StrategyToRun.it - Simone Lovati Blog [English version] http://strategytorun.it how to run a profitable business starting from ideas posterous.com Sun, 23 Oct 2011 02:38:21 -0700 Do daily deal sites benefit local businesses? http://strategytorun.it/do-daily-deal-sites-benefit-local-businesses-42239 http://strategytorun.it/do-daily-deal-sites-benefit-local-businesses-42239 In my opinion daily deal sites, like Group-on, are an "acquisition machines" and maybe every local business has to try them.

If the CAC (client acquisition cost) is less than the CAC of other acquisition tactics, i think that daily deals can be a right investment, at 2 conditions:
1. Local businesses have not to reduce the customer experience to still have a markup in the deals
2. They have to see daily deals like a chance to give a test to their services, so they have to deliver their best effort, not a low cost version of their services

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Mon, 04 Jul 2011 07:24:00 -0700 Three ways to innovate your offer by discovering unsatisfied needs http://strategytorun.it/three-ways-to-innovate-your-offer-by-discover http://strategytorun.it/three-ways-to-innovate-your-offer-by-discover

In such a process as the definition of your own offer, where most of the effort should be put in the differentiation and research of unique benefits, it seems strange that our starting point is often the attempt to reach some kind of equality with the competitors on the value offered to the market. 
An attempt by everyone to offer the same conditions to the potential client.

This happens because the client we address to is often the ideal client, someone who already knows what he is buying, someone who is aware of his needs as much as he is aware of the offer. For this reason he tends to ask for things that nobody is offering or things that one of your competitors has and you seem not to have.

Satisfying the needs of this costumer means matching your own offer point by point with the competitors' offer. It means getting in what I call the competition of the “x-sario”, that is a challenge based on a chart comparing the features of different products, where “x” identifies the presence or absence of a certain feature. 

The competition of the “x-sario”

In these hyper-competitive markets where everybody aims at the ideal client, the “x-sario” of the features becomes an instrument of choice for the client, even if he has no real need to be satisfied.
Imagine when you go buying a new car: ¾ of the features or frills you base your comparison on will eventually prove totally useless for you. You never needed them before, and probably you won't need them once you have them; nevertheless part of your choice is based on a comparison between these elements. Do you prefer a model with 12 airbags rather than one with 10, or automatic wipers rather than manual ones, automatic control of tyre pressure and so on. Given the price, the more the better, this is what you think. And this way of thinking is exactly what fuels the race for functionality and flattens the offer. 

Until someone decides to change the rules and starts innovating and introduces a new driver in the competition.
If we come back to our example in the automotive industry, this is exactly what happened with Toyota and the hybrid cars: helped by a global “green” boost things have suddenly changed, the “x-sario” was no more crucial and new parameters like consumption, pollution, recycling and so on came into play.

I wrote this article for those who are tired of running after the newest feature and want to start innovating their offer. 
To these people I suggest three ways to change the situation:

1. Start thinking of all the clients you never thought of

Here it's about overturning the above-mentioned process. Instead of starting with an ideal client, start with a potential client that you haven't been able to serve yet, because of a low spending power or because not well informed on the offer in your field. Get the notion into your head: asymmetries in information are not a threat but a chance for you and your business.
To serve this kind of client we always try to develop a lighter version of our offer: less content, less features (reduced “x-sario”) a price lower than the complete version. Note that this way of thinking is often a feature of western companies when working in emerging markets, where it is commonly thought that a less developed demand can be satisfied by a simpler offer.

Again, the starting point is wrong: your offer is thought for an ideal client and a lower offer could be very far from the new needs of these markets.  
To build your “value proposition” you have to go among them, understand clearly what their needs are, and find a way – often totally different from the current one – to serve them, keeping in mind that they are not a “minus target” and it's your offer that needs to be totally designed for their needs. 

Go back to the basics, to your assets, you will probably have a lot of things that you consider too banal for your current market, things that with the right business model could turn into a great “value proposition” for this markets!
When Ryanair started conceiving his offer, they didn't address to frequent travellers, they dind't try to develop the best possible consumer experience for plane-habitues: they addressed to the people who usually travel by car or train. They aimed at the people who couldn't afford a weekend in London.
All these people had no need for a better “menu”, for better services in the airport and on board, for frills, movies and so on... they simply weren't traveling by plane, they wanted to travel but couldn't afford it!
Ryanair addressed to them, started thinking of cars and trains as competitors, and offered a solution that was until then unthinkable for standard airlines: direct sale only online (without agencies!) secondary airports, no service on board, pricing depending on the booking timing, starting price lower than filling up at the petrol station...

