Amazon’s Blatant Disrespect of Their Best Customers

March 30, 2008

How do you show your appreciation for your best customers? If you’re book selling giant Amazon.com, you show your “love” by doing your best impression of the Godfather and apply pressure to your suppliers who are also your customers to use your services or suffer the consequences.

Angela Hoy decided to speak out about the bullying on Writer’s Weekly with the article Amazon.com Telling POD Publishers - Let BookSurge Print Your Books, or Else…

Here’s the situation in a nutshell.

POD stands for Print On Demand. Thanks to advanced in “technology” a publisher no longer has to print 5,000 copies of a book and then wait for those copies to be sold. Instead, the books can be produced as they are needed… thus the term, “Print on Demand”.

Many publishers offer POD services and Amazon has their own POD service called Book Surge. Amazon has decided to increase Book Surge’s market share and is putting pressure on POD publishers by issuing the ultimatum: Use our service or we’ll turn off the buy links on Amazon.

Web 2.0 means this story is multiplying like… well, like a virus. That’s why they call it “viral” marketing except in this case, it’s more like anti-marketing because instead of building new business, this story is going to hurt the retail giant. When Angela blew the whistle, she set forth a series of events in which Amazon loses all around.

  • Amazon loses customers… authors who are boycotting the retailer.
  • Amazon loses links… links to their site by authors whose books MAY be remove.
  • Amazon loses the relationship with thousands of authors… who are not only their customers, but also suppliers of product.

It’s obvious that the long term consequences of this action have yet to dawn on the executives at Amazon. Angela reports that Amazon is avoiding putting these “threats” in writing… but the lack of a paper trail won’t save them from their own actions.

I’d like to do my part by listing the 60+ references to this story. Feel free to grab the list below and add it to your own blog. If you want to add your post to the “cause”… the post a comment to this post. If you’ve got your own blog, copy this list and post it on your blog as well. The more links to these posts… the more “traction” this cause will get.

The New Face of “Advertising”

March 28, 2008

Twenty five years ago, advertising meant newspaper, radio, television, direct mail and possibly billboards. Occasionally there would be a need for a magazine buy… but as an agency, our options were “limited”.

Today, your advertising options have multiplied exponentially. However, while the methods of delivery may have expanded, the basics remain the same. Creating a viral video is great “bait” to attract traffic to your web site just as a great television ad can also drive traffic to your web site or blog.

Many small business owners spend a lot of energy in the Quest for the Perfect Ad . Whether it’s crafting the perfect ad copy or creating the perfect logo, the pursuit of perfection in advertising is an exercise in frustration. In the end… the perfect ad isn’t one that wins awards… it’s one that creates new customers or clients for your business. The way to create ads that speak to those new clients/customers is to first identify who those people are and then creating messages targeted specifically to them… a process known as “Niche Marketing“.

In other words… there is nothing “new” under the sun.  There may be new ways to interact with your potential customers… new delivery vehicles for your message… but in the end…  solving the problems of those customers is the foundation of any advertising campaign.

Job Site “The Ladders” Ad Does Tongue in Cheek Well

March 24, 2008

In an earlier post Moveable Type’s Nasty Swing at Wordpress I offered the following advice: Tongue Must Be Firmly Inserted in Cheek Before Delivering Playful Marketing Blows to Your Competitor.

Later in the week, I noticed this ad for the job site “The Ladders” “When you let everyone play, nobody wins”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31ZevWuxrNE[/youtube]

I am by no means a career consultant nor do I follow career sites… but in my wanderings around the blogosphere I have seen posts which directly state that Monster.com is solely responsible for “ruining” online job searches. The ad above is delivering a nice, playful “jab” at Monster… but never mentions Monster by name.

The spot also does a GREAT job of creating a powerful visual for anyone considering searching online for a j-o-b.

Oh, and bravo to the smart marketing professionals at The Ladders for posting this video at You Tube so I can share the actual spot with you here, on my blog.

