Seth Godin

April 17, 2011 · Image Source

in Leadership

Post image for Seth Godin

Seth who?

SETH Godin is an American marketing guru born in 1960 in Mount Vernon, New York. Seth is an entrepreneur, author, public speaker and agent of change. Seth is widely regarded as America’s greatest marketer.

Seth is always starting new initiatives, some of his more remarkable contributions are highlighted below.

Companies

Yoyodyne, his first internet company, pioneered the use of permission marketing to reach customers online, and was sold to Yahoo! in 1998 for US$30 million.

Seth’s latest company, founded in 2005, is called Squidoo. Squidoo is a community website which allows anyone to build a page (known as a ‘lens’) about any topic they are passion about. The site raises money for charity (pays royalties to its members) and is currently ranked 120th in the US (by traffic) by Alexa.com.

Blog

Seth writes the world’s most popular marketing blog. You can read it here.

Books

Seth has written thirteen books, all of which have been best sellers. He writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything. His most recent book is called Poke the Box, a call to action about the initiative you’re taking in your life. You can learn more about Seth’s books by browsing his books here and reading some of the Amazon book reviews.

Free Downloads

Here are some manifestos, ebooks and other PDFs that Seth has gifted to us for free.

  1. Poke the Box: The Workbook – This work book asks one basic question, “What would our world look like if more people started projects, made a ruckus, and took more risks?”
  2. Unleashing the Ideavirus: Read and Share – This manifesto answers the question “how do we get attention to ask for permission from the consumer”?
  3. Money for Nothing (and your clicks for free) – Three Secrets to Web Traffic
  4. The Bootstrapper’s Bible – There’s never been a better time to start a business with no money
  5. Brainwashed – Seven ways to reinvent yourself
  6. Knock Knock – Seth Godin’s Incomplete Guide to building a website that works
  7. Who’s There – Seth Godin’s Incomplete Guide to Blogs and the New Web
  8. What Matters Now – Big ideas from Seth and others
  9. Flipping the Funnel – Giving your fans to power to speak up
  10. Seven Type Rules for Amateur Designers
  11. On the future of the music business

Talks

You can view lots of Seth’s talks but clicking the “Seth Godin” hot tag in the Consulting Forum.

Understanding the Customer

April 16, 2011 · Image Source

in Business strategy

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“One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others.”
~ Lewis Carol

IF THE GOAL in life (and business) is to help others, then a good first step would be to try to understand the people we are aiming to help so that we can figure out who they are and what they want.

Here are 8 things to think about when trying to understand the customer.

1. Identify the customer

In general terms, who is your customer?

2. Segment

What are the important customer segments?

Dividing customers into groups can help you better understand their specific needs and preferences. For example, you may want to segment by:

  1. age group
  2. gender
  3. income level
  4. employment status
  5. distribution channel
  6. region
  7. product preference
  8. new versus existing customers
  9. large versus small customers

3. Concentration

What is the concentration of customers in the market?

This question is important because of the Wal Mart Effect. Is there one customer in the market who is so big that you cannot afford to ignore them? If so, you may need to play by their rules, or look for a different market where you have a competitive edge.

4. Size

How big is the market? How big is each customer segment? How many customers are there and what is the dollar value of those customers?

5. Growth

How fast is the market growing? What is the growth rate of each customer segment?

6. State of the Economy

What state is the economy in?  What stage of the business cycle are we at?

7. State of Technology

What role does technology play in the industry? How quickly is the state of technology changing?

8. Recent and impending changes

Have there been any recent changes in the industry? Are there any impending changes?  For example, new players, mergers & acquisitions, substitutes, technology or government regulations.

9. Industry Drivers

What drives the industry: brand, product quality, scale of operations, or technology?

10. Customer Preference

What do customers want? Do different customer segments want different things?

Have you asked them?

11. Willingness to Pay

What price is each customer segment willing to pay? How price sensitive is each customer segment?

For example, students are extremely price sensitive (i.e. students have a high elasticity of demand). This means that by offering students lower prices for your products you should be able to increase quantity sold enough to boost total revenues.

12. Distribution

What is the best way to reach customers? Does each customer segment have a different distribution preference? For example, younger customers may prefer purchasing online while more mature customers may prefer buying products through traditional retail outlets. Here are 6 ways to reach customers:

  1. mail order
  2. online store
  3. factory outlet
  4. retail store
  5. department store
  6. network marketing

Understanding the Product

April 10, 2011 · Image Source

in Business strategy

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WHETHER you are entering a new market, launching a new product, growing market share, developing a pricing strategy or managing costs, you will want to understand the products that you are dealing with.

Here are 9 things to think about when trying to understand a product.

1. Identify the product

What is the product? What does it do?

For example, News Corporation produces newspapers, magazines, film, television and cable.

2. Advantages

What’s special about the product? Why do people buy it? Why is it useful?

For example, News Corporation provides people with media brands that they know and trust, and media content which keeps them entertained and informed.

3. Disadvantages

What are the disadvantages of the product? Are there any side-effects?

For example, MySpace is a social networking platform that caters for musicians but does not offer a community building platform which encourages trusted connections and privacy protection. Facebook and LinkedIn have done a better job of protecting user privacy and encouraging meaningful connections.

4. Differentiation

Is the product a commodity or is it a differentiated from other offerings?

For example, Fox has produced an animated sitcom known as “The Simpsons”; one of a kind.

5. Malleability

Can we change the product?

Our ability to change a product will depend, in part, on how narrowly we define the product. If your product is “blue ball-point pens” then you will have limited ability to change the product. However, if your product is “small plastic products” then you can change the colour of the pen (red, green, purple), the type of pen (ballpoint, rollerball, fountain, felt tip) or even the type of plastic product (stapler, cigarette lighter, highlighter).

