Kribaby

The Power of the People

My morning started with reading an interesting article from Seth Godin – Joanne is Coming! 

First, props to Seth for knowing someone in

Toronto

(being from

Toronto

and now living in the Middle of

America

I get a little nostalgic).

Second, the point: the POWER of new media, word of mouth and the voice of customers.  The post is about how restaurants used to know who the food critics were and go out of their way to make everything perfect when the critic was in the restaurant.  Now the rules have changed.

Then: Restaurant reviews were done by food critics or experts at what made food and a restaurant good.

Now: People look to Zagat (based on opinions of thousands), online blogs, reviews, forums, recommendations from friends and local listings where people vote for the “Best of”.

It isn’t just important to impress that one person or influencer who will write a review in a big name paper (although that still matters).  It is just as important to be sure that every customer has a great experience, because any one of them (and certainly many of them collectively) can have just as big of a voice, if not bigger than that one critic.  And isn’t this more honest anyways?  Would you rather know that thousands of normal people, just like you loved a restaurant instead of one critic?

The world is a changing.  Everyone now has a voice.  Think about it.  If you are shopping for a new camera, you go online and see what other normal people like you said about the camera – check out the star rating at BestBuy.com, look up a review on CNET, scope out a few forums. 

The power of the internet and user generated reviews forces more honesty in marketing.  The naked truth about how good your company/product/service is will be broadcast, by thousands of people, all over the net.  The only way to survive this is to actually have a great company/product/service.

Then: People would tell 5 – 10 people in their social circle about their experience with a company.

Now: People can reach thousands. Quickly.  Easily. On the internet. With reviews. On their blogs.

It makes me think about how I allocate $ and resources.  Lots of money spent on great marketing can’t overcome having an average product.

I am NOT a Photographer

I AM

I am lots of things.  Marketer, Daughter, Canadian, Female, Blond (well, dyed), Fun, 28, Single...the list could go on forever.

I AM NOT

One thing I am not is a Photographer.  Seriously.  Then I started working at Photrade.  Talking to photographers.  Sounding like an idiot.  So, I thought, I should try to take some good pictures.  Maybe I'll feel like less of a fraud (not that I ever claimed to be a photographer).

So, out I went, with my Canon Powershot in hand - and seriously - look at the results.

This makes me believe that ANYONE can be a photographer (OK, if you are a photographer please don't kill me for saying that).  So, my photos are now posted on Photrade and hey - someone might even buy some.  I have some empty frames that I have been DYING to fill, so I think I'll order some prints of the flower series......

Anyways, the point (if I can say I have one other than bragging about my pictures), is that ANYONE can take really great photos.  Ah the joys of technology.  Anywho, Photrade is invite only, but I do have a few invites hangin out in my back pocket, waiting for a rainy day.  So, if you post a comment I'll share the the love back and hook you up with an invite.  Limited # though

Photrade.com - Exclusive Beta Test LIVE today

In all of my free time (as if) I work on marketing a GREAT and AMAZING and WONDERFUL website www.Photrade.com.  We have the most ways to make money from your photos of ANY site on the net.  Seriously.  That is our claim to fame.  And the bonus is that its true.  The most ways to monetize your photos.  And you don't have to be a photographer (I certainly am not).  You just have to have photos that you like to share or post on your blog.  Yup.  Thats it.  For real.

What does the site do???  Think Photo Sharing PLUS Stock Photography PLUS ad revenue (in my simple terms).  Details can be found on the site or on the photrade blog (which I also have the pleasure of writing).

Photrade.com is currently in an exclusive Beta test, and we have a limited number of invites that we have released to current Photraders and other special people we love.  If you are interested in checking out the site shoot me an email and I might be able to hook you up with an invite.  This is why I'm hot.

Sooo....if you have any feedback on the site, how to make it better, how to market it better, or just how I can be a better overall person, let me know :)

Me at the sweet Brooks and Dunn Concert (and no, I don't even like country music - I just thought it would be fun).

Making Food Porn

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (an advocate for nutrition and health) has called the Hardees’ line of Thickburgers (which have 1400 calories)“Food Porn”.  Seriously.  Food Porn. 

The new Hardees’ breakfast burrito has 920 calories and 60 grams of fat (about half a day’s calories and about a full day’s fat).  Yummm (in a sarcastic and disgusted way). Hardees also makes a 1,100 calorie salad that provides you with a day and a half worth of fat (83 grams of fat baby)…..reminds me of those Bud Light commercials.

This is a brand that knows their customers and creates and markets products that they will love.  Hardees’ doesn’t apologize or make excuses for their product – they are proud of it.  Their customers probably don’t care about the fat content and want a good, greasy, filling, manly breakfast.  Those of us who want to vomit at the mere thought of consuming the new breakfast Fatsicle are clearly not in their target market anyways.  I think that Hardees is officially the anti-Subway.

Spell Check "Blog"

I love that on Wordpress, the word blog comes up as incorrectly spelled when I'm writing in my blog.  You would think that they could do something about that.  Seriously.  According to the spell checker, I may be looking for the words "bog", "log" or "Blag" (what is a blag?).  Interestingly, "Blag" is not an identified word on Typepad spellcheck.  According to dictionary.com a Blag is British slang for a robbery.  Why is that in their dictionary instead of Blg?

