Vulnerable Marketing, Chapter 1 – Welcome
by Amy Stevens Adams
(Here is the first chapter of our soon-to-be-released book, “Vulnerable Marketing”. We’d appreciate your thoughts and comments. Enjoy!)
To kick off things, I thought I would take a few minutes and answer some of your questions. You might be thinking that you don’t have any questions – but of course you do. The first is…
What’s It In For Me?
This naturally is the most burning question on the mind of any person or business owner. What you’re hoping is that I can provide you with some new ideas about marketing that you can use to improve your business and, ultimately, improve your life.
It may be that you don’t like to read much, but you want to learn something new. So what I’ve done is keep this book short and pack it with value. There is little risk on your part – a little time spent and you will discover a new way of marketing you–as an individual, your business, your product or service.
In short, if you have a 21st century company, you want 21st century ideas, not your ancestor’s marketing strategy!
So let’s get to it.
What’s Vulnerable Marketing?
Vulnerable Marketing is an idea that Amy and I have talked about, brainstormed about, and put into practice here. It is a culmination of the information we’ve gathered and the evolution we’ve experienced over our lifetimes. It’s a mixture of our diverse academic educations, real-world experiences and relationships that acts as a force multiplier– the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Vulnerable Marketing embodies the principles of decentralized control, open source, and transparency. It’s the anti-hype.
I have heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That perfectly illustrates the drawback to traditional marketing in today’s business environment.
Historical marketing focuses on pushing a message to a target audience, in the hopes that a small percentage of that group will be receptive to its message and act upon it. This type of marketing is characterized by individuals and businesses throwing large sums of money (often millions) into a message and watching to see what, if anything, sticks. The originator of the message was a closed system that maintains a tight level of control – image is everything, often based on a false pretense.
In that marketing environment a lackluster product or service can be masked by a polished front. I—and most of you–have been victimized by this form of false marketing, and we disdain it.
Vulnerable Marketing turns the traditional way of doing business on its ear. By allowing yourself, as an individual or business, to become vulnerable, you portray yourself in truth – as an authentic, sincere brand. In essence you are projecting who and what you are, both strengths and weaknesses, for the world to see.
Vulnerable Marketing is not about spending large sums of money to become something you’re not – it’s about embracing who you are and capitalizing on those strengths.
By using this philosophy of integrity you stand to attract the ideal customer for your brand. And since it’s an ideal match based on honesty, the brand relationship will be long-term rather than a flash in the pan. Like most aspects of quality this brand relationship will take time to develop, but the rewards will be great.
Vulnerable Marketing means giving up control. People love reality, so put that idea to work for you!
Why Vulnerable Marketing?
Personally I am tired of seeing lackluster products, services, and people represent themselves as something they are not. Professional polish with little or no substance. I am guessing you feel the same.
Also, I am guessing what you’re currently doing isn’t working. Or it could use improvement. Regardless of how good you are, you can always improve. Vulnerable Marketing will provide you with some ideas that you can take as they are or improve upon.
Isn’t Vulnerability A Bad Thing?
No. (If you don’t believe me, go watch a chick flick.) If you consistently portray yourself and your business in an honest and open light, then you have nothing to fear. It is those businesses that try to hide their imperfections and mistakes that need to worry about being exposed. Put it all out there! The good and the bad. Expose your own weaknesses. Then, try as they might, the naysayers won’t succeed- you’ve beaten them to the punch, and built credibility. Your good name and prosperity remain intact.
Partner with exceptional people and businesses. In my experience I have found that like attracts like. Individuals and businesses who portray themselves honestly will attract others who do the same. Sure, some false individuals and businesses will appear, as well, but eventually they reveal themselves for what they truly are. With practice it becomes easier to identify the unscrupulous – sometimes in a matter of minutes!
Being vulnerable is not without risk – you will occasionally be burned on your journey. But when you do find the truly honest individuals and businesses you will benefit far more from the experience. These relationships will be deep and profound. Your customers will appreciate your honesty and relate to your imperfections.
Who among us is perfect? No one! So why pretend? You’ll only exile yourself and your business to a sea of lost revenues. Many potential customers may deem your product or service ‘out of their league’. They may aspire to someday be able to use your services or product, but you don’t want someday, you want now! Build a relationship with them based on honesty, based on vulnerability.
Here’s the rub. If you follow traditional methods and put up a shield around yourself, your product or service, you will most likely attract others who are doing the same. Over the long term these relationships fall apart when each side discovers false assumptions or the inability to deliver on promises.
On the other hand, if you dare to be vulnerable, you will attract others who are seeking an open, honest, mutually beneficial business relationship.
What Will I Need To Do?
The tone of this book is designed to be conversational and relaxed.. I want you to breeze through this book, without having to think too hard, yet walk away with some profound thoughts about marketing.