6. Legal protection

Is the product protected by copyright, trade mark, or patent?

For example, Fox has protected any information, text, files, images, video, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, and any other materials or content relating to “The Simpsons” by using copyright, trademark, patent and other laws.

7. Complimentary goods

What is happening to the complimentary goods? If the market for complimentary goods is suffering, this will affect the product.

For example, if our product is the SUV Hummer and the price of petrol (gas) has doubled then that will negatively affect the value of our product in the mind of consumers.

8. Product lifecycle

Where is the product in its product lifecycle?

9. Packaging

What does the product include?

For example, if the product is an annual hard copy newspaper subscription, does that include online access?

Are you doing something remarkable?

April 3, 2011 · 2 comments · Image Source

in Business strategy

Post image for Are you doing something remarkable?

Loyal customers provide repeat business.  Do something remarkable, and they will spread the word

CUSTOMER loyalty is an important asset for any business for two reasons. Firstly, loyal customers will give you repeat business, to quote Tom Peters “all business success rests on something labelled a sale”. Secondly, and more importantly, loyal customers are the people who spread the good news about your business. Loyal customers are the passionate and unpaid marketers who provide authentic testimony to the quality of your goods and services. Walt Disney captured this idea of customer loyalty when he said, “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.”

If a business can create something remarkable (e.g. beautifully designed products, superior service, or an uplifting experience) then its loyal customers will spread the word. In today’s competitive marketplace, a business that “does everything right” is a business that is merely “meeting expectations”, and Seth Godin identifies a number of reasons why word of mouth sometimes just doesn’t happen. If you can exceed expectations, dazzle and delight your customers with how much you really care then this will be worth talking about.

Speaking of the need to be remarkable, the McKinsey Quarterly recently sent me an email which is worth mentioning. Apparently, there has been a security breach at the The Quarterly and some customer details have been compromised.  While this could be a source of major embarrassment, McKinsey have turned the security breach into an opportunity to build customer loyalty.  The Quarterly’s email (set out below in full) demonstrates 3 things:

  1. McKinsey places the interests of its readers ahead of their own reputation;
  2. McKinsey takes confidentiality very seriously (much-needed marketing after the Rajat Gupta scandal); and
  3. McKinsey will apologise if it has made a mistake.

Here are the contents of the email I received from Rik Kirkland, Senior Managing Editor of McKinsey & Company:

Important information from McKinsey Quarterly

We have been informed by our e-mail service provider, Epsilon, that your e-mail address was exposed by unauthorized entry into their system. Epsilon sends e-mails on our behalf to McKinsey Quarterly users who have opted to receive e-mail communications from us.

We have been assured by Epsilon that the only information that was obtained was your first name, last name and e-mail address and that the files that were accessed did not include any other information. We are actively working to confirm this. We do not store any credit card numbers, social security numbers, or other personally identifiable information of our users, so we can assure you that no such information was accessed.

Please note, it is possible you may receive spam e-mail messages as a result. We want to urge you to be cautious when opening links or attachments from unknown third parties. Also know that McKinsey Quarterly will not send you e-mails asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information. So if you are ever asked for this information, you can be confident it is not from McKinsey.

We regret this has taken place and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We take your privacy very seriously, and we will continue to work diligently to protect your personal information.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact McKinsey Quarterly at info@mckinseyquarterly.com. For any media inquiries, please contact Humphrey Rolleston at +1-212-415-5321.

Sincerely,
Rik Kirkland
Senior Managing Editor
McKinsey & Company

Short list of consulting firms in Spain

March 27, 2011 · Image Source

in Management consulting

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HERE is a short list of quality consultancies in Spain:

1. Everis

Website: www.everis.com

Founded in Madrid in 1996, Everis operates in 26 locations across 13 countries (Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Spain, UK, USA).  In Spain, Everis has offices in A Coruña, Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Las Palmas, Madrid, Murcia, Sevilla, Valencia, Valladolid, and Zaragoza.

Everis undertakes projects in corporate strategy, business consulting and process engineering across a broad range of industries.

2. Accenture

Website: www.accenture.com

Founded in 1989 and operating in Spain since 1965, Accenture has operations in more than 150 cities worldwide. In Spain, Accenture has offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Malaga, Valencia, Zaragoza and Sevilla.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Services in Spain are offered through three major operating companies: Accenture, Coritel (Accenture Technology Solutions) and Accenture Outsourcing Services.

3. PwC

Website: www.pwc.com

Founded in 1849 and operating in Spain since 1929, PwC operates in 154 countries worldwide. In Spain, PwC has offices in Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, La Coruña, Las Palmas, Logroño, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, Oviedo, Palma de Mallorca, Pamplona, San Sebastian, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santander, Sevilla, Valencia, Valladolid, Vigo, Vitoria, and Zaragoza.

PwC is the largest professional services firm in the world, and provides services in Audit, Accounting, Tax & Legal, Business Consulting, Corporate Finance, Transaction Advice, Corporate Restructuring, Forensics, HR Consulting, Corporate Governance, and Sustainability & Climate Change.

4. Roland Berger

Website: www.rolandberger.com

Founded in 1967, Roland Berger operates in 39 locations across 27 countries. In Spain, Roland Berger has offices in Barcelona and Madrid.

Roland Berger is one of the world’s leading strategy consultancies.

5. Lince Consulting

Website: www.linceconsulting.es

Founded in 2007 and run by the dynamic Conrad Garcia, Lince Consulting is headquartered in Barcelona, and has representatives and partners in more than 15 countries worldwide.

Lince provides integrated consultancy and internalisation services to small and medium businesses, mainly within Spain (the Spanish mainland, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands).

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