2. Think like a start-up company, DON'T start from your own offer

Your current offer is built for and with the ideal clients. If you want to innovate, forget that!
Start thinking of your true assets, focus on what you can do really well, instead than what you have to sell!
When I started with ADVB Strategic Minds in 1999 it was easy, I had no client, no service and I could start thinking from blank paper.

After 10 years of business, a lot of experience and a full portfolio for a strategic consulting company, I found myself much more in trouble when I had to innovate the offer and think outside the ideal client. 
For years our services were thought for a target of people with a clear head, looking for market analysts and strategical minds to develop new business models or innovate their own competitive placement.
What did we do with people who didn't have a clear head yet? For those who didn't want to invest thousands of € but were only looking for advice? Simply, like all the other strategic consulting companies, we did nothing!
We hid behind the classical saying “This client is not ready for strategic consulting yet!”.

Later, in 2010, we paid a great effort, we started thinking like a start-up. We asked ourselves: if we were to start a company today, what could we offer to these potential clients, to the “minus-target” that everybody ignores?
We listened, tested, thought through and we found out that their need is not to run market research, business plan and break-even analysis...
Their only need is to understand which idea is valid, what are its risks and how to develop it effectively.
And to achieve this you don't need a business plan, you need to meet real people, to talk constantly to the people in your field who have already lived all this, and made mistakes, and realized... And we had all these strategical minds, we had more than 400 around the world!!!

It was all about creating a team of sharp minds for each project and send them thinking with the client. In this way the ADVB Strategic Minds service that makes me more proud is born: it's called Achieve Team (A-team, for friends!).
A low cost consulting service for those who have a business idea and want to talk to us to make it stronger and develop in a very short time a profitable business model. For those who are not yet ready to spend thousands of € in business planning, but are convinced that 2 sharp minds in a room always produce something!

3. Look at how the people solve problems and were they meet difficulties

Ok. You are in Kenya, it's not the world's poorest country, but not even the most developed. 
You work in Nairobi and your family lives in Mombasa, 500 km far, and you can't go there more than a few times per year, or you will spend the little money you earn in traveling. You are there to work and transfer the money to your family at home. To do this you don't use banks, because you have no bank account, you use local agents but without any warranty and you can often be cheated. 

But – this is a paradox of the world we live in – you have a mobile phone, like other 20 millions Kenyans (50% of the population!!!), Safaricom, the main mobile phone provider in Kenya, has a great service called M-Pesa “Send Money Home” (“Pesa” in swahili means money), you go to a Safaricom ATM like when you charge your mobile, you give them the money you want to send home, they accredit it on your mobile account, and then you text your wife with a code and the amount of money that you want to transfer, she goes with her mobile to a Safaricom ATM – they are everywhere – she shows the code and her mobile to the agent... and she withdraws the money! No risks, as easy as texting!

Why did I tell you this nice story?

* Because M-Pesa changed the lives of millions of people in Kenya and it's the first successful case of P2P money transfer in the world!
* Because all of you (including me) would think of Kenya like a country where you offer the lower version of our mobile phone services
* Because Safaricom looked at how people solve problems and without – and not only – thinking of any advanced mobile service!
* Because, if you think of it, we all have the chance to conceive an idea like M-Pesa in our job, we just need to believe in it and think outside the box!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Sat, 05 Feb 2011 06:59:16 -0800 Call-to-action that rocks http://strategytorun.it/call-to-action-that-rocks http://strategytorun.it/call-to-action-that-rocks
Rapidshare_ag_cham_switzerland

I love this adv to call a premium upgrade!

