How vague is your Selling Proposition?

My mother used to say; “I learn something new every day.” It’s an old and worn out cliché for sure. In my life, it developed into more of a challenge. It seemed both natural and necessary in order to ensure I stay relevant in business life and ahead of my competition. “Learn something new every day or go broke” is how it played out for me. Nothing could be more accurate in the global society we humans have created for ourselves.  If this sounds familiar, then you are human just like the rest of us. Having said that, what follows is a significant insight that I only recently picked up. I’ll share it here.

Below is a document that I use in the early stages of any project. It identifies all of the elements in a complete Selling Proposition (sales massage). We review it with clients to determine the elements we will include in our quest to develop their most powerful Selling Proposition. That includes revising a sales message currently in existence or creating one for a new business venture.

Over time I have become aware of how each of these elements work in distinct ways, and of the relationships that exist among many of them. This information has been gathered in a very special way that allows me to conclude they are absolutely valid.

Approximately ten years ago I invented a process of exposing element by element, the elements of the Selling Propositions of many different products and services. The projects ranged from cooking sauce to cat litter to condoms to video games and far beyond. In doing so I also tracked the results and observed how consumers reacted to them. These insights are powerful not because of their brilliance, but because of their origin. The more I dig, the more I find and the more I share them with those of you who have an appreciation for their value. Their value is that they are real and can be counted on.

What follows is a recent insight as a result of several client comments on the nature of the Benefits (highlighted in yellow), which I had recommended we consider in the development of their Selling Proposition. The comment was that they were too vague. The tendency was to want to work on them to have them be more specific. That, as it turns out, is not a good idea.

I say the function of the Benefit is to express what the consumer gets out of using the product or service. “Less Work” is a great benefit for sandpaper. Notice that less work is not about the product; it’s about the consumer/user. My client wanted me to be more specific, asking, “What does that mean?”

For a number of years now I have been creating Benefits and then driving them with Attributes (highlighted in yellow) that empower them, and watched the research scores soar. I use the sandpaper example frequently. LESS WORK when followed directly by “Cuts 3 times faster” and “Won’t clog” literally drives sales. All that is great, but here is what I did not know.

As a result of the client request, I went back through nine recent projects to review the nature of the benefits that scored well and they were all vague. I now know why.

Think of the Benefit and the Attribute as working together. The benefit comes first and acts as a bold claim. By itself, it has no credibility and is disbelieved. It’s perceived as just BS as far as the consumer is concerned. Followed directly by the supporting Attributes, the two work than as a unit and we know they literally drive purchase. Equally important, the benefit needs to be vague so it has broad appeal. As it becomes specific, it begins to eliminate consumers from consideration. It should act like a huge funnel that grabs the consumer and shoots them to the Attribute driver that closes the deal.

Also remember the proximity of these elements. If you locate them together on a package or in a commercial message, they will perform for you. If you spread them around the package or throughout the commercial, you will lose. I have had all this verified by observing research. This is very real. I work with the brightest marketing minds on the planet and even they often miss this.

Here’s a challenge. Now that you have read this, go check your sales message to see if you are conforming. My experience is that very few, less than 10%, of the sales messages I encounter daily, even contain a Benefit. Let alone use it in a powerful way.

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

Free Enterprise is a Fundamental Law of Nature

I remember my marketing professor back in college explaining the fundamentals of Free Enterprise as if it were created at a prestigious university back in the eighteenth century by a group of learned professors. It was not. It is instead a law of nature that came into existence several thousand years ago in consort with the arrival of Homo sapiens on this planet. Furthermore, I suspect it has existed before that on other planets that were capable of sustaining intelligent life.

Isn’t that a weird thought? Consider the following:

As a guy who works with Free Enterprise on a daily basis, I spend significant time analyzing how it works with the idea in mind that I might get a leg up on all the other marketing minds in this great country of ours. We are, by the way, the marketing capital of the world.

