Core Benefits Take You Nowhere - Market Like Lady Gaga

Market Like A Superstar

Author's Note - Even the most conservative company has a lot to learn from Lady Gaga. If you ever questioned that the single most important aspect of business is differentiation --- then read on. You will be convinced.

She leaves me speechless. She is a human strobe light, blinding, dazzling, and freezing time in flashes of music, dance, feathers, costumes and extreme. But beyond the enormity of her image Lady Gaga is the most inspired marketer of 2010.

Be Different Or Die

Stefani Germanotta was a child protégé. Fast-forward to her late teens - 2005. Stefani could sing, but the world is filled with people who can sing. She could dance but the world is filled with dancers. She could hold an audience but even that wasn't unique or distinctive. Talent isn't enough. One night she stood on a smoky stage of a club filled with booze-numb NYU students who completely ignored her. Stefani stripped down to bra and panties and started playing the piano. The world changed - the drunks noticed. She became "different." Exit Stefani Germanotta and enter Lady Gaga.

3/25/2010 Lady Gaga made Internet history when online analytic company Visible Measures reported that just three of her music videos had received over 1-billion total views! No corporation, movie, performer, candidate or even nation has hit that mark.

The driving force behind the world-shaking success is differentiation. Persona branding isn't new. Cher, Madonna, Queen, KISS, Beyonce, Britney helped define it and now ubiquitous boy bands and sound-alike singers are standard issue in entertainment. Careers explode like popcorn and soon end up under the sofa cushions of public attention. Lady Gaga is so different in so many ways we can't help but watch. But with all the glam and sequined gold hotpants she's even worked it out so that she can ditch the wigs and crazy clothes and actually go to the mall looking like everyone else!

Differentiation = Survival

Lady Gaga is concept and controversy backed by carefully planned and flawlessly executed marketing. As Forbes put it, “Lady Gaga understands viral marketing better than anyone on the pop scene today.” She flourishes through constant attention, focus and discussion. She survives because no one can duplicate her point of differentiation.

The #1 Lesson You Must Learn

Any difference that your competition can duplicate isn't a difference.

What are the essential "givens" of your business or industry? Delivering these features and benefits, no matter how well you do it isn't a point of differentiation. It doesn't matter how important they are to your customers because these core benefits are what they expect every competent supplier to provide. You have to go beyond the expected. You have to be willing to play the piano in your underwear.

You don't have to be the leader, the innovator or even deliver the highest value if you are different. The goal is to make customers and consumers notice you and give them valid reasons to be devoted to you.

Many organizations are simply afraid to be different. Different requires cutting loose the hype and hope of what you say you want the company to be … and actually become it. It feels dangerous, reckless and almost irresponsible to trash established policies, procedures, practices, pricing … all the things that defined who you were and leap off the cliff to sail towards what you need to be.

Be Different And Market Like A Super Star

I've spent about a month reading and analyzing the Lady Gaga phenomenon. Even if her music, style and notoriety aren't to your taste you can learn from her strategy, planning and unerring execution.

1. Never waste an opportunity to put your brand or yourself in the spotlight. Let nothing get in the way of popularizing your brand.

2. Develop a loyal base then focus on it. Target 100% of their available attention/business.

3. Target three forms of marketing media and focus on them. Chose the ones that your target audience prefers and develop the ability to engage across multiple-platforms. Don't media-hop.

4. If you can't do it well, don't do it. Shoot high, promise more and exceed every expectation. Don't promise what you can't deliver.

5. Know who you are and what you want to be. Have a single, focused vision, aim to be the best at it and then stay on course. Never compromise or detour.

6. Be simple, direct, easy to understand and easy to buy. If you need to explain or justify, it doesn't work. Be intentional, integrated and in control from beginning to end.

7. Be different in innovative ways. Take nothing for granted and constantly re-invent your company, products and yourself. People are attracted and riveted by surprise. Forget the mid-ground, the typical or the expected. Go for the extreme, the fascinating and the enthralling. Always give them a show.

The Core Is A Bore

What would happen if Lady Gaga had just provided the core benefits five years ago? What if she just delivered what her consumers and customers had already come to expect from a professional entertainer? Core benefits are requirements … but every competitor has the same ones.

Forget the core benefits. Clearly and deliberately position your brand as very different. In a world of similar competitors become a choice of one. Reduce the comparable, acceptable choices to - you.

Take a new approach, think bigger, and be more assertive and obviously different than the competition. That's how you get noticed, considered, valued and establish relationships with your target customers. Do whatever it takes to be different. Play the piano in your underwear.

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Please Subscribe! There's a new article every week and we are determined to give you valuable information you can use to be successful and make more money. So, go to the Be The First To Know box and just fill it in.

Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences.

How Do You Solve The Conflict Between Business Process & Events? It's A Devilish Dilemma!

Events Need Process & Process Needs Events

Do you want to make your business processes more effective? Do you want to make your events more relevant? Do you want your people more engaged and motivated? Here's how.

Did you ever see one of those cartoons where the person has an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other - and both are whispering sweet temptations. That's how many corporations view business process and events. Some people view process as a fun-sucker draining the life and excitement out of an organization. Other people view events as silliness that kills the vital processes that make the company successful. Right in the middle is leadership, management, marketing and every member of the team. I say let's work over both the angels and the devils. Before we get started let's agree on some definitions.

Event = a one-time experience that happens in a given place and time - meeting, executive briefing, planning session, organizational gathering, conference, training, team building - you get the idea.

Process = a continuing procedure, system or methods to achieve a result over time. Process is a way to standardize tactics and procedures. It gets everyone on the same side of a challenge and pushing in the same direction.

Oh the sweet temptation on each side. That angel and devil aren't whispering, they're screaming different things! Events are fun and motivating but maybe a bit frivolous and meaningless. Process is necessary and valuable but tends to be dull, boring and uninspiring. How do you get the best from both?

You Think Your Company Is Driven By Process And You're Wrong

If you gathered 100 executives and managers in a room and asked, "Are you an event company or a process company?" about 99 out of 100 would say - Process - and they would be wrong. Look at your strategic plans, marketing plans - any process. How is it delivered over time? Is it really continuous from your staff or customer's perspective? Think about it for a moment.

In most situations the process is actually delivered as a well-executed series of activities and events with nothing behind them. Everyone gets the information and procedures and leaves encouraged and enthusiastic. Then the process slowly grinds to a halt and the desired results fade away. What you needed was a way to monitor, moderate and motivate the process over time by taking a more coordinated, message-driven approach.

It's Really An Event

Marketing Program with no specific results, customer/client rewards, integrated messages, motivation and measurements - It's an Event.

Customer/Franchisee/Affiliate Communication with no specific results, deadlines, expectations and clear returns - It's an Event.

Training with no specific results, follow-up, monitoring, measurement, continuous reinforcement and fine-tuning - It's an Event.

Business Management Process with no specific results, time limits and focused on structured activities rather than measurable improvement - It's an Event.

Process And Events Are Good But They Are Better Together

Process is the path and direction. Events build the momentum you need to get up and over the hills and to keep moving. It's easy to view process and events to be 180-degrees apart - total opposites. John Maxwell spends some time discussing the difference between process and events in 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Well, he's a process-only-kind-of-guy so that's where he thinks the world should be. With all respect to Mr. Maxwell the two can be complementary parts of the same results-delivery system. This is how I see the relationship between the two.

• Process is objective-driven while events are message-driven.
• Process uses measurement to gauge success while events use willingness.
• Process is the method of generating the desired results while events provide the enlistment and the alignment necessary to complete the process.
• Process develops a culture while an event reflects or celebrates a culture.
• Process tends to be a solitary experience while an event emphasizes a community that shares common goals, values and rewards.
• Process implements towards a goal while an event helps discover and identify opportunities.
• Process is highly structured and predefined while events are more dynamic, experiential and personalized.
• Process is building a house while events are living in it.

Take A “Meet In The Middle” Strategy

1. Set the overall goals and clearly define the specific desired result.

2. Design the process that supports attaining the desired results.

3. Determine what the critical people need to learn, understand, value, appreciate and do to generate the desired results?

4. Divide the process into sections, benchmarks and transitions.

5. Identify areas where events support and facilitate the process. Events can stimulate the process at key milestones and at transitions in the work streams.

6. Plug events or mini-events into the process at strategic times and for specific purposes.

7. Blend process and events to move people towards the desired results.

Let Each Do What It Does Best

The value of events is in their ability to add emotion and energy at specific moments within the process. The assumption is events must be big and require a large group. When you view them as an occurrence that is memorable, personal and unusual then events take on a different perspective. Events provide punctuation, energy and personalization at critical moments in the process. Remember events don't need to be large, involve sets, production and loads of money. An event can be five minutes just as long as it is personal, emotional and people-focused.

Give Into Sweet Temptation

By taking a “Meet in the Middle” strategy the best strengths of both can be incorporated to generate the desired results. Process supports the human aspects of events – as events support the critical business drivers of the process.

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Please Subscribe! There's a new article every week and we are determined to give you valuable information you can use to be successful and make more money. So, go to the Be The First To Know box and just fill it in.

Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences.

Viral Marketing - Do You Really Want To Be Infected?

Viral, Viral Viral!

