Blogmatic

I was chatting with one of my favourite new start-ups the other day in the common area at TheCodeFactory and the topic of selling on the Internet came up. They explained that they were consulting with a local Entrepreneur in Residence and the first question asked by the EIR was “Who is your first customer?” I am reasonably certain that the expected response was something like Big Red (fictional service provider), Big Blue (another fictional service provider) or Dancing Goats (yet another fictional service provider). However, that was not the response that they received.

The answer “if you give me $2.99 you will be my first customer.”

Fortune magazine annually produces a list of the top 500 companies in North America. This is known as the Fortune 500. These are large companies with likely thousands of employees and multiple locations.

The Fortune 5,000,000 is a term coined by David Heinemeier Hanson of 37Signals used to describe selling to small businesses online. The Fortune 5,000,000 is arguably that mythical Holy Grail we often hear referred to as SME’s (Small and Medium Enterprise). Selling online has opened an incredibly efficient channel for tapping into this vast market.

From a local perspective, as I see it, the challenge in Ottawa is that there is a significant paradigm shift from selling to the Fortune 500 (traditional telecom sale) compared to selling to the Fortune 5,000,000. If you are selling BIG ticket items to Big Red or Big Blue in a pre-millennium mindset it is quite a leap to selling web aps. The difference between channels, value chains, direct sales and other traditional sales is light years away from the virtual distribution and selling online.

If your first question to a start-up selling web aps is “who is your first customer?” You are likely coming from that Fortune 500 paradigm and don’t get it.

Next post will delve a bit into what are some considerations for selling online.

Cheers,

Ian Graham

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I am really impressed with the attitude and preparation of the Canadian Olympic efforts for Vancouver in 2010. There is a series of media ads being run under the campaign of “Believe”. The ads highlight potential Olympic gold medalists talking about their intention to win gold. What a refreshing change from previous Olympic outings where the athletes were often there to do a personal best.

Frankly if you are being funded to compete at the Olympics you had better have your sights set on Gold. I find the intent and expectations of both the Olympians and the public focused in the right direction. We are seeing results on the World Cup in various winter sports already this year. It is great to see Canada setting itself up with the goal of challenging Germany for leadership in medals won at the Olympics in Vancouver 2010.

If Canada continues on its current trajectory my Blogmatic prediction is that we will deliver our best ever performance at an Olympic games in Vancouver 2010. If you set your goals for gold then you have a reasonable chance of getting there.

Cheers,
Ian Graham

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There are a number of products being advertised that are promoting the idea that less is better. The two examples that immediately come to mind are half size chocolate bars and more “powerful” detergent.  These ads are excellent examples of how manufacturers are improving their margins and operating efficiencies in a mature market. If you are in a mature or slow growth market with few large competitors then you will want to focus on operational efficiencies.

You gotta love these newish chocolate bar ads. The chocolate bar has been reduced in size by about half or more. The spin on the advertising is that these new smaller chocolate bars are better for you because they are only 100 calories. There seems to be some magic around 100 calories because that number appears in many foods based ads. Anyway back to less is more. So basically the chocolate bar manufacturer has reduce the size of the chocolate bar but continues to charge the same price and this is better and healthier for you the consumer. I would be curious about the impact on the bottom line of the chocolate bar companies, it just has to improve one would think.

Detergent is another product where less is the new more. The packaging has shrunk you get less product; however, it is more powerful so you don’t need as much. This is very clever and a way to significantly improve margins. Just think about it; your shipping and packaging costs are significantly reduced, you have probably reduced your product costs and you get to tout the mantra new and improved.

If you are in a mature or declining market it is all about operating efficiency. The chocolate bar and detergent provide some excellent examples of how to achieve efficiency objectives through creativity and marketing.

Cheers,
Ian Graham

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I blog about Apple (in a good way) and Vista (in a another  way) and predicted some time ago that Apple share of the PC market would increase. Well as it turns out Gartner Group is now predicting that Apples share of the desk top and PC world will double by 2011.

The fact that the Leopard operating system has been so well received and that Vista has been, … well Vista are probably the key contributing factors. Another factor in my humble opinion is the awesome job Apple has done in promoting their new systems with the Mac Kid and PC Guy ad series. The Apple ads are some of the most cutting edge and humorous bits on TV and the Internet today. Although the quality of the ads, again in my opinion, did slip a bit with the most recent crop of MAC versus PC ads. Apples ability to maintain that hip and funky feel will be key to their success and of course the actual quality of the product.

