hyperempowered

Seth Godin and "The Intangibles"

I absolutely love reading Seth Godin's blog.

This morning Seth had a terrific post on what he calls "the intangibles."  As I shared it with my staff I told them that, for me, Seth captures in his post exactly the ingredients of client service that have become so central to how we do business at Electric Artists:

We concentrate on the "intangibles." 

It's been something that we've been doing for 10 years and for me is why the company has been successful since day one and will be successful for many, many years to come. 

While I encourage you to read Seth's post in its entirety, I did want to excerpt he lessons, as I think they are spot on:

Here are some random ways you can embrace some intangibles:

    * Call the person before you get the RFP, before they know they need you. Brainstorm with them about how you can work together to create the thing they need. Participation is priceless. After all, if all you're doing is meeting my spec, why exactly should you be rewarded?

    * You'd be amazed at how much people value enthusiasm. Genuine, transparent enthusiasm about the project they're working on. Are you a framer? How do you respond to someone who brings something in to be framed? (Hint, if it involves a tape measure, you're missing the point).

    * Don't forget speed. If you are overwhelmingly faster than the alternatives, what's that worth? For some people, more than you can imagine.

    * Focus and personal service are obvious (but priceless) intangibles.

    * Generosity is remembered for a long time. People remember what you did for them when you didn't have to do a thing, when you weren't looking for new business, when it was expensive or costly for you to do it. Did you know that the movie studio bought Robert Downey Jr. a Bentley when Iron Man hit it big? He didn't ask, they didn't want anything (at least right now).

    * Error correction. How do you respond when you make an error? This is actually a huge opportunity to deliver an intangible, especially in a business to business setting. The last thing a client wants is to have to explain a snafu to her boss.

    * Peer pressure is another silent intangible. What will my friends and colleagues think if I choose you? What if I don't choose you? Is it fashionable to pay a lot? How hard are you working at establishing a connection across your market that choosing you is the right thing to do, regardless of the price?

    * The last one is probably the biggest. Hope. Do you offer hope for something really big in the future? Maybe just around the corner, but perhaps in the long run... What does it look and feel like? Are you drawing a vivid picture?

Always In Beta

Best of breed web services and products - weather its a website that you upload your photos to, or a social network that you connect with your friends and co-workers -  have one thing in common.

They're "always in beta." 

"Always in beta" is a concept that software developers know well.  Engineers and developers who truly love their product are obsessed with making it better, which really means, making it more useful for others.  They never stop improving it. 

One of the challenges of developing web based services for brands and large companies, is that the "always in beta" mentality doesn't exist.  And because of this, it's hard for a company or brand to compete with internet start ups.

For me, one of the best examples of the always in beta mentality is Tripit.com. In my opinion it's by far the best travel service on the internet.

At least twice a month Tripit adds new features and makes adjustments to their software to increase its productivity. 

The added cost to the user for all this new development? 

Nothing.

Can a brand or a hospitality company create a service as good as Tripit? 

I don't think so.

"Always in Beta" is in Tripit's DNA. 

Is it in yours?

Using Video To Launch New Products

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, then you know I'm a huge proponent for using embeddable video as a way to launch a new product by having "the team that built it explain it to the people who use it."

Another great example of what I think more companies should be doing is Vimeo's explanation of their new Facebook application. It's engaging, self deprecating, and effective...

dananananananana Facebook! from Blake Whitman on Vimeo.

Damien Hirst's 200 Hand Written Letters

If you haven't yet watched this clip of Damien Hirst's interview with Charlie Rose about the (RED) auction, you should. 

At the very start of the interview Hirst says something that I thought was quite impressive, and a terrific reminder of the importance of the "personal touch".  Hirst tells Rose that he hand wrote 200 personal letters to each of the artists who he asked to participate in the auction. 

When was the last time you hand wrote a single letter, let alone 200 of them?

"It's Better To Be Down By Four, Than By Three"

This morning during an interview on the Today Show, Eli Manning said something that I found to be quite interesting. 

He said that for a quarterback, going into the final minutes of a football game it's better to be down by four points rather than three.  Conventional wisdom is that it's much easier, with the clock ticking down, to tie the game with a field goal than score a touchdown. 

