LIFE IS A SERIES OF CHOICES

In the world of marketing, the single most difficult thing you can ask your target consumer to do is change one of their behavioral patterns. Consumers have hundreds of behavioral patterns and keeping them exactly as they are makes consumers feel comfortable and consumers love feeling comfortable.

There are two sides to this issue. The first being, to not attempt to change behavioral patterns, the second, to enhance a behavioral pattern by adding comfort to your selling proposition, consumers in general are more likely to respond to the later.

If life is indeed a series of choices and it is, then “choosing” is an accepted human behavioral pattern. In fact my experience is that simply having the choice is often more important than the choices that are being offered.

You see, it is easier to make a purchase decision if you have a choice, rather than if you do not have a choice.

I’ve written a book. It is a singularity. There is only one book. At the point of purchase the choice is to purchase a book or not to purchase a book. That decision is fundamental and requires the decision to spend money. The title of the book is “PULL.”  Had I written two books, “PUSH” and “PULL,” the target consumer is then faced with a very different selling proposition at the point of sale. “PUSH” or “PULL,” the choice is there to be made. The process of evaluating “PUSH” or “PULL” is after having already made the decision to purchase. This phenomenon does not of course always play out as I have shared it, but you can count on it far more often than not.

The learning here is to offer choices, but there is more. Consider the possibility that the choices you offer can further distance you from your competition. It’s smart to offer the obvious choices but look for choices that do not currently exist in your category. I would suggest looking to other categories to see if you can leverage from those into yours. For example, in the world of laundering shirts, offering levels of starch is well known. How about offering something beyond that? How about offering fragrance? Or offering odor free conditioning?

When’s the last time you sniffed your suit when you picked it up from your dry cleaners?

Cheers, 

Keith Chambers

Keynote Marketing Speaker
Creative Marketing Consultant
(310) 473-0010
www.chambersgroup.com

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visit my site, www.pullbizbook.com

NOT KNOWING CAN BE VERY POWERFUL

It is my experience that the most powerful operating state for human beings is “I don’t know.” Now I know how that sounds, but let’s look at it carefully without being controlled by our egos. Your first reaction to this is likely that you have spent much of your life, your parent’s money and your personal energy learning stuff. Acquiring information or knowledge as it is so often referred to. If so, how can not knowing serve you well? The first thing you have to do is understand that in this contest, “not knowing,” is how you operate and not how you promote yourself to others.

Over time, I have noticed that there appear to be two distinct and very different classifications of knowledge. One is intelligence and the other is awareness. They became clear to me when I realized that some people are more effective in the use of the knowledge they have acquired than others. As we pursue our goals in life we have been taught to accumulate lots of information to support the decisions we make. We do so with the idea in mind that the more information we gather the more effective we will become. Awareness, for this purpose, is essentially knowledge of the pertinent information that will allow one to make decisions easily based on common logic. Awareness is finite and can be acquired in a relatively short time. You don’t have to be a skilled animator to understand the process of animation or to direct an animated film. Intelligence, on the other hand is fueled by information and these days there is an over-abundance of information. Therein lies a trap for marketers.

The major brands that I work on, have figured out exactly how to deal with this phenomena and I suspect may have done so without having analyzed it in the way I have here. Rarely do I see a brand manager on the same brand for more than three or four years. The brand manager is at a level where their attention on a single selling proposition becomes familiar very quickly.

Given this problem has been removed from the world of big corporate marketing, what about the entrepreneur? Let’s assume he has owned the same business for seven years. Here’s the trap. In this persons mind, they possess all of the information that is available relative to their business. In this circumstance, the owners operating state is “I already know.”  My experience is that all of that information and the entrepreneurs knowledge that they have all that information, pretty much makes them, ineffective. If you are an entrepreneur, you must stay aware of becoming too intelligent about your category. Did you get that? Don’t be intelligent, about being intelligent.

Years ago I created an operating state for myself that I rarely share with anyone because there are those who will interpret it as a sign of weakness. It is in fact a sign of strength. My operating state is “I don’t know.” I’ll explain.

