appearing in the Herald-sun/Daily Telegraph within a couple of years..
To help prevent the rot
There will still be the die hard purist who would still buy a newspaper
and devour every inch of it (I'd like to think I'm probably one of them,
information junkie). There won't be many of these kinds, but they'll
keep making newspapers for us... However I'll look forward to being
charged $10 a copy. And what of train reading??.. An institution the world over for daily travellers.. However I guess with the introduction of digital novels and readers.. This will evolve to digital newspaper readers one day..
But ultimately the demise of newspapers will inconvenience millions..
What will children use on their paper mache's?.. How will serial killers
send their taunting letters to police with the words comprising of
letters cut from newspaper headlines?.. How are we going to move houses
without our cups and plates not smashing because they aren't stuffed
with newspapers anymore??
Oh the humanity!!!! Damn you evolution of media technology!!!
Luan
................
I am the biggest fan of this.
When I listen to the radio I change the channel when the news is on. I
also don't read newspapers because its all lies. And I also don't go to
news websites unless something has crashed into the world trade centre
or Steve Irwin has just died.
Give me targeted relevant content from gurus as opposed to junkie 3 day
researched reporters!
Fred
..........
Hope all is well. Just wanted to say I enjoy your daily "news"
broadcasts. Cheers, Michelle
Cherchez le creneau!!!
Hi,
The French have a marketing saying: "Cherchez le creneau" which means 'look for the hole'. Look for the hole and fill it, say Jack Trout and Al Ries. In positioning your brand, cherchez le creneau in the head (brand mind map) of the marketplace. Size can be a creneau. VW's "Think small" campaign successfully exploited size to differentiate and win share. Age, price, distribution... There are many dimensions along which creneaus can be found. Finding a creneau is the first step to toppling a market leader. A successful creneau can be used to reposition the competition. By taking a "Good For You" position, a brand is saying the others (especially the leader) are not good for you. By taking a hip youth position, a brand says the rest are old and irrelevant. Without referring to the competitors,a brand can point to the future and say "We're going there! Follow us."
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
The French have a marketing saying: "Cherchez le creneau" which means 'look for the hole'. Look for the hole and fill it, say Jack Trout and Al Ries. In positioning your brand, cherchez le creneau in the head (brand mind map) of the marketplace. Size can be a creneau. VW's "Think small" campaign successfully exploited size to differentiate and win share. Age, price, distribution... There are many dimensions along which creneaus can be found. Finding a creneau is the first step to toppling a market leader. A successful creneau can be used to reposition the competition. By taking a "Good For You" position, a brand is saying the others (especially the leader) are not good for you. By taking a hip youth position, a brand says the rest are old and irrelevant. Without referring to the competitors,a brand can point to the future and say "We're going there! Follow us."
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Create your own market
Hi,
The culmination of the last 3 or 4 emails dealing with marketing warfare concepts is this thought: the strategically smart way to defeat a market leader is to out-flank them by creating a new "market" that will grow in value to supercede the old order. Eg. computer hardware vs computer software. Where is the value today? Looking ahead and identifying the next big hill and capturing that hill rather than fighting for the old hill. You don't confront the Leader. You simply rob them of relevance to the future. Do it by defining a new market and aligning your offer to it. Simple.
......
The hysteria over Steve Irwin's death makes me wonder "why?" On the surface, he was a showman, a photogenic mug lair, using animals and reptiles as props for his sideshow. He spoke like Mick Dundee: "Crikey". He was packaged and promoted as a product. I loved the character he created. Sure, he had a message of conservation. But so do many others. Why is he being mourned so deeply? Because he was the genuine article. He was living his dharma. He used the word 'love' a lot and he meant it. In a world full of phonies, he was real. He wasn't putting it on. He was being himself. Being real is the best thing you can be, in marketing, in life. Don't be afraid to be real. There's a Steve Irwin in all of us.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
The culmination of the last 3 or 4 emails dealing with marketing warfare concepts is this thought: the strategically smart way to defeat a market leader is to out-flank them by creating a new "market" that will grow in value to supercede the old order. Eg. computer hardware vs computer software. Where is the value today? Looking ahead and identifying the next big hill and capturing that hill rather than fighting for the old hill. You don't confront the Leader. You simply rob them of relevance to the future. Do it by defining a new market and aligning your offer to it. Simple.
......
The hysteria over Steve Irwin's death makes me wonder "why?" On the surface, he was a showman, a photogenic mug lair, using animals and reptiles as props for his sideshow. He spoke like Mick Dundee: "Crikey". He was packaged and promoted as a product. I loved the character he created. Sure, he had a message of conservation. But so do many others. Why is he being mourned so deeply? Because he was the genuine article. He was living his dharma. He used the word 'love' a lot and he meant it. In a world full of phonies, he was real. He wasn't putting it on. He was being himself. Being real is the best thing you can be, in marketing, in life. Don't be afraid to be real. There's a Steve Irwin in all of us.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Niche warriors
Hi,
The minnows in any market can't play Leader or Challenger roles. Instead the small player can fight a guerilla war, with hit and run raids on market niches that offer margins until the Leader blocks by entering and using predatory pricing to drive the guerillas out. Leaders who don't see the threat can allow a guerilla to get a foothold, forming a base for an assault on the market proper. IBM was once offered DOS, the operating system for personal computers, but they turned it down. The offer came from a young Bill Gates who had a vision of a computer on every desk in an era when mainframe computing dominated. Software was a tiny niche which Microsoft was left to establish. Microsoft nearly fell foul of the same "Leader's Blindness" re the Internet, leaving Netscape to dominate the browser market until the software giant was forced to use its monopoly power to establish Explorer as market leader. (The US Federal Court eventually forced Microsoft to decouple the browser from Windows.) IBM also left Intel to run away with the memory chip market. IBM's strategy was built on a vision that its founder had of a total world market for computers of around 30! IBM has survived by strong corporate focus and by dominating the emerging IT services market.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
The minnows in any market can't play Leader or Challenger roles. Instead the small player can fight a guerilla war, with hit and run raids on market niches that offer margins until the Leader blocks by entering and using predatory pricing to drive the guerillas out. Leaders who don't see the threat can allow a guerilla to get a foothold, forming a base for an assault on the market proper. IBM was once offered DOS, the operating system for personal computers, but they turned it down. The offer came from a young Bill Gates who had a vision of a computer on every desk in an era when mainframe computing dominated. Software was a tiny niche which Microsoft was left to establish. Microsoft nearly fell foul of the same "Leader's Blindness" re the Internet, leaving Netscape to dominate the browser market until the software giant was forced to use its monopoly power to establish Explorer as market leader. (The US Federal Court eventually forced Microsoft to decouple the browser from Windows.) IBM also left Intel to run away with the memory chip market. IBM's strategy was built on a vision that its founder had of a total world market for computers of around 30! IBM has survived by strong corporate focus and by dominating the emerging IT services market.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Word of hairdresser marketing
Hi,
I heard this on BBC Worldwide in the early hours and traced it on bbc.com:
A British law firm is offering hairdressers money in return for referring customers to them who are considering divorce. Trethowans Solicitors sent letters to businesses in Southampton and Salisbury. Nail bars, estate agents, physiotherapists and chiropractors were also targeted. One businessman approached said the scheme was unethical. "I would not reveal anything a customer told me, whether it was for money or not. The hairdresser-customer relationship is personal," said Steve Hall, who runs Heaven Hair in Salisbury. Total mailed: 300. Results: 30 signed up. 2 complaints. Publicity: worldwide coverage on BBC.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
I heard this on BBC Worldwide in the early hours and traced it on bbc.com:
A British law firm is offering hairdressers money in return for referring customers to them who are considering divorce. Trethowans Solicitors sent letters to businesses in Southampton and Salisbury. Nail bars, estate agents, physiotherapists and chiropractors were also targeted. One businessman approached said the scheme was unethical. "I would not reveal anything a customer told me, whether it was for money or not. The hairdresser-customer relationship is personal," said Steve Hall, who runs Heaven Hair in Salisbury. Total mailed: 300. Results: 30 signed up. 2 complaints. Publicity: worldwide coverage on BBC.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Maximum force at a strategic point
Hi,
Von Clausewitz said an army should not seek to meet an enemy front on across its entire front. Instead it should seek the weakest spot of its enemy's defences and concentrate all the forces it can afford to engage on that spot. The chances of breaking through are greatest. Once a breach has been made, the enemy's lines can be attacked from behind and routed.
