So, Let's Talk strategy! (Part 1)

"Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things." - Miyamoto Musashi (1584 - 1645), Japanese Swordsman

"The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do." - Michael Porter

NOTE: This is part one of this article, and parts 2 and 3 will eventually provide more detail.

Strategy Foundations
LJB and I had a super strategy session this morning...and I plan to share a specific info about it in the very near future...but first, I want to provide some foundational thoughts to strategy. At the end of the day, authors want to connect with people and share something of value with the them. In return, profit-oriented authors make money. So, how do we devise a strategy for your work to make money?

Betalkaboutable Strategy #1 - Know Your Freakin' Customer!
Aside from stealing or counterfeiting, the ONLY way to make money is to help people...and get paid for your product or service that helped them. So, you need to know how your work is helping your fellow human. If you've failed to figure this out, keep failing and don't stop...but make sure you learn from each failure! Know your customer better than they know themselves!



Betalkaboutable Strategy #2 - No Sucky Content!
There are a million things you can do to try and make money as "an author," but your content CANNOT SUCK! You have to have a great, talkaboutable product if you are an author (or an artist or musician for that matter). CC and Ann wrote contentrulesbook.com, and it covers a lot of this type of info about content. To disclose, CC is a friend, and he totally knows what he is talking about. Other than that book, I would study any other great authors and any good content out there on the internizzle...study it.



Now, I believe firmly in a concept (and am pretty sure I came up with the concept) called "Return on Content." This is based on the marketing operations measurement work I've done...for example, we invested in white papers at Siebel. Those papers took time/money to make...and some produced way more leads and business than others! The same rule applies to media companies who will shut off a TV show that doesn't have enough audience (as audience = ad dollars). Authors, marketers, media companies, and software companies create a TON of content...it's endless. Where do you focus? How do you maximize the return on the investment in content? Well, first...it really helps to think of your investment of time and/or money in content as something that needs to maximize a return. Then, you manufacture content, measure the return, and optimize it. So, that means you need to get a feedback loop in place ASAP...that way, you know when you are creating good content and you know what metrics you are moving the needle on. If you don't know where to start, you gotta start somewhere! Take a an educated risk.

betalkaboutable Strategy #3 - betalkaboutable!
This should be obvious, but if people don't want to talk about your content, it sucks. If people aren't talking about your content/media/work, refer to rule #1 and #2. In the world of social media, people are in a constant state of talking, liking, twitching, and talking about content as noted here. It's now part of human behavior...if you have great content, people will talk about it...and being talkaboutable leads to sales!

That's it for now! Feedback always appreciated!

Example: The Human Brain and $15 versus $150 haircuts

In exploring how one of my clients could differentiate themselves in a market that is generally commoditized, this question came to me.  How is it that one hair stylist can charge $15 and another $150 for a haircut?  How is a 10x factor in cost reasonable?  What is so different about these two?

Photo Credit: Luca Doninni Barber's Ecstasy

As a marketer, I began to identify key differentiators and benefits that set these two "hair services" apart.  One could consider that styling, location, time spent, customer service, entertainment factor, quality, reputation, and luxury appeal separate the two services and enable one "haircut provider" to charge ten times more.  As a psychology enthusiast, I know that we are all driven by the way the brain works.  According to the NeuroLeadership Institute, our social behavior is governed by an overarching organizing principle of minimizing threat and maximizing reward.  So, let's look at how each of these differentiators minimizes threat and maximizes reward.

1. Styling - Having the right style, the latest style, the sexiest style.  This can make someone feel relatively more important than others.  It can also garner more compliments and make the person feel better about themselves.  Being a hair stylist who can create or copy the latest "Hollywood hairdo" is worth paying extra for because it "makes me look and feel like" a movie star.  All of these things are highly rewarding to the brain.  A threat would be "being out of style."

2. Location - High end hair salons are often in trendy or high net-income areas.  Being able to say, "I had it done at XYZ Salon in Trendytown" feels good.  It separates you from others who didn't go there.  People will pay more to say you had it done at a certain place or in a certain location.  Even if they don't brag about it, they just feel better knowing that they went somewhere special versus the same shopping center as the Wal-Mart.

3. Time spent - Higher end "hair cuts" tend to be booked in hour increments instead of a 15 or 30 min barber shop.  Of course, if we are talking color, it's much longer.  In any event, there is a value in spending more time with a customer.  Being with someone builds up your relationship with them - the brain senses this as more rewarding.  If you have a first-time client for 15 minutes, you don't get to know them, you don't get to connect with them, and you don't get to share with them.  Smart stylists will even make the first haircut extra-long to "maximize the relatedness" to that new customer.  Related-ness is rewarding to the brain - we are more attracted to people we share more in common with and repelled by those we don't.

4. Customer service - Higher end salons can provide better customer service.  They offer beverages, they know you personally, they invite you to events, and they talk to you about life's problems.  These are all more rewarding to the human brain - we feel more secure, safer, and special.

5. Entertainment factor - Higher end stylists keep you engaged and entertained while working with you.  They don't just work with a shut mouth.  They ask you about your family, the drama in your life, they share funny stories, they engage with you.  You aren't bored, you are entertained.  Again, this reinforces pleasant times, safety, enjoyment.  A hairstylist may not be the best at cutting hair, but if you leave their feeling happy and entertained and joyful of the experience, you are going back...it's too rewarding to feel that entertained and have that much fun.

6. Quality - This one is simple.  They cannot do a bad job.  The cut must look good.  It must be complete.  It must not have errors.  If it does, it is a threat to someone's personal identity.  One botched hair cut or color means a customer is never coming back...and likely complaining to 10 people about you.

7. Reputation - The reputation is built on doing a good job and also doing it for certain people.  Again, status falls into play...it is rewarding to go to the same stylist as a famous or wealthy person...or to go "where the rich go."  It makes you feel special.

9. Luxury appeal - Everyone wants to be "behind the velvet rope" and feel special.  They want to be unique.  They want to be better than others.  They want to be able to afford the best or most expensive of something.  It makes them feel safe, secure, and powerful.  The brain releases chemicals that make people feel positive about what they can afford.

Each one of these differentiators reinforces a very strong element of human behavior and rewards the brain...to the tune of 10x more money.

RT @learningadam you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink; however, you can make him thirsty. #learning #quotes #motivation