How many things are wrong with this ad?
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
How not to advertise your product
Today's advertisement brought to you courtesy of Facebook.
How many things are wrong with this ad?
How many things are wrong with this ad?
Friday, May 23, 2008
Customer retention 101
I've never written a blog post extolling a service provider. So far. Today that changes, and with good reason.
I've always been a big fan of Starwood. They maintain great properties, have a fantastic loyalty program and I've always had a great experience with their staff. So I was surprised recently when a charge showed up on my credit card for a stay I had cancelled. I called them. They have real people picking up the phone when you call. No waiting, no clicking through annoying menus, or sitting at my desk going "agent, agent, agent" until the voice recognition software finally cuts through my accent to figure out what I'm saying.
The person on the phone was polite, and promised to contact the property right away. Sure enough, late the same night (11.30PM or so), I received an email from the property giving me details on why I was charged. It appears they never received notice of my online cancellation. I wrote a return email saying that yes, I had made the reservation and cancelled it online and no, I didn't have a confirmation number to share with him. A reply quickly came back that said "You don't need to give us any more information. We'll reverse the charge, and credit your card immediately." Two days later, the refund showed up on my card. That was it.
Two emails, no need for "supporting evidence" to back up my claim, no fuss, and a refund that showed up promptly. Is anyone surprised that I'm more loyal to Starwood than ever?
I've always been a big fan of Starwood. They maintain great properties, have a fantastic loyalty program and I've always had a great experience with their staff. So I was surprised recently when a charge showed up on my credit card for a stay I had cancelled. I called them. They have real people picking up the phone when you call. No waiting, no clicking through annoying menus, or sitting at my desk going "agent, agent, agent" until the voice recognition software finally cuts through my accent to figure out what I'm saying.
The person on the phone was polite, and promised to contact the property right away. Sure enough, late the same night (11.30PM or so), I received an email from the property giving me details on why I was charged. It appears they never received notice of my online cancellation. I wrote a return email saying that yes, I had made the reservation and cancelled it online and no, I didn't have a confirmation number to share with him. A reply quickly came back that said "You don't need to give us any more information. We'll reverse the charge, and credit your card immediately." Two days later, the refund showed up on my card. That was it.
Two emails, no need for "supporting evidence" to back up my claim, no fuss, and a refund that showed up promptly. Is anyone surprised that I'm more loyal to Starwood than ever?
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Commercializing technology
In which we ponder the gulf between technology and product
I was having a conversation this morning with a friend who mentioned a startup he knew of. The company has developed a new technology that converts biomass into fuel (don't ask me how, I don't know the details yet). A similar company in Eastern Europe has been successful, so the investors believe that given the right GTM (go to market) strategy, this company could be a commercial success. The problem? The technology they have today needs economy of scale i.e., it needs to process a LOT of biomass to make fuel, and this means you get a BIG machine that costs a lot of money. The investors are interested in affordability i.e., make me a small machine that one family can buy and use. Result: a startup team that is focused on the cool new widget they invented, and potential investors who are (rightly) worried about commercial viability.
As a thought exercise, let's see how this might play out.
This is not an unusual situation. In fact, you see it in Silicon Valley about a dozen times a day. Startups are almost always about cool technology. They're not thinking about commercialization i.e., making money. At some point, the startup team realizes (or the investors help them realize) that money needs to be made. How? You can go both ways: you can take a product and build a business around it, or you can identify a market need and adapt your product to it. Which approach is better? That depends on your particular situation. A machine that converts biomass into fuel can be either (1) a small gizmo that you sell to every farmer in India for very little money or (2) a fairly large installation that is sold to large farms, co-operative societies or even joint families and villages. (I'm over-simplifying here. Obviously, there is a spectrum between these options and the final product can be anywhere on that spectrum).