“I don’t know” doesn’t mean I don’t have an opinion. It means that I take nothing for granted and I’m more curious as to what is possible. Can you see that this serves me well when my clients expect me to create “what’s next?” I don’t walk around saying I don’t know, but I do frequently say that I know how to find out. It’s simply in my head that I don’t assume anything and I recommend you consider doing the same. Additionally, and also very important, it does not stop or even slow me down from making decisions and recommendations. You must be very clear about how to use the distinction I call “I don’t know.”

The learning here is to alter your operating state to “I don’t know” but keep it to yourself. Good luck.

Cheers, 

Keith Chambers

Keynote Marketing Speaker
Creative Marketing Consultant
(310) 473-0010
www.chambersgroup.com

follow my blog by clicking one of the links below





visit my site, www.pullbizbook.com

BUYING A CAR CAN BE JOYFUL

Every three years, I lease a new car. It’s fun evaluating and choosing a car, even though I know I must inevitably face the salesman and negotiate without knowing what is the best deal. When the deal is done, the salesman will tell me that he is only making five dollars on this deal and that his manager approved it so they could hit this month’s quota. That helps me feel a little better, makes me think like I bought the car at the right price, but in the back of my mind I clearly know that he made out like a bandit.

I went online last week to look at all of the options available to the car, and was not surprised to see only one exception to the rule, they’re all pitching performance features! These pitches are, of course, the sales messages (selling propositions) that have been carefully crafted to convince you and I to buy their car and no other. Over time, I have identified 16 elements that make up a selling proposition and consider each a possible opportunity to characterize any product or service as “remarkable.” I define a remarkable selling proposition as one that compels the target consumer to buy.

Among those 16 elements are attributes that are simply characteristics of the product. This is the area in which the automotive industry competes. They are each telling us that their car has more “stuff” and will do more “stuff” than all the others. My son recently demonstrated his new Prius to me and I was truly impressed. That car could almost drive itself. It is, of course, not the only car like it as there is competitive, technological war going on these days between companies.

As a marketing guy, I observed that this war is all about performance. Performance is 100% about the car. What about me…the consumer? I drive a Corvette and have always driven a sports car of one kind or another. Zero to 60 in 5.3 seconds. Wow! Did I purchase all those cars for the Zero to 60? No. Not one of them was purchased so I could go Zero to 60. They were all purchased because of how I felt about driving them. There is something to be learned here.

Also, among those 16 Selling Proposition elements, is what we refer to as a benefit. The benefit is what the target consumer gets out of using the product or service. It is not at all about the car, it is all about the target consumer. My experience is that a benefit is far more effective when characterizing your product or service in your selling proposition. Attributes are important as well, but they are what we refer to as “drivers” for the benefit. Think about it. If you go to a cocktail party and all night long everyone you meet talks about themselves. Not very fun, right? However, if all the people you meet want only to talk about you, it’s a very different experience. Most marketers are not aware of this fundamental marketing truth.

You may remember I indicated there was one exception to all the performance messages. BMW is the only car company I have ever seen to feature a benefit in their advertising and promotion. They communicate that they not only make great cars, “We make JOY.” Joy speaks directly to me. Their performance features are an access to having a joyful life. Well done, BMW. The learning here is for you to lead your selling proposition with a benefit, then back it up with attribute drivers that support it. Good luck.

Cheers, 

Keith Chambers

Keynote Marketing Speaker
Creative Marketing Consultant
(310) 473-0010
www.chambersgroup.com

follow my blog by clicking one of the links below





visit my site, www.pullbizbook.com

HERE’S A TIP THAT’S "GOOD FOR YOU" AND "SAFE FOR YOUR ENVIRONMENT"

I’ve seen a lot of products in the past year that are largely based on them being “good for you” or “good for the environment.”  I personally am a vegetarian and a bit of a health nut. I also recycle just about everything that comes through my house, but if you are marketing something as "good for you" or "good for the environment," there is a trap that is easy to fall for, and you'll thank me for making you aware of a potential misstep.

In my creative marketing consultancy, I am exposed to the launch or re-stage of a product about every five weeks. This gives me the opportunity to stay on top of trends as well as monitor all of the fundamental marketing assumptions that I use daily. It is essential that they be monitored. If you only learn one thing from my sharing, it should be that absolutely nothing stays the same, nothing.