The lesson for marketers is this: Concentrate your communications and brand messaging on a single-minded theme that strikes at the weakest spot in your competitor's marketing operation. "We're no. 2 so we try harder," was the positioning Avis took against market leader Hertz. Market leaders, when they become big and unwieldy, are often not leaders in service. Henry Ford said customers could have his T Model in any colour they liked, so long as it was black. IBM in corporate computing and Microsoft in software are not known for their customer focus. Common weak spots in market leaders include service, flexibility, range, price, relationship management, and access. Leaders hare a natural tendency towards arrogance and complacency which challengers can exploit.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Von Clausewitz said an army should not seek to meet an enemy front on across its entire front. Instead it should seek the weakest spot of its enemy's defences and concentrate all the forces it can afford to engage on that spot. The chances of breaking through are greatest. Once a breach has been made, the enemy's lines can be attacked from behind and routed.
The lesson for marketers is this: Concentrate your communications and brand messaging on a single-minded theme that strikes at the weakest spot in your competitor's marketing operation. "We're no. 2 so we try harder," was the positioning Avis took against market leader Hertz. Market leaders, when they become big and unwieldy, are often not leaders in service. Henry Ford said customers could have his T Model in any colour they liked, so long as it was black. IBM in corporate computing and Microsoft in software are not known for their customer focus. Common weak spots in market leaders include service, flexibility, range, price, relationship management, and access. Leaders hare a natural tendency towards arrogance and complacency which challengers can exploit.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
When you’re No. 2
Hi,
Every market has a No.1 (Leader) and a No.2 (Challenger). While a Leader need only defend, a challenger must attack. Challengers who take on the leader with a full frontal attack so run out of soldiers (budget). But Challengers more often by-pass the Leader's frontlines to attack on its flanks, on a weak spot, hoping to cause disarray in the ranks. Qantas was attacked by Virgin Blue and Impulse on price. Qantas - like a good leader - knew it need only defend its share by meeting the challenge with a blocking move. Hence JetStar. This gives Qantas a slice of the emerging budget airline market (built by Virgin and Impulse) and gave these intruders someone to fight with, to exhaust their resources. Flanking attacks explain the landscape of the Australian luxury car market. Mercedes was the category leader: it held the position "luxury motoring" based on its 'engineered like no other car'. BMW attacked Benz's stodgy handling and sluggish acceleration by adopting the 'driving experience' position - appealing to a younger market. Lexus attacked both on price and the 'ownership experience' (a lifestyle benefits program). Benz responded with a range of low end product to meet BMW in the younger market, and an expanded range of sporty models. Both blocking moves.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Every market has a No.1 (Leader) and a No.2 (Challenger). While a Leader need only defend, a challenger must attack. Challengers who take on the leader with a full frontal attack so run out of soldiers (budget). But Challengers more often by-pass the Leader's frontlines to attack on its flanks, on a weak spot, hoping to cause disarray in the ranks. Qantas was attacked by Virgin Blue and Impulse on price. Qantas - like a good leader - knew it need only defend its share by meeting the challenge with a blocking move. Hence JetStar. This gives Qantas a slice of the emerging budget airline market (built by Virgin and Impulse) and gave these intruders someone to fight with, to exhaust their resources. Flanking attacks explain the landscape of the Australian luxury car market. Mercedes was the category leader: it held the position "luxury motoring" based on its 'engineered like no other car'. BMW attacked Benz's stodgy handling and sluggish acceleration by adopting the 'driving experience' position - appealing to a younger market. Lexus attacked both on price and the 'ownership experience' (a lifestyle benefits program). Benz responded with a range of low end product to meet BMW in the younger market, and an expanded range of sporty models. Both blocking moves.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Marketing warfare 2
Hi,
Carl Von Clausewitz was a Prussian general who fought Napoleon and wrote the bible of military strategy that forms the basis for military education today, a book called "On War". In it he teaches that the greatest tactic of all is defence. Defence is the tactic most appropriate for the dominant force in a battle. The numerically superior force needs only block the advances of the challenger until they exhaust their energies and run away. Lesson: Market leaders should defend. Challengers should attack. Leaders who attack look like challengers. Leaders don't acknowledge that challengers exist. They don't mention them in ads - the don't do comparative ads. They just know that if they meet the challenger's challenge they won't lose much share. Who is the market leader? Who is challenger? The answer is hidden in the ground the battle is fought over - the mind of the customer. Which brand has highest unaided awareness? This will, in most cases, be market share leader
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Carl Von Clausewitz was a Prussian general who fought Napoleon and wrote the bible of military strategy that forms the basis for military education today, a book called "On War". In it he teaches that the greatest tactic of all is defence. Defence is the tactic most appropriate for the dominant force in a battle. The numerically superior force needs only block the advances of the challenger until they exhaust their energies and run away. Lesson: Market leaders should defend. Challengers should attack. Leaders who attack look like challengers. Leaders don't acknowledge that challengers exist. They don't mention them in ads - the don't do comparative ads. They just know that if they meet the challenger's challenge they won't lose much share. Who is the market leader? Who is challenger? The answer is hidden in the ground the battle is fought over - the mind of the customer. Which brand has highest unaided awareness? This will, in most cases, be market share leader
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Marketing warfare
Hi,
If you haven't already read it, grab a copy of Marketing Warfare by Trout and Ries. It is the easiest way to get a grip on grand strategy for marketers that I ever saw. The parallels between warfare and marketing are uncanny. We use the same language - campaign, tactic, strategy, attack, defend, etc. Military strategy is all about positioning your forces to outmanoeuvre the enemy. And in the final analysis, it is about brute strength - firepower. In most cases - all things being equal - "God is always on the side of the big battalions" (Voltaire) It stands to reason. If 10,000 soldiers are fighting 5,000 soldiers in an open field and they are killing each other at the same rate, there will be 5,000 left on one side and none on the other. LESSON: Never attack a bigger competitor front on.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses
Angelo,
I am loving your pieces here on Warfare. It is inspiring me.
