Retailers Cutting out Hard-to-Open Packaging- Hurray!

Retailers Cutting out Hard-to-Open Packaging

Death to the clamshell!

Any consumer who has ever muttered unprintable profanities through gritted teeth as they attempted to get some simple product out of incredibly difficult packaging will welcome the news that some retailers have finally heard. Amazon is now touting ‘frustration-free packaging’ and Best Buy says it is phasing out the clamshells. Hospitals report that they treat 6000 injuries a year resulting from attempts to open the #$%@ things.

I can see a smile on your face... admit it...

Scott

Present Like You are Giving a Show

I read a great post today from Chris Brogan (www.chrisbrogan.com) about presentation skills… I know, I know…. but, after you get hit over the head with another one of those 1,000 word PPT slides… you just want to say something.

Legendary advertiser David Ogilvy said, “The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife.” He wanted us to treat the recipients of advertisements as important people, and I implore you to do the same to your audience. Here’s what I mean when I say that:

• Your audience knows more than you’re giving them credit for. Every time.
• They have come to learn something from you that they can use themselves. Give takeaways.
• They have sacrificed time. Value their every minute as best you can. Trim your presentation.
• Your audience wants something new. Stay fresh. They might have seen you last month or on the web.
• Give them something to DO. Give actionable next steps, such that your presentation leaves them wanting to rush out of the room and do what you recommended. If you can, make it as specific to the audience as possible.
• Never ever ever ever feel like you have to read your slides to me.

You ARE an Entertainer

If you’re going to command the stage (or a room, or whatever format your presentation takes), own the stage. Be as polished, as precise, as eloquent, as helpful as you can be. Here are some tips that I’ve tried to boil down tightly:

• Think visually. Slides are not Word documents.
• Make sure your slides aren’t more interesting than you.
• Speak louder and slower than you think you should.
• Dress for attention. If you’re going to own that stage, be vibrant (but tasteful).
• Speak WITH not TO your audience. Get them “in on it.”
• More than 7 key points is wasted.
• Be as passionate as you can be about the topic. If you’re not, why will they care?

I take great pride and care in trying to entertain when I present. How about you?

The Future of the Social Web: In Five Eras

Jeremiah Owyang’s recent report “The Future of the Social Web: In Five Eras” is getting a lot of traction . It should - and marketers must take notice of his findings. Jeremiah is spot on in his interview with CRM Magazine regarding the power shift from the brand to the consumer:

“The community will take charge, and that’s going to happen whether or not marketers or brands participate.”

Jeremiah goes on to outline the 5 eras of the social web - overlapping across the past, present, and future. His insight is predicated on substantial qualitative research with 24 of the top technology brands, enablers, and publishers that are leading in the social space. The overlapping eras are as follows:

1. The era of social relationships

2. The era of social functionality

3. The era of social colonization

4. The era of social context

5. The era of social commerce

I can appreciate this statement specifically:

“…focus is on community and the advocates within each community. Doing so will be the only way a brand can scale.”

Those companies that understand the power these communities represent in terms of advocacy for their brand, will be light years ahead of those that don’t.

Integrating social media into a traditional business is challenging

Integrating social media into a traditional business is challenging. More than you’d think. I’ve been a part of helping sheppard forward a new online community at a conservative market leading company and it’s been fun and tricky to advance the ball forward. Some of the issues we’ve been confronted with should come as no surprise of any of you in marketing… we’re busy and we’d already got a day job. The interesting thing is that everyone in their hearts knows that getting to a two-way online world is paramount in a strategy to grow closer to your partners and customers. This is what is driving each and every marketer to the table… customer intimacy.

The term “customer intimacy” may be an overused term, but it’s a key attribute that has gained wider support in a slower economy. Companies today need to pick their partners wisely. They need to focus their limited resources on the partners that they trust and that they know can drive revenue. At a minimum, your partners of today have to have a value to help differentiate your value proposition and drive the business forward.

I’ve been fortunate to work with some pretty high class partners over the years and appreciate their value in helping drive customer intimacy for your brand and with your brand. Social media is playing an ever increasing role in supporting the timely communication with partners and between partners.

It’s time we as marketers challenge the traditions of control and engage our partners and end-user customers with social media.

The Strong only Get Stronger in 2009

If you are one the market leaders in your space, 2009 will be a year of opportunity. If you are a market “chimp”, the year ahead promises to be a painful experience. I think that all the recent negative employment news from some of the biggest and best run companies is a clear indication that management teams are seizing on the opportunity to get lean and review their organizations. The present conditions have enabled virtually every company to cut whatever costs they may have been thinking about for a while. The key advantage a larger company has is that they still have “mass” and are able to continue to invest in the business, just not at the previous levels of investment.

Now if you were one of the market followers, or Chimps as some may call the smaller market players, these are times that have forced you to cut to the bone. Operationally, these organizations will really struggle to succeed and advance their position in the market. The differentiation between the gorilla players and chimps will create situations where the market gorilla’s actually become stronger and actually gain market share these next two years.

Take a look at the social media space and you can see for yourself the changes already happening. I bet that 40% of the more than 100 players in the space that Forrester has identified will no longer be in business by the end of 2009. And most of the remaining players will have been greatly harmed in their race to greater functionality. I bet you will actually see a price increase in social media solutions this year and not a decrease. Companies can not afford the “land grab” mentality this year. They all have more limited staffs and have to be careful to ensure that each customer is profitable. They also are burning lots of cash to keep the doors open and the lights on.

So if you are one of the dominant players in your market, 2009 although painful, will in the long run, be a year where you can gain market share with the smallest level of investment in probably two decades. Go make it happen.