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Posts Tagged ‘Force 5’
Can you Insure Me from Myself?
Monday, November 7th, 2011 by Jason StrattonSetup Picture – I am sitting at the Apple Genius Bar, ya I know they call it a “Bar” but not a drink in sight, working through my iPhone issues with the savvy, half shaven, twenty something, blue t-shirt wearing apple genius who is just about finished with my antenna issue. When to my surprise the next customer introduces himself to my genius with the problem of “Dude, my iPhone was only in the washer for just enough time for me to realize it wasn’t in my hands” – Yes, I am quoting his first sentence, I can’t make this up any better than reality. These folks really are geniuses of not only apple stuff but of multi-tasking, the proof is that my genius finished my issue while keeping a straight face and not laughing at the laundry dude. I have to admit that for the sake of all our Force 5 readers, I just had to stick around to hear the rest of the laundry story – You’re sitting on the edge of your office chairs, Right?
Laundry dude continued to explain how his iPhone was in his favorite jeans pocket and probably didn’t get that wet. He showed some smarts and called Apple before turning on his now sparkling clean iPhone. Apple instructed him to go to the nearest store and ask the genius to turn the phone on for him – Do Not Try This At Home should apply here. The genius listened and was very sympathetic to laundry dude. But, when the laundry dude finally confessed and said that this was his “THIRD” iPhone within the past year, the conversation was at a cross roads. In my opinion, the genius could have said “Sorry Charlie” and had every right to do so. But, to my surprise he offered laundry dude a new iPhone 4 at a greatly reduced rate of $199.00. Of course, laundry dude asked “Isn’t there any kind of insurance or care plan I can purchase that will cover me from stuff like this?”
Lesson of the story, we all have done some silly things in our lives and careers. So, what makes you different is the ability to ask yourself “Ok, that marketing effort was a flop and WHY?” If you can’t ask the question, you can’t learn the answers of tomorrow’s successes. Need someone outside of your organization to ask that tough question? Force 5 can help and we promise not to wash your cell phone.
Pent Up
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 by Butch Whitmire
I read in a brief from Ad-ology that nearly 35% of U.S. adults said they intend to buy a new or used car in the next 12 months. One explanation is pent up demand. This means consumers have been holding back on their spending like a corralled stallion and now they are finally going to let that stud burst out of its pen in a money-spending whirlwind of hooves and mane.
I am hopeful this is the reason that people will be buying cars this year. Pent up demand suggests that consumers who were once caution-filled about the economy are now optimistic enough to let go of their cash or comfortable enough to take on debt. This type of demand reflects consumer confidence.
Another explanation as to why consumers will purchase cars this year is simply because they have to. That is, they are neither confident nor do they have any greater belief they will remain employed long tern or have more disposable income; they must buy a car. Their current car is just too old and worn out and to get to work, or to the unemployment office, they need a car. This type of demand, a replacement demand, reflects consumer fear.
Now don’t get me wrong, regardless of the reason, people buying cars or any product or service will be good for our economy. Demand creates production, which creates jobs, which encourages spending which creates more demand. Wonderful!
The challenge for marketers will be determining the latent, emotional cause for their customer’s demand: do customers want to buy or do they have to buy? The marketing message you send to someone who is afraid should be much different than to someone buying eagerly. Helping our clients determine their audience and the message they should send them is part of our Soul Searching™ process here at Force 5 and we’d welcome the opportunity to talk with you about our methodology. Feel free to contact us.
So, will your customers be buying from you like an unleashed stallion this year, or like some other creature? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
The Cost of Free
Thursday, June 16th, 2011 by Butch WhitmireI emailed a respected marketer and he made a statement that was quite profound. He said, “Free stuff we’ll take all day long. But I also don’t want to work with somebody who gives away their products or services too cheap – if they can’t sell their own stuff, how can they help me sell mine?”
I loved his perspective in a time when open source code, free downloads, Groupons, free newsletters, “kids eat free,” are running rampant. People seem to crave “free” and statistically, they move in big numbers when the see the word “free” attached to a marketing campaign. However, I have big concerns with “free” (or the ridiculously reduced.)
