Tag Archives: business

February 12, 2014 · 10:48 am

The Kid On The Bicycle

We didn’t get our newspaper this morning.  Not the end of the world, I know, but humans are creatures of habit and one of mine is skimming the paper while I have my breakfast.  We didn’t get it yesterday either.  These are not weather-related issues; other than the bitter cold, the weather is fine.  I reached out to the NY Times yesterday – they had another paper here by early afternoon.  Hopefully that repeats itself today.  I also let them know that these two incidents have become more common of late and I’m getting concerned.

Why am I telling you this?  No, it’s not my usual ranting about some slight.  There is a business lesson in here.  Strangely, I used to use this exact thing as an example many years ago when I would meet with advertisers to talk about media planning.  I’d talk then about the newspaper business and how many millions were spent hiring reporters and editors, salespeople and printers.  I’d talk about the money invested in paper and in presses and in ink.  I’d mention the thousands of people who print and publish and distribute a newspaper.  Which is then given to a kid on a bicycle to get to the home.  My point then was about the junior people were entrusted with taking marketing plans and advertising strategies and making them happen efficiently without a clear understanding of everything that had gone on previously.

The point today is a similar but broader one.  I’ve subscribed to home delivery of the Times, according to my account, since 1992.  My lifetime value to them is already into the tens of thousands of dollars.  The kid on the bicycle (ok, it’s a guy in a car that needs a muffler) has me wondering if I am better off just buying the paper and maybe not every day.  By comparison, the other papers I take have come every day without fail.  The last link in a huge business but the one that has a long-time customer questioning the product’s value.

We all need to think about who rides the bicycles in our businesses.  A beautiful office can seem less so if the receptionist is rude to guests.  The aforementioned junior person who executes plans by rote with no real understanding of “why” is that same weak spot.  As managers we need to ride along behind, checking off each delivery.  We need to make sure the delivery kid knows the route and we need to motivate them to do their job as well as we do ours – maybe even better (don’t throw the paper in the mud, kid).

Who rides the bicycles in your business?  Who is the last link between your brand and your customer?  When was the last time you paid attention to that link?  Any thoughts?

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February 4, 2014 · 9:46 am

Yeah Yeah Yeah

It’s TunesDay, and today’s story has been a half century in the making.  It was 50 years ago this week that The Beatles were on The Ed Sullivan Show and the world changed.  For those of you who were watching that night (as I was), you know that’s not hyperbole.  It seems kind of quaint now, but here is how that change began:

We’d lost a president a few months before.  America was sort of depressed.  Four young men from Liverpool brought us out of our funk and showed the world that performers could also write their own material (something not very common in pop music to that point).  They were just as impactful off the stage.  Their press conferences were filled with laughs but also with pointed jabs at authority, setting the tone for the tumult of the next decade.  50 years ago, the revolution began with pointy boots and a smiling drummer.  Which is, of course something we need to remember in business.

Everything began to change that February night and yet very few businesses were prepared.  How would you like to have been a barber shop and seen those haircuts (or lack thereof)? The record business was one of singles.  Albums were a couple of hit singles and a LOT of filler material.  The Beatles made the entirety of an album important.  Putting aside that almost every cut became a hit, three years later Sgt. Pepper set a new artistic standard that changed the business.   The cultural changes came faster.  Everyone knows someone who saw that broadcast and picked up a guitar – you’re reading someone who did so now.  Their talent was enormous but subtle and it was easy to think “I can do that.”  Sort of how digital business is 50 years later.

As business people our radar needs to be extremely sensitive to change.  When that radar goes off we need to ask a great number of “what if” questions and pay attention to how things are progressing.  The first PC’s were met with shrugged shoulders.  25 years later the PC in our pocket is more powerful than the computers that took man to the moon.  Facebook is 10 years old and there wasn’t a “social media marketing” requirement many businesses are just learning to fulfill now.

I know – the only constant is change.  True enough, and it’s rare when that change happens very loudly and clearly on a winter’s night with drums and guitars.  It hasn’t been quite as obvious since then and won’t be the next time either.  Are you listening closely enough to hear it?

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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?

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