Good enough...or remarkable?

Where were you when good enough stopped being good enough? Maybe you weren’t even aware that it had. Maybe you’re still stuck in an (insert organization type here) that’s good enough…and dying.

Enough already! If your customers don’t leave an interaction with your company/product/service and rave to others about it, you won’t last. If your customers aren’t talking about you, no one else will. To get them to talk about you, you have to wow them…you have to be remarkable.

“But,” you say, “we make bicycle seats or hair brushes. We’re not remarkable.” You’re right. Ninety-five percent of what you do is NOT remarkable and you know what? All of that can be done from India for one third of your cost. I came across a listing on Adrants with the subject line: partnership with your ad agency for creative design from India. The body of the listing read:

Our ad firm can dish out good creatives for any kind of advertising. Very innovative when there is a specific need. We cover Print campaigns, posters, any other kind of POS merchandise, hoarding designs, invites, magazine page layouts for articles, backdrop designs, You should find us cost effective with jumpstart of half a day after your brief due to the time zone. So if you want some peace now drop us a line… (Emphasis mine).

Cost effective. No kidding. And you thought only customer service and manufacturing jobs were moving overseas.

Because 95 percent of what you do is no different from the designer in India is precisely why the last five percent is so crucial…because that’s where you can become remarkable.

THE BIG MOO is Seth Godin’s clarion call for businesses to start being remarkable or start dying. It’s not a handbook or a textbook and it doesn’t have a 12-step process to becoming remarkable. If you think that exists, then you also probably still think you need an MBA to succeed in business.

The book is a collection of 33 individual essays on becoming remarkable. Each essay will inspire you and show you how easy it is to become remarkable.

Yes there are extraordinary features: none of the essays are credited, proceeds go to charity, blah, blah, blah. (I cover some of the features in an earlier post that explains how I came across a copy of the book). All of that is secondary to this: THE BIG MOO will force you to think about how you can become remarkable. I had to reread most of the essays, because halfway through each one I found myself thinking about similar things I could do and wondering why I hadn’t done them already.

This book will engage you. Stop being good enough and start being remarkable. Start with THE BIG MOO.

Technorati Tags: Godin

Communicating during a Crisis

How important is a crisis plan for your business? Just ask Wal-Mart. Pre-Katrina, news about the retail giant was limited to gender discrimination lawsuits, union protests and communities everywhere trying to bar Wal-Mart supercenters from their town. Post-Katrina, everyone wants the government to be more like Wal-Mart.

How did we get to the point where even Wal-Mart's many enemies are singing their praises? Clearly, the largest factor in the enhancement of their image is simply their performance under fire. Countless column inches have been devoted to their sophisticated disaster preparation, rapid response in the aftermath of the hurricane and their philanthropy. The cover of the latest issue of Fortune Magazine is emblazoned with:

GOVERNMENT BROKE DOWN. BUSINESS STEPPED UP. How Wal-Mart, FedEx, and Home Depot got the job done after Katrina.

But their performance is not the only factor in the improvement of Wal-Mart's image. In recent months, they have been stepping up their communications efforts to enhance their corporate image. They've started Wal-Mart Facts, a web site designed to communicate the good things about the company. The site includes details of their hurricane relief efforts as well as a blog. They have also brought a public realtions team from Edelman in-house to assist in their communications efforts. Even CEO Lee Scott is taking a more active role in defending his company's reputation.

All of this increased importance that Wal-Mart has placed on communications in the recent months has left it in a position to communicate its good deeds. They not only had a crisis plan, but also a crisis communications plan. Thanks to that planning, they're enjoying what's probably the best weeks of publicity they've had since Sam Walton was alive. Does your company have a crisis communications plan?

Technorati Tags: Crisis Communications,Wal-Mart,reputation,Hurricane Katrina

Moo...Bzz...Moo...Bzz

Good enough isn't good enough any more. There's too much competition and customer expectations are too high. But, what's the answer? Perfection? No, according to Seth Godin. The answer is to be remarkable. Godin has been preaching this message for a while, most notably up to now with Purple Cow.

He continues the theme with the forthcoming book (his last) THE BIG MOO and I was able to score an advance copy (I'll get into how in a minute). For the book, which Godin is editing, he approached 32 co-authors with recognizable names like Malcolm Gladwell and Tom Peters and got them to write individual pieces on how to become remarkable. Every contribution is uncredited and 100% of the royalties go to one of three charities.

The book is inspirational. "Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable" is emblazoned across the top and each essay contains an example of how someone did just that. My favorite is about a bike mechanic named Reggie and the little things he does to become remarkable. What the book, and especially that story, does is show how easy it is for any business to become remarkable. If you're still trying to be perfect or just getting by, you owe it to yourself to buy this book.

Practicing what he preaches, Godin is promoting his book with innovative tactics. His primary marketing strategy is to get it in the hands of influencers. I was able to get a copy by participating in the BzzAgent campaign for the book. BzzAgent is an online word-of-mouth marketing company that gives products to BzzAgents (like me) that will Buzz about the product. So, consider yourself Bzzed!

UPDATE: The book is Sold Out! But Seth promises more.