Time vs Money... because waiting sucks and cost much than to buy;)

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:35:01 -0800 Turn your weakness into a success factor http://strategytorun.it/turn-your-weakness-into-a-success-factor http://strategytorun.it/turn-your-weakness-into-a-success-factor

A real example from Zermatt (CH)

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:03:00 -0700 [Run Leads] Winning new clients with alliances http://strategytorun.it/run-leads-winning-new-clients-with-alliances http://strategytorun.it/run-leads-winning-new-clients-with-alliances

Wherever you work, your potential for winning new clients follows this equation:

[lead-generation potential] = f ([product excellence], [word-of-mouth]) + c

 where by word-of-mouth, I mean your company’s “reach”: how well you’re known, how well esteemed, how unique you are, how much you’re spoken about.

It’s not a linear equation because potential sometimes increases suddenly, jumping to new levels of excellence or uniqueness, but also because word-of-mouth is often, in turn, a function of the excellence of your products.

The “c” factor doesn’t represent the “luck” component but rather “external factors” such as market conditions.

If you think about it, all of your marketing efforts are focused on these two factors:

1. How to do things better than others, how to be different

2. How to meet others and make yourself known

It’s a challenge that seems to be “you against the world”, a journey that’s often discouraging because marketing is tough, with few ready-made solutions and in need of lots of practice…it’s a question of feeling more than a question of strength.

In this search for the best, sometimes you need to think about not doing things all by yourself. You need to raise your head and take a look around, understand who is already great at doing what you do and find in that person a valuable ally. And in my opinion, you need to do that early, well before deciding to spend time and resources to continue alone!

An ally can make you grow much faster and you can “inherit” part of his greatness…speaking of which, I’m going to tell you a personal story and a textbook case history:


Personal Story
ADVBOUCLE Strategic Minds and the Marketing Consultants Group

1run-leads-conquistare-nuovi-cl

At the end of 2007, my company had a good number of active projects and a terrific network of consultants who could be counted on if we needed a hand. Together with Cristina and Dario, we decided that from that moment on ADVBOUCLE (founded in 1999) would no longer be a consultancy firm based on the work of its internal associates and staff but would focus all its efforts on a new driver, an “external” asset: the network of consultants!

Thus, a new idea was born: the idea of developing projects through a network of consultants outside of the four walls of our office, perhaps even far away, in Russia, Morocco, the United States…but extremely close thanks to the power of the network and online project sharing tools (www.37signals.com), which we already successfully used internally. ADVBOUCLE Strategic Minds was born!

 Then, we immediately thought of an environment capable of letting us meet new consultants—knowing well that the real thrust behind our company did not just lie with the basis of the new business model—but also that making yourself known to colleagues in the long run also means being recognized by the market as a reference point…in short, it was about improving our function f ([product excellence], [word-of-mouth]).

 We thought about developing a social network for consultants to acquire new professional skills and learn of our potential colleagues’ talents in the field…it was a mistake. We invested a lot of money and, for months, found ourselves tied up improving the website and facing difficulties of making it known.

Finally, in April 2008, we found a solution: we didn’t have to develop a new social network, we could simply “join forces” with the best and develop our idea…we ended the project and started the Marketing Consultants Group on LinkedIn.

 We immediately switched gears. In just a few months, our group collected dozens of registrations; it became a meeting point with colleagues around the world (and a daily one for many at that)…and at the same time, our network began to develop with new consultants, many of whom today are not just friends, but true references!

Today, ADVBOUCLE Strategic Minds has an active network spanning from Italy to Australia with 400+ consultants. Sometimes the group is so active, it surprises me that it’s ours!


 Case History
NIKE+ and POLAR

Run-leads-conquistare-nuovi-cl

A few years ago, Nike launched a fantastic running program, Nike+, a shoe line with the possibility of inserting a sensor capable of tracking time, speed and distance run and then transmitting the data to your watch or even your iPod…

But the real killer feature of this program was the idea of sharing training experiences lived by runners around the world on a custom website…it changed history, transforming an often solitary event, running, into a social experience!

A brand historically tied to shoes found itself in full competition with the heavy hitters of the training accessories world like Polar, Suunto and recently (with GPS), Garmin…


Surely with fewer functions, no heart rate monitor, no GPS…but with the explosion of the function:

[lead-generation potential] = f ([product excellence], [word-of-mouth]) + c

thanks to the power of [word-of-mouth] generated by the social experience!