But Eli's reasoning was that when you're down by four points, not three, you're forced to really rise to your full potential. There's no settling for a tie.   When you're down by four you're truly forced to either go big or go home.  And because of this, the truly talented players will rise to their absolute full potential. (Which they did)

It's interesting to think that if the Giants were down by three, rather than four, in that final minute they might have very well lost the game.  Fighting a larger challenge is what led them to victory.

"Ambient Intimacy" - An Explanation

Back in March of last year, blogger Leisa Reichel coined the phrase "ambient intimacy"  to describe the  experience  (and power) of such tools as Twitter, Flickr, and others.  I like the phrase, and her explanation, a lot.

Leisa writes:

"Ambient intimacy is about being able to keep in touch with people with a level of regularity and intimacy that you wouldn’t usually have access to, because time and space conspire to make it impossible. Flickr lets me see what friends are eating for lunch, how they’ve redecorated their bedroom, their latest haircut. Twitter tells me when they’re hungry, what technology is currently frustrating them, who they’re having drinks with tonight.

Who cares? Who wants this level of detail? Isn’t this all just annoying noise? There are certainly many people who think this, but they tend to be not so noisy themselves. It seems to me that there are lots of people for who being social is very much a ‘real life’ activity and technology is about getting stuff done.

There are a lot of us, though, who find great value in this ongoing noise. It helps us get to know people who would otherwise be just acquaintances. It makes us feel closer to people we care for but in whose lives we’re not able to participate as closely as we’d like.

Knowing these details creates intimacy. (It also saves a lot of time when you finally do get to catchup with these people in real life!) It’s not so much about meaning, it’s just about being in touch.

If you've yet to fully understand why these technologies have become so popular, read the full post (and comments) here.

 

Read more >>  Options >> 

Kevin Roberts on "What Makes A Truly Great Bar"

Kevin Roberts has a terrific blog post today in which he gives his thoughts on those things that make a bar truly great and memorable.

Here's an excerpt, but I highly suggest that you read the whole thing here.

From Kevin's KR Connect weblog:

So what is it that makes a truly great bar?

For me it’s down to:

1) Lighting. Vitally important for intimacy, relaxation and comfort. All this trendy, hot, cool lighting is no good for me after an 18-hour flight, a full day’s work and an early start in the morning. I need a place that’s calm, tranquil and warm.

2) Music. The music has got to be satisfying, interesting and familiar with a touch of intrigue. And the volume has to be just right. I’m long past the stage where I go into a bar to shout.

3) A good bar has exactly the right mix of people. It’s your tribe but it’s not your family. They are people you’d like to get to know, people you wish you knew, and some people you’re glad you don’t know. But they all look as if they belong to your tribe or one close by. They look interesting, inspirational and there are enough of them to make you feel you’re in the right place.

4) Bars should be 60% full. No more, no less.

5) Good bars serve very good red wines by the glass. Bad bars don’t.

6) Good bars serve European and local beers fresh and at the right temperature, and in tall, slim, European lager glasses.

7) And finally, the service in good bars is unobtrusive, anticipatorial and never noticed.

A Study In The Amount Of Space We "Consume"

As the saying goes - "A picture is worth a thousand words." 

The image above is from a poster done by the planning office of Meunster, Germany to illustrate the amount of space that is taken up by, cars, a bus, and bicycles used by the exact same number of people.

(via)

What Agencies Should Do To Meet The Needs of Clients

Unfortunately I couldn't attend last week's Influx Ideas 07 conference.  This morning I read the advice that Jonah Bloom, the editor of Advertising Age, gave to agencies on what they can do to adapt to meet new needs of their clients.  I couldn't agree with him more when he says agencies should:

1. Create ENTERTAINMENT and CONTENT.

2. Develop Ideas that have PR in mind.

3. Help clients take a STAND.

4. Build UTILITIES

5. Help them become more RESPONSIBLE

6. Get PAID for the value of their ideas.

Mike Wesch's "Information R/evolution"

Remember Mike Wesch's video, "The Machine is Us/ing Us"? 

We'll he's back with a new one, "Information R/evolution"