Doing it Backwards

This post really dovetails nicely into my last blogpost. From a great mind and succinct, so I'll just say, What's wrong with this entrepreneurs' plan for Year 1 (besides the misspelling)?
"Goals:

                  1 month- Finalize the concept and find a team

                  6 months: Develop a beta version

                  6 motnhs-1 year: Find companies to run tests with, improve program"

Read http://johnprendergast.posterous.com/letter-to-a-young-entrepreneur. Like I've said, you can't develop anything groundbreaking, or even good, without getting the people who will use it involved.

Why Developing Software without Customers is Like Masturbation

I've been reading lately about LEAN Start-ups and the "rules" that this entails. And I'm a big fan. Not necessarily of the rules per se, but of the concept in general.

I was introduced to the concept of LEAN when I was at Orion Health, and the CEO, a passionate serial innovator, was looking at the Toyota way and seeing how it could apply to software development. While not that long ago, this was something that hadn't yet been done, or even discussed much. We employed some of the world's leading LEAN consultants, and they hadn't really done much with software companies. As usual, we were early adopters, and reaped the rewards and suffered the pains that one associates with being.

What appealed to me most about LEAN methodology was the constant innovation, the collaboration of the team, the ability for one team member, ANY team member, to explore an improvement and make that improvement if it improved the life of the team and/or the final product. I REALLY loved the customer centricity and the need to constantly innovate to improve both process and customer experience that LEAN spoke of.

Customer centric marketing has been a popular term for many years now, and many companies invest heavily in CRM and analytics technologies in an effort to better use customer data to sell to prospects and customers. The most successful few have learned how to better use customer data to BUILD better software to solve problems for customers and prospects. The BEST companies, hardware, software, services and consumer goods, constantly scrutinize and innovate to better use customer data to improve and solve problems for customers and prospects.

Whether you employ the exact rules of the LEAN start up or not, perhaps the most important of these is the constant customer centric approach. There's no way I can get all of this into one blog post, and customer centricity, CRM approaches and learnings is a theme for my professional life, happily.
It may not have started with, but certainly gained clarity with Patricia Seybold's "customers.com" in 1998, and it's been a theme ever since.

Why then am I discussing this now? Well, I've been with successful companies, and unsuccessful ones. And their lack of success wasn't just whether I did my job well or not, but often a more deep problem.

Companies can be successful to a point if they address a business problem, but that success stalls at a certain point if they do not continue to innovate and address customer's ongoing needs. And it needs to be a dialogue, not a monologue.

Sitting in a room and trying to solve your customers' problems, or analyzing why a competitor won a deal or deals, or why a customer did not renew, can help you improve BUT IT CAN'T HELP YOU WIN. Small anecdotal pieces of information, what the customer said to let you down easy, data gathered online: none of this will suffice. This is why it is important to maintain an ongoing dialogue with your customer- so that when the chips are down, they will be honest about what really needs improving. They won't always, or even usually, be able to help you fix it, but ONLY THEY can articulate their problem.

And if they can't articulate it to you? They'll find someone who is a better listener.

So, why is developing software without customers like masturbation? Because, while it can be somewhat satisfying, it just isn't as fulfilling as with a real partner (*ahem* in this case, your customer).

note: this post isn't really a tease, just the beginning of the conversation. flirting.

Epiphany: Train to Get Better

Yesterday I stumbled upon an article from the Harvard Business Review by Heidi Grant Halvorson titled, "Nine Things Successful People Do Differently."

I left it open on my desktop last night and re-read it this morning. I'm a fast reader, and am often multi-tasking, so I am very glad I did. Because when I read it last night, I simply looked at it with a personal lens. When I re-read it this morning, post-run, I looked at it through the lens of my own fitness and training goals, and I had some more clarity. And as I was working on some notes for a project I am working on, I had even more clarity.

It's short. It's concise. It's to the point. Read it.

The nine guidelines for being successful apply to any area you want to improve upon. And it occurred to me, it's how I work. These are, for the most part, the best practice methodologies I apply when I am creating a marketing plan, lead generation campaign, or making PR recommendations. Can I do them more consistently? Will this demonstrate real improvements?

I know it will.

Why? Well, it's an easy correlation for me. In the article, she mentions that the difference between successful and non-successful people is the belief that they can get to where they need/want to be. Two years ago, I felt like an average person fitness wise. I liked yoga, pilates and walking. I couldn't run a mile, or bike more than 3.

I began with small goals that seemed hefty but attainable with hard work. I quickly eclipsed those. Today, I have completed sprint, olympic and half ironman distance triathlons, century bike rides,and half marathons. There's more I want to do, and I know I can do anything if I train for it. I am constantly surprised and amazed by what I can do if I train for it. I don't see myself as successful- until I look at where I was.

Why does this relate to marketing? Well, sometimes we get lost in trying to obtain the HUGE goal. I see companies trying to finish the marathon before they've even tried a 10K. It's good to have lofty goals- but it's better to take it in steps, make improvements, train, and be prepared.