Time permitting I will have a look at the Apple and Dell 10k reports to confirm or deny the charges. Apples ads are proof that good advertising works well, I would be interested in the ROI calculations for the campaign costs and market share gain.

Cheers,
Ian Graham

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The latest mac ad has been released by Apple today.

You can find the ad at Get a MAC. I find this ad somehow more feature oriented yet at the same time less entertaining than previous ads. Has the Mac Kid lost his edge?

cheers,

Ian Graham 

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A new series of Mac and PC ads have hit the airwaves. The ads have been available for sometime on the internet but have recently moved to prime time. Like their predecessors the ads are witty, funny and anatomically correct.

The latest ads attack Vista more directly than the previous ones. My favourite line is when PC Guy says “Ask not what Vista can do for you but what you can buy for Vista.” How appropriate considering it is an election year (or almost) south of the boarder and all. I believe there are three ads in the series, PC Guy on the podium, PC Guy with PR person and one other. Anyway all great fun to watch.

Here is a thought for the good folks bringing us those most excellent ads. Why not have an election between the PC Guy and Mac Kid. This could be a whole lot of fun and could provide some excellent metrics to measure the impact and reach of the campaigns. Another thought, have a facebook group for the Mac Guy. Plenty more ideas but the two above could probably generate some significant interest.

It seems that the Mac Kid smells blood and is moving in for the kill. The PC Guy, however, is a real behemoth with plenty of staying power. Look forward to the year end results from Apple, HP and Dell. When the major three have released results I will attempt to have an update on the PC versus Mac market share.

Cheers,
Ian Graham

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I just finished reading the book “Purple Cow” by Seth Godin. Luc Levesque recommended the book and it has been an interesting read and good learning experience. The key purple cow take away for me is summed up in a word. Remarkable. Yes, that is right if you are a start-up or small business and want to get noticed be the remarkable Purple Cow.

The premise of the book is that based on city folk taking a drive in the country or when you start off on your family’s holiday adventure. Mom, Dad, luggage and all the kids pile into the car. Then you are on the road to holiday land. When you first leave the city and enter the more rural area the kids notice cows grazing in the field. This causes great excitement and everyone yells “look cows”. As you pass more and more pastures full of cows they become less and less interesting until you don’t notice the cows at all anymore and they just blend into the background. This is an analogy for the life cycle of products and how markets mature and become saturated.

If, however, when the family has become cow insensitive someone sees a purple cow in the field the whole game changes. The remarkable purple cow gets noticed and attracts the attention of the family. As a startup or small business you will want to be the “Purple Cow”. Remarkable products can and do get noticed in a crowded markets and have the ability to capture niches.

Be the remarkable purple cow.

Cheers,
Ian Graham 

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I conducted a very informal poll and focus group recently of young people regarding Bell, Rogers and Telus wireless plans. Rogers and Telus had strong brand recognition with Telus perhaps edging out Rogers much to my surprise. The Telus fish, monkeys and other animals have done a good job of building brand for Telus particularly with the females.

Perhaps most interesting was that the young people liked Telus best not because of cute and cuddly creatures but because of the MY8 students plan. The young people also like free text and talk and other features. The factors motivating the youth to buy plans are not all about brand they are also about value. The company that has brand and value will do the best and right now Telus is in the lead. Rogers is close behind and Bell is barely on the radar screen. The kid’s sort of thought that Bell had plans but didn’t know too much about them. Bell has a long way to go.

Cheers,
Ian Graham

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VW in their mid and lower end vehicles have in my opinion done a great job of promoting and building a strong hip and fun brand. You know the Golf and Jetta. VW’s new ads are focusing on safety. Not that there is anything wrong with safety. However, this runs counter to the brand they have built on the Golf and Jetta. In fact in my opinion building the safety brand, which many would consider old and stoggy, works against the brand already established.

Anyway I am sure there are greater minds than mine that have come up with the new ad campaign. However, by building “Saftey” VW is tearing down hip and fun. Is this something that they really want to do.

Cheers,
Ian Graham

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I have noticed that Microsofts LIVE search engine continues to generate an increasing number of hits to my website. While still a relatively small percentage compared to Google I do notice that it is on the rise. Could this be the Microsoft entity to help challenge Google’s search  engine dominance? 

The LIVE search engine itself is very simple and plain much like the early Google engine. Time will tell but certainly another arrow in the quiver for Microsoft when Google hunting.

Cheers,
Ian Graham

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