That being said, here are the topics we will discuss:
1. Dare To Be Vulnerable
2. Be Authentic & Sincere
3. Get To Know Your Customer
4. Align Perception With Reality
5. Simplify Your Brand
6. Strive for Consistency & Exclusivity
7. Manage Your Relationships
8. Persistently Drive Your Passion
9. Embrace The Entrepreneurial Culture
10. Immerse Yourself In Customer Communities
11. Create Beauty
12. Think Systematically
13. Take The Next Steps
Each chapter is action-oriented, prompting you to accomplish something that will benefit your marketing efforts. There is no homework here, but rather a gentle nudging that will push you down the right path to connecting with your customers, gaining their trust and insight, and building a better product or service that will set you apart from the competition.
What Are We Waiting For?
I’m glad you asked – Let’s go!
Apple’s Snow Leopard – Review
by Amy Stevens Adams
Being the geeks that we are, John and I rushed out to our closest Apple store last Friday to buy Snow Leopard, Mac’s latest OS, as soon as it was released.
Here’s the cool part- when I heard Snow Leopard (SN) was being released I was a bit saddened. Why? Because I wanted the latest and greatest OS, but I didn’t really want to spend a couple hundred bucks for something I didn’t really need. However, Apple (being the super-cool company they are) decided to release it for $29! Yup. $29. Or in our case, $25 for each John and me because we bought the family pack for $50 and shared it. As I was checking out in Apple, the guy assisting me said I was the first person he’d ever sold to that paid for an Operating System in cash.
Smart move Apple, very smart. I forked over $50 like I was paying the tab in a restaurant. No thinking involved, it was a no-brainer.
So now, was it worth it? Well, I’m going to say ‘yes’. As with all of our Apple purchases we have no regrets. HOWEVER, it doesn’t really make a huge visible difference as far as I’ve been able to tell over the past week of using it. What was worth it is the extra GB I got back since Snow Leopard has a smaller footprint. Apple had touted that SN would free up 7 GB of space. I got back 11! So I see it as spending $29 (actually only $25 for me and John each) to get 11 GB of space back on my hard drive. Even if it didn’t do anything else, it was worth it. Unfortunately, John doesn’t know how much space he reclaimed, but a friend of his reported getting back 30 (!) GB when he installed Snow Leopard.
SN has a bunch of features that personally I don’t really understand, or need. If you’re a techie type person, you’ll be happy to know about the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit. This makes your computer handle processing faster, makes your applications more secure against hacks and malware, and gets you ready for the future (when all Operating Systems will be 64-bit). This is just one of the many ‘techie’ improvements Apple has made with the release of SN. It seems to me that most of the improvements are behind-the-scenes. I can definitely appreciate that my computer is faster, more secure, better optimized and overall more powerful. Even if I don’t SEE it.
Here’s what I do see;
1. The pop-up menu on the dock is now black and transparent. Nicer looking.
2. I use the ‘All Windows” Hot Corner setting and now when I see all the open windows on the screen, the one I hover over is outlined in blue.
3. Expose is right in the dock. This means if I have 7 images open in Fireworks, I can click & hold the orange Fireworks icon in the dock and all 7 of my images will open side by side on the screen. This makes it easier to see what you have open and find what you need to work on next.
4. Backups to Time Capsule are faster (80% faster according to the Apple website)
5. Faster shut down and wake up. This one I see a big difference. I can restart my MacBook in no time!
Features I haven’t tried yet, but are improved;
1. QuickTime. A new, uncluttered interface lets you edit quickly, capture audio or a still image from your computer’s built in microphone and camera, upload easily to YouTube, and stream videos faster and smoother than before.
2. Improved video in iChat. Now you only need 1/3 the bandwidth to have a video iChat, and the resolution is better.
3. Safari is faster, more reliable and less susceptible to crashes. John and I both use Firefox, but I’m thinking of making the transition to Safari. It sounds like it might be the superior browser available today. Safari 4 allows you to see all of your favorite webpages in a gallery view and even alerts you if there is new content since your last visit. You can also flip through your browsing history in a cover-flow format like in your iTunes. Safari is faster, more secure, crash resistant and kid-friendly.
Okay, that’s not even half of the new improvements to SN. I encourage you to take a look at Apple’s site if you’d like more info.
*As a final note, I wanted to mention that John has a Neat Receipts for Mac scanner that he has used for about 8 months now. Yesterday he went to use it and it didn’t work, so I called the company, Neat Co., to talk to tech support. It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with a company. I was on hold less than a minute, and I spoke to a guy who was pleasant and intelligent. He knew instantly that my issue was related to installing Snow Leopard. He informed me that they had just released a new update of their software to integrate the scanner with Snow Leopard, and he sent me an email with easy steps to install the update. John had his scanner working again in no time! I’ve found Neat Co. to be very receptive and easy to do business with. I wish I could find more companies like them, and we would definitely recommend their ‘for mac’ scanner to anyone using a mac.
To sum up, as usual John and I are very pleased with Apple and continue to be loyal customers. Check out Snow Leopard for $29! It is worth it!
