Marketing Pilgrim Published: “Cup of Joe: Boring Non-Creative People Needed” plus 4 more |  |
- Cup of Joe: Boring Non-Creative People Needed
- Kitchen Table Conversation and Making Your Customers Feel At Home
- CBS Says Age and Sex Don’t Matter
- LinkedIn Uses Email To Thank Early Adopters
- A Big Thank You to Our Advertisers
| Cup of Joe: Boring Non-Creative People Needed Posted: 25 Mar 2011 09:15 PM PDT
Time is something I am not very good at. In fact I’ve never been very good at managing my time. In school I struggled through some classes not because I couldn’t comprehend the assignments, but because I found most of them boring, and accordingly, didn’t manage my time for them. It’s only been in the last few years that my own business has forced me to get better and develop organizational skills. However, it seems no matter what I do, I’m constantly reminding myself to stay on task and follow and update my schedule. The truth of the matter is I’m just not very good at managing my time and organizing lots of information. This morning I signed on to instant messenger and had a brief conversation with Debra Mastaler. If you have never met Debra you really should. Shes a great SEO who’s always willing to give a helping hand. I explained to her how busy I’ve been and how time management has always been difficult and taxing. Debra told me that it’s natural to have poor management skills when you are a creative person. That of course makes a lot of sense. Most creative people are very disorganized and lack time management skills. I then said to Deborah, “so what you’re saying is I need to hire someone boring and uncreative to help me out?” She said “absolutely, a healthy balance is important for your business.” Debra is so right! Look at all of the creative people out there that have found success with the help of non-creative hard workers. Take for example Vincent Van Gogh, many don’t know that his art wouldn’t have gained as wide of popularity if it weren’t for his brother’s support. Theo Van Gogh, also happened to be a chief promoter of Monet and Degas. It took someone like Theo to see the potential in art and apply strategic business initiatives to make them a success. Theo was not creative like his brother or other artist, but he understood what needed to be done to sell art. Look at all the talent in Hollywood. Its no surprise that the actors that get the most work, are the ones that have the best management. Same with authors and publishers, and chefs, and restaurant management. Of course, there are many out there that are both creative and highly organized. I wish I were one of them. But it seems entrepreneurs tend to gravitate toward extremes. So if this balance of creativity and non-creativity is so important, why do we only hear about the creatives? In marketing it seems that we are all infatuated with good ideas, and completely ignore the follow through. In the world of web startups no one would be caught dead putting “not creative needed” on a job posting. Which is why so many startups have no sound business model, they are full of creative people that have no grasp on getting real work done. If you want to make sure that your business is getting things done, has a sound business model, and doesn’t waste time. Then work to establish a balance of creatives and not-creative people that can do what needs to be done to innovate while constantly moving forward.
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| Kitchen Table Conversation and Making Your Customers Feel At Home Posted: 25 Mar 2011 02:50 PM PDT
Intrigued by the concept, I did some looking around on Yelp and found many people were as skeptical as I was. What’s next, asked one woman, the Wells Fargo Waffle House? But as odd as the concept of bank meets cafe is, it appears to be working. I thought I’d see people complaining about the hard sell. About ING Direct salespeople sitting down for an unsolicited chat, but not so. The majority of comments left on the ING Direct cafes were about the cheap price for gourmet coffee, the comfortable surrounds and the free WiFi. From out here, it looks like these are inexpensive cafes, respites from the hustle and bustle of the city, where you can also check you ING Direct accounts and attend a financial seminar. Pretty nifty. It’s a concept Barnes and Noble and IKEA have been using for years. Offering customers food, drink, and a place to sit down inside the store so they have no reason to leave. Now let’s take this concept online. When your customers come to visit you, do they feel at home? Are they comfortable? Are you providing them with virtual “snacks?” You may not be able to offer your online customer a cup of Peet’s coffee while they shop, but are you giving them a reason to stick around? That might mean giving them the latest fashion news if you’re selling clothes, or music to listen to while they shop (but please no autostart players!). Invite them to watch a video, play a game, respond to a poll. And most of all, make sure they can reach a human being with their questions. It takes more time to walk out of a physical location then it takes to click the X in the corner of a browser. So it’s up to you to make your customers feel like they want to grab a seat and stay awhile.
