Life Changing Cheese - Business Lessons From Everyday Life

People naturally seek to learn about things they are interested in. In my case I am definitely interested in business. I have read numerous books off the Personal MBA reading list, I read business blogs, I listen to business audio books, and I did my undergrad in business management. Although all those sources of information are extremely valuable in developing my own business acumen, I am amazed at how some of the most valuable business lessons are encountered when you least expect them during your daily life.

This past weekend a few friends, my wife, and I went up to Portsmouth, New Hampshire for the day. Portsmouth is definitely a cool little artsy town with plenty of shops, restaurants, and bars. Our couple friends had been there before and were showing us around. We stopped into a quirky shop with tons of kitchen accessories, wine, and other knick knacks (definitely the least manly thing I have ever written). Our friends had mentioned that the place always had wine tastings and that they had this amazing cheese that we "just had to try."

As I approached the tasting area I saw a man behind the table pouring wine and setting up a platter. It was then that the man said something that caught my attention.

“Life changing cheese.”

Wow. What a great line! I am a very passionate person. When I am into something I am really into it. Whether it is hockey, music, my work, business, or playing guitar I am the kind of person who takes things that I am interested in or enjoy and I turn them into passions. For that reason, I am naturally drawn to people who are passionate about what they do. This wasn’t some person who was there to serve a few drinks and cubes of cheese to collect a paycheck. This guy was passionate about what he did and he was good at it.

The man went on to explain how the cheese was made in a cave in England and that the unique conditions gave it the "life changing" taste characteristics. He spoke of how many cases of cheese they sold a week and how they couldn't keep up with the demand. As he spoke I couldn't help but imagine little leprechaun looking dudes working away in a candlelit cave somewhere in the countryside of England. I must admit the cheese was amazing. The man wasn't just selling cheese, he was creating an experience!

As we walked through the streets of Portsmouth I wondered how influenced my friends were by marketing of the man selling the cheese. I wondered whether the cheese was really amazing or if it was just good cheese that was made great by the experience. I wondered how many other people went around telling their friends about "life changing cheese." I wondered how much cheese the passionate cheese peddler sold compared to the emotionless sample distributors at supermarkets. The fact that the "life changing cheese" experience stuck with me and that I put so much thought into a subject like cheese tells me that it was an example effective marketing at its core.

Not only was it a great day amongst friends, it was also a real life lesson in marketing that I will be able to reference moving ahead. How can I create "life changing cheese" in my own endeavors?

Great Viral Marketing And A Few Good Laughs - Guitar Hero Video

When you think of cat like screams, a few sweaty bodies, horribly odd & contorted body motions, smeared makeup, and loud evil music, there are plenty of thoughts that come to mind. A video games with plastic instruments isn't necessarily the first scene that comes to mind. But the odd description above is quite typical of any group of people shredding their hearts out while playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band, and anyone who has participated in a living room jam session can attest to the games fun and addictive qualities. The concept of the game is remarkable enough to spread sales through word of mouth, but as all great marketers do the makers of Guitar hero are looking to get the word out through multichannel marketing. When I came across this beauty video I couldn't help but think that there is a little of this music nerd in all of us. I think the video below is a great example of what internet/viral/whatever you want to call it marketing should be all about. Not only does the clip have an ethos, eliciting a feeling that there is a little rock star in all of us, but it is funny as hell and likely to be emailed to friends and family, talked about in the office, or posted on blogs. The story screams that no matter how much we have repressed our inner rock demons the Guitar Hero gift from the rock Gods is the way to unleash the fury within. Even if you don't know much about music or have never considered yourself to be a musical person the message is loud and clear in this video. I love how they narrate via cheesy 80's power ballad in the background similar to the hugely successful "real men of genius" series by Bud Lite. My favorite part though is when he signs the ladies rack at work...classic! Enjoy the presentation and I would love to hear some comments on this video and how it does or does not do it for you from a marketing or a comedy standpoint.

Super Mario Metal!! Bowser Castle Cover!

I found this viral video on the best metal site on the web, Metal Injection. Talk about a great way to get people to check out your band on MySpace. This is by no means a new concept (remember the OK Go video?), but it is relatively new to the metal genre. Not only is this awesome because it is metal but it is classic 80's Nintendo as well which makes it exponentially cooler. I checked the band Nylithia out after seeing the video and they are actually pretty damn good. Even if they sucked they would forever be badass in my book just because of the video. Enjoy this medley of metal, Nintendo, 80's, and creative marketing.