 Run the 10K. Get your message right. Have the answers. Know your customers' bleeding points. Get it right, because it's easy to do more when you know what you can do and that you know how to do it.

We live now in an age where we expect instant gratification. I have found that it is the hard work, the waiting for the pay-offs, the small victories, the learning from mistakes and the constant willingness to keep pushing to be better has made me successful in sports, and in my work. Or maybe it just makes it more rewarding.

Mistress' Marketing Mantra 
(loosely based on the HBR suggestions)

• Set specific achievable goals. 
• Take specific action. 
• Measure that action, make corrections.
• Have faith in your ideas.
• Make things better.always.
• Don't be such a perfectionist you don't take action.
• Be tenacious. 
• Do the hard work. 
• Be focused.
• Make improvements, not excuses.

So, you have something to say

Yesterday, minding my own business, having yet another cup of chicken soup to fight my cold in a Panera. Two businessmen, of what was obviously the small business variety, were talking about their business, their website, and of course, the conversation turned to social media, and if they were going to "do it."

"all that social media stuff is only good for business if you've got something to say"

Amen.Hallelujah, and thank goodness. My dad always said common sense wasn't that common, but here it was. On a Wednesday. at Panera.

I remember the days when people proclaimed "Content is King." It was true then, and it's true today. Content can make or break your google ranking, can alienate your clients or win over prospects. Content can build or break relationships. But content isn't a mass. It isn't just data. And it's like shoes. You can have a lot, but if they hurt, don't fit, or just aren't you, they're just taking space up in the closet and making it hard to find the ones you really need.


I read 6 questions today on a blog that I think help get it right. Not QUITE but the peeps are pimping for a seminar, so maybe they'll give the secrets out there. 

1. What do we know?
   
   
2. What can we give? (techmistress hint: think knowledge, not crap)
   
   
3. What can we explain?
   
   
4. What can we share?
   
   
5. Who can we interview?
   
   
6. What can we have fun with?
   
   

Content is a KEY component of each and every fiber of ANY marketing plan. And it all has to work together. Whatever I say, wherever I say it, it has to work together. It's less about content and more about relationship building.

Take all these logistical suggestions, which is really what they are, and apply your brand attributes to them. If you aren't a little quirky, don't share the quirky fun stuff.

I'm not suggesting you CONTROL things (read previous post), but I am saying know your brand, speak from your persona, reinforce the messages you want to share, wherever and whenever you go.

Have something to say. Say it smartly, say it simply. It's ok to regurgitate content from others, and share, but give them credit, and add your own personality or experience. Add value. Tell your client or prospect something they may want to hear- NOT just what you want them to hear.

So, thank you, Panera businessmen for your wise words of wisdom. You have to have something to say.


But don't overthink it. We really do all have something to say. And every business has something to say their customers need and WANT to hear. If they didn't, they wouldn't have customers!

Out of Control: Letting Go to Win

The universe has interesting timing, that's for sure. This weekend, I made a note about something I wanted to converse about here. This morning, I stumbled upon this - well, twittered upon really. http://smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2010/09/27/live-from-mixx-seth-godin-on-brand-tribes/

Seth as usual puts it better than anyone. Short to the point. "We've branded ourselves to death."

I've had numerous discussions on communities, brands, and tribes. Convincing execs about the importance of flipping that funnel and allowing your clients to create communities is one of those hard conversations. As with many things, it seems like a great idea, but one that instills an awful amount of fear.
Yes, we want to converse with our clients not at them.
Yes, we want their opinions and ideas.
Yes, we want them to share those opinions and ideas with each other- and evangelize our service or product, or teach each other about new ways to use it.

Uhhh, but no, we are afraid of doing it "in public." After all, what if they say something negative.

Working with a service company, we all know things break. If it didn't we wouldn't have a business. In any relationship, business or otherwise, things break down. What makes or breaks the relationship is how you deal with things when things break down.

You can't create a community. You can build the space, invite people in. But they create the community.

I've been part of a community of fans for the last couple years. It's not something I'd ever be involved in- those always seemed to be for the true geeks. But it is truly a committee. One wonderful Italian guy set it up and just let it go. Intervention only when things truly gets out of hand and could potentially be harmful. The rules are simple and few. And for the most part, unnecessary.

This is a tribe of smart, funny, irreverent people. They are real people- doctors, lawyers, professors, a lot of creatives. So, opinionated people with a common bond. Our common bond happens to be music. But many tribes are built around art, music, sports teams and yes, companies.

We share a common bond but we are far from the same. There are differences of opinions. Not everyone is nice all the time. There's love, hate, tears and laughter. And it's those shared experiences that bring everyone together. For the most part, people are respectful. And when they aren't? The tribe is amazingly self- correcting.

And that's the key. Tribes are self correcting. they will lead you, tell you where to go. If you watch the tribe, it will give you insight to what they want, what they need, and what they don't even know they need you. You will discover similarities, patterns and interests you never knew your customers had.

And you'll be all the greater for watching, listening and learning.

