Category Archives: Marketing

Back in my Sling days, one of the greatest fears I had in doing my job was watching or reading interviews with the CEO, Blake Krikorian. See, Blake’s one of those guys that is really fun to talk to, on just about any topic (other than when you screw up and miss a deadline or build a goofy feature into your product, of course), and really loves engaging with whomever he’s talking with. He’s also a super-enthusiastic guy when it comes to Sling Media – which is apparent in any video you may watch with him in it (even if he’s in a Japanese restroom).

So why was this a “fear”? Well, we we’d never be 100% sure as to what exactly Blake would talk about on any given interview. So we knew it would be good, and we knew it would be fun, but we never quite knew what would come out of it. At the end of the day, it’s clearly a “high class problem” as a friend of mine says – because the results were always good ones. Here’s Blake on Om’s Revision3 show.

One of the reasons Sling is so well-liked as a company is that Blake promotes a very open, friendly communication style. Sure the company has plans and initiatives that can’t always be disclosed in advance, but the general tone and demeanor is welcoming, inviting, and open.

These same principles are driving our marketing efforts for Bug Labs. Peter Semmelhack, the CEO, is keenly interested in not just having open source technology, but in what I am calling open marketing.  Next week I’ll be in the NY office for a couple of days, and even though we are a ways away from launching the product, we’ve blocked off an evening to have a few beverages with anyone who wants to come by (I’ve even made a Facebook event). No RSVP list needed, no exclusive invite for the tech-elite or media. Whether it’s a curious engineering student (of age, of course!) or someone with a vision of some amazing gadget, we want to meet them, and just chat.

Some of my favorite blogs to read are from company CEOs, ranging from Jonathan Schwartz to Steve Jobs. My advice to any company, whether small startup to huge megakeiretsu, is to have some form of open, transparent communication. You don’t have to reveal every single little plan or secret strategy, but being “out there” and “real” will help your company through good times and bad.

As both of my frequent readers know, I’m completely fed up and frustrated with Sony, and because they are such a closed, unapproachable company, it massively amplifies my frustrations. If the company had more of a “face”, I’m sure I’d still be annoyed, but in a less loathsome manner.

We are in a very interesting transition time when it comes to marketing technology products, and I firmly believe openness and transparency are essential.

Just read a wonderful post on how to pick conferences to attend and what you should do when you get there. I’m going to add my $0.02, but change the tack toward how to decide when you should take your team of 3-30 to a conference. In my personal opinion (which is redundant to say since this is my blog), most startups participate in conferences prematurely. To be clear, by “participate” I mean take an active, notable role – speak, sponsor, demo, etc.

I’m going to make the statement here that this probably won’t apply if you are uber-famous or have raised a billion dollars to foolishly sell groceries online 5 years prematurely. My recommendations are based on “the average startup” and probably relate more to consumer-focused ventures, I am not much of an enterprise services kind of guy.

“Early Development” aka “I have a dream”: If you are in this super-early phase of a company, the only things you want to do with a conference is attend, learn&listen, and network. Unless you are a “known entity” in your respective tech community, or unless you are trying to pull some uber-stealth-buzz-marketing move (proceed with caution), there’s virtually nothing to gain by being a sponsor or panelist. A good stealthy company should be trying to fly under the radar as much as possible.

“Basic Demo” aka “Stealth Mode”: OK, the engineers (or possibly just you) made something work, it’s a good proof of concept but probably pretty ugly. Your friends think it’s a sure thing, the next Google in fact. My advice to you – stay stealthy right now. Most of your friends won’t tell you the haircut isn’t so great, but you should probably let it grow in a little before getting out in front of too many strangers.

“Need Funding” aka “Wookin Pa Nub”: Let’s assume that by looking for funding you’ve got a nice demo (or powerpoint) and you are comfortable with some press happening should the occasion arise. At this stage, I’d definitely pick out conferences that have decent VC attendance (easy tip: look for ones with VCs as sponsors) and try to get on a panel. I’d consider doing a Demo/Under The Radar/TC20-style event, but probably recommend avoiding spending too much (anything over 5 figures) as you’re effectively rolling the dice on an extreme crapshoot.

“Launching Soon” aka “Tummy Full O Butterflies”: So now you’re in some kind of private beta test, almost ready to show the world. People, this is your time to shine. Get out there, and get the buzz going. Again, I’d caution against spending too much money, but I’d probably have people in your team tracking all of Scoble’s favorite events and sending one or more to as many as possible. Get your message out there.

“Launch” aka “Launch”: Now is where my advice will take a bit of a controversial turn. I’m going to have to divide you up into different companies based on the interestingness of your company. This is tricky, since everyone likes to think they have a super-duper interesting company. Unfortunately, this is not true, and the more sober, koolaid-free look at yourself you can make, the better you’ll do (in general).