Words of Niche Marketing Wisdom…Courtesy of a Know It All Bossy B*tch

March 21, 2008

Catherine Lawson writes “Do you think you know it all?” … to which, unfortunately there are times when I must answer… why yes…. I do think I know a damned lot about marketing.

Obviously, I think I know a lot about marketing… because I wrote a book on the subject. Before I wrote the darned thing however, I did a LOT of research. I did this because, in all honesty, I wasn’t that jazzed about writing a book. While I wouldn’t classify myself as lazy, I really didn’t want to go to all the WORK of writing a book. As a matter of fact, I self-published my tiny tome because shopping for a publisher was just more time and effort than I was willing to endure.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find ANY BODY who was covering the topic of “how to” when it comes to choosing a niche.

Book after book, ebook after ebook would recite the same mantra… “Choose a niche”. That’s it. One author went on to recommend that if the dear reader were struggling to choose a niche market, then just open the yellow pages and see where the book opens. Close your eyes, drop your finger to the page and VIOLA, you’ve chosen a niche market.

By this point in my quest, this qualified as a highly intricate and specialized level of instruction.

The authors most books on marketing would then move on to more “interesting” creative topics of the form and substance of creating powerful marketing messages.

Because of my “bossy, know it all” attitude. I wrote a book and covered a subject I considered to be greatly overlooked. How positively entrepreneurial of me.

Blame my perspective on my unique career path… I began working in an agency. The business owners with whom we worked had already successfully identified their niche market and by doing so had built a business that warranted expert management of their marketing message. Then, I chose my own version of the “Mommy track”… and moved into media sales. That moved proved to be more jolting than I had expected. Suddenly, I was working with business owners whose yearly advertising expenditure didn’t equal a single month of print buys for my former clients.

These were the people who needed help in choosing a niche market. These business owners were the ones for whom I wrote my book. People who had to be convinced that by targeting “everyone” they were targeting “no one”.

So that is the background from which I write. I’ve served my time in the trenches… working behind the scenes with literally HUNDREDS of small business owners. This is not theoretical pie in the sky abstract thinking… this is “down and dirty” choose your niche and get starting building your business marketing advice.

So if I come across as a know it all bossy b*tch…. just remember… I’m a pretty grizzled veteran of marketing and advertising. One of the benefits of suffering through decades of the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” is to be able to assume the mantel of Bossy Know it All.  <grin>

Viral Qualities of Video Online

March 19, 2008

Everyone ADORES the Mac Vs PC television ad series… however there are some amusing “anti-Mac” videos appearing on YouTube as well… and these come up in a search for the revered Mac vs PC television ads as well.  This one is ESPECIALLY amusing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEAGmBRC1dc[/youtube]

So yes, video can be viral… but Web 2.0 means it’s easy for users to create a rebuttal.

Moveable Type’s Nasty Swipe at Wordpress

March 17, 2008

Message to Moveable Type regarding your recent swings at Wordpress: Tongue Must Be Firmly Inserted in Cheek Before Delivering Playful Marketing Blows to Your Competitor.

Here’s the deal… Daily Blog Tips is reporting on the “marketing” attempt by Moveable Type in which MT is trying to “poach” Wordpress users who are frustrated by yet another major upgrade to jump ship and join them at Moveable Type.  Saying the exchange was ever “playful” is being very, very generous …it started out ugly and has gotten uglier since.  (Wordpress users can follow along thanks to the dashboard feed.)

Frank Gilroy left a thought provoking comment at the Daily Blog Tips post.

I’m assuming the folks at Six Apart are big Apple fans. Don’t know about the folks at WP. I’m wondering if the whole set of Apple “Switch to Mac” adds coinciding with the launch of Vista was a motivation for this move? Interesting. Perhaps it would have worked better as a video rather than a blog post?

Perhaps indeed… print has always been very bad at conveying deeply emotional responses.  It’s the reason you see the ads for the ASPCA delivered via television instead of via print.  (Images of rescued and abused dogs + Sarah McLaughlin’s gut wrenching song = a television commercial that is difficult to ignore.)