Metal Video Game - Brutal Legend

Ok so I haven't really been into video games since NHL '93 for Super Nintendo, but this game might just get me back into the action. Not only does the game feature and star Jack Black, it has metal legends playing themselves as video game versions of themselves. Here is the description from Metal Injection:

Brütal Legend tells the tale of Eddie Riggs, played by Jack Black. The ultimate roadie, Eddie is the first person anyone calls when they need guitars tuned or stages rigged, and has a love for hot rods and a photographic memory for every heavy metal album cover, and the lyrics those albums contained. One night, a stage accident knocks Eddie unconscious, and he awakens in a world that looks very strange yet oddly familiar, a world where every heavy metal album cover and lyric Eddie knows has come to life, and where the evil emperor Doviculus and his demon army, The Tainted Coil, have enslaved the last remaining humans. When an oppressed people request Eddie's knowledge of modern warfare, he pulls from his own experience in the only occupation he's ever had, a roadie for a heavy metal band, and under his command, this barbaric force of hot-rods, Marshall stacks, leather, and chrome will bring this ancient world into the age of metal.

Besides being a cool concept the game is being marketed pretty creatively as well. This trailer plays like a feature film. It's different and its worth talking about. Video gamers aren't just young pimple faced nerds anymore. I think the average gamer is probably more likely to be in their late 20's to mid 30's than a kid these days. Throw in a style of music that is inherently underground and boy's clubbish and you have a tribe of individuals who are very likely to spread the word on this game.

Sales Vs. Marketing - Checking For Charity

As the Checking For Charity Movement begins to stand up it's website it is articles like this one that get me thinking of the best way to strategically roll out our marketing push. I got this post of Seth Godin's blog and it really hit home to me when I read it.

The difference between marketing and sales
Marketing tells a story that spreads.
Sales overcomes the natural resistance to say yes.

If you don't pay the sales force (because you go direct, or you go free), then who is going to do that for you? The only answer that occurs to me is, "your users/fans/customers."

This means that a critical element of any strategy that ditches the sales force is to figure out how you will empower and encourage your customers to take their place. Easier said than done.

Hopefully the nature of Checking for Charity doesn't require our movement to persuade others to say yes. Hopefully people are inspired by the inherently good nature of our corporations existence so much so that they truly want to make a difference whether that difference is donating monetarily or spreading our story to others who are empowered to grow our movement. If you are at all interested in the Checking for Charity movement leave a comment below or email me at truecore27@aol.com.

Landlord Chronicles - An Update

Just checking in to give an update on how things are going on my newest undertaking; becoming a landlord. As for lessons learned thus far, I would have to say the biggest lesson is that your personal network of friends and connections is one of the most powerful things you have access to. If you don't know someone who can help you with something chances are someone you know knows someone.

In my last post I detailed about how my primary concern was marketing my place. Well I have a hockey buddy named Bob who owns his own photography business. The company name is Lorusso Studios and if you ever need anything regarding photography I strongly recommend his work. I got Bob to come and shoot some pictures of my place. They turned out great and are serving as the basis of my marketing push which will hit the web full force on Monday. Click here to see my Postlets profile which can be inserted into any classified ad or social networking site. I think it really makes the home stand out amongst a myriad of postings on different sites. I knew the Postlets profile was a great start but I didn't feel as though it told the story of our home, so I created a blog just for our place. The blog allows me to direct potential rental applicants to a site with multiple pictures so they instantly know whether my rental is for them or not. Its like promotion and potential applicant screening all in one. I know when I was searching for our place and other rental properties I didn't even think to check out a place without a picture. The more pictures the better. People love information and a picture is one of the quickest and easiest ways to tell someone the story of your property. I have made it easier for people to gain access to my property's story.