There are two kinds of products and services that include these claims in there selling propositions. There are a group of products that have been developed specifically as “good for you” or “good for the environment”. While these products get a lot of attention, they have been only marginally successful. Then there are all of the products and services that have been out there forever that we are all familiar with. Many of these products and services have been altered in some way so they can claim now to be “good for you” or “safe for the environment”.

Here is what I can tell you, that you can count on, if you are considering these claims. Target consumers are a bit schizophrenic about this. If you ask them in an interview, they will tell you that they are 100% in favor of products and services that are “good for you” or “good for the environment.” However there is a big qualifier. At this time, they are definitely in favor of both of these product characteristics but just as definitely not at the expense of the performance of the product or service. If you are a dry-cleaners and you are using environmentally friendly chemicals you better get clothes just as clean as before or you will lose customers. The same is true of food, drugs or any other category. Your message is first that you perform “tastes great” and then that you are “good for you.”

The learning here is that if you are going to include either of these claims in your selling proposition, they are secondary. The trap is that consumers will lie to you on this one. You will have to trust me knowing I have seen this constantly for the last ten or more years.

Cheers, 

Keith Chambers

Keynote Marketing Speaker
Creative Marketing Consultant
(310) 473-0010
www.chambersgroup.com

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visit my site, www.pullbizbook.com

NO ONE IS SAFE…EVEN I CAN GET PULLED

One way to look at the distinction Pull, is that it is the never-ending human compulsion to be completely comfortable with everything in our lives. I know how that sounds. On the surface it seems like an admirable characteristic but it absolutely is not. Don’t let yourself get Pulled.

Pull will keep you from moving forward in your personal and professional life if you don’t learn to deal with it. 

I further define Pull as a survival function that I believe is a hold-over from cave man days when comfort was hard to come by. I say that with apologies to the guys who have been working so hard to sell us Geico insurance.

In my last blog, I shared that I had created reference notes and spread them all over my desk just prior to a live radio interview. I did it as if I needed them to get through the interview. At the last minute, I realized I had been compelled to do so by thinking it would make me more comfortable. I would be able to quickly look up any question they asked. Just before going on air I realized I had been Pulled and tossed all the notes into the trash. The interview went very well and I was asked to return for another segment. Looking back, those notes were suppose to make the interview more comfortable for me, but in reality, they were a barrier between me and the hosts.

Well guess what? I almost did it again. The follow up to that show came last Tuesday when they asked me back, this time into the studio. The difference being it was a TV/radio simulcast. Given it was on TV this time, I was less secure. Wanting to feel more comfortable, I wrote eight key words on a paper plate that would remind me of new insights that I had not covered in the first radio broadcast. 
It made perfect sense to me.

During a commercial break I was ushered into the studio and seated between the two hosts. Just as the commercial break was about to end I reviewed the words on my plate even though the hosts were trying to chat with me. Doing so, I of course was not clear about what they were trying to say. In that instant I realized that I was doing it again and turned it face down. That plate, just like all those notes were a disaster waiting to happen. For the second time I woke up and quickly turned the plate face down.

The interview went beautifully. It was just posted for all to see. If you look closely you can see the plate faced down. Without that as a barrier I was able to "Rock N' Roll" with the hosts. This time I will be a bit smarter about my assumption that I have learned that lesson.

The learning here is that Pull is ever present. Staying present to its pervasive nature is the only way not to become a victim of it. It’s not about remembering that notes are a barrier, it’s about looking for Pull and dealing with its ever present existence.

Cheers, 

Keith Chambers

Keynote Marketing Speaker
Creative Marketing Consultant
(310) 473-0010
www.chambersgroup.com

follow my blog by clicking one of the links below





visit my site, www.pullbizbook.com

WHEN PRESENTING YOUR “STUFF,” INCLUDE YOUR AUDIENCE

Two weeks ago I was asked to be the guest on a live talk show that would be broadcast over 300 radio stations as well as cable TV.  Up to that point, my interviews were pre recorded with the benefit of editing. This was cause for concern.

Now, adding even more pressure, the two hosts were comedians. They had cleverly developed a unique way of delivering business news and it works. As it turns out, there is a significant segment of business news seekers who appreciate this fresh humorous format.