If Moveable Type were to try to take their campaign to video, said videos would have to put a playful, subtle spin on the pros and cons of converting to Moveable Type from other platforms.  This would be in SHARP contrast to the  current blood thirsty jabs that MT Anil Dash is delivering on behalf of his company.  In the Mac vs PC television ads, the subtle and playful “Mac Guy” is affably pointing out the obvious.  Meanwhile, Anil takes to the blogosphere with comments and posts which basically say, “Show me where I’m wrong. What I stated was fact!”

Well.. yeah…. the Anil’s facts may be “right”… but as my sister’s therapist says…. “Would you rather be right or would you rather be happy?”

Moveable may win the battle with Wordpress over who is “right…. but if they’re not careful, they could easily lose the PR war. 

The Apple VS Microsoft ads could have played out in a similar manner. But they didn’t. Here’s’ why:

  1. The famous “Mac vs PC” ad series doesn’t single out a single PC maker. Heck, they didn’t even DIRECTLY name or target Microsoft in the beginning. We all KNEW that’s whose flaws the ads were highlighting… but notice the subtlety used by Apple’s ad team. It’s not Microsoft… it’s a PC. Dell makes PCs… Gateway makes PCs… HP makes PCs….. the fact that all those PCs are shipped with Windows installed is never mentioned.
  2. The famous “Mac vs PC” ad series doesn’t portray the PC man as an overbearing ogre or a drooling idiot. He’s older than the Mac Guy… less “hip”… but he’s not offensive in any way. He wasn’t created as a caricature with his hair slicked back and wearing a plaid leisure suit. He’s affable, he’s sincere… but he’s obviously trying to defend the indefensible in the ad series.
  3. The famous “Mac vs PC” ad series began by pointing out the obvious…
    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQb_Q8WRL_g[/youtube]
    Notice… there’s no sense of “self righteousness” on the part of the “Mac guy”.  He’s caring, he’s compassionate…heck, he even offers PC a tissue.  He’s definitely not gloating or arrogant.  He doesn’t dance over the crashed PC man doing a victory dance.

Throughout the series, you’ll notice how low key the Justin Long (Mac Guy) character remains.  He’s never aggressive… never gloats…. never rejoices in PC’s misery… and he never once says, “Show me where I’m wrong!”

It’s that quiet confidence of the Mac Guy character that is the KEY to the success of the series… and it’s important to note that the quiet confidence quality can NOT be effectively delivered in print.   TBWA Worldwide’s execution of the campaign is flawless.  The visual undertones (young and hip vs old and up tight for example)  are an essential element to the message and the only way to deliver all the essential elements is via video.  The fact that the television ads have gone viral online is just a happy by product of the successful campaign.  Notice though that while this campaign can take a “side trip” to print and radio, the foundation of the campaign is the ubiquitous television buy.

TBWA Worldwide successfully removed Stephen Job over inflated and enormous ego from consumer’s minds and help resuscitate the dying Mac brand.    The folks at Six Apart would be well advised to put their egos away and try for the same…. and remember… this is not a war to be waged in print.  Above all else, place your tongue firmly in cheek before you deliver those marketing blows.

Finding Your Niche Market

March 13, 2008

One of the biggest challenges a new business owner faces is finding his/her niche market. Identifying and targeting a niche market is the foundation of all marketing activities. Ideally, a business foundation is built upon meeting the unmet needs of a target market.

Micheal Gray was inspired recently by an announcement made by an airline stewardess. In his post, Untapped Niches and the Mile High Club

“think about the markets other people shun or stay away from, find creative ways to fill a service people want that no one else is offering. When you have niche where the number of people who are willing to compete is minimal you can command higher prices and profits. “

This is an example of creating a business around an unmet need.

While Micheal’s idea is inspired, it’s important to note that higher prices don’t necessarily equate into higher profits. Higher prices are usually the result of the increased cost of customer acquisition or increased costs of serving a specialized market.