With so much attention on Free Enterprise, I naturally began to wonder how and where it came into existence. There are those who would say we, in this country, chose it back in our formative years when we chose capitalism. They say we chose capitalism over a dictatorship, or socialism, or communism, or a monarchy or whatever else was available at that time. Those who chose capitalism back in those days characterized Free Enterprise as the mechanism that makes capitalism work. They would often say, “it’s the engine that drives it.” Again, they referred to as if it was somehow created to accommodate us humans. I suppose there is a modicum of truth in that point of view, but I think, it is to miss the true origin of Free Enterprise.

So, who is responsible for its` existence? Well, I say no one is responsible, but I know who caused it. I give all the credit to two people. They are and shall remain forever nameless.

I say one day, a very long time ago, there was one person on Earth. That was the first person and on that day there was no Free Enterprise. That person roamed around picking fruit, nuts and other food to placate hunger as it occurred. Life was pretty simple. In short order, because this person was intelligent, this person began to collect the food for future consumption. That was very logical and also very simple.

On another day, I’m not sure how long this took, but on another day, a second person showed on Earth. These two soon met and guess what? The second person looked at the first person and said, “you have what I want”. In that instant Free Enterprise was born. It only took two people. It was never going to happen with only one person and it will always be present until or unless somehow this planet once again becomes inhabited by only one person.

As more and more people appeared, they all continued collecting stuff and noticing the stuff of others. Notice how often you and I notice the stuff of others. That fundamental law of nature is the basis of all the “stuff” that we humans collect and exchange. As individuals, we have absolutely no choice in the matter of Free Enterprise any more than we can choose or not choose gravity. In populated areas of the world, gravity is no more prevalent than Free Enterprise. If you think not, try to stop it or try to find a populated place where it does not exist. There is no place on Earth where people inhabit that it does not function. Think about that. Not in prison. Not in a cult. Not in a commune. Not on the street. Or, anywhere else I can think of.

So what is to be learned here? First off, I think it is a great societal equalizer and is in the main responsible for the downfall of Communism, Socialism and all of the other “isms” that do not accommodate or acknowledge Free Enterprise into their systems. It is akin to trying to design and manufacture airplanes without accommodating or acknowledging the law of gravity. It simply can’t be done.

Secondly, I think it is useful to understand that no matter what down trends or, for that matter, up trends occur in the marketplace, the natural law of Free Enterprise will level the playing field. For instance, how far down can the stock market go? Is there a limit? You bet there is. I say it can’t go to zero or anywhere near zero because buyers will appear. They just will. For those of you who are feeling insecure with the current flakey stock market trends, take heart in what you just read.

Here’s the punch line and I suggest you stay present to it as long as you are selling anything (stuff) to anyone. It will serve you well. The ultimate and forever the strongest Selling Proposition is, “I have what you want.” Make sure you communicate, “I have what you want” and you will be successful…I guarantee it.

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

MARKETING MORE FEAR AND INTIMIDATION

While traveling last week, I came across a second negative Selling Proposition that may well be the most negative I have ever encountered. It’s worth taking a look at. The question, of course, is always the same for me. Is this a marketing context that works, and if so, should I be looking for ways to use it?

I had just arrived at my hotel in New York City and was waiting to check in, when I noticed one of those over-stuffed brochure stands that seem to occupy space in every hotel lobby on the planet. It was stacked full of colorful brochures, all vying for me to take a tour or see any one of hundreds of New York sites. After a short time, one grabbed my attention. At first it was the bright letters in its headline but my interest soon turned to the headline itself. What it said. See if it gets your attention.

“How To Avoid The Four Worst Mistakes NYC Visitors Make.” This brochure was an absolute stand out among thirty or so others simply because it was so negative. All of the other brochures featured one fantastic New York attraction after another, and all were characterized as fun and exciting. My initial reaction was to roll my eyes and walk on. What were they thinking about when they printed that? The headline truly turned me off. I did not want to know more. I moved on toward the elevator. Then, I began to think like a marketer and did a 180 back to the brochure stand. I grabbed the brochure and stuffed it into my bag for later scrutiny.

It was only twenty minutes later that I had a chance to read further. I soon discovered the headline, while incredibly negative, appropriately set a tone for the contents of the brochure. It got worse!