• Extremely Interesting: You sure? Okay then – my advice to you – do not launch at a conference unless it is either the D: All Things Digital event or a mega-trade-show like CES or NAB. Why? You have so little to gain, and so much to lose. If you are super-interesting, then all you are doing is creating an environment at which you are more likely to fail than succeed. Demoing in 6 minutes in front of a wide group instead of taking 20 minutes one-on-one just doesn’t compare. And if you really are that interesting, all you need is someone with a half-decent rolodex and good interpersonal skills to set up all the meetings you can use. Everybody wants a hot story, why shoot all your ammo at once when you can spread it out at your leisure?
• Somewhat Interesting: This is, realistically, most companies. If you’ve got something decent-to-good, but not over-the-top wow, and not a snoozefest, then I’d recommend leveraging an event that has a lot of press congregated together. The caveat is this: you run the risk of using up all your marketing karma in one shot, and missing the mark a little. A bad demo or someone else there with a killer story, and you are instantly below the fold on Techmeme. Proceed, but like you would in any good war, do as much recon as you can beforehand!
• Not-so-interesting: First of all, my applause for being humble enough to read this. There’s plenty of great startups with great technology that just aren’t all that exciting, but still viable to become profitable or get acquired. My basic advice to you is to avoid any show-and-tell scenarios, and get on as many panels as you can. You want to create perception of knowledge and expertise, but don’t want some random group of “judges” who don’t quite get it barking at you for having a yawner demo.

“Post-Launch” aka “We’re out there, and we’re loving it!”: At this point, there’s no clear-cut answer. I tend to focus on analyzing attendee and press lists, and seeing how an event fills a gap in my current programs. Also, there’s a certain amount of a pulse you want to keep going – staying visible and keeping momentum up is important. That said, try not to be that company that attends, sponsors, and demos at every single event in a season – a little good judgment is not only cheaper, but more impactful. It shows you put a little thought behind the money, not just money behind the money.

Hope this is helpful!

I use the phrase “must-read” on something when I feel it has such a quantity of interesting content that it shouldn’t be marginalized by summary.  Brian Solis’ post today on “the future of communications” falls into this category.  I don’t agree with everything – but that’s okay, I don’t have to (I’d be a little scared if I ever 100% agreed with anyone’s manifesto on anything!). 

More importantly, it stimulated my thinking, and anyone in the business of online marketing should give it a glance.  Maybe you’ll learn something.  Maybe you’ll be inspired.  Maybe you’ll disagree completely.  No matter what, you won’t waste your time. 

Good job Brian.

One of my philosophies on being a consultant is I should be absolutely comfortable sharing information with current or prospective clients.  In my early meetings with potential clients I typically go straight into making suggestions as to how the companies can best leverage social media, communities, “the blogosphere”, and other so-dubbed “viral” marketing activities. 

I know this is an atypical practice, as many consultants believe it’s important to hold every tactic close to your chest.   In my opinion, if I can’t add more value over the coming months than I did in the first hour, there probably isn’t much point in hiring me.  In that spirit, here are a few “DIY” viral marketing activities any company can easily incorporate into their strategies.

1. Have a half-decent product!
   This is actually the most important item on the list.  You can’t spread word-of-mouth on a bad product (although you can do so with a gimmicky one, but that’s a different matter altogether).  If you are having trouble accepting this, just look to the movie industry for literally hundreds of examples.  For an easy one, think back to last summer’s Snakes on a Plane – it had huge buzz prior to opening, the word was a-spreading and everything looked rosy until one critical moment: audiences saw the movie, which was terrible (I got 23 minutes into it on Moviebeam before stopping).  So much for the buzz.  The counter-example, by the way, was Borat, which had mild buzz prior to opening, however was funny enough to get audiences recommending it to friends.       

   One of the reasons we have a “product polish” team in my consultancy is specifically to help companies with mediocre products transform them into better ones.  It’s much more fun to create marketing activites for a quality product than a subpar one, and I personally make a practice of not taking clients whose products I don’t feel can capture their customers’ hearts and minds.