Fred
...........
Michael,
I started receiving your daily emails a couple of months ago -
great idea and your thoughts have definetly given me some new ideas.
Being that you are a marketing guru, thought I would throw my current
challenge and a few questions your way....
Customer Service Week is coming up in October (October 2-6), and a
designated group of us have to come with some ways to engage head office
and branches across SA & VIC in celebrating/promoting customer service
week.
There is a golf day planned and our company will offer a round of
golf/dinner to 4 of our employees. I need to come up with a way for
employees to win this prize.
We came up with the idea of nominating peers..."Tell us who you think
provides superior customer service and if you enter you win a
voucher"....but we have done this in the past with limited success.
Any suggestions or ideas of what we could to to get people to
compete/get involved for this prize, keeping customer service as a
theme?
Any ideas on how to engage employees throughout the week and keep
customer service at top of mind (although really, it should be at top of
mind ALL THE TIME!).
I recently read Ries' The Origin of Brands - great read!!! I will have
to check out your recommendation of Marketing Warfare.
Cheers,
Adrian
....
Adrian,
This thought flashed into my mind while reading your request:
Give the prize to the member of staff who can contribute the most revealing customer insight.This is rewarding several important behaviours:
Listening actively to customers.
Engaging customers in conversation.
Thinking deeply about their emotional life.
Your organisation gains the following:
A bunch of customer insights to share among your customer relations people and communications executives.
A message to your staff that customer intimacy is important.
A message to your staff that customer knowledge is important.
I believe the most powerful activity you can engage in is one that reveals customers as human beings that staff can empathise with.
Michael
If you haven't already read it, grab a copy of Marketing Warfare by Trout and Ries. It is the easiest way to get a grip on grand strategy for marketers that I ever saw. The parallels between warfare and marketing are uncanny. We use the same language - campaign, tactic, strategy, attack, defend, etc. Military strategy is all about positioning your forces to outmanoeuvre the enemy. And in the final analysis, it is about brute strength - firepower. In most cases - all things being equal - "God is always on the side of the big battalions" (Voltaire) It stands to reason. If 10,000 soldiers are fighting 5,000 soldiers in an open field and they are killing each other at the same rate, there will be 5,000 left on one side and none on the other. LESSON: Never attack a bigger competitor front on.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses
Angelo,
I am loving your pieces here on Warfare. It is inspiring me.
Fred
...........
Michael,
I started receiving your daily emails a couple of months ago -
great idea and your thoughts have definetly given me some new ideas.
Being that you are a marketing guru, thought I would throw my current
challenge and a few questions your way....
Customer Service Week is coming up in October (October 2-6), and a
designated group of us have to come with some ways to engage head office
and branches across SA & VIC in celebrating/promoting customer service
week.
There is a golf day planned and our company will offer a round of
golf/dinner to 4 of our employees. I need to come up with a way for
employees to win this prize.
We came up with the idea of nominating peers..."Tell us who you think
provides superior customer service and if you enter you win a
voucher"....but we have done this in the past with limited success.
Any suggestions or ideas of what we could to to get people to
compete/get involved for this prize, keeping customer service as a
theme?
Any ideas on how to engage employees throughout the week and keep
customer service at top of mind (although really, it should be at top of
mind ALL THE TIME!).
I recently read Ries' The Origin of Brands - great read!!! I will have
to check out your recommendation of Marketing Warfare.
Cheers,
Adrian
....
Adrian,
This thought flashed into my mind while reading your request:
Give the prize to the member of staff who can contribute the most revealing customer insight.This is rewarding several important behaviours:
Listening actively to customers.
Engaging customers in conversation.
Thinking deeply about their emotional life.
Your organisation gains the following:
A bunch of customer insights to share among your customer relations people and communications executives.
A message to your staff that customer intimacy is important.
A message to your staff that customer knowledge is important.
I believe the most powerful activity you can engage in is one that reveals customers as human beings that staff can empathise with.
Michael
Own a word
Hi,
Positioning takes place in the mind. The mind works to sort through and simplify information coming in. It helps to secure a position in the mind if you can 'own' a word, said Jack Trout and Al Ries in 1981. Own the word so that when it is said, your brand comes to mind. What brand comes to mind when you see the word 'cola'? 'Flying'? 'Feeling'? Coke owns the category.
There can be a downside. Toyota gives each of its models a single word - called its 'one word equity' - that it can grow into. Hilux is "Unbreakable" and no one would question the vehicle's toughness. As a Hilux owner, I can say the tough positioning is unbreakable. But too narrow a positioning can also expose a brand to attack. "Uncomfortable" is another word Hilux could own, especially in the minds of owners with "Hilux back". When I asked a local farmer why he drove another make, he said "I spend so much time in it, and my back's dodgy already."
Lesson: choose a word that is flexible.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Positioning takes place in the mind. The mind works to sort through and simplify information coming in. It helps to secure a position in the mind if you can 'own' a word, said Jack Trout and Al Ries in 1981. Own the word so that when it is said, your brand comes to mind. What brand comes to mind when you see the word 'cola'? 'Flying'? 'Feeling'? Coke owns the category.