When there is a “hidden” niche market, it’s usually for a reason. For example, last year I launched a partnership focusing on targeting a tightly targeted niche market. Our tightly targeted niche market are coaching professionals who are launching their business and need a web site. Several dozen web sites later, it became OBVIOUS why this market was “hidden” and “untapped”.  (Truth be told, it wasn’t very hidden… several other web development companies have targeted that niche market.  We created our product to fill the gap when one of these companies decided to close up shop.)

See, coaches are highly talented and creative individuals.  As a group, they need a LOT of hand holding and instruction. Most are intimidated by the web and as boot strapping entrepreneurs…. they need a lot of instruction, a lot of hand holding but offered at a minimal price.

On our end, we had to put in a LOT of work “up front” creating a structure for providing for this niche market’s support needs. While to the casual observer, it appears we’re making high profits…. we really aren’t. Support is literally eating up most of the “profits” of the business at the moment. If I were to outsource support… the profits from this partnership would literally disappear. As a result, we recently revamped the pricing structure of the product to reflect the cost of providing this support.

The moral to this story: there’s a reason “hidden” niche markets are hidden. However, creating a product or service for that hidden market may indeed be your path to business success… just be prepared for the “hidden” reasons why your undiscovered niche market is up to now, undiscovered!

Change or Die: A Rude Wake up Call for the Traditional Advertising Agency

March 11, 2008

tossing advertising dollarsOver two decades ago… back in the 1980’s…. I took a position as an advertising account executive at a small advertising agency. It was my agency’s job to manage my client’s advertising dollars in the most effect way possible. The way we were paid for this management was via the traditional retainer + 15% of the dollars spent. We were, in the words of the Big Picture Advertising blog, “a factory dedicated to producing 30 second commercials.” Sure, we also produced print, billboard, radio and television spots, but at the time, our job was to connect our clients with their customers using the tools at our disposal. Looking back now, the options seem mind numbingly limited.

Fast forward two decades and the entire LANDSCAPE of communication, not just advertising, has changed dramatically. Forrester’s Peter Kim writes, “Today’s agencies fail to help marketers engage with consumers, who, as a result, are becoming less brand-loyal and more trusting of each other.” (Note: Reading bl0og posts about the report are as close as I’ve come to reading the actual report.)

Paul Isakson expands upon that further:

According to the articles, Forrester is stating that consumers don’t trust the mass marketing messages cranked out by agencies and brands any longer. Instead, they are turning to family, friends and peers within their communities to help inform their purchasing decisions

Is traditional media and advertising dead? Not by a long shot!!! However, the traditional advertising agency model is in need of life support.

In the words of the new marketing blog:

In B2B especially, lots of other marketing and PR agencies paid the monthly wage bill by having a deep understanding of their client’s target customer audiences. The tools and techniques being applied were always secondary to an understanding of what was driving the audience.

We had to get it right because we all survived on the dog end of the budget that was leftover after the advertising agency had spent the bulk of it randomly carpet bombing an unmoved audience with the advertising idea du jour (I exaggerate, a bit).

The thing is… and this is a drum I pound CONSTANTLY on this blog… advertising created without the aforementioned deep understanding of a client’s target customer audience is doomed to fail. Whether it’s Nissan’s 1990’s GI Joe/Barbie flop or the recent Bridgestone dance team confusing us with trying to figure out the connection between Dancing with the Stars and tire sales… advertising that doesn’t work is nothing new.  The difference between advertising in the 1980’s and today is NOT based in the number of options available in which to deliver the message. Instead, the main difference between the advertising messages of the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s and Advertising 2.0 is the advertiser’s ability to measure the results and to see a flop for what it is… an attempt to impress the creative directors at rival agencies instead of an attempt to sell product for the client.

Today’s advertiser can look at their web logs and SEE the customers not coming and not buying in droves!!! Log files are hard to fudge. The old phrase, “I know 50% of my ad dollars are wasted, I just don’t know which half that is” is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Oops! That ad your agency ran 15 times last week didn’t budge the traffic figures on the web site’s log files.

