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Spreading your marketing bets

Chris Rand — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:00:53 +0000

Seth Godin recently wrote that fifty years ago, for every broadcaster there were a million viewers, but that's come down over the years to 100:1, because we're all broadcasters to micro-audiences now. He asks what the world will look like when we get to 10:1, and it's a great question. What does this mean for us in industrial and scientific marketing? More work, I think, but not necessarily more expense. What it means is that you no longer have the option of signing one big purchase order for a giant trade show which everyone attends, or a magazine which everyone reads, because those things are dead. Instead you need to address lots of smaller audiences: 100 people here on that Google search term, 100 people there with your Twitter stream …it all adds up to the same, and probably more. It's a lot to think about, but it spreads your bets and is far less risky.

Spreading your marketing bets

If the question isn't right, answer a different one instead

Chris Rand — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:00:12 +0000

With local press and trade media both struggling, the outlets for you – or another company spokesperson – to be interviewed are dwindling. Nevertheless, it can happen, often at short notice, and you should be prepared. Even if you're being interviewed for an in-house initiative, such as a newsletter or blog, you should at least have thought about the approach you're going to take. An inexperienced interviewer will leave you to do all of the running. Seth Godin provides one of his usual concise summaries in How to be interviewed, where he actually argues that you're more likely to find yourself being interviewed nowadays (although I see no real evidence of this in the sort of sectors in which we operate). Godin makes the excellent point that "Questions shouldn't be taken literally. The purpose of the question is to give you a chance to talk about something you care about. The audience wants to hear what you have to say, and if the question isn't right on point, answer a different one instead." Always remember this.

If the question isn't right, answer a different one instead

Before Clicking, Consider

Chris Rand — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 17:00:27 +0000

Here's an article written by Seth Godin with the express intention of getting it forwarded as much as possible, but (for once) in a genuinely helpful way. Email checklist (maybe this time it'll work!) gives a list of 36 (yes, 36) things to consider before hitting "send" on that email.

Of course it's just a bit of fun, but there are things there which I think all of us should consider. My favourite is the use of BCC. Are you using it for the right reason, or to whisper behind someone's back? What will the main recipient think if they find out who's on the BCC list?

Feel free to forward this on to any colleague who's annoyed you in the past with thoughtless use of the "send" button.

Before Clicking, Consider

Play the numbers

Chris Rand — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:00:32 +0000

I'm sure many of you read Seth Godin's blog from time to time; there aren't many writers who make me nod my head in agreement as often as he does. A recent short post called Alienating the 2% hit the nail squarely on the head. If we produce work we're proud of, we almost expect praise, and certainly don't treat it as seriously as we do criticism. But people are much more likely to be moved to criticise than to praise. For every bit of negative feedback you get, how much unspoken approval is out there? As much? Five times as much? Fifty times as much? I'd suggest it's quite often the latter. What's more, the person who doesn't like what you've done may not be especially qualified to say so. Before you admit defeat after a single piece of criticism (which we're often inclined to do), make sure you survey the whole market and get the opinion of the silent majority.

Play the numbers

Turning your work colleagues into friends

Chris Rand — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:00:32 +0000

Seth Godin's Blog reckons it's time to say Goodbye to the office. Of all the reasons to have an office which he can think of, only "I need someplace to go" seems to be still relevant in many industries, and therefore "once someone figures that part out, the office is dead."

Thinking back to office jobs I've had, he's right (although of course, it's taken technology which has only become available in the past few years for it to become so). I enjoyed working in the same building as other people working for the same purpose, but to be honest, the main attraction was their presence: the interactions I had with them which were business-related could easily have been done remotely. Which really leaves the attraction of the office as being the social factor. And much as I've liked many of my work colleagues over the years, they're not the people I'd have chosen to spend all day, every day, cooped up in a room with. They'd have said the same about me. We all just made the most of it.

So maybe if it's just avoiding loneliness which people crave, we'll see groups of like-minded individuals in different jobs get together to create the offices of the future, funded by the allowance they'll get from their employer who saved so much money by closing the office. When I think of the guys I was down the pub with the other night, watching the football, yes …I would like to work in the same office as them. It'd be a lot of fun, and for me, a fun working environment is a productive one.

Turning your work colleagues into friends