I know people who have started to run just to try it out J

For a couple of years, the other players gave chase: Polar and Garmin developed their own websites…and Nike continued to improve its own without looking to equal the countless functions of the competition’s accessories.

0run-leads-conquistare-nuovi-cl

Then this year, Nike+ added the (much-requested) heart rate monitor. It could have done it by itself, but instead Nike chose to join forces with the leader: Polar.

Because:

 

  1. Whoever has a Polar can now also use Nike+…Polar gains the advantage of the legendary Nike+ website and Nike gains the reliability and experience that Polar has in heart rate sensors.
  2. Nike+ and Polar divide the costs of the product launch.
  3. The number of clients doesn’t just add up, it multiplies.

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:11:40 -0700 My essential apps list on iPad http://strategytorun.it/my-essential-apps-list-on-ipad http://strategytorun.it/my-essential-apps-list-on-ipad
My-essentials-ipad-apps-list

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:15:06 -0700 [my answer] Will Chinese Luxury Shoppers Embrace The “Logo-Less” Trend? http://strategytorun.it/my-answer-will-chinese-luxury-shoppers-embrac http://strategytorun.it/my-answer-will-chinese-luxury-shoppers-embrac
Many times Logo has been a shortcut to persive the value of a product.
Less consumer culture is there and more consistent is the logo in buyer choices...

Today many luxury brands are down-scaling logo on their products like shirts, bags... 

On Twitter @Giuliano Noci ask me: 

Will Chinese Luxury Shoppers Embrace The “Logo-Less” Trend?

My answer:
No, maybe China and Far East still have not the consumer culture to "understand" the luxury value of a product without an artificial shortcut. 

See more here:

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Sun, 08 Aug 2010 06:10:00 -0700 What the Fuck is my social media "strategy"? http://strategytorun.it/what-the-fuck-is-my-social-media-strategy http://strategytorun.it/what-the-fuck-is-my-social-media-strategy

MAKING IT UP SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO

Provide brand ambassadors with compelling conversation hooks to enter into communities and fuel advocacy

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Mon, 19 Jul 2010 07:11:38 -0700 The Problem of Easy Marketing http://strategytorun.it/the-problem-of-easy-marketing http://strategytorun.it/the-problem-of-easy-marketing

The problem of web marketing and marketing in general, is the mass of confusion that encircles these two phenomenon. This if for two reasons:

  1. Generally, the entry barriers are very low for someone who wants to offer marketing consulting. All you need is a computer, an internet connection and a few original ideas. However, making marketing really work is another question entirely.
  2. The calculation of returns is always either too easy or frighteningly difficult. You expect that the first case results in an action or a reaction of some kind, whilst behind the second scenario is hidden the phrase “it’s to think about in the medium-run”.

The reality is that marketing is irreversably tied to the company, its employees, the choices made, the services offered and the assets it owns. The first step in order to do something different is to stop proposing services, to really emerge onself in the cultura of the company that your are trying to help. If at this stage you find “the right ingredients” then you can think about continuing with the project, if not its best to move on.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:11:00 -0700 [TEST Run] Gatorade Social Control Centre, are they really listening? http://strategytorun.it/test-run-gatorade-social-control-center-are-t http://strategytorun.it/test-run-gatorade-social-control-center-are-t
The Story

Gatorade recently created the Gatorade Mission Control Centre at their Chicago headquarters. The Mission Control Centre is a room that sits right in the middle of the marketing department and can be best thought of as a war room for monitoring the brand in real-time across the various social media channels (via Mashable) 

Gatorade4

The Promise
According to Carla Hassan, Gatorade’s Senior Marketing Director of Consumer & Shopper Engagement, the goal of the project is to “take the largest sports brand in the world and turn it into largest participatory brand in the world.” With that in mind, the company’s not only monitoring its brand on social media, but giving its fans increased access to its athletes and scientists.

The Question
Is it true? Or is it simply a marketing tactic to create buzz on buzz...
Are they using it in on a day-to-day basis to really listen to people OR are they utilizing it as just another method for producing graphs and statistics to put in a monthly report?

The TEST Run
Will they see this post? How long will it take?

  1. NO!
    They don't see anything...
  2. 1 month
    They see the post, only after many retweets
  3. 2 weeks
    They see the post...not so fast, but they are listening 
  4. 48h
    Congratulations to Gatorade, the 1st brand that is REALLY listening!