PLUS, another difference between now and then is that advertisers can watch their customers enter into candid conversations via the new media options such as blogs and social networking sites. A Google alert is an effective tool anyone can use to notify you that a wronged customer is airing a complaint on the web!  (On the positive side, you do have a chance to issue a public apology in response.)

needle in the haystackIn the end, advertising is all about accountability which admittedly, scares a LOT of us in the advertising and marketing game. Rightly so… even when we’re meticulous about connecting with the target audience and creating a creative and compelling message for our client… all it takes is a surely teenager running the register after a traumatic break up to poison the well of goodwill in a client’s business.

Anyone who’s dealt with those squirrelly agency clients knows that no business can survive without repeat business. Sometimes, an effective advertising campaign will just hasten the demise of the poorly managed business.

Customers have NEVER blindly followed the Pied Piper of Advertising… that was a product of wishful thinking on the part of the “Mad Men” who created the ads. Traditional forms of advertising are ANYTHING but dead!!!

When the agency in question understands the target audience… then new media options are viewed as opportunities instead of challenges. The problem is breaking those executives out of their ivory towers and encouraging them to get out and shake hands with the unwashed masses that comprise their target audience.

Are you frustrating your customers with a lack of follow through?

March 5, 2008

Last week, I picked up a magazine which featured an article on the “latest fashion trend”… in this case identified as items that are pink. My daughter is TOTALLY pink obsessed and naturally, I directed her attention to the article, which was really a 2 page spread featuring hot products offered in pink.

She absolutely SQUEALED when I showed her the spread and began an obsessive quest to obtain a majority of the items offered.


Her quest began with a pair of pink shoes….which were offered on the web site. Search, point and click… VIOLA! A few more clicks and the shoes are purchased and on their way. She’s one happy camper.

The next item on the page to capture her attention is an adorable pink blouse with yet another web address listed as the source. Like a woman on a mission, she visits the web site… only to be presented with a web site which seems to only offer prom dresses and bridesmaid dresses. There is no pink wispy blouse anywhere to be found on the site.

She’s annoyed but still buoyed by her shoe success, she continues to the next object of her affection… a hot pink jacket with classic lines. she has plans for that jacket… she plans on wearing it with a pair of grey slacks she already owns. It will make a perfect companion piece for the fabulous pink shoes, whose arrival we await with baited breath. There’s no web address given, yet the source is listed and as a result, we make a trip to Old Navy at 7:00 PM on a weekday evening in pursuit of the perfect pink jacket.

She was annoyed to be thwarted in her quest for the perfect pink blouse…. but to drive to the mall and not find the perfect pink jacket was too much. I’m sure it was a similar display which inspired William Congreve to coin the truism “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

About 15 companies sought introduction to a new audience and provided product to the magazine for inclusion in the spread.  It was a brilliant move from a marketing standpoint!!!   The display of products sent my 20 year old daughter on a shopping SPREE… one where her credit card was in hand and she was ready to buy, buy buy!

The only thing stopping her from fulfilling her quest… FOLLOW THROUGH!

Two of the3 companies she tried to patronize (out of the 15 companies who featured product)  failed to have the “advertised” product in stock.  I get the 6 month lead times that are inherent in magazine publishing.  I also doubt that had that been a paid ad if the stores would have featured product not available.

The only company that won the night we went on our obsessive quest to Old Navy was the oil company that provided the gasoline.  My daughter and I wandered the store, getting more angry as we moved through the racks of clothing.  Not only did they not have the desired jacket, the selection offered was NOTHING like the jacket featured in the spread.  My daughter’s parting words as we left the store… “Old Navy sucks!”

What could have been the successful introduction of newly minted customer instead ends in an experience that is going to be associated with the name “Old Navy” for quite a while.