There can be a downside. Toyota gives each of its models a single word - called its 'one word equity' - that it can grow into. Hilux is "Unbreakable" and no one would question the vehicle's toughness. As a Hilux owner, I can say the tough positioning is unbreakable. But too narrow a positioning can also expose a brand to attack. "Uncomfortable" is another word Hilux could own, especially in the minds of owners with "Hilux back". When I asked a local farmer why he drove another make, he said "I spend so much time in it, and my back's dodgy already."
Lesson: choose a word that is flexible.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
First in…
Hi,
When I was getting into marketing I spent hours in the Library at UNSW going through back issues of old US magazines such as Sales & Marketing Management and Industrial Marketing. In a 1969 isssue of the latter I found an article called 'Positioning' by Jack Trout and Al Ries that blew my mind (in a 1969 kind of way). They were the first people in my experience who turned the telescope around and looked at marketing from the correct viewpoint - from the consumer's point of view. They said positioning (a term they introduced) took place inside the head of the consumer. Not on the blueprint of the marketing manager. They said the consumer's mind was like a series of filing cabinets, the drawers of which were product categories, and the files stored in little league ladders, from first to seventh or so. They said the first brand into the mind becomes the first or number 1 brand for awareness, recall, and usually preference and market share. Startling in 1984 when I read it and bought their first book, Positioning. I recommend that book and their next one, Marketing Warfare.
(BTW, if you can't be first in in your category, create your own category.)
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
However, it's very often that the ones that make the most money, are the ones that are not first to market. The first-to-market spend alot to create the category. Smart guys willfollow with a unique variation on the theme and clean up in the massmarket. Early adopter market is not as big as we all think. It might get more press, but probably less profit.
Jeff
When I was getting into marketing I spent hours in the Library at UNSW going through back issues of old US magazines such as Sales & Marketing Management and Industrial Marketing. In a 1969 isssue of the latter I found an article called 'Positioning' by Jack Trout and Al Ries that blew my mind (in a 1969 kind of way). They were the first people in my experience who turned the telescope around and looked at marketing from the correct viewpoint - from the consumer's point of view. They said positioning (a term they introduced) took place inside the head of the consumer. Not on the blueprint of the marketing manager. They said the consumer's mind was like a series of filing cabinets, the drawers of which were product categories, and the files stored in little league ladders, from first to seventh or so. They said the first brand into the mind becomes the first or number 1 brand for awareness, recall, and usually preference and market share. Startling in 1984 when I read it and bought their first book, Positioning. I recommend that book and their next one, Marketing Warfare.
(BTW, if you can't be first in in your category, create your own category.)
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
However, it's very often that the ones that make the most money, are the ones that are not first to market. The first-to-market spend alot to create the category. Smart guys willfollow with a unique variation on the theme and clean up in the massmarket. Early adopter market is not as big as we all think. It might get more press, but probably less profit.
Jeff
Walk a mile in my Hushpuppies
Hi,
I am often surprised by the low levels of 'consumer consciousness' among marketing people. IE. The ability to step into the consumer's shoes and take them for a walk through a piece of communication or a sales proposition or a buying environment. I guess when you spend most of your time down among the details of product specifications and entangled in corporate politics it's hard to step outside and assume someone else's persona and point of view. It's not a skill we are born with - the Dalai Lama says that empathy is something we should aspire to. I believe it is the essence of the marketing mindset - Theodore Levitt called it the Marketing Imagination. The ease with which you can slip into your customer's hushpuppies is a key indicator of your marketing skills. Why? Because if every aspect of a marketing organisation and its operations are planned from the consumer's point of view, you can't fail. The distance between your reality and theirs is the gap that your organisation must bridge if it is to achieve its goals.
The accuracy of your imagination - how well you know the internal reality of that other person - will determine how close to success you can come.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
email responses
That must be why I love watching people, especially children play with toys - and parents scolding "no dont touch that!"- trying to teach them you cant just do what you like with other peoples property. But interacting and playing is human nature, and so is our sense of novelty.
www.whatif.co.uk has the same sort of outlook in that they actually bring in the person/people (3D consumer insights) to gather insights. one of their best examples was for a skin cleanser- they went to Taronga zoo and interviewed animal cleaners and asked what they do when they go home eg. shower wise
They would definately be using cleaning products- not some glamourous showpony going to the races every month with a feather hat and diamond encrusted mobile phone... sorry- got a little carried away....
Jo
I am often surprised by the low levels of 'consumer consciousness' among marketing people. IE. The ability to step into the consumer's shoes and take them for a walk through a piece of communication or a sales proposition or a buying environment. I guess when you spend most of your time down among the details of product specifications and entangled in corporate politics it's hard to step outside and assume someone else's persona and point of view. It's not a skill we are born with - the Dalai Lama says that empathy is something we should aspire to. I believe it is the essence of the marketing mindset - Theodore Levitt called it the Marketing Imagination. The ease with which you can slip into your customer's hushpuppies is a key indicator of your marketing skills. Why? Because if every aspect of a marketing organisation and its operations are planned from the consumer's point of view, you can't fail. The distance between your reality and theirs is the gap that your organisation must bridge if it is to achieve its goals.
The accuracy of your imagination - how well you know the internal reality of that other person - will determine how close to success you can come.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
email responses
That must be why I love watching people, especially children play with toys - and parents scolding "no dont touch that!"- trying to teach them you cant just do what you like with other peoples property. But interacting and playing is human nature, and so is our sense of novelty.
www.whatif.co.uk
They would definately be using cleaning products- not some glamourous showpony going to the races every month with a feather hat and diamond encrusted mobile phone... sorry- got a little carried away....
Jo
Content is King!
Hi,
The future is finally here. For 20 years people have been predicting the demise of free to air television as the heavyweight champion of the media. Yesterday PBL announced that the Nine Network saw profits slump dramatically, while all its other businesses - even old fashioned magazines - are on the up. Free to air tv has been losing the important 17 to 21 segment for years. Podcasting, Youtube and other Internet services are eating up this audience. But there are other reasons. The channels have gone cheap on drama, replacing it with reality tv that has almost run out of steam. Then there's the Eddie factor. He is slashing costs at Nine, 'boning' presenters and looking for even cheaper programming. Here's where the old media can learn a lesson from the new media. Lesson: It's all about content. Eyeballs follow interest. It's not about old or new media. Harry Potter and The DaVinci Code proved the oldest medium in history - the book - could pull a decent crowd with a decent story. Why is the Australian film industry dying today? Because it has failed to deliver on content. Stories. Scripts. Simple.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
Hi Michael,
Here's a page that demonstrates the importance of content rather
effectively (if crudely):
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=owned
Enjoy!
Dylan
..........