Ladies & Gentlemen, please place your bets...and obviously retweet to test

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:17:00 -0700 7 Pricing Tips to Generate New Profits and Growth Tomorrow Morning http://strategytorun.it/7-pricing-tips-to-generate-new-profits-and-gr http://strategytorun.it/7-pricing-tips-to-generate-new-profits-and-gr

No matter the size of your company or the product or service it offers, these 7 pricing strategies will increase profits and generate growth.

Read the Full Story:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/36134874

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:00:00 -0800 Buzz Marketing: a new channel to push content OR an opportunity to conversate? http://strategytorun.it/buzz-marketing-a-new-channel-to-push-content http://strategytorun.it/buzz-marketing-a-new-channel-to-push-content
You're well aware that Buzz (and I mean not only the Google tool, but generally the word of mouth online) is a huge opportunity to listen to conversations and to engage in them...
Buzz-conversations-vs-marketin

Yet why is it that when people speak about buzz they still speak more about push marketing issues than about conversations?

3 reasons:

1. it's simpler - spreading words in a new channel is simpler than knowing the rules of it and partecipating
2. marketers still think about what they want to say, NOT about what people are saying about them
3. to partecipate you cannot outsource the work to your clerks, you have to get in the game

* Many thanks to JeffClark for the TwitterVenn diagram tool

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:47:00 -0800 A lower price for e-book can't change the math, but can change numbers! http://strategytorun.it/a-lower-price-for-e-book-cant-change-the-math http://strategytorun.it/a-lower-price-for-e-book-cant-change-the-math

From The New York Times:
"Math of Publishing Meets the E-Book
E-books are cheaper to produce than print volumes, but consumers may
not realize that expenses like overheads and royalties are still in
effect, publishers say."

http://s.nyt.com/u/lTl

It's true. Consumers want continually lower prices, perhaps even below the the level that would allow publishers to be profitable. What they NYT article fails to mention is that the level of demand can change with lower prices! Before the release of iTunes I bought about 1 music CD in a month. In the last 2 years I have bought about 1000 songs, about 8 times more than I would have done had I not had access to iTunes!! The maths is the same, that's true, but the numbers can change. Don't forget it!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Sat, 27 Feb 2010 09:08:00 -0800 Your phone will replace your loyalty cards http://strategytorun.it/your-phone-will-replace-your-fidelity-cards http://strategytorun.it/your-phone-will-replace-your-fidelity-cards


Retailers are turning to mobile phone applications as devices for information. 
 
IMHO
Soon your phone will also function as your loyalty cards as well.
...via your wi-fi phone you will have more information about new finance products when you visit your Bank or real time discounts whilst browsing the isles of your local supermarket. 
...via a photo you will be able to see the sizes available when looking a pair of shoes
...and so on! 

http://s.nyt.com/u/GIR

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:16:00 -0800 Monitoring conversations on web mean more than searching your brand in Google http://strategytorun.it/monitoring-conversations-on-web-means-somethi http://strategytorun.it/monitoring-conversations-on-web-means-somethi

'Some organisations believe that [online] conversations about them
just do not exist,' says Michelle Goodall, social media marketing
consultant at Econsultancy. 'But monitoring is not just about focusing
on your organisation, it's also about direct and indirect competitors.
It can help you gain an understanding of competitor customer service
or product issues, to analyse gaps for potential products or services
or to help understand why their communication campaigns did or didn't
work.'
via http://ow.ly/197Xx

The right equation to monitor conversations and get value from them?
TECHNOLOGY+PEOPLE+REALTIME=VALUE

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:34:00 -0800 Real Leaders Don't Do Focus Groups http://strategytorun.it/real-leaders-dont-do-focus-groups http://strategytorun.it/real-leaders-dont-do-focus-groups

Apple is famous for not engaging in the focus-grouping that defines most business product and marketing strategy, which is partly why Apple products and advertising are so insanely great. They have the courage to stand by their own convictions instead of following the whims of everyone else. On the subject, Steve Jobs loves to quote Henry Ford who once said that if he had asked people what they wanted they would have said "a faster horse."

