The B. J. Mendelson Theory

I saw a great interview on CNN this week, and it really struck a chord with me.

The interview was with B. J. Mendelson, and his new book is entitled

“Social Media is Bull Shit”.

The title, obviously, is designed to get noticed, and he has been getting a lot of press. I found a more extensive interview on Tech Crunch (link included at bottom of post), and then I spent some time on his website. What he has to say is of direct relevance to small business owners, and I want to share it with you here.

Mendelson is primarily known as a comedian, and he has made good use to social media over the years to promote himself and his favorite causes. One unique fact about Mendelson is that, although he has these negative things to say about social media, he has 770,000 Twitter followers. (The Tech Crunch interview explains how that happened.)

So, Why does he think that Social Media is B. S.?

Actually, he doesn't disparage the various social media components as communications tools. He is attacking the myth that social media platforms can be used to make people successful, well-known, and rich.

This myth is perpetuated by the media (it kind of feeds on itself) and, most importantly, the large number of marketers promoting themselves as Social Media Specialists. These are the people that convince small business owners, artists, writers, musicians, etc., that they can make a huge splash just by adroitly manipulating social media. Using some more salty language, Mendelson refers to this process as the “Asshole Based Economy.”

His personal experience, and that of many others that he interviewed for the book, is that social media is unable to build a reputation and won't create a fan base. For most of the people listed above, it is just a waste of time. And if you add in a consultant, it becomes an expensive waste of time.

Why does a guy with 770,000 twitter followers think it is a waste of time?

His main points are these:

• If you are already known in RL, then social media is a great way to stay in touch with your “fan base”.
  
• Much of the activity on Twitter, for example, is from celebrities, comedians, and journalists. These people developed their following in real life, before moving to Twitter.
  
• You can get Twitter followers and Facebook connections, but most of those people won't actually engage with you, buy your books or records, or go to your events. If you aren't already famous and worth knowing, social media won't make you so.

Practical Tip of the Day:

• If you aren't a major “name”, don't accept a marketing plan that claims it will turn you into a big social media presence overnight.
  
• It's your real life, analog activities that will build your reputation and your audience. You have to first develop this audience before digital communication platforms can be of much use.
  
• If you do have a customer list / subscriber base that is interested in hearing from you, give them valuable content. Not just what's on sale this month. 
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You can see the TechCrunch interview with Mendelson HERE.

5 Signs it's Time for a New Strategy

I have written often about making strategic marketing changes. This post addresses the question “How will I know when it's time for a change?”


1.) It's Always about Price

If your customers are always making buying decisions based primarily on price, then its time to thoroughly re-examine your marketing strategy. An effective strategy offers your customers things they need and want, and that they can't get from the competition. Your customers have a vivid imagination, and their “nice-to-have” list is continually expanding. If you do a good job of delivering those results, the “nice-to-haves” migrate to “must-haves”, and you have outmaneuvered the competition. Additionally, your price and margin situation will also improve.

If you don't offer your customers these distinctions, you'll never get out of the downward price spiral.


2.) You're Losing Good People

If your best staff are looking to move on, this is another sign that it's time for reconsideration. Really good employees are looking for a challenge, and for a place where they can grow. If they have decided that working for you is no longer interesting or challenging, they will look elsewhere. Further, your best people are on the look-out for innovative ways to address the market. If you can't provide that, others will. Address this situation now, before the best are gone and only the mediocre remain. That will make it even harder to turn things around.


3.) The Annual Plan is a Photocopy

Perhaps a more up-to-date sign would be if this year's plan is really just a cut-and-paste version of the last one. Try this test: Pull out the plan from 5 years ago, and highlight 3 major differences in this year's plan. Hard to do? Then it is time for major change. No business can succeed today with the same plan it ran 5 years ago. Too many market factors have changed. Some, radically.


4.) People Confuse You with the Competition

Is this scene familiar: you introduce yourself and your company at some business event, and people think you work for your competition? If people don't automatically know who you are, and how you differ from the competition, that's a sign that some change is needed. When people don't know what sets you apart from the competition, it's because you haven't told them. Some new ideas are in order.


5.) It Just isn't Fun Anymore.

Here is the final and most important sign. Time for a truly honest gut-check. Are things still fun? Is there a sense of adventure everyday when you get to work? Are you always interested in telling people what wonderful things your company is doing? Perhaps more interested than they are in listening to you go on and on?

This is an instinctual assessment, rather than the quantifiable ones listed above. But it is no less valid. If it isn't fun, exciting, and challenging anymore, then you (and your staff) run the risk of just going through the motions.

If these points hit home, then it is time for a change. Some real change, not just tinkering with the details. You need something radically new, and you need to shake things up.

Like the Nike ad says: Just Do It!

The Power Of A Conversation

I saw this line in a recent Wells Fargo Bank commercial. In the ad, they portrayed their banking counselors as courteous, helpful, and full of useful insights. But most of all, they wanted to convince people to come into the bank and just “engage in a conversation”.

It's a great concept, and I am recommending it to you. Except, I want you to turn the idea around. I want you to focus on having a conversation with your customers. Many of them. Non-customers and former customers as well.

In most small businesses, the owner was the original salesperson. He spoke with all of the customers, fielded all of the calls from prospects, and had first-hand knowledge of what was going on in the marketplace.

Then, things got busier. The business expanded, and many of the routine sales duties were handed out to others. Unfortunately, the owner (now Chief Operations Officer) began to loose contact with his best source of information about his customer base.

So how do you cure this problem? Just go have a series of conversations with various members of your target audience.

• Don't leave this to your sales staff.  They are too focused on closing another sale today.
  
• Don't rely on your marketing person to tell you what your customers think. They may be too “inbred” to be really objective.
  
• Don't rely on your customer support people. They're focused on giving customers quick solutions, them moving on.

You really need to do this yourself. Here are some thoughts on how to do it effectively.

With whom should you converse?

Start with your best customers. Actually, that may not be strictly true. You should stay in touch with your best accounts, but keep in mind that they may not be representative of your overall market. Oftentimes, the names at the top of the customer list are there because of special relationships, or unique product packaging, or other circumstances that aren't relevant to your other customers. So, for the purpose of this survey, you might start with accounts further down the list. They may be more typical.

How should you organize this conversation?

Ask if you can stop in and see them for a few minutes. Get out of the office and go to them. Let them know you just want a conversation about your business relationship, your products, and the market. Make sure they understand you aren't there to ask for an order. Maybe even take them out to lunch, in small groups. That can help the conversational atmosphere.

What should you ask?

The purpose is to get deeper insight into your customer's needs, their thoughts about your organization and the competition, and ideas about where the market is headed. Get them to talk about the issues that are most important to them, and you will develop a good picture of market expectations.

And how should you respond?

Consider this a general research project, not a problem-solving event. The important outward response is a simple Thank You for taking the time to meet.

The important inward response is your analysis of the ideas, trends, and patterns found. You may uncover some nuggets of gold here that will help you devise innovative solutions to your customer's problems.

So, there's this week's advice. Get out of the office. Engage your customers in some casual (yet productive) conversation. Don't ask them for an order. Just listen to the things that they think are important.

Your future lies in there, somewhere.