2. List your product on Wikipedia and other sites.
   Before you go out and spend a ton of money on Google AdWords and SEO consultants, take a few minutes (yes, minutes) to make sure you’ve listed your product wherever you can. Any open directory, any technology/product/service database, etc.  Look up your competitors’ products, make sure you are in every place they are.   Also, be sure to put up posts or articles that aren’t overwhelmingly biased as these’ll get edited out by the community quite quickly.  It’s free, it’s fast, and it helps contribute to the groundswell of sources your customers may be using to find products like yours.
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3. Have a blog, post thoughtful articles, and link link link.
   Jason Calacanis once wrote a blog post titled “blog or die” – it’s not specifically on target with my point here, but it’s a good read nonetheless.  Customer behaviors are changing unbelievably fast, and brand loyalty today only seems to exist for a certain company that uses more white lexan plastic than the rest of the world combined.  Consumers are showing increasing interests in company’s personalities, services, and behaviors – and, of course, pricing policies.  Companies that look to the future are seeking ways to engage directly with their customers, and one ridiculously simple way to do this is to write a blog.  It doesn’t have to be updated daily, or even weekly, but it also can’t be as sparse as a quarterly dollop of chatter.  Also, when it comes to company blogs, quality is much more important than quantity.  Finally, the blog should link out.  A lot.  Linking to other bloggers helps show them how you are actively engaging in the conversation.  My rule of thumb on linking is this: any article I read that helped me form an opinion on a topic deserves a link from me when I blog about that topic.  As a corollary, don’t overlink or link just because you want attention – you won’t win brownie points through insincerity.
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4. Start a dedicated community and engage your customers.
   This is usually on the top of the list of my ‘freebies’ – there is no more effective online tool that I know of to support word-of-mouth marketing than an online community. This can be a fairly vague and nebulous area for some, so to be clear: at a minimum, it’s a discussion forum on your Web site (phpBB is free), or at the other end of the spectrum you can outsource the community technology and even the moderation services to a company.  At Sling Media, for example, I worked with Chicago-based Capable Networks to set up slingcommunity.com.  They were responsible for all the technology and moderating (both of which can be massive infrastructure requirements, so don’t downplay their importance!), and we were responsible for engaging with our users.  As a result, our customers got the opportunity to directly interact with us, provide feedback, and praise or complain about the products.  While it wasn’t rosy at all times, having the presence helped (and still helps) us be on top of whatever issues were important to the customer base, and helped current and prospective customers get a better feel for what type of company we built.
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5. Enable tinkering.
   While I am strictly not a believer in “if you build it, they will come” marketing philosophies, I do believe “if you let them hack, they will market your product for you.”  Amongst the dozens of reasons why Friendster lost the initial round of the social networking wins, one was they were more uptight about their product than Cameron Frye.  No ‘fake’ personalities. No API. No nothing!  And then there’s MySpace, possibly the ugliest combination of Web pages since Geocities enabled the blink and marquee tags.  But MySpace was more interesting to individuals because you could uglify it so much.  You can build widgets. You can build badges.  You can make themes.  It’s extremely extensible.  Take a look at Facebook’s recent moves – all about extending their platform.  Give people the opportunity to make your product/service their own, and it will signficantly contribute to your word-of-mouth potential.
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6. Create and live by an open & honest communications policy.
   This one is a little trickier for most companies.  First up, keep your spin to a minimum.  No, you don’t have to bare the company’s soul to the world, but admitting mistakes wins a lot more praise than making up implausible stories.  Consumers are much smarter than most marketeers give them credit for, and they can sniff out a lie mid-sentence.  When you consider the power of discussions and the individual’s ability to create noise, the less opportunity you have for dumb scandals, the better.  As an example, at Sling Media I implemented a strict policy that no employee was to add comments about the Slingbox on any blog or review site (such as CNET or Amazon) without disclosing their employment status.  Why?  Well, look at the Amazon page for the Slingbox Classic – it’s averaging 4.5 stars from 176 reviewers (at the time of writing).  If the company can honestly state that none of them are employee-fed, then they gain a heck of a lot more trust than if there’s suspicion about shills.  Again, if you have a good product, there’s no need to artificially pump it up – trust your customers to do this for you, they will. 
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7. Improve upon your product.
   1.0 is never perfect, so don’t stop there.  For a consumer electronics device, I recommend software updates at a minimum of 3 times per year.  Fix bugs, improve your UI, add features – do whatever you need to strive to make your product the absolute best in category.  This shows your customers you are supporting them in the long-term, which increases their loyalty to you, which increases the chance they’ll praise and recommend your product to their peers.  This is especially effective if done in conjunction with your community, as it shows them you are paying attention.  There’s nothing more frustrating than buying into some product or service, and getting the feeling they only care about new customers.  Give a little something back to your existing ones, and it’ll go a long way.

So there you have it, seven easy things any company can do to inexpensively help get the word out.  You’ve probably noticed that none of these fall into the classic “outreach” marketing programs – but that’s part of what makes them so effective. I’m sure some people will find these obvious, but I hope others will find value in them.  If you have any other tips like these, please leave comments – would love to hear them.

Just read this article at the WOMMA blog, it seems that 4 out of 5 dentists marketers like Crest viral marketing’s impact on brand awareness:

More than half of marketers say they are planning to launch multiple viral efforts in 2007, and more than 80% of “very experienced” marketers say that viral marketing builds awareness.

Here’s a link to the original article with the source data, if you are at all interested in learning about the effects of non-traditional marketing, give it a read. 

As a consultant in this space, I am getting a little frustrated with the saturation of the term “viral marketing”.  I’ve heard from marketers who place a “digg it” button on their home page and say “hey, now we’re viral!”  Another not-so-favorite is “we have a myspace page, yay!” 

In my eyes, viral marketing is a concerted effort to get people to talk, share, or otherwise inform others about your product, company, service, offering, etc.  More than that, it’s about a campaign, not a link.  Sure, your campaign might involve digg or myspace, but that’s not the campaign itself.

Expect to see a lot more on this topic from me in the future.