The brochure was for a company called “On Board” and it boasted seven “amazing sights most NYC visitors miss.” Here is the list of the seven sights that the folks at On Board Tours want you and I to see while in the great city of New York:

1)  “Ground Zero”, of course.

2)  The chinks in the wall of the Morgan Bank building, remnants of a 1920 terrorist attack. What?

3)  The site where the US Air flight went down in the Hudson River. It’s just water. It didn’t leave a mark.

4)  The “Ground Zero” cross, of course. But I think I’ll see that when I see Ground Zero won’t I?

5)  The John Lennon murder sight. It’s been remodeled.

6)  The pier where the Titanic survivors were brought back. Not sure what to look for after all these years.

7)  The “Whispering Gallery” in Grand Central Station. How’d that get in here?

Enough of that. What about negative sales messages?

My experience is that the operating state of mind for all consumers is, “what’s wrong here.” They are literally looking for something wrong and when they think they see it, they will move on fast. When we build a Selling Proposition for a client, we constantly review the message at each step of its development to ensure we have not given them anything to find fault with. In fact, we have a clever way of exposing such things to target consumers and they reject them every time. We even have to be careful when using what we call “negative attributes”, which are those short little bursts of two or three words that seek to overcome a perceived negative in a product or service. An example would be adding, “Won’t leave a residue” on a cleaning product. As a marketer, do you use it or not knowing there may be a significant number of people you will have alerted to a potential problem when you thought you were solving one?

So, absolutely no, never go to the negative.  Stay away simply given the natural human tendency to make you wrong. Good luck and keep it positive.

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

ARE FEAR AND INTIMIDATION VALID MARKETING TOOLS?

Over the years I have assumed that a negative Selling Proposition was a bad idea. This also seems to be the unanimous opinion of the corporate marketers I work with daily. I know from experience that consumers, in fact humans in general, all function with “what’s wrong here” as a general operating state. Yes, humans are looking for what is wrong. It seems only prudent to keep your message on the positive side and not give them any reason to find something wrong. Given that, I keep an eye out for such things just in the event there is something new to learn. In over twenty years, I have never used fear or intimidation in a Selling Proposition nor do I recall ever seeing it used by an established brand until now. I will share it here.

Several months back, I had occasion to develop an interest in the heart medication category and it was an eye opener. The category appears to be in the early stages of a credibility crises. I will begin with my close friend Dr. Mark Gordon, a medical doctor who is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of anti-aging medicine, and is more recently recognized for his breakthrough work in treating traumatic brain injury. This is the concussion issue we have all been hearing so much about as it relates to the NFL. This is a guy I can trust.

Recently, Dr. Gordon captured my attention when he shared that he has had a cholesterol level of over 280 his entire life and does not take statin drugs to lower it. He further shared that “approximately 50% of all heart attacks happen in patients with normal or low cholesterol and it’s a fact well known in the medical community.” Much to the dismay of the medical community, it has now leaked out into the general public and many people with high cholesterol levels have stopped taking statins. Currently the drug companies sell over 12 BILLION dollars worth of statin drugs annually. You have likely noticed the TV advertising push to keep sales up? It’s huge. If you want to learn more, here is a good place to start:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_04/b4068052092994.htm

Here is what I know. There are multiple functional components to a statin drug, only one of which is cholesterol lowering. Based on the statistic I just quoted, that component would seem to be of no value. Given the complexity of the drug, the drug companies are faced with a dilemma. They can try to reeducate you and me in the details or they can simply try to “pitch” their drug and keep selling in the same old ways. As long as they are truthful, I have no problem with what they are doing. If you listen closely to their statistical claims, you will not hear two alike. There is a grain of truth in all of them but they are misleading and you and I don’t take the time necessary to check them out. Until we do, we will remain confused and they will continue selling their drugs.

One manufacturer has specifically targeted those of you who have stopped taking the drug by trying to intimidate you into returning…it’s Lipitor. Intimidation is present in their “Don’t Kid Yourself” campaign that is now in full swing. Check it out and see if you are offended at the way the man in this commercial delivers his closing line: 

http://www.lipitor.com/toolsresources/lipitorontv.aspx

I would love to know how this commercial was tested. It is not only full of misleading information, it is also risky from a marketing perspective because he is most likely talking down to a segment of the market. I wonder how large of a segment that is?