Deadly, relentless they live deep inside your cells, waiting to spread and destroy you. They are worse than germs - they are virus! To me the term Viral makes me want to grab the can of Lysol and start wiping down the doorknobs. There are no "nice" viruses. They aren't interested in sex, communication or community … they just spread geometrically.

Now invest three minutes to decide if viral marketing works for you and your company.

Epidemic Marketing

In 1994 Douglas Rushkoff wrote about a "media virus" that later mutated into the expression "viral marketing." You can imagine him chugging half a bottle of Nyquil to come up with the concept of how a susceptible user is infected by an idea, message or advertisement. The person then infects more people who infect others and soon you have a full-blown epidemic of Andromeda Strain proportions - or at least Night of the Living Dead.

Word of mouth advertising is undoubtedly the oldest type of viral marketing. What is the difference between word of mouth, Ponzi schemes, multi-level marketing and the Susan Boyle YouTube explosion that generated over 47-million online viewers? The answer - it took longer to type about Susan Boyle. They are all essentially the same things. Both real viruses and viral marketing rely on a big supply of susceptible, easily influenced people. Based on this "Bernie" Madoff is the undisputed king of viral marketing having designed and executed the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

The Basic Rules of Viral

The majority of what is labeled viral marketing isn't. Genuine, authentic, honest viral has three common characteristics:

Viral marketing is spread from one person to another. They make the decision and carry the message voluntarily.

The person spreading the message isn't paid, given tools, resources, donations, demo products or any incentives at all.

The message takes on a life if its own. If you have to keep promoting it, it isn't viral.

Everyone wants to go viral - Not!

The hope is that the message or image is so engaging and compelling that it grabs someone's attention so strongly they tell their friends about it who tell more people and the momentum builds. When something goes viral it's like a sneeze splattering 2-million infected droplets all over the place. The message goes everywhere.

Question #1 - Do you need your message going everywhere?

Take a moment to remember those ultra slow-motion videos you saw of a sneeze back in school. Pretty gross and totally uncontrolled. Now plug your marketing plan into the scene. Viral messages are uncontrolled. Once they start you can't stop, clarify or spin them. And, just like a virus, they mutate.

Question #2 - Does everyone really care?

Viral is demand driven. It has the attention span of a hyper three-year-old after a couple of Red Bulls. You can't be a commodity. Differentiation is 100-times more important in viral or those millions of instant eyeballs will talk about the message and forget about the product. The equalizer is this. Is there anything about your product or service that would get people so excited that they would call their friends and families, write and blog about it and make it a cause in their lives - even for ten minutes?

Question #3 - How soon do you need response?

Becoming a viral phenomenon is like standing in your yard and being hit by lightning. There is no formula. There are no viral marketing secrets. On YouTube most people scroll down to Most Popular and watch what's there. Is the goal to accumulate a massive body count or to market your business in tangible, productive, profitable ways?

What You Can Learn From Going Viral

As much as we all love something that's hot and sizzling there really isn't anything new in what is generating conversation and attention online. These are the same content principles that are behind successful marketing and advertising.

• Grab attention instantly.
• Have a clear message and call to action.
• Allow people to care. You can't make people care.
• The message has to be emotional. When something makes us feel we are compelled to share that sentiment with others. Viral is never ambivalent.
• Sell the experience.
• Be unexpected, different, stunning, bizarre, cute, funny, outrageous and memorable. But it must be genuine and real. As network newscaster Daniel Schorr said, "Sincerity: if you can fake it, you've got it made."

Rethink Viral

Look at your company, your customers and how you serve them. Viral isn't the goal, it's the spark. Do you want to be a blazing flash that's brilliant for an instant and then gone? The impression you want to build is not an infection it's more of a wildfire. You have to ignite attention and recognition. Awareness is not an objective. Then you have to keep adding fuel in the form of involvement and interaction. The biggest attraction of going viral is instant gratification and the impression that it's cheap. Reality is marketing is deliberate, strategic and very intentional.

Just because a marketing message is on the Internet or includes a video or is designed to be spread through word of mouth to a niche audience doesn't instantly make it viral marketing. It makes it Internet marketing. Separate the terms from the outcome for a moment. If your message or content doesn't go viral then there is no viral marketing. There is no such thing as a viral marketing campaign. There is just marketing. Remember, you create a marketing message. Your customers make it viral.

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Please Subscribe! There's a new article every week and we are determined to give you valuable information you can use to be successful and make more money. So, go to the Be The First To Know box and just fill it in.

Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences. Positive business results are the objective. He believes that one of the most important results is an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Andy is a principal partner at Think! Consulting Group and The Idea Group.

Social Media Makes Me Feel Stupid - How Do You "Get" It?