My dilemma was two fold. How do I handle the live aspect and how can I be funny to fit the format. Preparation seemed to be the answer. I developed an elaborate list of questions to cover anything they could possibly throw at me. To be safe, I developed over twenty. I was sure I had covered every contingency. Upon completing what amounted to seven pages of questions and answers, I realized that it was going to be nearly impossible to find any one question on the fly. My next idea seemed to solve the problem. I simply printed each question on a separate page and spread them around my desk. I had room for my phone, lots of notes and no room for anything else on my four by seven foot desk.

Now, how to be funny? This one I figured out in less than a minute. After reviewing my library of humorous material it became very clear. No jokes for me. I have no jokes. I will match their energy, which is a given for me, and leave the jokes to them. I can live with that.

Now came, air time. I am in my office on the phone with the producer who does a simple sound check. He further advises me to listen to the program and respond when the hosts refer directly to me. I am scheduled to be on in three or four minutes, I sat staring at my desk covered with notes thinking, I’m ready to Rock N’ Roll.

In those final seconds I suddenly had a vision of me scrambling to find the answer to the first question. In the next cathartic second I realized the irony of me taking what was already in my head and reducing it to notes that I would have to navigate through. Without thinking further I tossed them in the trash. It felt good and somehow released me from the pressure of the interview.

I went on, shared my thoughts freely, and had fun doing it. The hosts held me over through two segments and, while on the air, invited me back for a series of additional appearances.

The learning here is to be very prepared, of course, but don’t over control the circumstances. I make presentations on a regular basis. The potential mistake is to over control there as well. All of that control does not leave room for those who are on the receiving end of the pitch.

I am headed out later this week, for a very important presentation to the senior executives of a major corporation. As a result of my recent broadcast experience, I have altered my capabilities presentation to make room for the people listening to participate. I recommend you consider looking at this new distinction to see how it may apply to you.

Cheers, 

Keith Chambers

Keynote Marketing Speaker
Creative Marketing Consultant
(310) 473-0010
www.chambersgroup.com

follow my blog with Google, by clicking the link    

visit my site, www.pullbizbook.com

IS YOUR SELLING PROPOSITION A MALE OR A FEMALE?

Trust me, it makes a difference. If you are close on this one you are probably ok, but if you get this wrong it will cost you dearly. The reality is that the gender of your product or service shouldn’t be specifically male or female. The good news is that you have a choice in the matter of its gender because you are in charge of creating and judging it.

It is a well-known fact that over 80% of purchases, by volume, in this country are made by females. Given that, have you noticed that over 80% of all products and services are not colored pink? Why not? The answer is rooted in how comfortable all of us, boys and girls, are with our sexuality.

As it turns out, women are very comfortable with there’s while us boys are a little behind and are still struggling with ours. We will know that the boys have made it when Kobe Bryant introduces his new pink basketball shoes and no one considers it unusual. That may take a while.

Over and above communicating our selling propositions, you and I as marketers must accommodate this gender reality. Over time, I have developed an operating approach that insures gender alignment with both sexes.

Assume there is a left to right horizontal line in the middle of a blank page. It is defined with an “F” at the extreme left and an “M” at its extreme right. That represents female on the left and male on the right. Located smack in the middle of this continuum is a short vertical line that separates the two genders equally.

Let’s assume for this demonstration that we are selling a product or service that is sold to both men and women with the exclusion of women’s fashion. Our example includes everything from cat litter, to dry cleaning, to a travel agency, to condoms. Yes, 35% of condoms are purchased by women. Conventional wisdom would indicate that the gender of your selling proposition should be smack in the middle of our continuum. Not so.

Given that the gender is a judgment call, your personal observation, you will shoot for an image that is approximately 1/3 from the midpoint to the far right masculine side of the continuum. Shooting for this will insure that if your judgment is off, you are still safe. I can assure you that if men perceive your image as feminine you will suffer the consequences. Conversely, women frequently choose both feminine and masculine images with ease.

The learning here is to play this safe and get on with fine tuning your selling proposition, knowing you have avoided the gender trap. Others, unwittingly have not.

Cheers, 

Keith Chambers

Keynote Marketing Speaker
Creative Marketing Consultant
(310) 473-0010
www.chambersgroup.com

follow my blog with Google, by clicking the link    

visit my site, www.pullbizbook.com