-Amy Stevens Adams of Cape Cod Branding
How To Get My Attention
by John R. Sedivy
How much information do you receive in a given day that you actually care about?
I’m not talking about the stuff that you are forced to care about through responsibility, or a false sense of caring to save the feelings of another person. I am talking about the information that you genuinely care about and look forward to receiving.
If your e-mail inbox looks anything like mine first thing in the morning it has at least a few unsolicited messages that I care nothing about. Actually it is more than a few – sadly it’s the majority. Most get deleted without my even having looked at them.
Personal messages aside, there are a few great messages that I do look at.
While reading Permission Marketing by Seth Godin the author had identified three characteristics of permission marketing:
1. Anticipated: People look forward to hearing from you.
2. Personal: The messages are directly related to the individual.
3. Relevant: The marketing is about something the prospect is interested in.
Although Permission Marketing applies directly to marketing, upon further reflection I found that it can equally apply across any communication. I will use e-mail as an example of the application of this idea because it is a forum that is widely familiar (and unanticipated, impersonal, irrelevant e-mail is a problem that many likely have) and e-mail is the first thing that caught my attention when rolling out of bed this morning. For more information on permission marketing refer to my article Asking Permission, or better yet read the book.
Yesterday in How To Sell Your Idea I had mentioned that in order to be receptive to your message the audience or consumer must care. But how do you make people care? How do you compel people to take action?
Easy – by making your conversation with the customer anticipated, personal, and relevant. Here’s how to do it.
Are You Anticipated Or Merely Tolerated?
There is a big difference between the answer to this question. Anticipation generates excitement and a positive call to action. Being tolerated induces a lackluster, if any response.
Communications that I request – such as a subscription to a blog or a request for more information about a newly discovered product or service is anticipated.
Personally I like the example of my Barnes and Noble e-mail which often contains a coupon towards a new purchase. In the overall scheme of things we are not talking huge savings here, but it usually prompts me to take a trip to the bookstore to make a purchase.
I am probably behind the times by being a blogger who still goes to a physical bookstore rather than an online store. However, I enjoy physically browsing through books, discovering new items, and just the overall experience.
This call to action makes the message – and therefore the communication is anticipated.
Establish A Personal Connection
Personal relationships almost always get attention – this is, in my opinion, the most effective way to clear through the clutter. People care most about people with whom they have a personal, vested interest.
The same applies to business. You can have the best technical and business skills, however if the receiver of your message doesn’t like you it really doesn’t matter. This is an ugly truth that many attempt to deny, but people like to do business with people whom they like and have a personal connection.
Find a sincere, authentic rapport with the individual whose attention you are wishing to attract and the rest will take care of itself. Do not be tempted to establish a false rapport – that technique has the opposite, devastating effect.
Consider the e-mail example again. Other than coupons, I also receive messages which inform me of new books released by authors whose books I have purchased in the past with my membership card. This may seen intrusive to some, however I have given this permission – my interests and reading are varied – it would be quite a daunting task to keep track of my favorite authors. It’s nice to have someone do this for me!
Crafting a personalized, individual message for each customer gives them a personal stake in your message.
Is Your Communication Relevant?
Should I care about your message to me? Most times the answer is a resounding no. Many marketers and business owners are spammers – they purchase a list, draft a boilerplate message and send the message to the masses. Sure they get some nibbles off the line, but most really don’t care. Furthermore, the nibbles they do receive are not very strong – they are from the fickle bunch who will trade sides at the first scent of a better deal.
Consider the alternate approach. Carefully crafting a relationship built upon incremental permission built over time. True you will not reach as many prospects, or as large of an audience with this approach, however you will firmly cement personal relationships that are extremely strong over time and can withstand even the most trying of circumstances. These are the consumers who will not leave you for the next big thing – they value the relationship because it’s personal and relevant.
Keeping it relevant is tough. It’s tempting to move off track and send non-relevant information to your customers in the hopes of a random sale. However, if your communications are consistently relevant you will gain credibility over time and your messages will be anticipated which will have a more profound result over time.
A Circular Relationship
Upon thinking about the theory of permission marketing I believe this relationship to be circular in nature. One aspect affects the other two. Each action in each category either further builds or cripples the other aspects. This continuous feedback creates a circular relationship of sorts among the various entities whose attributes I represent by questions above.
Providing your audience with consistent, relevant information over time will gradually increase your permission level to provide more information. Your credibility increases, and with it your shared perspective on market trends, products, and services.
The personal nature of the relationship provides a strong foundation which can withstand turbulent conditions – both personal and economic. Personally involving the audience gives them a personal stake in your message and as a result increases their attention.
Continually providing your audience with relevant information with a grounding in a personal relationship will lead to anticipation of your communications which will increase the likelihood of positive action which will be beneficial to the both of you.
Anticipated, personal, and relevant communication will get you the right attention!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