After working my way through some of the sexier aspects of my new venture like taking the pictures, marketing, etc. I knew that there were some details that I needed to tend to. Once again a few good buddies led me to the answers and resources I was looking for. My buddy Eric has a brother in law who has quite a few rental properties and he had his brother in law call me. We talked for a bit and he was extremely helpful. He even shared his lease agreement with me, which I thought was pretty cool because a lot of experience goes into building those things and he has never even met me. I also touched base with an old roller hockey buddy back in Oregon who I knew did a bit of real estate investing. I asked him if he has any tenants and how he screens them etc. He put me in touch with another roller hockey kid's girlfriend who works at a credit/background screening company. I called her up and that issue was solved. It's pretty amazing how small the world is becoming.

So far it has been a great learning experience. Pretty stressful, but a good experience regardless. I will continue to post updates down the road to landlord land, and if you think you have any leads to fill my property let me know!

Creative Marketing From The Swedes

A recent string of articles I have been coming across and writing about illustrate that as human beings information isn’t always enough. Just because we are presented with all the facts and reasons we should behave a certain way does not mean we will do so. Check out this article on Coolbusinessideas.com.

We all know taking the bus is better for the environment. Why don't all of us take the bus then? Part of it is convenience. Yes, but I know there are times where we could take the bus and we don't. Is it because we aren't inspired to take the bus? Well one Swedish company is trying to do just that; to inspire us to utilize their service which in turn lets us live the story of being environmentally conscious.

Swedish advertising company, Acne, put together a rather eye-catching advertising campaign for Flygbussarna, an airport coach bus service, to inspire individual car drivers to take the coach bus instead. An installation made up of 50 wrecked cars resembling a Flygbussarna coach bus was placed next to the highway leading to the Swedish airport. Acne used 50 cars to emphasize that a coach bus can seat up to 50 people whereas, on average, an individual car has only 1.2 people. Consider that with the fact that a coach bus releases no more carbon than 4 cars. The campaign also included a website where visitors could watch cars whizz past the installation. The website tracked the number of cars that drove by and how much carbon could have been saved if those drivers had taken a bus instead.

This isn't Green Peace. I am not pushing an aggressive radical environmental agenda. The point of the post is to illustrate remarkable marketing that goes beyond paying for a 30 second TV spot or a full page ad in a magazine. These traditional advertising methods continue to have less and less leverage as the world continues to become more interconnected. Instead of pushing the same status quo message this Swedish ad agency did something worth taking about. They showed environmental impact visually and created a story worth spreading. Very impressive!

My Next Venture - Becoming a Landlord

With news of my impending departure from the Garden State came the news that I am now taking on a new venture, that of the landlord. I guess it is time to put my proverbial money where my mouth is. I have long been a proponent of real estate both as a homeowner and an investor. Having faced high rental rates when I moved to New Jersey, it was a no brainer for me to buy a condo. Even though conventional wisdom always says not to buy if you aren't planning on living in the property for at least 5 years, I cringed at the thought of throwing so much money away on rent when I could spend a few hundred dollars more and own.

My timing wasn't the greatest and although I didn't buy at the peak I bought far from the bottom (if we have reached a bottom). But as I have said on BadskiBlog before, losses (and gains) are only realized when you sell. I don't want to realize a loss so I am not going to sell. It's that simple for me. Will I break even or better yet make money renting my place? I am not sure. It depends on the rent I can command and my refinancing analysis. Hopefully I will have time to update the status of this recently acquired venture and thoughtfully justify my decisions as I go along. Regardless I am willing to take a few hundred dollar a month loss while building equity and avoiding a much larger loss by selling. No one likes to lose money, especially me. However I am looking at it like this: I am paying $200 a month to have someone else pay the majority of my mortgage and continue to build equity in my place. Once the market recovers I can sell and realize a gain, or I may just hold onto a cash flowing property forever. Only time will tell.