While researching this blog, I discovered two more interesting negative Selling Propositions. I will share both in next week’s edition and give you my coaching on negative Selling Propositions.

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

Dogs, Cats, Kids and Their Parents!

In over twenty years of targeting products and services to kids, I have also frequently been assigned the task of marketing to dogs and cats. The similarities and differences are not only interesting, they are often amusing. As it turns out there are far more similarities than differences.

As those of you who market toys likely know, the relationship between mom and her kids changes radically from pregnancy up through adulthood. I have worked with mothers on the Gerber brand who were vehement about what they allowed on the bottoms and in the bellies of their little darlings. Then, five years later I successfully marketed Totino’s Pizza Snacks and Bagel Bites for them to feed their kids after school. Go figure that.

While the stages along the way remained the same — baby, infant, toddler on up through tweens and teens — they have all matured greatly in recent years. I can recall when Barbie was a valid brand up through twelve or so. Now even the American Girls Collection is well below that in spite of a significant positioning effort to the contrary. Unlike boys, girls and their parents, dogs and cats have a very different relationship pathway with their parents.

While the fundamental nature of dogs and cats is different from kids, they are alike in that their parents treat all pets with a great deal of care in their initial stages of ownership. I can say with confidence, the abundance of love showered on both kids and all animals is essentially the same in its intensity. The difference is that the parents of pets seem to get even more attached and more protective about their care and feeding as they age. I don’t think dogs and cats will ever experience the joys of noshing on a Totino’s pepperoni pizza. Yes, the parent of an eight-year-old kid is far more careful about what they feed their pets than they are what they feed their kids. I can only guess this phenomenon exists because of the relatively helpless nature of pets as opposed to kids as they mature.

In recent months, I have become aware of the sensitive nature of the “home alone” phenomenon. It is generally accepted, and easy to understand, that you would never leave a child home alone. Guess what? There are twelve million small dogs in the US that are left at home alone and while that is not generally thought of as a terrible thing, their owners suffer tremendous guilt. These people love their dogs as much as parents love their kids, and due to circumstance are forced to leave them at home alone inside the house on a regular basis. They love the dog far too much to find it a new home and at the same time hate the fact that they leave it alone. This phenomenon is what I call a marketing opportunity.

So, next time you are store-checking toys, I recommend you consider driving to the nearest PETCO. The first thing you will notice is that pet marketers are no less thorough in providing products to accommodate pets than are toy marketers as featured in the kids department at your local Target. In fact, the categories are titled very much the same. Food, hair care, skin care, medical care, yes, toys too and most of them are segmented into appropriate age groups…just like kids.

The opportunity here is not in the products you will find, but in the characterization of their benefits, attributes and other positioning elements in their selling propositions. Pet owners see their pets very much in the same way the parents of kids do. They look for toys that allow them to participate in the play as well as toys that will entertain the animal without them having to supervise. They are concerned about the safety of the toy as well as how much “play value” is in it for the animal. And, there are toys that are used to educate. All of this should sound very familiar.

My advice is that you go from product to product and study the copy and graphics that are used to communicate. You will discover that many are similar to those used in the children’s toy category but you will also find new perfectly appropriate ways to characterize kids products that have been effective at stimulating purchase to pet owners.

A few years ago, I found the words “Outrageous Flavor” on a dog treat and used it successfully on a nationally branded kids cereal. It functioned successfully as a remarkable trigger, and scored very well in volumetric research. 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

America’s Marketing Makeover…What An Experience!

About three months ago we picked a small business in Cleveland, Georgia to do what we titled Americas Marketing Makeover. This would all be documented on “The Big Biz Show”, a well-established two-hour daily TV/radio simulcast, hosted by Bob “Sully” Sullivan. Though it is broadcast on a secondary cable network, it is received in a little over 38 million households. The announcement of the makeover, selection of the winner, the progression of the makeover and its finale were all documented in twelve broadcasts. The final broadcast, ten days ago, chronicled the entire effort and can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/user/KChambersPULL?feature=mhum.