Well Put.
Jeff
The future is finally here. For 20 years people have been predicting the demise of free to air television as the heavyweight champion of the media. Yesterday PBL announced that the Nine Network saw profits slump dramatically, while all its other businesses - even old fashioned magazines - are on the up. Free to air tv has been losing the important 17 to 21 segment for years. Podcasting, Youtube and other Internet services are eating up this audience. But there are other reasons. The channels have gone cheap on drama, replacing it with reality tv that has almost run out of steam. Then there's the Eddie factor. He is slashing costs at Nine, 'boning' presenters and looking for even cheaper programming. Here's where the old media can learn a lesson from the new media. Lesson: It's all about content. Eyeballs follow interest. It's not about old or new media. Harry Potter and The DaVinci Code proved the oldest medium in history - the book - could pull a decent crowd with a decent story. Why is the Australian film industry dying today? Because it has failed to deliver on content. Stories. Scripts. Simple.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
Hi Michael,
Here's a page that demonstrates the importance of content rather
effectively (if crudely):
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=owned
Enjoy!
Dylan
..........
Well Put.
Jeff
Expensive advice
Hi,
AWB's strategy for 'managing' the crisis it faces over the charges that it bribed Saddam Hussein to sell wheat to Iraq is an object lesson in how NOT to act when caught red-handed breaking the rules. First deny everything. Then seek to justify your behaviour by saying 'everyone does it', 'it's standard practice in those markets'. Then defy authorities as they seek to drag the evidence out of you. Seek injunctions to deny the enquiry access to your documents. Drag the process out, proving your guilt and making a public spectacle of your refusal to admit it.
AWB hired a New York spin doctor to give them advice, then failed to take it. He advised them to come clean up front. Over-apologise. Take their medicine and move on. The media would have a one-off field day, then it would be history.
At $700 per hour it's expensive advice if you don't take it.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
AWB's strategy for 'managing' the crisis it faces over the charges that it bribed Saddam Hussein to sell wheat to Iraq is an object lesson in how NOT to act when caught red-handed breaking the rules. First deny everything. Then seek to justify your behaviour by saying 'everyone does it', 'it's standard practice in those markets'. Then defy authorities as they seek to drag the evidence out of you. Seek injunctions to deny the enquiry access to your documents. Drag the process out, proving your guilt and making a public spectacle of your refusal to admit it.
AWB hired a New York spin doctor to give them advice, then failed to take it. He advised them to come clean up front. Over-apologise. Take their medicine and move on. The media would have a one-off field day, then it would be history.
At $700 per hour it's expensive advice if you don't take it.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Picking a Publicist
Hi,
Denise asked me to recommend a PR agency. I couldn't. But I was able to offer the following advice:
.....
I wouldn't recommend anyone in particular because the agency that is just right for you is a very personal choice. But I can give you a strategy for finding and selecting a good PR supplier.
First identify the media outlets in which you want coverage. Then identify the writers and editors and producers and presenters you would like to take an interest in your company. Then contact them asking for their advice. Ask them to identify for you a PR operative they like dealing with. (Personal relationships are so important in that business.) The person they nominate will have won their trust and will therefore have good access (the most important thing they can offer you). Then, from that list, you will have people working with big PR firms, some in smaller firms, and a couple of solo operators. You should select the size of operation according to the size of your budget, your needs, and your own company - aiming to be big enough on the PR firm's client roster to be important to them. But most important is effectiveness - a combination of creativity, diligence and contacts. That can only be assessed by case studies. And speak with the firm's existing clients.
If you pick a dud after all that, I'll be amazed.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Denise asked me to recommend a PR agency. I couldn't. But I was able to offer the following advice:
.....
I wouldn't recommend anyone in particular because the agency that is just right for you is a very personal choice. But I can give you a strategy for finding and selecting a good PR supplier.
First identify the media outlets in which you want coverage. Then identify the writers and editors and producers and presenters you would like to take an interest in your company. Then contact them asking for their advice. Ask them to identify for you a PR operative they like dealing with. (Personal relationships are so important in that business.) The person they nominate will have won their trust and will therefore have good access (the most important thing they can offer you). Then, from that list, you will have people working with big PR firms, some in smaller firms, and a couple of solo operators. You should select the size of operation according to the size of your budget, your needs, and your own company - aiming to be big enough on the PR firm's client roster to be important to them. But most important is effectiveness - a combination of creativity, diligence and contacts. That can only be assessed by case studies. And speak with the firm's existing clients.
If you pick a dud after all that, I'll be amazed.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Ladies and Gentlemen
Hi,
I remember the Ritz Carlton in Macquarie Street, when it was still the Ritz Carlton, and I remember one of its general managers (an American whose name escapes me - Tom Collins?) who told me that the Ritz Carlton taught its staff to think of themselves as 'ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen'. A nice, genteel positioning.
How important is a person's understanding of their role in a service organisation? What a difference this makes.
"My role is to make money for the company."
"My role is to make customers happy."
"My role is to see that no one breaks the rules."
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
I remember the Ritz Carlton in Macquarie Street, when it was still the Ritz Carlton, and I remember one of its general managers (an American whose name escapes me - Tom Collins?) who told me that the Ritz Carlton taught its staff to think of themselves as 'ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen'. A nice, genteel positioning.
How important is a person's understanding of their role in a service organisation? What a difference this makes.
"My role is to make money for the company."
"My role is to make customers happy."
"My role is to see that no one breaks the rules."
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Platinum Man!
Hi,
Who queues anymore? If I gotta queue, I'm not going. What's so good about being in a crowd? Let me drive in under the stadium and take the lift up to the box or I'm staying home. I'm sorry, I'm just that kind of guy. Platinum Man! (If only.) My point is: no matter what you are selling, there's a market for a Platinum version. (It used to be a Gold version, but that's inflation.) In every category and every market there is a significant segment of consumers willing to... No, demanding to pay a premium for an enhanced version of your offering. They need it to satisfy their urge to separate themselves from the herd (physically, socially, emotionally, whatever.) So don't deny them. There's margin in it.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Who queues anymore? If I gotta queue, I'm not going. What's so good about being in a crowd? Let me drive in under the stadium and take the lift up to the box or I'm staying home. I'm sorry, I'm just that kind of guy. Platinum Man! (If only.) My point is: no matter what you are selling, there's a market for a Platinum version. (It used to be a Gold version, but that's inflation.) In every category and every market there is a significant segment of consumers willing to... No, demanding to pay a premium for an enhanced version of your offering. They need it to satisfy their urge to separate themselves from the herd (physically, socially, emotionally, whatever.) So don't deny them. There's margin in it.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Society on speed
Hi,
Remember when you would heat food up in the oven, and wait 20 to 30 minutes for hot food? Now 3 minutes in the microwave passes like an eternity. Why? Because as, Einstein discovered, time is relative. As we get used to faster and faster Internet speeds, we're not gonna wait for 20 seconds while a page loads. More bandwidth! Fewer bytes! The mobile phone has taught us we can have it all, now... Expectation Inflation is infectious. It spreads from category to category. If I don't have to wait for this, why should I wait for that? I don't care if it tastes like cardboard and strangles my heart, give it to me fast!
