Re-energizing: Gone Fishing

How does one reenergize by chasing a one year old for a week? When it is your grandson that you have only seen twice in his first year.

Ezra the energetic toddler is an exuberant lad that is fascinated with life. HE loves animals and watches squirrels and birds for lengthy periods. He loves his cat and plays nicely with him. And he met Trappar and was all giggles and grins. Back home he truly enjoys going to the zoo and watching the animals.

He loves to do different things. He plays, he tries new activities, and he is a determined lad in everything he does.

And he absolutely loves reading books. Especially books with different materials representing animals or objects.

Summer vacation is quite different with a toddler again. I forgot how ambitious a child can be.

And I am all for it!

Especially the nap part that helps with recharging the batteries.

When you consider the past two plus years of lockdown, economic challenges, and other societal factors it is easy to droop into a challenging mental state. That is why recharging your personal batteries is so important. Here are some tips that have worked for me:

• Take the vacation you earn. People use their vacation in diverse ways. Some people like to do DIY tasks to take their mind off business (full disclosure – this is not me as I am mechanically declined). Others like to sit on a beach and relax with a selection of books and various cold beverages. People are avid gardeners and look forward to some dedicated time to groom their flowers and get those pesky weeds out of their lawn (anyone do house calls?). And there are so many other ways to relax and take your mind off work.
• Turn off your phone. If you want to check the weather – go outside.
• Reduce, or eliminate, your electronic usage. I have seen too many hunchbacks walking down the street ready to get hit by a car because they are not paying attention, or they are going to walk into a street light.
• Try something new. Perhaps it is some new type of food that you make or go to a new restaurant.
• Visit other communities in your province. There are so many hidden gems that provide exceptional day trips or two day trips. Watch out for road construction!
• Go Fishing!

What do you do to relax?

Whatever it is, I hope your batteries are recharged and you are ready for the next opportunity.

Happy Summer!

Shoofly Pie

I read a fascinating work of fiction about “the bug man” who helps solve crimes by looking at the bugs on the deceased.

While this may sound “icky” it is really fascinating. For example, there are distinct types of flies that attend a corpse at various times. Their larvae indicate the type of fly and the stage of decomposition based on the life cycle of the larvae. The bug man also has various other tools to assess elements of the crime scene so that he can help solve it.

Without getting into more bug details for the queasy readers, I want to link this back to marketing.

Looking for clues about customer experience journey stage and overall user experience can provide essential insights for marketers. There are many articles written about shopping cart abandonment and how to stop it, gathering insights about moving customers through the various stages of the purchase process, etc.

For me what is often missing is the actual observation of people interacting with employees, displays, or the general retail environment. Break it down to the smallest movable parts. Disassemble and reassemble. You will find tremendous insights in the small data.

Why? Because people are unpredictable, and we change our minds often. While the use of personas is helpful from an elevated level, this tool does not provide any special insights into the real reasons people do things.

For example, let’s consider an example of two early 30’s women, university graduates, accounting managers in a big national firm. We might assume many similarities about products, lifestyle, etc.

Upon further review we note that the first woman is single and has many personal interests that take her travelling, into different lifestyle activities, and these factors provide a range of professional flexibility to consider assignments in other locations. The second woman is married with two children, focused on their development with her husband, and the family-centered activities are the main use of free time.

I am not making any judgments about any aspect of either lifestyle. I am pointing out that there is a need to dig deeper and understand the principal factors in each person’s life and then understand what types of messages, products/services, and information are best suited for each situation.

