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Meet
the MasterMinds: Seven Questions for Seth Godin
 "Take
Leo Burnett, David Ogilvy, Bill Bernbach and Mark Twain.
Combine their brains and shave their heads. What's left?
Seth Godin." - Jay Levinson, author of Guerrilla
Marketing
Seth Godin changed the language and business of marketing
with his best-selling books, Permission
Marketing, Unleashing
the IdeaVirus and Survival
is Not Enough. In his latest manifesto for
marketers, Purple
Cow, Godin shows why traditional marketing
techniques are failing miserably in today's over-hyped
world. Godin's answer: put a Purple Cow into everything
you build and do.
MCNews: What is a Purple Cow?
Godin: Purple Cow is about the inexorable
decline in the effectiveness of advertising and what
to do about it. In essence, the ability of companies,
consultants, service businesses and others to win by
constantly interrupting prospects is over. It's being
replaced by a focus on the remarkable.
When we have everything we need (and for the most part,
we do), then it's about buying things we want. And if
the services and products being offered are essentially
invisible, we walk away. Remarkable products are worth
talking about.
MCNews: What is your opinion on the state of marketing
among professional service firms, such as consultants?
Godin: Professional service marketing is certainly
among the "safest" I've ever seen. Because
it appears to take no risks, it's actually quite risky.
When every accounting firm runs ads that are interchangeable,
then all are invisible, all are ineffective, and all
fail. Without the guts to do marketing that works (and
more important, to develop products that work!) then
all of these firms are doomed to be sellers of commodities.
MCNews: Are there service companies that you think
are great marketers?
Godin: I love the way RotoRooter uses the Yellow
Pages to talk to people who really care about their
service and to completely dominate that medium. I also
believe that Chubb Insurance has wired word-of-mouth
in their favor by targeting the wealthy. This audience
is far more likely to talk to one another about insurance,
and Chubb's track record of not hassling claimants makes
them remarkable and easy to talk about.
On the other hand, I could list a thousand law firms,
accountants and other professionals who are wasting
every single penny they spend on advertising. They
need to stop spending that money and invest it in a
remarkable service instead.
MCNews: How can consultants get started in the attempt
to find their Purple Cow?
Godin: It starts by acknowledging that it's
not about the advertising. It's about the product
you create and the way you deliver it. When H&R
Block started offering refunds in advance, that was
remarkable.
I met an out of work project manager the other day.
We brainstormed about her job search--Boston isn't hiring
many tech project managers these days. We discovered
that she had a specialty in getting products out the
door--especially late ones. Hence, a Purple Cow: She
has now revamped what she's selling. She does "Emergency
Project Management" and only takes engagements
of thirty days or less for projects that are more than
three months late. She's charges three times as much,
but works like a maniac when she's on.
MCNews: Some think that a firm can gain a leading
market position using the best practices of others.
Do you believe that is a viable strategy?
Godin: I believe that's a commodity strategy.
That's the very least you can do to stay competitive.
The only way to grow, however, is to do something people
aren't doing.
Look, there are only three kinds of people in the world:
--People who don't need what you sell
--People who need what you sell but are already buying
that from a competitor
--People who are ignoring you
The only way to capture the attention of people from
either of the last two groups is to offer something
so remarkable that they, a. hear about it from their
colleagues and, b. realize that they can't live without
it.
MCNews: If a consultant were about to re-tool a
services and marketing program, what one thing would
you suggest he/she do?
Godin: Retool the services first. Then,
the marketing will take care of itself!
MCNews: What's on your current reading list?
Godin: Right now, I'm reading about eleven books
at the same time, including two books on networks in
nature (did you know that fireflies in the wild flash
in synch?), a book about sharpening hand tools, The
Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,
Guy Kawasaki's new book in progress and I'm rereading
Crossing
the Chasm for the fourth time.
MCNews: Thanks for your time.
You can find out more about Seth Godin at www.sethgodin.com
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Market Intelligence: Executive Priorities
Seventy-four percent of top executives
believe that employee issues are more
important to company success than they were last year,
according to a
recent survey of 200 senior executives from the United
States, Europe and Australia.
The survey, conducted by consulting giant, Accenture,
shows that most executives believe there is a lack of:
- Critical workforce skills
- Employee understanding of business and/or organizational
strategy
- Employee comprehension of the connection between
their jobs and corporate strategic priorities
In response, companies have implemented programs to
improve workforce performance. Unfortunately, executives
for the most part are only moderately satisfied with
the results.
A key challenge is a lack of measurement of the business
impact of HR and training and development initiatives,
which prevents executives from understanding the ROI
of such initiatives.
Source: The
Accenture "High-Performance Workforce" Study
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This
Month in History
On June 1, 1980, the Cable News Network
(CNN) debuted. It was the first all-news station
on television.
Adam
Smith was born on June 5, 1723. The Scottish
economist wrote, "Consumption is the sole end and
purpose of production; and the interest of the producer
ought to be attended to only so far as it may be necessary
for promoting that of the consumer."
The bar code was introduced on June 26, 1974.
A committee of grocers and food manufacturers recommended
the Universal Product Code that allows electronic scanning
of prices. The first item swiped across the first checkout
scanner was a pack of Wrigley's gum.
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Coming
Attractions
Ever feel like you just don't have enough time to get
all the things done that you'd like?
According to Jim Loehr, co-author of The
Power of Full Engagement, managing energy,
not time is the key to high performance and personal
renewal. Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits
of Highly Effective People, calls Loehr's prescription
for high performance, "Tremendous!"
Loehr joins us next month to describe his groundbreaking
strategies for performing at your best.
Look for the next issue of MCNews on July 1, 2003.
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The
End Page
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning
of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
- Winston
Churchill
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Publisher
Management Consulting News ISSN 1539-2481,
Washington, DC, USA
Copyright © 2003 Management Consulting
News All rights reserved
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