Technorati Tags: BzzAgent,Godin,WOMM

Citizen Journalism (without the blog)

Apparently, you don't need a blog to be a citizen journalist. I recently learned about a new (to me) kind of citizen journalism when I received an email from Jerry Weissman, author of In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions...When It Counts. Here's the opening sentence of the email:

Several of your Amazon reviewer colleagues have given highly favorable reviews to my forthcoming book, In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions… When it Counts.  I would be honored if you would consider adding your review to that list.

The email included how I could secure a copy of the book and accompanying DVD if I promised a review. I replied that I would be happy to review both and sure enough, they arrived at my doorstep within a week.

My first thought is that this is an extremely effective promotional technique. Although nothing in either the email or the package sought to influence my review, the fact that he's mailing these for free to Amazon reviewers can't hurt the reviewer's perception of the author. If you send it to enough, odds are such that more of your reviews will be positive than negative. In fact, most of Weissman's reviews at Amazon are five out of five stars, so it appears to be working.

But, just how valuable is a positive review on Amazon? The best example Chris Anderson gave of his concept of The Long Tail was another book, Touching the Void, that was resurrected by Amazon. Even though it was by associating it with another popular book rather than reviews, the same web site was at the root.

In addition, although a review in the New York Times may be read by millions, it won't be staring in the face of someone contemplating an online purchase. Be honest. Have you ever purchased a book on Amazon without reading at least one review?

As for Weissman's book, an initial scan captured my interest, but I've been too busy to write my review. I'll let you know once I've finished it. As for citizen journalism, I guess you don't need a blog. Who knew?

Technorati Tags: Amazon,blog,citizen journalism

LifeLight Music Festival

August 24, 2005. As you may have noticed, I have been light on the blogging in recent weeks. The reason for that is the amount of time I've been spending with LifeLight Communications, spearheading the media relations effort for their annual music festival. It's the largest free, outdoor Christian music festival in the nation.

Media attention has been at a peak this year for two reasons. First, the 240,000 people that attended last year's festival was more than double the previous year and caught some people by surprise. Second, the festival this year is moving from the Fairgrounds to a new location on the outskirts of town and there was a permitting process that drummed up a little controversy. But now the festival is a week away and preparations are under way for 250,000 festivalgoers.

If you want to follow the news coverage, we make it easy for you. Some of the early news coverage can be found on the festival web site and I've also started a lifelight Technorati Tag for all of you bloggers out there who are talking about the festival.

If you don't have plans for Labor Day weekend this year...come on out!

Technorati Tags: Public relations,Technorati,LifeLight,Christian,music,festival,blog,South Dakota

Everyone loves a contest

Entering contests can be a great way to promote your company and your clients. The entities that run them don't do too badly either. They hold a contest and watch the people flock to their website.

Locally, the Sioux Falls Business Journal is holding a Best of Sioux Falls Reader's Choice. Simply go to their website, click on the banner and nominate the best of 99 categories.

Those of us in public relations can't afford to ignore contests as a means to generate some positive publicity for our clients. Because, as the headline suggests, everyone loves a contest...but they love a winner even more.

Technorati Tags: South Dakota,public relations,web

Now I'm Current

Remember when MTV was the channel for those with ADD? At least on MTV their programs typically lasted 30 minutes or more.

This last weekend, I spent some time watching the newly launched TV network, Current, and I have been tuning in off and on this week as well. Most of their programs (they call them pods) last less than ten minutes. Some as few as two.

For the uninitiated (including the 80 percent of cable households who don't have Current), let me fill in a few details. Current launched a little more than a week ago and aims to be a station of, by and for 18- to 34-year-olds. They seek the participation of that audience by enticing them to create their own pods (they even tell you what they're looking for and give you tips on how to do it) and  "greenlighting" (or not) the submissions of others. The pods are diverse and the ones I saw on TV ranged from interesting to boring to bizarre. Syndication? No need. The pods were often repeated two hours later and when I turned Current on this week, I saw mostly pods I had watched during the weekend. (Maybe we need to greenlight a few more).

All new networks have challenges and Current has plenty, not the least of which is that they are trying to get people to watch TV in a different way. First of all, I don't watch networks, I watch programs. I like The Simpsons, but I don't stick with Fox after it's over to watch Family Guy. I like Best Week Ever, but I find the remainder of VH1's programming nearly unwatchable. With Current, you have no idea what's coming next unless you go to their web site. They're asking you to watch the network...not a particular show.

What's more, because of their mission (see above) they have NO CELEBRITIES, which in TV-land is almost unforgivable. Even much of the dreaded "reality" TV drivel keeps those people on long enough to develop some celebrity. Current may find themselves needing to do this with some of their pod creators if they want to develop a following. In fact, the launch of Current should be exhibit A in building a case against the celebrity-driven nature of our society. I couldn't find a single story on the launch that didn't prominently mention Al Gore, despite the fact that his name was never spoken and his image was never shown during the hours I spent watching Current.

There's also still a few bugs to work out. Apparently, the station went black on it's first day and when I registered at their web site, here's part of the text on the welcome page: You're in! You're now a member of the Current Studio.

But all-in-all it's an interesting concept. They seem to have bet the farm on the idea that citizen-generated media that has swept the Internet can be transfered to cable television. I'm at least curious enough to keep watching and have added "getting a pod played on Current" to my list of life goals. Some skeptics think the network might not make it, but I say if the Hallmark Channel can make it, why not Current?

Technorati Tags: Advertising,media,public relations,television,current