You can speed time up. Edward de Bono once saved a company a fortune by adjusting people's sense of time while waiting for a lift. The lifts were too slow and faster lifts were too expensive. De Bono installed mirrors in the area, and people would check themselves out, passing the time without noticing. (Hard on the ugly ones.) Southwest Airlines would hire buskers off the street to play in departure lounges when they had long delays due to weather.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email response:
Perhaps in this hustle and bustle world, the only alone time one has is
waiting for your food. And even then this alone time you have to pay for
the pleasure.
Luan
.......
Mike,
Money is a major factor when it comes down to service...
A number of years ago, I like many of our esteemed countrymen worked at
McDonalds. I remember there were so many times when customers would
launch into fits or rage because their $1.75 Cheeseburger took 2 minutes
longer than the promised waiting time of one minute. Here were grown men
and women berating 15 year olds because they didn't have time to wait
for their fast food.
I guess this comes down to your expectations theory. McDonalds is
renowned the world over as "fast food" and when it's not fast, it must
be the little punk kids fault.
However the same person probably wouldn't bat an eyelid when waiting for
their $38 porterhouse steak hits the 20 minute mark.
Luan
...........
I love that example of Edward de bono. Hes the one with 6 hats right?
While I embrace technology whole heartedly- it has made me incredibly
impatient (whilst naturally have incredibly impatient parents who want me to
get a post grad degree now, have kids now, get married now, may as well plan
my funeral now too) - and this creates stress for others.
We are living in such a contradictory world, where we are trying to save and
maintain culture and tradition in some things-yet revolutionise so many
other things. This is possibly why the Western world is so in love with
Japan, which strives to do both in appreciating culture/history and yet
speeds on technology. Also several sister city relationships with japan
assist this Western appreciation.
I hope in the future more people in Australia appreciate/understand other
Asian cultures, which are not marketed as well as Japan is. We are all never
rude, just ignorant of other cultures/sub cultures, within which others act
in - thereby perceiving others as rude. It is only when we purposely act
rude within our own culture'- that we are rude'.
I love your blog.
Jo
Remember when you would heat food up in the oven, and wait 20 to 30 minutes for hot food? Now 3 minutes in the microwave passes like an eternity. Why? Because as, Einstein discovered, time is relative. As we get used to faster and faster Internet speeds, we're not gonna wait for 20 seconds while a page loads. More bandwidth! Fewer bytes! The mobile phone has taught us we can have it all, now... Expectation Inflation is infectious. It spreads from category to category. If I don't have to wait for this, why should I wait for that? I don't care if it tastes like cardboard and strangles my heart, give it to me fast!
You can speed time up. Edward de Bono once saved a company a fortune by adjusting people's sense of time while waiting for a lift. The lifts were too slow and faster lifts were too expensive. De Bono installed mirrors in the area, and people would check themselves out, passing the time without noticing. (Hard on the ugly ones.) Southwest Airlines would hire buskers off the street to play in departure lounges when they had long delays due to weather.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email response:
Perhaps in this hustle and bustle world, the only alone time one has is
waiting for your food. And even then this alone time you have to pay for
the pleasure.
Luan
.......
Mike,
Money is a major factor when it comes down to service...
A number of years ago, I like many of our esteemed countrymen worked at
McDonalds. I remember there were so many times when customers would
launch into fits or rage because their $1.75 Cheeseburger took 2 minutes
longer than the promised waiting time of one minute. Here were grown men
and women berating 15 year olds because they didn't have time to wait
for their fast food.
I guess this comes down to your expectations theory. McDonalds is
renowned the world over as "fast food" and when it's not fast, it must
be the little punk kids fault.
However the same person probably wouldn't bat an eyelid when waiting for
their $38 porterhouse steak hits the 20 minute mark.
Luan
...........
I love that example of Edward de bono. Hes the one with 6 hats right?
While I embrace technology whole heartedly- it has made me incredibly
impatient (whilst naturally have incredibly impatient parents who want me to
get a post grad degree now, have kids now, get married now, may as well plan
my funeral now too) - and this creates stress for others.
We are living in such a contradictory world, where we are trying to save and
maintain culture and tradition in some things-yet revolutionise so many
other things. This is possibly why the Western world is so in love with
Japan, which strives to do both in appreciating culture/history and yet
speeds on technology. Also several sister city relationships with japan
assist this Western appreciation.
I hope in the future more people in Australia appreciate/understand other
Asian cultures, which are not marketed as well as Japan is. We are all never
rude, just ignorant of other cultures/sub cultures, within which others act
in - thereby perceiving others as rude. It is only when we purposely act
rude within our own culture'- that we are rude'.
I love your blog.
Jo
Expectation Inflation
Hi,
Do you remember those lame slogans that people used to peddle about "Excellence"? Like "Excellence is a race without a finish line." Excellence emerged at the same time as the Customer Service Revolution and I think of both each time I encounter bad service. In the pre-Excellence days, bad service was expected and hardly raised an eyebrow. But now we have higher expectations. Today we encounter better general levels of service. But at the same time we are more likely to be upset by bad service. We are suffering from "Expectation Inflation" - which means consumers grow harder and harder to please as you increase your levels of service. A pretty dilemma.
Expectation Inflation affects your operation whenever you offer benefits to customers. I have been a Lexus owner for 6 years. I have enjoyed the highest levels of service available in Australia - until my last service when they failed to bleed the rear brakes and I was driving on outback roads pumping the brakes to slow down. It forced me to make a special trip back to the city to have it rectified. When it was returned, the service person refused to take my assurance that we routinely pay by invoice and insisted on a credit card for a $78 bill. (The original faulty service - for $1200+ - was invoiced.) And no apology for the original service failure. Very unLexus. The brand set the bar - and my expectations - so high when it was launched in 1990.
I used to be an Advocate. Now, what can I say?