Thinking like the bugman, great marketers will study the following areas:

• History of the product/service and company. What have been the real keys to success for each aspect? And you are NOT allowed to say, “our great customer service.”
• Talk to real customers – in person. No surveys and no third party reports at this time. As Chico Marx once said, “who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?” Here is the actual script from Duck Soup (Chico is Chicolini) where the quote originated:
  • Teasdale: Your Excellency, I thought you left.
  • Chicolini: Oh no. I no leave.
  • Teasdale: But I saw you with my own eyes.
  • Chicolini: Well, who ya gonna believe me or your own eyes?
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHxGUe1cjzM&ab_channel=Tom%C3%A1sRomeo
• You are not the customer so you must work extremely hard to place yourself into a real customer position. You can mystery shop your own company in every way possible using an alias so you can see what your customers actually experience. The results may surprise you. Ever watched Undercover Boss?
• This qualitative approach uncovers the qualities of your customers and helps determine what is important to them. After you know this and see where the gap might be between what you believe and what your customer believes, then you can do some quantitative research. Get a research professional to help with survey and question design and to help guide you on how to obtain a good and representative sample size.
• Finally, according to Professor Mark Ritson, the last step in your diagnosis is to develop your customer segmentation based on your research.

Do you see the approach taken here? It is like the bugman in that there is a deliberate sequence that is followed for best results. Note the focus on details and gathering insights before starting to draw too many conclusions. Patience and positivity – two of a Marketer’s best friends. Now, stop bugging others and start doing some excellent work.

Can you focus if you chase shiny objects?

In several discussions with colleagues this past week there was always a point where we discussed focus. I always admitted that I am keen to see and assess new thinking. And I am quick to add that it doesn’t mean I will change course and follow the latest shiny object.

The great Mark Ritson, marketing professor extraordinaire, stated a few years back that the problem with most marketers is that they are like magpies always getting distracted by the latest shiny object.

Remember how Pokémon Go was going to become the new center for every marketing activity? Yeah, that didn’t last.

I consider myself a lifelong learner. Slow learner at times.

I am also inquisitive. As a non-tech person, I believe this willingness to gain some basic tech knowledge has helped me in my other roles. Even as a consultant.

I remember one time where the president asked if I was at a disadvantage because I was from outside the industry. My response was, “you have hundreds of people with tech expertise, you need a new lens on things and that is what I bring.”

This inquisitiveness can sometimes be perceived as looking at shiny objects. Not entirely true as I look for deeper and better insights from a wider variety of sources.

As a marketing guy, I love reading great ad work. The specialization of writers or design folks always has me in awe. I like to study what works and see how concepts can be applied in other areas for improved solutions.

As a strategy guy I look for successful organizations to see if they have a well-articulated strategy.

From a practical perspective, I am also keen on seeing how people get things done for the benefit of the customers and their companies.

And of course, there are so many lessons from sports. As I have said several times, the majority of sports analogies are not always directly attributable to a business situation because the working parameters are opposite. Sports teams practice, review, and train way more that they actually play their game. Business is always doing their business with limited capacity to train, review, and adjust.

So, my point is that you can gather many data points and study the impact without being considered just chasing shiny objects. I don’t believe there is a cure, and nor should there be, unless you become distracted. Spending time watching Tik Tok videos is in this category.

Here are a couple of tips I would like to share from my experience:

• Set time in your calendar to do this exploring. Block off the time to conduct your activities. Even if you only do 30 minutes per day, that will be helpful. If you just decide to check a few things out, I guarantee you will end up wasting a lot of time.
• Have a system to capture these nuggets of insight. Several weeks ago, an ad person asked readers on LinkedIn what they did to capture favorite ads. Most experts had a file system (hard copy and/or digital) to store things for future assessment. I have a “Sparq File” that I store cool articles, links, ads, etc. that I look back at from time to time.
• Read diverse types of books. Don’t pigeon hole yourself into only books that you are interested in your line of business. Read the classics. Read westerns. Read fiction. Read biographies. Read non-fiction. Keep a note pad or journal nearby so you can jot down a good thought when you have it. They tend to arrive at the most interesting times – walking the dog, in the shower, etc.…
• Always be aware of what humans are doing. We are by nature unpredictable. Some things will cause a certain reaction in some people and a completely different reaction with other people. Don’t walk with your head buried in your phone or your ear buds drowning out the sounds of life around you.
• Be positive and enjoy life. It is a helluva terrific ride!

What can you add? Do you even agree that you can chase shiny objects and remain focused?

I think you can.

Let the chasing begin!