My first concern with my new venture wasn't leases, tenant laws, or pet policies; it was marketing. I started thinking back to my mindset when I purchased the condo and to how I feel when I enter open houses or other people's homes. I don't think about square footage and room sizes, I think about the way home makes me feel, the story it tells. I am convinced that most people purchase homes based on the impression they get from the first five minutes they are in the home. If you think I am crazy you are wrong. There is no other way to put it, you are plain wrong. Over the last three years Heidi and I have continued to go to open houses throughout the neighborhood to see what is on the market, how much they are going for, and to steal a few decorating ideas. This practice has validated my first five minute emotional decision theory. I have probably gone through 50 condos with the same exact layout over the last three years. Over those three years I have seen all those condos with the same layout command sale prices with ranges upwards of $40,000. How can this be? They are the same condo! The answer is the story that condo portrays. People want to envision themselves in a home not a condo. They want to envision their lives in their new home. The easier you make it for them to envision their life in your property the higher the premium they are willing to pay. When I look back I could have bought a horrifically decorated condo with terrible furniture and ugly carpet for thousands and thousands of dollars cheaper than I paid for mine. But I didn't. I bought a condo from a young couple with similar tastes to mine, who probably lived a similar life to mine, whose home told a story that I wanted to live. I am trying to figure out how to paint that picture for a lucky renter who will enjoy my condo as much as I have.

My first step seems simple and easy but I am convinced it will make a difference. I am trying to set my marketing apart. One way I have found (thanks to Jessica for the help) is using Postlets.com. Postlets.com is a service that spices up your posts on Craigslist and other sites that allow html posting. I am also having my friend who owns his own photography business (check out his awesome site here) come by to take some professional pictures to provide every detail the prospective renter needs to choose my property as their next home. All things being equal, which post would you rather pursue? The standard Craiglist notepad-esque format or the professional organized information packed Postlets template? The answer is simple. I am also considering setting up a blog just to promote my rental property. People want information and I am willing to put in the extra time and effort to prove to them that my lovely home can become their lovely home. I will continue to update as I progress along in my new venture and hopefully I find a tenant soon who is as excited to live my story as I was when I bought it.

Badski's Consumer Report - Toms Shoes

Badski's Consumer Report - Today I watched a show I DVR'd about two months ago called The Entrepreneurs. The show airs on CNBC and features two cool entrepreneurs each in a short half hour segment. I have seen it before but when I watched it today there was one brand that caught my attention. That brand is Toms shoes.

Toms shoes has a simple mantra; one for one. For every pair of shoes that is purchased the company donates a pair of shoes to a child in need of shoes. This socially conscious business model is something I have become very interested in lately. The concept is very appealing to me. The business raises money for charity that wouldn't have been raised otherwise and they are rewarded with business and profit from people who are seeking a simple way to make a difference. To me this is the way of business in the future. It almost serves as a competitive advantage to give some of your money to a worthy cause as there is a certain buzz around your product or service that traditional companies just don't have. I think the younger generations embrace this concept more so than previous generations and I look forward to hopefully creating a socially conscious for profit of my own some day (I am currently working on my first non profit).

In 2006 an American traveler, Blake Mycoskie, befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created a company that would match every pair of shoes sold with a pair given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by caring TOMS customers.

Since our beginning, TOMS has given over 140,000* pairs of shoes to children in need through the One for One model. Because of your support, TOMS plans to give over 300,000 pairs of shoes to children in need around the world in 2009.

Our ongoing community events and Shoe Drop Tours allow TOMS supporters and enthusiasts to be part of our One for One movement. Join us.

Mycoskie explained in the feature I watched how they use very little advertising to further their brand. They rely heavily on their story to spread and through celebrity endorsements. Having read a few Seth Godin books lately (see Personal MBA Updates), I can tell that Mycoskie gets it. He is a proven entrepreneur and with Toms he is a living how to guide for the new era of business. He has created a tribe, a movement to spread his story. Yeah his shoes are cool and they are based on the native shoe design of the very people he started out helping in Argentina, but people can get shoes anywhere. He has created a movement, even calling it such on their website. Their shoe drop tours allow consumers to help deliver shoes to needy kids. Not only do they deliver they shoes, every shoe is placed on the feet of those children. That is commitment to a cause; that is a movement. He has laid out a vision for the future, taken the lead, and empowered others to spread the word. What the company does not spend in advertising allows them to carry out their one for one mantra and still remain profitable. Their story is remarkable and therefore it will spread. Mycoskie gets it. Still don't believe me? Check out the video below and you will see why this isn't a shoe company, but a movement.

Although this isn't the typical Badski Consumer Report, I felt I had to showcase an excellent business model that is the embodiment of many of the lessons I have been reading about lately in my personal education quest. I plan to purchase my first pair of Toms in the next week or so, but even more powerful than purchasing shoes is spreading the word about a great idea. Hopefully my soon to be unveiled non profit venture can emulate some of what the Toms movement has created. Hopefully our story will create a movement.