Focus groups are all about reference points. Make it more like this, less like that. Whether it's business, social business, or charity, breakthroughs are defined by the absence of reference points, and leadership is defined by the courage to leave all of the reference points behind.

...

Imagine if they focus-grouped the iPhone:
"Can't you have a physical keyboard that slides out of the back, like all of the other phones?"

Imagine if they focus-grouped Disneyland:
"Can't you make it so I can see everything in a day?"

Imagine if the focus-grouped the Apollo program:
"I think the goal should be 20 years instead of 10."

Imagine if they focus-grouped any of the things that really inspire us. Imagine if they put all of the comfortable reference points back in for us.

Take people to the places where there are no reference points, and leave the focus groups — and the competition — behind.

via blogs.hbr.org

Conversations and buzz are giving us a huge opportunity to take a step forward, for the 1st time we can listen to people, just as if we were in a bar, and learn about their needs and their life... we have to re-think our marketing model:
- starting to listen and not to push
- starting in R&D and not simply in Leads and Sales
- starting to keep in touch (real) manager and people

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:06:00 -0800 [new Book] Listening Playbook. Why and how to listen to customer conversation http://strategytorun.it/new-book-listening-playbook-why-and-how-liste http://strategytorun.it/new-book-listening-playbook-why-and-how-liste

Written by Advertising Research Foundation experts, this book explains how
listening helps brands to achieve the full range of marketing objectives,
from finding new customers through to acquisting loyalty.

Media_httpstaticluluc_zhghb

I have ordered it right now on Lulu
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/the-arf-listening-playbook/8239006.
Soon a review...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:32:00 -0800 Every Worker Should Be C.E.O. of Something http://strategytorun.it/every-worker-should-be-ceo-of-something http://strategytorun.it/every-worker-should-be-ceo-of-something
You can manage 50 people through the strength of your personality and lack of sleep. You can touch them all in a week and make sure they’re all pointed in the right direction. By 150, it’s clear that that’s not going to scale, and you’ve got to find some way to keep everybody going in productive directions when you’re not in the room.
via nytimes.com