Naomi Dunford had a similar experience with paint which she chronicles in What Tiger Woods Can Teach You About Marketing.
Her quest was very similar.  Just as my daughter and I were seeking the perfect pink jacket… Naomi was seeking cozy paint.  She was inspired by a magazine spread, got in her car and DROVE to acquire the object of her desire, in this case the perfect paint. Isn’t that the point of marketing and advertising?

In both cases, people were MOVED to action only to come home empty handed.

Make sure that doesn’t happen to YOUR customers!

Keys to creating a great contest to generate lots of blog buzz….

March 3, 2008

Everybody loves a contest.  As a matter of fact, “FR*EE” is still one of the most potent words you can include in any advertising message… so overused, you have to “mask” it to avoid being labeled as spammy.  Fr*ee is followed closely in popularity by the word “Win”… because something for nothing has a timeless appeal.

Brian Gardner has gained real fame in the world of Wordpress with his exceptional themes.  He recently launched an affiliate program and has announced a March Madness Contest to promote the sale of his premium themes.

Then, I stumbled across another promotion being run by Wordpress Theme developer Small Potatoes (a.k.a. Tung Do).   In 20,000 Accounts Giveaway, the prize is 20,000 free memberships in his Wordpress Theme club.  The thing is, many people are going ahead and signing up for the membership because the price is definitely “right”.  For $5 you get access to a new theme each month.  OUTSTANDING!

Then, I see that another site (which I’m going to rip it pretty hard so it will remain nameless) announced their March Madness contest…with a cash prize of $500 thanks to the blog’s author’s tax refund.  (Note:  Getting a tax refund means you over estimated your earnings and over paid your taxes for the previous year.  I on the other hand am DREADING my appointment with the CPA because I SERIOUSLY under estimated my 2007 financial success in a very substantial way.  Oops!  Lesson learned.  It pays to be an optimist in more ways than one!)

Take a look at the three promotions above.  Look at the prizes offered:

  1. Bahamas Cruise + $500 cash
  2. 20,000 free accounts for your readers
  3. $500 cash prize

I think have the prizes listed in descending level of “attractiveness.”  A Cruise PLUS $500 cash!

It’s March… everyone who lives north of Orlando is sick of winter… palm trees and blue seas is a positively INSPIRED prize!

Sign me up!!!  How many themes do I have to sell to win?

(Actually, I live south of Orlando but a cruise still sounds MIGHTY appealing!)

Next, come the 20,000 free accounts for my readers…. wow!  That’s a lot of winners… which means it sounds like even someone who isn’t exceptionally lucky should have a good shot at winning one of them.  (The fact that they’re $5 accounts really doesn’t dilute this at all… I mean, I got thrilled YEARS ago when I won a magnet that barely stuck to my refrigerator from a web site contest!)

Then comes the final horse in the race… this one is an emaciated nag compared to the two thoroughbreds above… $500 cash… as a result of his tax refund.  You’ve seen my comment above.  Let’s see… I’m supposed to subscribe to your newsletter to learn how to succeed on the web and you’ll pay this from your tax refund.  Hmm… not sounding too tasty, despite the fact that he’s rounded up about a dozen “sponsors” who are also giving away their products and services as ancillary contests on his site.

It’s important to note that the final promotion is one in which you must not only sign up for his email newsletter, but then follow 4 steps to “enter” the contest including a complex linking schedule to two other sites in addition to the links to his site.

If I were “packaging” the final contest, I would have:

  1. Created the initial blog post title to include the word “contest” or “give away”.  (Let readers know up front what’s going on.)
  2. Advertised the prize as a cumulative figure.  For example, “Cash and prizes valued at $1500.
    A quick glance through the prize list shows that is a ball park figure for the total value of what’s being given away on the site through the promotion.  Instead of hyping a $500 cash prize, hype the higher value of the combined prizes.
  3. NEVER mention that the cash prize is being paid as the result of a nice tax refund.

Creative packaging of your contest is essential in it’s success.  Both Brian Gardner and Tung Do have done a GREAT job of packaging theirs!

If you’ve got a contest you’re running, be sure to leave a comment.

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