Personal MBA Update

Personal MBA Update "All Marketers Are Liars" by Seth Godin - Alas, another update on my quest to complete the Personal MBA. If you are interested in learning what the Personal MBA is all about check it out here and begin your quest of self education. This is the second book I have read by Seth Godin in a matter of weeks and although it wasn't as enthralling as Tribes, it was a good book nonetheless and definitely a must read for marketers.

Seth Godin delivered yet another well thought out book that detailed the realities of the new world we live in. The book talks about how marketing has and continues to change the world. The main premise is that all marketers are liars. Well kind of. Actually the main premise is that marketers are storytellers that are most effective when they tell the stories that we want to believe. The book basically reveals that marketers aren't liars as the title would foreshadow, they are merely storytellers. It is the consumers that are liars, and they are merely lying to themselves. And those liars are willing to pay for a story or experience that enables them to believe the lie they are already telling themselves. It is pretty intriguing really.

Once again, Seth lays out the book in a myriad of chapters that somehow coherently intertwine and portray the main points and concepts he wishes to illustrate. I took a lot of notes and I think that, although it wasn't my favorite work of his, I got the overall point of the book; the story if you will. Here are the notes from the book.

- Either you will tell stories that spread or you will become irrelevant
- Marketers lie to the consumer because consumers demand it
- Marketers profit because consumers buy what they want not what they need
- Successful marketers are just the providers of stories that consumers choose to believe
- People only believe the story and lie to themselves if you tell them the truth
- This is what makes it all work in complete dedication to and embrace of your story
- Marketing is about spreading ideas and spreading ideas is the single most important output of our society
- How marketing works (when it works)
1. Their worldview and frames got there before you did
2. People only notice the new and make a guess
3. First impressions start the story
4. Great marketers tell stories we believe
5. Marketers with authenticity thrive
- You the marketer are not in charge
- Marketing succeeds when enough people with similar worldviews come together in a way that allows marketers to reach them cost effectively
- Worldview affects:
1. Attention 2. Bias 3. Vernacular
- People clump together into common world views, and your job is to find previously clumped and frame a story for those people
- Speaking respectfully to a persons world view is the price of entry to get their attention. If your message is framed in a way that conflicts with their worldview you are invisible
- As a marketer you can no longer force people to pay attention
- People don't change their world view. They like it. They embrace it. They want and reinforce it.
- A worldview is the lens used to look at every decision a person is asked to make
- The desire to do what people we admire are doing is the glue that keeps our society together. Its secret ingredient in every successful marketing venture as well
- Every consumer has a world view that effects the product you want to sell. That world view alters the way to interpret everything you say and do. From your story in terms of what worldview and it will be heard.
- When we encounter something for the first time we compare it to the status quo. If its not different we ignore it
- Tree frog example
- In the face of random behavior people make their own lies
- People only notice stuff that's new and different and the moment they notice something new they start making guesses of what to expect next. Step 2
- You don't get much time to tell a story
- Most job interviews end in less that five minutes. That is why speed dating works.
- In order to survive the onslaught of choices consumers make snap judgements in a fraction of a second and once they've drawn that conclusion they resist changing it. Step 3
- Are you a marketer? I think you are. Every day all of us market. You re just not good at telling stories yet
- TV era marketing = advertising Today marketing = storytelling
- Stories only work because consumers buy what they don't need. When a person really needs something like food water shelter, they care about the essence of the purchase. When hungry the food is more important than package
- People buy stuff because the way it makes them feel
- But is utility of the product the main way people share their desires? No Way!
- Stories let us lie to ourselves and those lies satisfy our desires. Its the story not the good or the service that pleases the consumer. Step 4
- Banquet crock pot example pg 86. They tell the story that crock pot stuff is a family healthy meal not its a bunch of stuff preserved by chemicals, frozen, and reheated
- Growth starts with better questions, about storytelling not about commodities
- You don't just get to sit down and make up a story and expect people to believe it because you want them to
- In order to be believed you must present enough of a change that the consumer chooses to notice it. The process of discovery is more powerful than being told the right answer
- Expectations are the engines of our perceptions
