Tag Archives: business thinking

February 11, 2014 · 9:53 am

B.B. And Your Business

TunesDay, and today it’s a visit from the King Of The Blues, Mr. B.B. King.  Anyone who has picked up a guitar in the last 60 years that has been influenced by his playing, even if indirectly. Number 6 on Rolling Stones’ 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time, B.B. King would be cited by each of the 5 ahead of him as critical in their learning. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (1987), he is one of the most influential musicians of all time.  Having seen him dozens of times I can also tell you he puts on a great show.  Today, we’re going to learn a little bit about business from him.

In 1969, he recorded an old (1931!) song called “The Thrill Is Gone“.  It was his biggest hit and remains his signature tune.  I’ll get to this in a second, but first I want to focus on the title track of an album he released in 1972 called “Guess Who.”  It’s a perfect marketing lesson in under a minute and a half:

This is exactly the message brands and businesses need to convey:

Someone really loves you
Guess who, guess who
Someone really cares
Guess who

So open your heart
Oh, then surely you’ll see
That the someone who really cares is me

We need to be asking ourselves if that’s the message we’re putting out there or is it all “buy this”?  Contrast that lyric with the message B.B. reminds us is on every customer’s mind:

The thrill is gone baby
The thrill is gone away
You know you done me wrong baby
And you’ll be sorry someday

Yes indeed.  Consumers have never had so many choices – and so many brands competing for their attention and dollars – as they do now.  As long as we keep those two songs in our minds, those choices will be made in our favor.  Ignore them and it’s you who’ll be singing the blues.  You with me?

Enhanced by Zemanta

1 Comment

Filed under Helpful Hints, Music

Tagged as , , , ,

January 31, 2014 · 9:44 am

Tapas

Foodie Friday and the subject is tapas.

Español: Tapas en un establecimiento de Barcel...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Most of you are probably familiar with them although you might not know from where the term derives. A “tapa” is a cover, and tapas originated as pieces of bread to cover glasses of sherry in between sips to keep the flies out. At some point the bread began to be topped with other food; bread became plates and what we know as a tapa came to be.

The original tapas were very salty meats and, as with bars that serve salted nuts as free snacks, the salty food encouraged more alcohol sales.  Obviously the Spanish bar owners weren’t the only ones to figure this out.  The Italians have cicchetti, the Brazilians tira-gostos, and other cultures have their own versions as well.  Even if you’re not a bar owner, there are things you can learn from tapas that are applicable to your business.

Free food is customer-friendly, especially if it’s exceptionally good.  Does the fact that the free food is designed to sell more high-margin drinks detract from that customer-centric point of view?  I don’t think so, and even those customer who recognize that fact will probably acknowledge that they are getting quite a bit of value in the exchange.

Tapas are small plates, generally no more than two or three bites of food on each.  They always leave me wanting more but I also appreciate the fact that I haven’t really “committed” to a dish when I’m eating tapas.  I can graze, figure out which dishes I like the most, and have a much broader dining experience than if I simply orders an appetizer and an entrée.  As businesses we need to think that way.  There is a tendency once we have their attention to overwhelm our customers or prospects.  Less really is more.  Let them graze our information and product offerings until they feel as if they’re ready to commit.  That’s the nature of conversational marketing.

Tapas are just one expression of a tasting menu, something most high-end chefs offer.  Small plates have become a dining norm in a number of restaurants as well.  I suspect that while the cost per dish is lower customers order more of them and they lead to bigger profits per meal served.  All that while being incredibly customer friendly.  Isn’t that what business is supposed to be about?

Enhanced by Zemanta

1 Comment

Filed under food

Tagged as , , , , , ,

January 28, 2014 · 9:40 am

Turn Turn Turn

I woke up to the sad news that Pete Seeger has passed. He was a giant of American music, influencing and inspiring many music greats. In the case of Bruce Springsteen, that influence was so great The Boss recorded an album of songs Seeger made popular. It seems appropriate that this TunesDay, we look at one of Pete’s most popular songs. Here is the version most of us know:

For Turn Turn Turn, Seeger often said all he did was write some music and six words (actually, one word repeated) since the lyric is from the Book Of Ecclesiastes.  That sort of humility (and humor) extended into his sense of community.  You never went to a Pete Seeger show unless you were prepared to sing, and I can’t remember ever not knowing many of his instantly familiar songs – If I Had A Hammer, Where Have All The Flowers Gone and many others.  While The Byrds made today’s song a hit, many others recorded it as well.  I think that’s so in part because of the music and mostly because of the message which is one of those universal truths that apply to business as well as to our non-business lives.

There is a time to every purpose; everything has a season but that time will come and go.   That’s the song distilled down and it’s something we often overlook in business.  If you don’t actively embrace change, you probably have very little chance to do well.  It’s not particularly difficult to look around and see those industries with outdated business models and those which have sprung up to fill the voids left by those businesses not moving forward.  The music business itself is still struggling to turn, as is any content business that clings to the old ways and sues their customers.

Change isn’t something to be feared in business.  New markets emerge, new product categories are developed.  It’s something that, as the song points out, is GOING to happen.  Change is the catalyst that moves business forward.  We can choose to embrace it or to resist it.  Your call.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Leave a comment

Filed under Consulting, Music, Reality checks

Tagged as , , , , , ,