Let your tribe go. If there are negative viewpoints, listen, look, respond. Show you care. Over the top? Watch. If the criticism is warranted, it's your opportunity to make serious changes that will improve your business. If it's unwarranted? Watch the tribe- they'll self correct. There'll be feedback and differing opinions and your customers will defend you- honestly. And that's a more genuine return than any spin you could put on it.

Don't try to control your community. If you do, it's no more than an online game. Let it go, and it has the opportunity to become a tribe of the best business advisers you'll ever have.

One to Any: When Personalization Fails

Marketers have been talking about One to One marketing for as long as I've been in tech marketing. Which is a while. Peppers and Rogers' "The One to One Future" came out in 1993, and one could argue that that future is now, with the advances of interactive media.

I remember first printing client names and personalized offers based on buying history onto the front of our catalog(paper) in 1993. We thought we were the bomb. And for that time, we really kind of were. Most of our competition was all about why you should want what everyone else had. We were afraid to abandon that approach but determined to move ahead and give customers MORE and what THEY wanted.

Most marketers can mimic the mantra: IDENTIFY; DIFFERENTIATE; INTERACT and CUSTOMIZE.but few still get it right.

Perhaps they/we sometimes get worn down from having the shotgun blast vs. precision pistol argument with our sales team. I have this discussion so many times a day, I believe our sales team must think I'm about to go postal on them at any minute. No, I've never brought in firearms to demonstrate my point. But now that I think about it, it might be a way to not have to repeat the discussion.

So, why this rant? why today?

A senior VP in our company forwarded an email to the entire executive team lauding an email from a sales person at a company trying to sell us something. It's not something we would likely use if you knew anything about our business, which means it was a waste. But no one complains about wasteful emails at pennies a send. Even if they should!

See if you can figure out the offense. The salesperson called him by his name. Said she remembered meeting him at a particular conference, and wanted to see if he was still interested in her wares. She remembered how interested and excited he was about x,y and z and she'd love to refresh his memory. One of two major problems: He was, nor was anyone from our company, at that conference, nor were we registered and didn't show. there was no reason we should be on that list.

So, poor list management. Happens every day.

The real error here is the perception by one of my colleagues that this was "smart marketing." His argument was that HE knew he wasn't at that conference and therefore knew he never met her, but many people who were there might "think they met her and feel guilty and take the meeting (and buy her software?) because they were too dumb to remember if they met her or not."

This #fails on so many levels. Remember IDENTIFY; DIFFERENTIATE; INTERACT and CUSTOMIZE? well if you are selling to idiots, great. But don't assume you are selling to idiots. What does assuming do? Yep. ass. you. me.

Don't market to the lowest faction of your audience. Don't assume your customers are dumber than you are. If you do, you are asking dumb people to make a smart choice. Doesn't sound like a sound marketing strategy to me.

I know I try and fail. I have to remember the exercise is the exercise often. BUT I do, in earnest, talk to my customers like they are as smart or smarter than me. I don't assume they know what I do and I don't try to trick them.

We're in a trust business. Lying up front isn't a good way to start a relationship based on trust- anywhere. So why would it be good here?

My marketing mantras may not be sophisticated. And this certainly isn't new media. But I see ever growing trends, and the more methods you have for lying and trying to sound smarter than you are? Well, the more people are able to figure it out.

So, here it is, plain and simply. Treat your potential and existing customers with respect. Don't try and sound smarter than them. Get to know them. Listen to them. Then solve their problem or show them someone else who can. Build the relationship.

No good relationship starts with a lie.

What we all know: It doesn't always pay to be first

I've done this before. But, as with many of my new ventures, took it too seriously and over-thunk it. I suffer, as we all do sometimes, from letting perfect get in the way of being great. Training for triathlons has helped me get over that in my personal life- just get up and do it. Get on the bike, get in the pool, head out for a run. The exercise is the exercise. Doing it makes you better.

Simple stuff.

So, I'm blogging. The rants, ravings, learnings and pointing out the obvious and oblivious of a 40 something technology marketing mistress. 

I love to be an early adopter. I pay dearly for it, often, in many ways. Whether it's the latest iPhone, app to manage my money (or lack thereof), social media tools, cms, or email marketing software, I want to use it. I love learning. Sadly, after school, there's not a lot of grading on a curve.

If you want to try new things, tools, devices, there are some inevitable skinned knees on the way- blogs that fell by the wayside, social media applications that were more buzz than buzzworthy, devices tried and tossed. You try. Sometimes you fail. Sometimes it fails. You lose meetings, contacts, and sometimes it feels like you may lose your mind. But sometimes, there's a cool new feature that is actually REALLY a benefit (you know how marketers like to obfuscate the two), that changes the way you do things. 

This is what we yearn for. There is often the chance that disruptive technology will be abandoned before the bugs get worked out, or the reason d'etre is clear. And that's where this comes in.

I wouldn't do anything for any company without a plan. But when I began blogging years ago, I had no plan. No one did really- except maybe some brilliant bald guy whose blog I still read. So, here's my plan:

1. Keep it simple.

2. Keep it real.

3. Keep it relevant (or at least relative) to technology marketing.