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Do you remember those lame slogans that people used to peddle about "Excellence"? Like "Excellence is a race without a finish line." Excellence emerged at the same time as the Customer Service Revolution and I think of both each time I encounter bad service. In the pre-Excellence days, bad service was expected and hardly raised an eyebrow. But now we have higher expectations. Today we encounter better general levels of service. But at the same time we are more likely to be upset by bad service. We are suffering from "Expectation Inflation" - which means consumers grow harder and harder to please as you increase your levels of service. A pretty dilemma.
Expectation Inflation affects your operation whenever you offer benefits to customers. I have been a Lexus owner for 6 years. I have enjoyed the highest levels of service available in Australia - until my last service when they failed to bleed the rear brakes and I was driving on outback roads pumping the brakes to slow down. It forced me to make a special trip back to the city to have it rectified. When it was returned, the service person refused to take my assurance that we routinely pay by invoice and insisted on a credit card for a $78 bill. (The original faulty service - for $1200+ - was invoiced.) And no apology for the original service failure. Very unLexus. The brand set the bar - and my expectations - so high when it was launched in 1990.
I used to be an Advocate. Now, what can I say?
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Feedback? No thanks!
Hi,
I have just completed an exercise helping a client structure and manage a pitch by 8 agencies for his business. He has offered the 7 unsuccessful agencies a debrief so that they can improve. My bet for how many of them will take it up: 0%. Naturally they don't want to dwell on a failure. But how else can you learn?
For all his faults (and I never did work out what went wrong) Bob Ansett of Budget Rent-A-Car (it was the '80's, you had to be there) got the service proposition right. He actively fished for complaints from customers so he could discover areas where he could get a competitive advantage. He lapped up complaints.
Be like Bob. Face the music. It hurts. But when you learn from it, you grow.
BTW, I saw Bob in town a few months ago (for the opening of some swank hotel. I guess they were short on tall, greying Americans.) He deserves a place in the Australian Marketing Hall of Fame for his work in almost single-handedly evangelising the customer service ethic in Australia. Our new service economy and our long tourism boom couldn't have happened without that. "Australian Customer Service" used to be an oxymoron. (Look it up.)
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
Michael,
People at work might think it's a bit strange I ask for feedback all the
time, as I want to improve, learn, develop, become more efficient - so next
time I can tackle it faster/smarter.
Constructive criticism is great- but so often it is delivered to the person
in such a manner that it is not perceived as constructive. Then emotions set
in, and before you know it- staff retention drops a few percent.
Jo
..........
Of course the reverse also applies....on a number of occasions I've been asked to prop on some media training or PR only to find that my hour or two of work has gone into a black hole. Sometimes I suspect that I'm only there to make up the numbers so that the person they really want looks OK.
More to the point: as a trainer I think that quality feedback is hard to get, but it's also hard to give good quality feedback. And once you've been given bad (say, inappropriate rather than negative) feedback it can put you off being interested in it again.
Bob
........
Hey -
As any decent rock guitarist knows, feedback can be your friend.
When used properly, it can help get you from here to there with much
more drama and authority than if you didn't have it.
Just ask Pete Townshend!
Cheers.
Jeff
I have just completed an exercise helping a client structure and manage a pitch by 8 agencies for his business. He has offered the 7 unsuccessful agencies a debrief so that they can improve. My bet for how many of them will take it up: 0%. Naturally they don't want to dwell on a failure. But how else can you learn?
For all his faults (and I never did work out what went wrong) Bob Ansett of Budget Rent-A-Car (it was the '80's, you had to be there) got the service proposition right. He actively fished for complaints from customers so he could discover areas where he could get a competitive advantage. He lapped up complaints.
Be like Bob. Face the music. It hurts. But when you learn from it, you grow.
BTW, I saw Bob in town a few months ago (for the opening of some swank hotel. I guess they were short on tall, greying Americans.) He deserves a place in the Australian Marketing Hall of Fame for his work in almost single-handedly evangelising the customer service ethic in Australia. Our new service economy and our long tourism boom couldn't have happened without that. "Australian Customer Service" used to be an oxymoron. (Look it up.)
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
Michael,
People at work might think it's a bit strange I ask for feedback all the
time, as I want to improve, learn, develop, become more efficient - so next
time I can tackle it faster/smarter.
Constructive criticism is great- but so often it is delivered to the person
in such a manner that it is not perceived as constructive. Then emotions set
in, and before you know it- staff retention drops a few percent.
Jo
..........
Of course the reverse also applies....on a number of occasions I've been asked to prop on some media training or PR only to find that my hour or two of work has gone into a black hole. Sometimes I suspect that I'm only there to make up the numbers so that the person they really want looks OK.
More to the point: as a trainer I think that quality feedback is hard to get, but it's also hard to give good quality feedback. And once you've been given bad (say, inappropriate rather than negative) feedback it can put you off being interested in it again.
Bob
........
Hey -
As any decent rock guitarist knows, feedback can be your friend.
When used properly, it can help get you from here to there with much
more drama and authority than if you didn't have it.
Just ask Pete Townshend!
Cheers.
Jeff
When you are the problem...
Hi,
What do you do when you are the problem? I know of two cases in which the most senior marketing executive is the blockage to progress. Both lead dysfunctional teams that are divided into warring camps. Both organisations are struggling to meet their objectives. In one case - an agency - it's new business hit rate is dismal. Getting in the door, but failing at the presentation, led by the boss. ("He comes across as a used car salesman," said one prospective client.) The other guy is so out of touch with the principles of team building that he alienates his younger colleagues by making pronouncements as if they were law, refusing to share the evidence he says he has for his position (leading to suspicion that there is none).
More than any other corporate function, marketing is about team and team is about leadership. A leader needs a healthy ego to take on the job. But you also need a good dose of self critique daily because staff worried about their job security aren't going to deliver it. It takes a high degree of emotional intelligence to judge your own performance objectively and accept a negative report.
It's lonely at the top. A leader needs a feedback loop: a mentor who is close enough to the business to detect the subterranean rumblings, but far enough away to be able to see the whole picture. Someone you can trust to give you the bad news.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email response:
Hi Michael,
I have just signed up for your daily 'thoughts' and I love them! They are always useful and relevant. Yesterday's thought I found particularly interesting...
I am currently working in an organisation which has great potential but I feel is being managed in the exact way you describe below - divide, conquer and burn people out in the process. Do you have any practical advice (short of leaving the company) to deal with managers like those in your email? Pointing out problems with the current system and coming up with alternatives doesn't seem to be working.
Thanks
Nat
...........
Michael
Totally agree about Bob Ansett - great thought for the day.
Cheers
Shaun
..........