I suggest you consider watching it as it is truly entertaining. I am particularly proud of it but not for the reason you may think.

As you watch it you will become aware of the nature of the business I picked. It was Precious Memories, Private Pet Cremations. If you are like most, just reading that will have you crack a smile or possibly break into a giggle. That giggle is exactly why I made this choice. Private Pet Cremations becomes even more curious when you meet its owner Ricky Farmer. Ricky is a “salt of the earth” Southerner with a heavy Georgian accent to match.

As we worked our way through the project, I became aware of the special nature of Ricky. In time, I developed a great deal of respect for this man who loves animals beyond anything I have seen. Ricky would tell you he got into the business because he felt that animals were not receiving the respect they deserved, even after death. The project soon became a labor of love, and a breakthrough was just ahead for me.

As we were wrapping up Ricky’s project, we were also wrapping up two other projects for corporate clients. Both of these projects were under significant senior management scrutiny, which put a great deal of pressure on my clients. Over the period of a couple of weeks, success was evident on all three projects. While creating success is common in my business, for the first time I was impressed with the personal impact it had on the people we work for. It began when Ricky shared how our work had literally changed his life and that of others who worked with him. It continued as my two corporate clients shared the personal impact that their success was having on them.

Having all three of these projects mature at the same time, I became aware of the personal nature of what is at stake for those who we work with. It’s not just an attempt at growing their business. Lives are altered and careers are at sake. For whatever reason, this personal impact has escaped me for years. I’m sure this will alter the care with which I conduct my business in the future. If you watch the video, you will meet Ricky in person and get a sense of what I experienced first hand. I am now fully aware that what I do is very personal and more than ever before I am now present to how much I love what I do.

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

MARKETING IN HOLLYWOOD IS MISSING IN ACTION

This blog is a direct response to the April 4 Hollywood Reporter article by Peter Bart. It is titled, “In Hollywood, the Glass is Gaffe Full." In it, Peter characterizes the senior executives in the film industry as being locked in a general fear of failure. From my perspective, Peter’s article is pretty much correct in as far as it goes. I will take it a bit further. To read Peter’s article go to:

http://www.variety.com/article/vr1118034799.com 

My experience in the world of film marketing is limited but I can promise that successfully marketing a film is no different than marketing cat litter, cooking sauce or any other product or service. The film market is a service industry that grew up with a lot of bad habits, and remains committed to hanging on to most of them.

From a pure marketing point of view, I see two ways to improve the process. It is a common practice to place responsibility for the Key Art (print materials) and the Trailers (video materials) in the hands of two separate groups. Instead it needs to be integrated and driven by one cohesive Selling Proposition. Having said that, I am sure that every marketing executive in the film industry is sure his marketing is fully integrated…it is not.

Back in the early days of film marketing, the One Sheet and other printed materials were considered critical because they would get reproduced in various sizes and posted all over town. At that time the trailer was more of a production function and the goal was simply to develop one that stimulated interest. The effect of this history is that there are creative groups around Hollywood who produce one or the other but rarely both. This separation internally and externally guarantees an incohesive environment. Marketing 101 says, develop a Selling Proposition that resonates to your target audience and ensure that message is present in all advertising and promotion materials.

Today film marketing is very different in that the printed materials are far less effective and the trailer is now absolutely critical. With a boost from the Internet, I can review trailers on my iPhone in seconds. What we have then, are senior executives instructing junior managers to hire the best outside creatives to develop POWERFUL trailers. It’s easy to develop a POWERFUL trailer. Have you noticed they are all melodramatic hype from start to finish these days? The idea of creating and communicating a Unique Selling Proposition targeted to the correct audience is non-existent.

Here then is the problem. Now, more than ever before, the film industry is subjected to heavy word-of-mouth promotion. That would be a dream come true in the categories I market in, but it’s a marketing tool that needs to be handled with skill.

The marketing goal for the film industry should be to identify all of the target users appropriate for the film and create a Unique Selling Proposition that they find compelling. Secondarily, and of almost equal importance is, never drive an inappropriate target consumer into the theater. Those people are not your friend, they are your enemy and you don’t want them viewing your film.