In (1), you want a truly retail product that can be manufactured, shipped, marketed, sold and supported at pretty thin margins. In this case, your "big money" is going to have to come from scale. Assuming, of course, that you make that commitment to go out and sell the thing by the tens of millions. If you're trying to cover a country like India with a small retail product that will be sold to farmers, what should you worry about? You should worry about being able to find and reach that customer base. You should worry about the logistics of getting your product from manufacturing to customer. You should worry about how this product is going to be maintained and serviced. And how you're going to do all this at very low cost per device. Is the retail product going to be robust enough that you expect a very low failure rate? Is it simple enough to repair that every village cycle shop guy can repair it and you don't need to worry about building a service organization?
In (2), you have a little more wiggle room. Each installed product has to be profitable on its own: so you need fairly hefty margins (remember that you're factoring in the cost of getting it there, setting it up and probably servicing it too). Now you're less worried about finding new customers and more about scaling carefully and maintaining your customer base. What is the lifetime of this product? How long before you have to replace it? How often do you have to service it? Do you price lifetime service into the installation or do you take the product + service fee pricing route?
Neither case gives you easy problems to solve. These are fairly standard business principles. The trick is to remember these and apply them rigorously when you're looking at that shiny new gadget that's _just_ short of where you need it to be for the business model to work.
I was having a conversation this morning with a friend who mentioned a startup he knew of. The company has developed a new technology that converts biomass into fuel (don't ask me how, I don't know the details yet). A similar company in Eastern Europe has been successful, so the investors believe that given the right GTM (go to market) strategy, this company could be a commercial success. The problem? The technology they have today needs economy of scale i.e., it needs to process a LOT of biomass to make fuel, and this means you get a BIG machine that costs a lot of money. The investors are interested in affordability i.e., make me a small machine that one family can buy and use. Result: a startup team that is focused on the cool new widget they invented, and potential investors who are (rightly) worried about commercial viability.
As a thought exercise, let's see how this might play out.
This is not an unusual situation. In fact, you see it in Silicon Valley about a dozen times a day. Startups are almost always about cool technology. They're not thinking about commercialization i.e., making money. At some point, the startup team realizes (or the investors help them realize) that money needs to be made. How? You can go both ways: you can take a product and build a business around it, or you can identify a market need and adapt your product to it. Which approach is better? That depends on your particular situation. A machine that converts biomass into fuel can be either (1) a small gizmo that you sell to every farmer in India for very little money or (2) a fairly large installation that is sold to large farms, co-operative societies or even joint families and villages. (I'm over-simplifying here. Obviously, there is a spectrum between these options and the final product can be anywhere on that spectrum).
In (1), you want a truly retail product that can be manufactured, shipped, marketed, sold and supported at pretty thin margins. In this case, your "big money" is going to have to come from scale. Assuming, of course, that you make that commitment to go out and sell the thing by the tens of millions. If you're trying to cover a country like India with a small retail product that will be sold to farmers, what should you worry about? You should worry about being able to find and reach that customer base. You should worry about the logistics of getting your product from manufacturing to customer. You should worry about how this product is going to be maintained and serviced. And how you're going to do all this at very low cost per device. Is the retail product going to be robust enough that you expect a very low failure rate? Is it simple enough to repair that every village cycle shop guy can repair it and you don't need to worry about building a service organization?
In (2), you have a little more wiggle room. Each installed product has to be profitable on its own: so you need fairly hefty margins (remember that you're factoring in the cost of getting it there, setting it up and probably servicing it too). Now you're less worried about finding new customers and more about scaling carefully and maintaining your customer base. What is the lifetime of this product? How long before you have to replace it? How often do you have to service it? Do you price lifetime service into the installation or do you take the product + service fee pricing route?
Neither case gives you easy problems to solve. These are fairly standard business principles. The trick is to remember these and apply them rigorously when you're looking at that shiny new gadget that's _just_ short of where you need it to be for the business model to work.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Dealing with competition
What should a company do when beseiged by competition?
First, is the competition really offering the same thing? Are online news sites and blogs providing the same service as the NY Times? No. If the NY Times prints (or puts it on the digital paper) it, it must be true. And it must be important. No one, with the possible exception of the BBC, can claim that kind of authority.