On Typepad (a slightly smarter spell checker) blog appears to be in the dictionary, however "blogger" is not.  Replacement options for "blogger" include - "logger", "flogger", "blocker" and "bigger".

So - keep on Flogging on your Blag.

Spending where people trust.....

I was reading an interesting post this morning at Church of the Customer about a new Neilson Study that shows that word of mouth is the best way to reach consumers.

The chart below shows the forms of media most "trusted" by consumers.  Its amazing how big of a role recommendations play in the purchase decision.  Importantly, the only REAL way to get good word-of-mouth and recommendations is to have a great product, that people love and want to talk about.  What you can then do from a marketing perspective is ENABLE people to talk about it.  How do you make it easy for people to talk about how great you are?

What would be interesting would be to compare how companies SPEND their advertising dollars vs. the mediums that drive customers to purchase.  With so many marketing dollars still going towards advertising, you have to wonder when companies will shift their dollars towards the mediums that people CARE about.

Do you spend your marketing dollars on the mediums that people trust?

The List - Extension

So we opted for an extension on The List reveal. Its actually WAAAYYYY harder than I thought.  The List will now be revealed (and published) next week.

Attempting to create The List has been thought provoking and insightful - in order to make progress I had to create "Categories".  For example, Adventure, Career, Travel, Entertainment, etc.  This framework (wow - I am SUCH a nerd) makes it easier to organize my thoughts and really think about what it is that I want to do over the next two years.

So, the agony of making The List continues......and trying to make it really does make me want to cry out!  Stay tuned :)

One Little Phone Call

I purchased this domain name from Godaddy.com last week.  Last night I got a call from GoDaddy.com to see if I had any questions or problems setting up my domain name.

Essentially, Godaddy.com is selling a commodity - there are TONS of different sites where you can buy domain names.  By having great customer service Godaddy.com is standing out versus competition.  This call also gives them the opportunity to up sell me on their additional services (double bonus).  Even though I didn't need any help, knowing that they pro-actively manage customer service is enough for me to use them in the future.

This is the type of execution that takes a company in an uber competitive industry selling a commodity and makes them stand out.  Is this a purple cow?  Maybe light purple.......  This reminds me of examples used in Word of Mouth Marketing - the little extra that makes you better.

So, if your shopping for a domain name......

Tell the record labels to stop CRYING!

I started my day today reading an adweek article about Radiohead.  Radiohead announced that they are allowing users to determine how much they want to pay to download their new album.

More surprising was a statistic in the article that said that on average, people polled said that they would pay $10USD for the album. That is about the same as what iTunes charges for most albums.

The article contained a number of examples of artists who have done this and are actually making MORE per song than iTunes charges (although possibly less in volume?) and more per album than the minimum requirement.

This example really shows brand building and capitalist economics at its finest.  Think about your product – if you offered to allow people to pay you what they thought it was worth, how much do you think they would pay?  How much would you be willing to pay for most of the products you use?

I work on a website www.Photrade.com that allows users to sell their photos at any price (the photo owner sets the price).  I wonder if we allowed purchasers to pay what they thought the image was worth, would the photographers make or less?  My guess is that most would make less.  I think that in order for this type of business model to work, buyers need to LOVE the brand (or the artist, etc.) and have some sort of emotional connection to the brand/product.

This example should encourage the music industry to stop crying about pirated music. Focus on building strong relationships between artists and their fans, (ie. Brand Building?) – this is the free market at work.

A few other interesting blogs on the topic - John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing and The Church of the Customer.

How much would you pay for these photos?

The List

So I turned 28 this week.  Probably not really a big deal, but sort of.  Two years away from the big 3-0 (YIKES), solidly in my late 20's.  Man.  I'm not really sure where I thought I would be at this point of my life, but it certainly wasn't here.  Living in the sweet Midwest.  Living in the US at all for that matter.  No love-life to speak of.  Falling out of love with what once seemed like the greatest job.  Still not knowing what I really want to be doing with myself (but at least on the way there I hope).  Unsure how to prioritize the things that matter in my life.  Wondering what I'm doing, why, what matters??

So, obviously this has made me a little self reflective, which is good, BUT kind of withdrawn and depressing.  Sooooo...in the true K-Rock fashion, I had to find a way to make this fun.  So a friend and I (who also turned 28) decided to make a 30 by 30 list.  The GOAL: To make a list of 30 things to do before we turn 30.  The things on the list have to be:

1. Within my control
2. Something I haven't done before
3. Stretching yet achievable

So, on Tuesday my friend and I will share our lists - and we have a moderator to ensure that we both follow the guidelines.  The idea is that this will motivate me to do the things that I really want to do.  PLUS there is the added accountability.

Trying to make "The List" further underscores how I really have no idea what I want to do.  The first 5 things were easy, but now its getting really tough to come up with things.  What do I want to do before I'm 30?  What can I actually control in my life?  How will I do them?  What if I can't?

Questions, questions.

So, I will spend the weekend in turmoil, trying to come up with "The List" and I'll publish it on Wednesday.  Sweet.  Stay tuned.