As I wrote in an earlier post about scarcity, for things to be valuable people must perceive them as both a) useful and b) scarce. So, when we say something is “free” (meaning zero monetary value) people intuit that the service or good is either not very useful to them or it is abundantly available to all. Free lowers perceived value.
Another reason I am concerned about free is that people intrinsically intuit that “nothing is free.” So, clients assume there are strings or other cost attached. For example, our developers utilize an amazing open-source CMS/CMF called Drupal. This PHP-based code is available to us and everyone for no cash outlay. However, learning Drupal has been anything but free to Force 5. Our team has invested scores and scores of unbillable R&D hours to learn this protocol. “Free” usually has a cost attached – somewhere.
So, why are so many sales people and marketers using “free” (or ridiculously under-priced) to gain business? For me, there are only four plausible explanations:
1) You are lowering the barrier to entry. Free trials can lead to sales but they must be made scarce; meaning they are limited. Free one time to get to know your product or service. After that, it’s time to charge – drug dealers have known this for years.
2) You are relying on the social norm of reciprocity. (You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.) This is a risky approach. As I mentioned, people usually assume “nothing is for free” so they will take and take from you with little compulsion to give you anything in return.
3) You don’t believe your product or service is really very valuable. If this is the case, it’s time for a gut check. It’s time to evaluate and change your product or service to meet the demands of a crazily competitive market.
4) You’re a little lazy or at least not very creative. Free is easy. Free is fast. Free is simple. Free creates a lot of activity. Free doesn’t require you to make a compelling case for your product. Maybe it’s time to work on your marketing or selling skills, at least a little.
So the question must be asked: Are you overusing “free” and at what cost?
The Value of Small + Smart
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011 by Butch WhitmireWhenever I’m asked about Force 5, one of the things I say about our company is that we are“small and smart.” Most people understand immediately what half of that means. We have only a handful of people on our staff – so, we’re small – pretty easy. Small is good these days. That means we don’t carry a lot of overhead so we can be competitive. Being small also means that we can be pretty agile, too. There aren’t too many people or committees required to make decisions. We can quickly decide what to do and move – and that’s a good thing for our clients.
When I say “We’re smart,” I think I run the risk of sounding arrogant. Granted, there are some pretty sharp people I get to work with here (me - not so much.) The “smart” part is really about bringing in the right resources when we need them. This allows us to assemble the best possible talent for a specific need and remain laser-focused on the client. Being smart also keeps us fresh and creative.
From a personal standpoint, being “small and smart” forces me to be more rounded as a business person. It’s made me realize that client issues are most often multi-faceted and that one area of expertise is seldom the cure for a particular issue. This regularly pushes me outside the limits of my capacity and into the realms of more capable people in specialize areas. The results are: wins for the client, wins for Force 5, wins for freelancers, and wins for me. And who wouldn’t want that?
Web of One
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 by David MorganI was listening to a TED talk yesterday from Eli Pariser, who just wrote the book “The Filter Bubble”.In his talk, he tells of the personalization taking place on the web. Everything is filtered before it gets to us. I have an interest in sailing, and listed that on my facebook. And lo and behold, I see ads and articles on Sailing. Google Ad words looks at blogs, and then show ads linked to key words found in the article.
The Filter bubble by Eli Pariser
In fact, Google uses 57 different criteria to filter content to you. This might include your location, you age, gender, and whatever else they know about you.
Is personalization a good thing? In most cases, sure. I don’t mind seeing ads on sailing, but what am I missing? Eli’s premise is that you start to see only your filter—a filter that’s not necessarily controlled by you. So if I’m conservative, I may not see liberal points of view. If I like dogs, I might not see cats…Get the picture?
Some argue that most people lack the time, motivation and self-knowledge to customize their filter, if they are given the chance. But others think that automatic personalization severely limits the power of the net to stretch our minds.
Do you want to see opposing views on a subject? Do you want to see challenging and contrary viewpoints? Is your filter relevant, important, uncomfortable, challenging, other points of view? Again, as we’ve noted in previous blogs, its all about data mining.
