Leveraging Scarcity To Your Advantage
Think about rare or exclusive things, either that you own, or that you would like to own. What is it about them that makes them attractive? Is it the fact that they are of high quality or a luxury brand? The truth is, those are more givens than anything else. The real reason may be in fact, because, it is a hard to get item. At least thats what the marketing would have you believe. It may be a limited edition, or 1 of 100 produced, or something to that effect.
Echo Republic: Follow the Artist. Share in the Success.
Music is a big part of my life. I love listening to it as I brainstorm ideas, while traveling long distances, and before going to work out. It is an extension of our lives. To me, everyone needs a personal soundtrack. It makes life a lot more interesting. As the music industry has dramatically progressed and shifted to the online model, I began to think how artists could add to their bottom line as we all know only a few bands make it to big stage. Through some research and some imagination, I imagined a stock market for music. The concept being you could buy or short shares of singles or albums on a music stock exchange. When music is first debuted on the radio, sometimes you just know when a song will become number one. The idea of the music stock exchange is to be able to cash in on that hunch. It would benefit music fans as well as the artists.
Buying Into the Experience
Every once in a while, I will come acros someone who consciously chooses not to buy into the experience of certain brands, yet they continue to buy from the companies. This surprises me, as it would seem that the experience would add to the buying experience and product or service experience. As with anything, there are multiple viewpoints as to why a person may not buy into the experience. Let’s explore these different sides.
The Joneses Effect
The Joneses. The movie came out in 2009 and from what I remember was somewhat quiet as far as press and coverage. It depicted the typical ‘American Dream’ family with the house in the suburbs and all the toys one could want.
Famous in 31 Days: A Documentary
Movies fascinate me. I love the interwoven stories and how the characters come to interact with each other. Documentaries also fascinate me. They are personal stories of triumph, heart-break, depression, and happiness all rolled into a roller coaster ride as you ride along through their journey. The thing about documentaries is that the people don’t need to be traveling very far for it to be an adventure. Although the docs where the people travel the United States or the world are my favorite.
Segmented Consulting
What exactly is segmented consulting? It is the idea of taking the process of a specific service and breaking it down into segments similar to a TV or radio show might do. Why? By creating these segments, you can better define what your service offers and you are also starting to turn that service into the feeling of a product. When your clients come to know that at “x” point during the consulting session, “y” will happen, they can prepare for it, look forward to it, be excited about it, etc.
B2B Series: Wrap Up & Bonus
About 8 weeks ago, I began a series of articles called Back 2 Basics as I began to see a gap in the market. Many entrepreneurs start a business, a practice, yet they start without the basics. The goal, over the last 8 weeks was to close that gap, covering topics that build upon each other in order to create a platform, position and grow the brand, and execute the plans that were made.
Objectified
As someone who has a background in various aspects of design, my mind and imagination are very visual. I recently discovered a documentary film that discusses industrial design of everyday items that we use and experience. The idea behind those items is that people may not realize that they had even been designed. They are what they are. But there much deeper thought into these everyday products. The film looks at the experience that the product will offer, how people will become attached to the product emotionally, and how and why people are attached to these material products. It is a fascinating look at design, at the thoughts and processes that designers go through, and those designers are influencing our lives with their products.
B2B Series: Execution
Execution. The test to see how the market will react to your brand, its mission, and what it stands for. Will the target market connect emotionally how you have planned? Will a community start to form on its own, empowered from the message of the brand?
Creating Effective Marketing Campaigns
Marketing campaigns, words that make some entrepreneurs cringe. A phrase that some small business owners avoid altogether. Yet, it is effective marketing campaigns that will allow your business to grow and to explore new markets.But what is an effective marketing campaign? And how can you create them if you don’t know what they are?