Duh!


I'm confused and I admit it. I understand the concept of informal communities. I appreciate the dynamic nature of everyday people sharing interests and opinions. Those things I understand. But when I read the blogs and I talk to the social media consultants I feel like the entire cast of Dumb & Dumber. Do you feel stupid too?

I'm The Elephant Man Of Marketing

I'm cursed. What's wrong with me? They keep telling me I don't get social media. I ask questions and social media experts jump in to explain and suddenly it's like when the adults are talking on a Charlie Brown TV Special - wah-wah-wah. Part of the confusion is no one can make up their minds about what to call the thing. Is it social media, social networking or social marketing?

Social media doesn't define media like the rest of the world. Social marketing isn't about marketing and social networking is redundant since all networking is social or it doesn't exist. I actually heard an executive from a Social Marketing Agency explain that "social media is about how social networking is utilized for social marketing." I missed that entirely, but I don't get social media.

"If you can't convince 'em, confuse 'em." Harry Truman.

Make Social Marketing Less Confusing & Easier To Plan, Target And Use

If social media makes you feel stupid then my goal is to reduce the confusion. If your company, large or small is considering social marketing here are a few things you should understand and consider.

1. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter And Linkedin Don't Matter

Forget where you are going to do social marketing until you figure out how you are going to do it. Signing up is easy, doing something isn't. What social media tools do your customers or clients use? That's where you should go.

2. Find Your Target People And Join Them

Begin with your marketing plan. You are looking for your target customers so invest the time to go online and find where they are in the universe of social whatever. Now this involves more than a couple of Venti Java Chip Frappacinos with a shot of espresso, topped with whipped cream and Maalox. Your customers may be participating in social media, but what they are doing may have nothing to do with your company or its products and services. When the time comes you will joining them and not the other way around.

3. Social Marketing Is Not Free

Social Marketing takes a lot of time, effort, attention and money. Most online experts seem to agree that maintaining relationships on Facebook or MySpace translates to an average of 3-4 hours per day. On Twitter the sweet spot is an average of 20 "tweets" per day. This is for a small business over the course of eight hours.

If that feels like you're living on the computer you are right. It takes people, budget and a very narrow focus. Be very careful before you start. Unless you are prepared to staff your SM efforts 24/7 then don't go anywhere near customer service. Unless your SM staff is trained and empowered to handle business issues just don't go there.

4. Think Baby Steps and Not Quantum Leaps

Take a look at your overall marketing plan and assign some simple objectives to social marketing. Start small, slow and humble. Realize that it isn't like what you have done before. You might make your goal to find your target customers and become a member of their special interests. That's it.

5. There Is No ROI In Social Marketing

You'll find all sorts of claims on this but 1 out of 1000 at the best can actually find something to measure. Major corporations are spending tons of money trying to find some way to make social marketing deliverable measurable, repeatable results. They haven't yet so don't waste any sleep over it. Analytics, web stats and your Google ranking aren't what CFOs have in mind when they think ROI. I know it might sound very capitalistic but at the end of the day all that matters is "dollars in the door." How much profit can you generate by using social marketing compared to your costs? How much profit can you generate by using social marketing compared to other channels?

6. Traditional Marketing Is Not Dead

Social marketing doesn't sell your product, service or company. It really doesn't sell at all. It isn't going to deliver thousands of motivated, qualified customers or clients to you. Remember the purpose of the online social experience is conversation and community. It is slowly building preference. I have to smile whenever I read a press release or news story about some executive proclaiming that traditional marketing is dead. For decades marketing and advertising have been accused of following the fads and trends. Now all of a sudden we're entrenched and right in there with Fred and Barney. But, I just don't get social media.

Please Don't Tell Me That I Just Don't "Get" Social Media

"It's simply beyond words. It's incalculable." Michael Scott on The Office.

I'm not stupid. Social media excites me. But let's not attempt to make it more than it is. Business is looking for someway out of an economic recession and is hoping that social media might generate revenue- somehow. And at the other end are individuals desperate to have something to sell so they make social media into a cause-passion-political-social-economic movement. The reality is social media is simply people talking.

MySpace, Facebook, Twitter - there is already discussion that they are on the decline because they have become too mainstream. Too many ordinary people and companies are using them. It won't be long before social marketing is just one more marketing channel. Then, the fans of the latest innovation will look at it and declare that social marketing is dead … and we just don't get the "next new thing."

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Please Subscribe! There's a new article every week and we are determined to give you valuable information you can use to be successful and make more money. So, go to the Be The First To Know box and just fill it in.

Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences. Positive business results are the objective. He believes that one of the most important results is an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Andy is a principal partner at Think! Consulting Group and The Idea Group.