Hi Michael,
Great to hear someone revering Bob Ansett, I had the please of working for him for many years and miss his entrepreneurial leadership and zealous dedication to the customer. Having worked all over the world and for many different companies and management styles I must say Bobs code of marketing conduct still guides my personnel beliefs. I recall fondly one of his catch cries (possibly a quote from another inspirational person) "do the ordinary things extraordinary well" !
PS I read with interest your 57deadly marketing mistakes, I was delighted to read something objective and 'real" that mirrors many of my own thoughts! I applaude you for your passion!
Viva BOB viva Kiely
Christopher
What do you do when you are the problem? I know of two cases in which the most senior marketing executive is the blockage to progress. Both lead dysfunctional teams that are divided into warring camps. Both organisations are struggling to meet their objectives. In one case - an agency - it's new business hit rate is dismal. Getting in the door, but failing at the presentation, led by the boss. ("He comes across as a used car salesman," said one prospective client.) The other guy is so out of touch with the principles of team building that he alienates his younger colleagues by making pronouncements as if they were law, refusing to share the evidence he says he has for his position (leading to suspicion that there is none).
More than any other corporate function, marketing is about team and team is about leadership. A leader needs a healthy ego to take on the job. But you also need a good dose of self critique daily because staff worried about their job security aren't going to deliver it. It takes a high degree of emotional intelligence to judge your own performance objectively and accept a negative report.
It's lonely at the top. A leader needs a feedback loop: a mentor who is close enough to the business to detect the subterranean rumblings, but far enough away to be able to see the whole picture. Someone you can trust to give you the bad news.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email response:
Hi Michael,
I have just signed up for your daily 'thoughts' and I love them! They are always useful and relevant. Yesterday's thought I found particularly interesting...
I am currently working in an organisation which has great potential but I feel is being managed in the exact way you describe below - divide, conquer and burn people out in the process. Do you have any practical advice (short of leaving the company) to deal with managers like those in your email? Pointing out problems with the current system and coming up with alternatives doesn't seem to be working.
Thanks
Nat
...........
Michael
Totally agree about Bob Ansett - great thought for the day.
Cheers
Shaun
..........
Hi Michael,
Great to hear someone revering Bob Ansett, I had the please of working for him for many years and miss his entrepreneurial leadership and zealous dedication to the customer. Having worked all over the world and for many different companies and management styles I must say Bobs code of marketing conduct still guides my personnel beliefs. I recall fondly one of his catch cries (possibly a quote from another inspirational person) "do the ordinary things extraordinary well" !
PS I read with interest your 57deadly marketing mistakes, I was delighted to read something objective and 'real" that mirrors many of my own thoughts! I applaude you for your passion!
Viva BOB viva Kiely
Christopher
DIY PR?
Hi,
One of your fellow "subscribers" to this service submitted an interesting question (below). You may find the response interesting (further below).
...........
Michael,
In your experience did you have meetings with journalists and editors or
did you leave that up to PR types who work this channel? My thoughts are that if I were to have a regular discussion with them our company will get more editorial opportunities. We had a PR company working for us but we ended the relationship as we could not quantify the return. We now do our own when we have a decent enough story that we think will get press.
Reason I ask is that we have sales people calling us all the time
wanting to sell ad space (bless them!) but I think that we get better
mileage from editorial which does not cost us anything.
Richard
.....
Richard,
First, separate advertising and publicity in your mind. They are separate activities with different functions. Second, publicity is not free. It costs time and resources and money. Third, it is possible to quantify the value of press coverage. You assign a figure to the coverage relative to the same presence in advertising dollars (with a formula you can get from a competent PR type). Fourth, maintaining your own media contacts is a good strategy. 1. It frees you from dependence on PR types. (I used to be one. I know what they're like.) 2. It shortens the chain of communication, speeds things up, and can make journalists and editors more interested. 3. It can ensure that your message gets through undiluted. 4. It can save $$$. But downsides are: 1. It takes time when you should be playing other roles in the marketing function, reducing your effectiveness overall. 2. You may have skills in this area, but your successor may not. You leave and your company loses part of its marketing systems. 3. You may think you're good at it, but your performance might be sub-optimal (and nobody's willing to tell you). 4. Unless you have had training and/or experience in the function, you may not have the essential 'creative' side - the ability to see or invent news angles (or reasons for coverage) that editors need. 5. You might not get the access to journos/editors that a professional publicist can. (Not being as rat cunning.) 6. A lot of PR work is simply "grunt" - calling a list of people to confirm attendance at an event, etc. This can tie up internal resources and disrupt operations. Perhaps you could fashion a hybrid system, building your own contacts and working them, but taking advice from a mentoring senior professional pr operator as you go and using them for special projects.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
One of your fellow "subscribers" to this service submitted an interesting question (below). You may find the response interesting (further below).
...........
Michael,
In your experience did you have meetings with journalists and editors or
did you leave that up to PR types who work this channel? My thoughts are that if I were to have a regular discussion with them our company will get more editorial opportunities. We had a PR company working for us but we ended the relationship as we could not quantify the return. We now do our own when we have a decent enough story that we think will get press.
Reason I ask is that we have sales people calling us all the time
wanting to sell ad space (bless them!) but I think that we get better
mileage from editorial which does not cost us anything.
Richard
.....
Richard,
First, separate advertising and publicity in your mind. They are separate activities with different functions. Second, publicity is not free. It costs time and resources and money. Third, it is possible to quantify the value of press coverage. You assign a figure to the coverage relative to the same presence in advertising dollars (with a formula you can get from a competent PR type). Fourth, maintaining your own media contacts is a good strategy. 1. It frees you from dependence on PR types. (I used to be one. I know what they're like.) 2. It shortens the chain of communication, speeds things up, and can make journalists and editors more interested. 3. It can ensure that your message gets through undiluted. 4. It can save $$$. But downsides are: 1. It takes time when you should be playing other roles in the marketing function, reducing your effectiveness overall. 2. You may have skills in this area, but your successor may not. You leave and your company loses part of its marketing systems. 3. You may think you're good at it, but your performance might be sub-optimal (and nobody's willing to tell you). 4. Unless you have had training and/or experience in the function, you may not have the essential 'creative' side - the ability to see or invent news angles (or reasons for coverage) that editors need. 5. You might not get the access to journos/editors that a professional publicist can. (Not being as rat cunning.) 6. A lot of PR work is simply "grunt" - calling a list of people to confirm attendance at an event, etc. This can tie up internal resources and disrupt operations. Perhaps you could fashion a hybrid system, building your own contacts and working them, but taking advice from a mentoring senior professional pr operator as you go and using them for special projects.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
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