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| CBS Says Age and Sex Don’t Matter Posted: 25 Mar 2011 01:43 PM PDT
AdAge got the scoop from CBS Corp. Chief Research Officer David Poltrack, who talked about the idea at the Advertising Research Foundation’s Re:Think 2011 conference. Poltrack says that small test studies conducted by Nielsen and Nielsen Catalina have proved what he’s always known, which is that “There is no link, none, between the age of the specified demographic delivery of the campaign and the sales generated by that campaign.” He pointed to the results of a test involving snack food buyers. The survey came up with a long list of shows that snackers listed as their favorites, but only three of those shows were tops among the coveted 18-49 age group. Now, this is a good place to note that CBS has the oldest audience of any of the five networks with a season premiere median of 54.9. Since they land well outside of the preferred age group for advertisers, it’s possible that this influenced their decision to erase age from the equation. Poltrack didn’t dodge this fact during his speech, he actually used it to make a very good point for all marketers. The 18 – 49 demographic is on the decline and is headed to hit a low of 55% by 2016. As for noting whether a viewer is male or female, it’s fair to say that there are certain products that lean more one way or the other, but gender lines are shifting. Diaper companies now run ads aimed at men and there are plenty of car commercials aimed at women. CBS’s wants to build a new ratings model that divides the audience up into behavioral segments. (From AdAge) TV companions: For this group, TV is almost always on and is like a member of the family. Media trendsetters: Early adopters of technology and new content, and also 39% multicultural. Sports enthusiasts: Made up mostly of men, but most guys aren’t classified here. This group also likes action-adventure programming. Program passionates: Highly involved with favorite shows, and the biggest DVR time-shifters. Surfers and streamers: Most open to watching alternative content on TV and most often using laptops or tablets to multitask while watching TV. They skew young, but include a large component of 50-plus people. TV moderators: Those who enjoy being experts and leading others’ choices. I fit nicely into the “program passionates” label. The perfect person to get pitches about the latest TV on DVD ads, TV tie-in products and anything that my favorite characters eat, drink or touch on my favorite shows. It doesn’t matter how old I am, or that I’m a woman. I’m likely to buy those products because I am passionate about my shows. Finally, somebody gets it! Earlier today I was reading an article titled, “Of Course Social Media Works — If You Measure It Right.” It’s another call to stop using click-throughs as the be all and end all benchmark of digital success. Like demographics for TV ratings, click-throughs are a measure everyone recognizes and so it’s a measure they trust. But with the changes in technology and in online and TV viewing habits, blindly sticking to the old way isn’t doing anyone any favors. When Nielsen began measuring audiences, it made sense to group them by age and sex. Laundry detergent manufacturers wanted to reach young women with families and razor companies were after men of shaving age. But who are you trying to reach with an ad for the iPad, or green smartcar or the latest Glee soundtrack? I’m here to tell you that if you based your advertising pitches to me on my gender and age, you’d be way off the mark. What do you think of CBS’s plan to switch from demographics to behavioral targeting? And smart or not, do they even have a chance of changing fifty plus years of ratings history?
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| LinkedIn Uses Email To Thank Early Adopters Posted: 25 Mar 2011 10:40 AM PDT Today, I received an e-mail from LinkedIn Co-Founder and Chairman, Reid Hoffman. OK, so I was one of 1 million recipients of the same e-mail but it stuck out as a strong example of using a simple thanks for those who helped get you there. The e-mail went out to the first one million account holders of which I had no idea I was one. It also served as a great reminder of how I need to get more involved with LinkedIn so the e-mail kind of re-ignited my interest in the site as well. Here it is. Once again simple but effective. Nice touch.
Where does LinkedIn fit in your social networking efforts? Could you use it better? How do you use it currently. Let us know! Pilgrim’s Partners: SponsoredReviews.com – Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!
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| A Big Thank You to Our Advertisers Posted: 25 Mar 2011 09:48 AM PDT
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THANKS AGAIN TO OUR ADVERTISERS AND OUR READERS! YOU ARE ALL THE BEST.
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Yay readers! I am back! If you didn’t notice last week, I wasn’t around to serve you a Cup of Joe! I am sorry about that. The truth is, I ran out of time. Things were so busy last week I didn’t have time to write this column. 
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