The operating state of all humans is, “What’s wrong here?" If they don’t love the film, they will be even more enthusiastic about spreading the bad word than if they liked it. It would take a very sophisticated piece of research to identify how many people you lose when you drive one person inappropriately to a film. If film executives had that statistic, they might stop developing POWERFUL trailers and experience a great deal more success.

So, Mr. Peter Bart. To my mind, the senior executives in the film industry have good reason to be afraid. The likelihood is that as our electronic information driven society continues to advance, it will likely get worse.

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

FREE, A Celebrity Endorsement

I have been working for several weeks on the repositioning of Ricky Farmer’s business, Precious Memories, Private Pet Cremations. He is the winner of the America’s Marketing Makeover contest on the Big Biz Show. I am the giver of the now somewhat well known makeover. You can follow it on the CBS Radio network as well as syndicated TV stations across America.

  

The reason I selected this business is simply because I thought it is unusual and sensitive enough to create viewer interest. I was right. I’m told ratings are up.

One positioning element I introduced to Ricky’s selling proposition is the endorsement. I did so with good reason. It’s based on an insight we discovered a little over a year ago. One of the exercises we do when working on creating new selling propositions is to take the strongest of each communication element and force consumers to choose between them based on how important each is to them. You may want to check this out with your sales message because chances are you are not taking advantage. If your competition is doing so, you are likely suffering. The good news is that the reverse is also true.

While doing the exercise, we typically include brand names, sub-brand names, generic descriptors, benefits, attribute drivers, key graphics, endorsements and so on. What we discovered is that consistently among the strongest elements are the benefit and the endorsement. This is contrary to the popular belief. If you were able to poll 100 brand, marketers most would say the brand name, sub-brand name or a key attributes are the most important. My experience is that I have not seen that in well over fifty projects where we have conducted the exercise.

My initial thought was to ask Ricky to solicit testimonials from ten of his clients. He did so and they were great. After thinning them out we selected three that we have included in his selling proposition. During the process, I remember thinking several times that it would be great if Ricky had worked with a celebrity who would write a testimonial but never perused it given his business resides in Cleveland, Georgia. Cleveland is approximately seventy miles outside of Atlanta. Here comes the breakthrough.

On another project, one of my sons was working with a famous quote from Buddha. He was considering using it as an inspirational element. It suddenly occurred to me, that if properly used, a famous quote might be a great way to convey a meaningful and relevant thought by a famous source. A quick call to our attorneys and we realized that all those well-known quotes are considered “public domain”. Moving forward, we found these three that seemed appropriate for the business of “Private Pet Cremations.” Which one would you use?

1) The value of a society is based upon its kindness to animals. -Albert Schweitzer

2) The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated. –Gandhi

3) The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man. –Charles Darwin

I thought number three was far and away the best but we chose number one. Number three was eliminated because the majority of our team were concerned that Darwin would be viewed negatively in that part of the world. Chalk it up to a fear of religious intolerance. I guess it is possible but I loved what he said. I guess what is most important here is that the cover of Ricky’s brochure will contain the Schweitzer quote so he has what can be considered a celebrity third party endorsement and it will cost him nothing.

Now, go Google “famous quotes your category” and see if you can put a celebrity to work for you. 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

The second biggest challenge in life is...

Last summer, I was asked to speak at the Penn Club in Manhattan and gladly accepted. It is the alumni club for the University of Pennsylvania, one of the eight Ivy League colleges located in Northeastern United States. As time went on and the committee that was in charge of such things shared my book “Pull”, they decided to expand the event to include all Ivy League college clubs. As a graduate of Arizona State University whose heritage and prestige pale by comparison, I was rightfully flattered.

As the time to appear approached, I decided that the speech I have been giving was solid but wanted to add more power to it to increase its perceived significance. To do so, I created four of what I refer to as bold statements. Each was designed to stimulate thinking and lead into a marketing distinction that I would further detail for the audience. In retrospect, I felt they all worked well and am working to strengthen them further. One, however seemed to have a great deal of impact and I share it here.