As a brand development and marketing communications firm, Force 5 is always interested in metrics. We want to know if our target audience for any given product or service is seeing (and responding to) our message. But has data mining and filtering gone too far—limiting our selections, making a “web of one”—instead of a “web of many”? What do you think?
Information Overload
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 by Deb DeFreeuwI recently read an article from the Center for Media Research that had some very interesting statistics on digital consumption.
Information - Fast and Furious
76.7% read email and respond evenings and weekends
43.2% answer texts or emails on date/social occasion
57.4 % never turn off phone
33.0% check email middle of the night
35.2% answer work emails while with children
46.9% unable to answer all email
41.4% miss important news
39.9% ignore family and friends
16.9% miss appointments
62.5% wish they could filter out the flood of dataHonestly, I was not at all surprised by the last statistic. The tidal wave of information can be overwhelming. This article also stated, “64.2% said that the information coming at them today had grown by more than 50% compared with last year.”
Do the statistics above resonate with you? How do you filter out what is useful? Managing the tide of information has become a necessary part of our daily lives.
Because consumers are actively managing their digital lifestyle, it is more important than ever that you understand your audience, where and how they get their digital information and then provide them with useful content so you don’t get filtered out. If your company is struggling to be heard, Force 5 can help you reach your audience.
Mobile Health Seekers
Monday, April 25th, 2011 by Deb DeFreeuwI recently read an article in MediaPost which had some incredible stats on the mobile users consumption of health information through apps and browsers.
- 38% of cell phone owners access the Internet using mobile phone — up 52% year over year
- 55% of cell phone Internet users go online daily from their mobile phones
- 30% of mobile subscribers use search, 29% use downloaded apps
- 26% of apps downloaded in 2010 were used just once
I think one of the key points of the article had to do with the idea of not just condensing an entire website into an app. Consider the difference of mobile health info seekers and the content which is most sought after (as a proportional of total traffic); sexual health topics (HIV/AIDS, pregnancy and STDs). These users are understandably concerned about privacy, and likely in an urgent and emotional state – make content straightforward, useful and easy to find.
When creating mobile content we need to follow the same rules as we do with any other media. Define your audience, determine what are they looking for – then deliver it efficiently and effectively!
We’re diving into all kinds of mobile projects here at Force 5 and can help your company make smart decisions about moving forward with mobile content.
Private-Label Growth. Here to Stay?
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011 by Deb DeFreeuwI recently read an article in Marketing Daily, about the growth in private-label products. No surprise there, right? The figures were pretty compelling with consumers saving 33% off their grocery bills by purchasing all private-label products. I have followed the trend, trying more private-label products than I have in the past. While I haven’t gone all private-label, I have more private-label in my basket now than big brand names.
The question is will consumers stay with these private-labels once the economy gets back into the comfort zone? My opinion is that some consumers, myself included, will go back to major brand names and some will continue to purchase private-label. Recently, while shopping at Target, I went to purchase Sonicare toothbrush replacement heads. Ok, so I can get 2 of the Sonicare replacements for 24.99, ouch. Or, I can purchase the Target brand at 3 for 29.99. I decide to try the Target brand. Big mistake. One of the replacement heads didn’t work on the handle at all; another broke off completely after the second day. Needless to say, I took them back and purchased Sonicare. The Sonicare brand has value to me, now more than ever, and I can justify paying more for better quality.
Another example, I bought Target brand baby powder while normally I am a Johnson and Johnson fan. The powder didn’t seem different from one brand to the next – heck, it’s powder. But the lid on the Target brand doesn’t open properly and when I use it I never know what to expect. No powder, a gush from heaven knows where, a small pouf? My life has enough excitement without wondering if the powder will land in my shoes, as I want it to, or all over my black pants. A small detail, but when I am able, I am going back to J and J.
So the national brands need to keep talking about what makes them unique and living up to their brand promise. Maintaining their distinction will be what compels consumers to pay higher prices for their brand over a private-label.
If you need help determining or communicating what makes your brand unique, Force 5 can help! We have two certified Brand Strategists on hand and a crew of left brains and right brains to bring your brand to life!