So the question becomes, Are you focusing on your strengths? If you're the NY Times, why are you trying to be the fastest to publish news about an upcoming book? In that field, you have a million competitors, including the publisher who probably has a blog anyway. Shouldn't you be focusing on publishing an authoritative review of the book? I would definitely spend more time reading that review than I would reading an "article" about the book launch.
Lastly, what else can you do that's unique to you? If the NYTimes offered a list of 20 books to read this month, or plays to watch this week, or countries to visit this year, I'd probably listen. I'd definitely listen if they were able to tell me which charities are actually operating on the ground in Myanmar and would benefit most from my donation. Because they are the only ones who can.
First, is the competition really offering the same thing? Are online news sites and blogs providing the same service as the NY Times? No. If the NY Times prints (or puts it on the digital paper) it, it must be true. And it must be important. No one, with the possible exception of the BBC, can claim that kind of authority.
So the question becomes, Are you focusing on your strengths? If you're the NY Times, why are you trying to be the fastest to publish news about an upcoming book? In that field, you have a million competitors, including the publisher who probably has a blog anyway. Shouldn't you be focusing on publishing an authoritative review of the book? I would definitely spend more time reading that review than I would reading an "article" about the book launch.
Lastly, what else can you do that's unique to you? If the NYTimes offered a list of 20 books to read this month, or plays to watch this week, or countries to visit this year, I'd probably listen. I'd definitely listen if they were able to tell me which charities are actually operating on the ground in Myanmar and would benefit most from my donation. Because they are the only ones who can.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Who cares about your product?
These are the days of online advertising, and ad-funded online business models. In the midst of all this excitement, how does a traditional marketer think about advertising and marketing? Who should a product be marketed to? And how?
Seth Godin, whose blog I read regularly, speaks at TED back in 2003. The subject is, if anything, more relevant today, especially if you're in the Silicon Valley echo chamber. I recommend watching it. And do check out Seth's blog as well.
Seth Godin, whose blog I read regularly, speaks at TED back in 2003. The subject is, if anything, more relevant today, especially if you're in the Silicon Valley echo chamber. I recommend watching it. And do check out Seth's blog as well.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Bad, bad powerpoint
Every consultant's favorite program - Powerpoint - just turned 20. Today's WSJ has a very nice article about it. On this occasion, I thought it would be useful to direct everyone to this article.
Seth is a writer I have a lot of respect for. Some of his recommendations clearly come from the marketing background, but they can be adapted and applied.
Seth is a writer I have a lot of respect for. Some of his recommendations clearly come from the marketing background, but they can be adapted and applied.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
India Rising - order out of chaos?
Just found this fantastic video online.
In the last few years, everyone in the US has seen and heard and read ad nauseum about the Infosys campus and the call centers that are the symbols of the "New" and upcoming India. In this video, you can see, perhaps for the first time, beyond this hoopla. See the shantytowns in Bombay with Pentium PCs at work inside broken down hovels and the buzz of activity in a Delhi bazaar. You'll see young Indians making statements that may surprise many (for example, a young tutor says "A child in the 7th grade in India is at about the same level as a child in the 10th grade in the US"). I, for one, am not among the surprised.
India Rising.
Things seem to be finally getting to the point where the organized chaos that is India can be appreciated for what it is. And full credit to ABC for actually making an effort.
In the last few years, everyone in the US has seen and heard and read ad nauseum about the Infosys campus and the call centers that are the symbols of the "New" and upcoming India. In this video, you can see, perhaps for the first time, beyond this hoopla. See the shantytowns in Bombay with Pentium PCs at work inside broken down hovels and the buzz of activity in a Delhi bazaar. You'll see young Indians making statements that may surprise many (for example, a young tutor says "A child in the 7th grade in India is at about the same level as a child in the 10th grade in the US"). I, for one, am not among the surprised.
India Rising.
Things seem to be finally getting to the point where the organized chaos that is India can be appreciated for what it is. And full credit to ABC for actually making an effort.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Gapminder.org
| Everyone must watch this video. Now. Yesterday. I promise, this is fascinating. Plus, he's funny. I mean, who else describes Out of Africa as "Robert Redford falls in love...and the sun sets...and it is *yust* beautiful". Really. Watch it now. | |
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