I was cruising along about half way through the seventy minutes I had allocated for the session when I said,” It may well be that the second biggest challenge in life, staying alive being the first, is staying relevant. It was easy to see that the audience was waiting for me to explain this one. In retrospect, I think this statement is not only accurate; I think it is also critically important to the well-being of you and your business.

Earlier in the speech I had recommended that there is extraordinary value in treating your Selling Proposition (sales message) as if it is a personal conversation between you and your customer. It is in fact so, and the “second biggest challenge” statement I made was designed to apply to their products or services. The analogy worked and they got it easily.

In life we watch people get old and assume that age, over time, has made them irrelevant. Nothing could be more inaccurate. Inactivity, not age, is what makes them irrelevant to those around them. Activity that is aimed at creating “what’s next” has worked for my hero, Hugh Hefner and he is well into his eighties. Many may argue the significance of his influence but few would argue his relevance. There are others of course. It is clearly a matter of choice and growing old has nothing to do with it.

Your product or service in your category is no different. If you are constantly looking at and creating “what’s next” for your category, others will be at the effect of what you have done. If you sit and admire your success, others will create “what’s next” and you will be at the effect of what they have done. That I can promise is painful compared to the joy and success of being the one doing the creating.

The issue here is that most marketers’ sit on the success they create. Inherent in that inaction is that everything is somehow just fine until it no longer is. My experience is that it is very difficult to get a successful marketer to create what’s next in the face of success. Can you see that this guarantees failure?

The more I think of this, I am going to remove the “It may well be” from this statement. It hereafter will be, “The second biggest challenge in life, staying alive being the first, is staying relevant.” Feel free to pass it on.

The learning here is, when you are successful, sit down light up a cigar, pop open a bottle of champagne and take the day off. Its perfectly okay to come in to work the following day, around 11:00 will do. At 2:00, after a self-indulgent lunch, you have two choices. You can continue admiring your success or you can begin working on “what’s next.” I strongly recommend the latter as the former will insure failure in your future.

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

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AMERICA’S MARKETING MAKEOVER

On my last blog I introduced you to our winner Ricky Farmer from Cleveland, Georgia. Ricky is the very proud owner of a business titled “Precious Memories”. The generic descriptor that follows closely is Private Pet Cremations. Yes, I picked this business to do a marketing makeover on national TV and radio and now I am in the thick of dealing with it. It is a little more complicated than I anticipated.

First off, I had no idea how the project would alter the life of the owner of the company. Once the announcement was made, the regional media swung into action. They have asked for interviews with Ricky, Sully and myself. So far, Ricky has been great but the attention and the pressure of the show and the media are mounting. Stay tuned.

Ricky is proving to be a great character with his southern accent and blatant honesty. Given his unique business and the nature of the project, I suspect coverage of the makeover will continue as it evolves. 
You can view the show where we introduced Ricky at: http://www.chambersmarketingcentral.com/ 

         

Beyond that, I have been working with Ricky and have found him to be extremely grateful and eager to participate. I exposed him to a long list of positioning elements, selected several I consider appropriate and asked him to respond by working up lists of options for each. I, too, am working on them but want to see what is on his mind and this is a great way to find out. Below is a copy of his Yellow Pages ad, which I am using as a point of departure. It will give you a sense of where he is now.

           

Ricky’s brand name is a communication element that I am not recommending he change. On the other hand, I will be looking at the effect that may be attained if we subordinate the word “Precious” to the word “Memories”. I will consider it after we complete the work on copy.

Ricky’s Generic Descriptor, Private Pet Cremations was where we started. “Pet Cremations” works to define his service but “Private” is not clear. He used it because he wanted to communicate that he never cremates more than one animal at a time. Such is not the case with his competition. Replacing the word “Private” with something more meaningful will be important.

I asked that he develop ideas for a benefit and he nailed it in seconds with “Peace Of Mind”. I am not likely to improve on that.

Ricky is currently working on a new Tag Line, a photograph and is looking for an endorsement. I will share these next week.

This is great fun particularly as I become more and more aware of how significant it is to Ricky. Makes me push for excellence. I love it.

Cheers, 

Keith Chambers

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

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