- Stolen speakers lie at Harvard story on page 92. Company sold speakers out of the back of a van and sold a ton to students who believed they were getting stolen speakers at a discount. They were regular speakers that the store purchased.
- Speaker story unethical? People say we should buy products and services because of what it does instead of things we need to be told stories about. But we buy overpriced designer jeans, eat at trendy restaurants, etc.
- Storytelling works when it actually makes the product or service better
- A fib is based on facts, a fraud is based on little or nothing
- Just because people might believe your story doesn't give you the right to tell it
- Marketing isn't the problem, marketing is just a tool, people are the problem
- "The good new is clear: authentic marketing, from one human to another, is extremely powerful. Telling a story authentically, creating a product or service that actually does what you say it will leads to a different sort of endgame. The marketer wins and so do her customers. A story works combined with authenticity and minimized side effects builds a brand (and a business) for the ages."
- Belief in the lie must not harm the consumer because it if does you'll run out of consumers and credibility far too soon
- You don't get to make up the story. It happens with or without you
- The goal of every marketer is to create a purple cow, a product or experience so remarkable that people feel compelled to talk about it
- Once fooled a person will never repeat your story to someone else
- If you aren't authentic you get the benefit of 1 sale not 100
- People don't want to change their minds
- Some senses count more than others but all senses matter. Its the combination that convinces the skeptical consumer
- The problem is that once the consumer has bought someone elses story and believes the lie, persuading the consumer to switch is the same as persuading him to admit hes wrong and people hate to admit they are wrong
- Tell a different story!
- You cant just use any story. You cant just tell a selfish story from your point of view. You cant just invent an inauthentic story or tell an amazing story when the reality is banal
- The only stories that work, the only stories with impact, the only stories that spread are the "I cant believe that!" stories. These are the stories that aren't just repeatable: these are the stories that demand to be repeated
- You succeed by being an extremist in your storytelling, then gracefully moving your product or service to the middle so it becomes more palatable to audiences that are persuaded by their friends not you!
- That is why he chose the title of the book
- Your goal should not (must not) be to create a story that is quick, involves no risks and is without controversy. Boredom will not help you grow
- There are no small stories. Only small marketers. If your story is too small its not a story its an annoying interruption
- Little miss match socks example. Company sells only mismatch socks to young girls. Its a story worth taking about
- Sirius radio got Howard Stern and broke traditional radio for millions of listeners
- If cheap is what you want you can buy cheap cheaper somewhere else. Cheap is not marketing
- Blue Nile diamond example. They market to men and expose the lie of a Tiffany's
- Nothing is static. Nothing stays the same as it was and everything you build or design or market is going to change the marketplace
- Four reasons why your new release fails:
1. No one noticed it
2. People noticed it but they didn't want to try it
3. People tried it but they decided not to keep using it
4. People liked it but didn't tell their friends
- Most of us have a very simple default frame: if its not remarkable or exceptional, ignore it. If someone tries to sell you something decline
- I'm just looking
- The same bias that pushed them to try your product is pushing them to try someone else's tomorrow. Persuade that it is the answer to all their prayers
- Google AdWords finds and pairs the marketer with the right worldview
- Dancing on the bar example. The bar made the bar shorter and made discreet handles to grab on the ceiling. Simply putting a sign that said dance here would not work. People dance on the bar and tell all their friends what an awesome time they had at that resort
- Do you have a storytelling plan?
- Which worldview are you addressing?
- Which frame are you using?
- What is the story that is worth noticing?
- How will you live your story?
- What hard decisions are you willing to make in order to keep your story real pure and authentic? Compromise is the enemy of authenticity
- What are the shortcuts your fans can use to tell the story to their friends? How can you help them frame that story?
- How can you radically change your product or service so the story is natural and obvious and easy to tell?
- Whats the value of your permission asset?
- "I was lying to you when I named this book. Marketers aren't liars. They are just storytellers. Its the consumers who are liars. As consumers, we lie to ourselves every day. We lie to ourselves about what we wear, where we live, how we vote and what we do at work. Successful marketers are just the providers of stories that consumers choose to believe. A good story is where genuine customer satisfaction comes from. Its the source of growth and profit and its the future of your organization. This is what makes it all work: A complete dedication to and embrace of your story."