I agree with Mark totally, management is an old thing, in my team I'm trying to have: Autonomy, Motivation and clear Purposes...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:33:00 -0800 Web Strategy Matrix: Google Buzz vs Facebook vs MySpace vs Twitter (Feb 2010) http://strategytorun.it/web-strategy-matrix-google-buzz-vs-facebook-v-1 http://strategytorun.it/web-strategy-matrix-google-buzz-vs-facebook-v-1
  Google Buzz Facebook MySpace Twitter
One-Liner A dark horse that has big backing and access to existing platforms. A mainstay platform that needs to grow out its shell. The MTV of this generation is at risk during an ugly transformation. Shows opportunity to become utility-like infrastructure, but not a destination.
Vitals (see more stats) Estimated to sit on a user base of over 100mm active gmail users, they have access to the most popular webpage in the world, google.com. Boasting over 400mm users in just a few short years, they’ve saturated Gen Y in US, and show global expansion at record rates. Recently reported at 57mm US unique users that are highly engaged. Although tracking difficult, estimates indicate 75mm active users, but doubts are emerging about slow down in rate of growth.
Strengths A large talent pool of engineers to pull from, Buzz stands on top of existing Gmail, mobile devices, and dominant search portal.  As Buzz grows, they can integrate with all Google apps –and aggregate the entire internet. Rapid US and international growth. Quickly evolved feature set and platform, with success with FB Connect.  Talent from Google bleeding to Facebook. Big backing by media giant, a super engaged audience, and rich history and reaching media hungry segment. Has clinched adoption over media elite, celebrities, and tech influencers. Incredible media buzz, and dead simple features.
Weaknesses Late to the party, Google has had a series of social networking misfires from Wave, Dodgeball, Orkut their culture shows signs of becoming corporate –like Microsoft. Struggles with the conundrum of having promised users a ‘closed’ experience where to be successful requires them to be ‘open’.  Historically poor track record in meeting privacy expectations of customers, overall confusing interface. In the eyes of the tech world, becoming irrelevant or even worse, niched as a media play –not even lifestyle network.  A ship without leadership as it undergoes radical internal changes. Although features are dead simple, they are now commodity features –status update features are ubiquitous. Mainstream users confused by usage.  Overhyped, the over promised infrastructure has shown strain.  Brands generally confused on how to interact.
Opportunity The more information users share, tag, or create, the more data is created on Google’s platform to organize, giving them opportunity to monetize. By integrating Facebook Connect everywhere, the service becomes ubiquitous, and therefore the default identity and default address book for consumer behavior. A few hours ago, the CEO Van Natta was let go, a new chief can step up, and lead the recently formed executive team, creating innovation and solidarity. Must develop more features to increase the overall value of this utility of the dead-simple status messaging tool.
Threats Mainstay email companies like Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL have already shown social features ‘bolted’ onto their email systems, yet success hasn’t been verified. Secondly, Facebook has made notions to develop an email web client “Project Titan” that will threaten tech savvy users competing for Gmail’s attention. Facebook is a conundrum. Social networks come and go, before MySpace was Friendster, they run the risk of becoming complacent, losing talent to Twitter and failing to innovate over the next few years. Yet, the biggest challenge is, the more data they make open the more Google can ’suck’ in and monetize as an intermediary. Self-implosion from internal instability. In the meantime, media brands develop their own social networking on their own sites, rendering MySpace a duplicate. Worse yet? Cool kids jump ship, and establish a colony elsewhere, leaving MySpace like Friendster. Overhype from media leaves Twitter at risk from a burn-out syndrome like a Hollywood child star turned bad.  Yet, as it becomes more successful the more strain it puts on questionable infrastructure.
Marketing Platform Although not fully developed, expect advertising options to appear for brands who want to promote relevant ads wherever Buzz is located, especially on SERP pages Confusing and overly complicated. There are too many marketing options confusing brands.  It’s not clear if brands should advertise, interact in pages, create widgets or do a combination of both. Strong and straight forward. Established team has cut deals with many media companies and has legacy culture of understanding media. Nascent. Although promises have been made for branded experiences, analytics, and other premium features, for most marketers it’s being treated like a chat room –not a marketing platform.
Future State Buzz will aggregate the voices of their users –and those of other social networks, aggregate and serve up monetization options. A communications platform for consumers and brands.  Expect Facebook experience to be in many public experiences and mobile devices. There are two paths: Integrate MySpace into TV and mobile devices or fade into pit of irrelevance like Friendster. Like gas, water, or power, Twitter is likely to fade into the background and become a utility that’s integrated into everything –even your fridge.
What They Don’t Want You To Know The collective already own you –you just don’t know it yet. They’re trying so hard to shift from closed to open, it’s tearing them apart. Things are falling apart internally, but they don’t want the public to know. Not sure what they want to be when they grow up.
What They Should Do Demonstrate success with Buzz, then quickly integrate into other tools like Search and Chrome. Kill off the confusing Wave, and consolidate teams and effort.  Aggregate public content from Twitter and Facebook, intermediate them and monetize their own content. Get open now. Build a browser to quickly go transcend the web. Reward users to share more information in public like restaurant or media reviews in exchange for other values. Double down efforts on Project Titan email effort. Quickly establish a chain of command and execute based upon a single vision. Have regular talent turnover to avoid complacency. Develop a white label product that can compete with Cisco EOS, Pluck, or Kickapps (client). Develop a vision to become the dominant protocol over SMS, where teens and international are already texting heavily. Continue to build out platform for developers to build on top of, becoming a data play, like a utility.
via web-strategist.com

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:32:00 -0800 What do start-ups need to think about when rolling out a freemium model? http://strategytorun.it/what-do-start-ups-need-to-think-about-when-ro http://strategytorun.it/what-do-start-ups-need-to-think-about-when-ro

Freemium still seems like a tough model. What do start-ups need to think about when rolling out a freemium model?

Here are three things that the CEO of Evernote thinks about:

  1. Make a product that a billion people will fall in love with and use for the rest of their lives.
  2. Make it easy for a single-digit percentage of them to pay you a few bucks a month once in a while.
  3. Make sure your variable costs are low enough that you can make a mountain of profit if you get #1 and #2 right.
via toddsattersten.com

If you can't see how you'll do all three things, go with another business model.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/498356/simonelovati-quad-300.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eIK4mcvcGJ Simone Lovati Lovati Simone Lovati