Davis ThinkingSeveral weeks ago Bloomberg BusinessWeek published an article about Steve Jobs entitled, The Last Pitchman. It documented Jobs’ seemingly inexplicable ability to sell practically anything, as evidenced by his glorious pitch for the iPhone 4, a “new” product which the news media had already gotten hold of and detailed weeks before. I tore the pages out of the magazine as is my habit with content which proffer good fodder for blogposts. Although the article was fascinating, I struggled with how to make sense of it — until last Sunday when I read a New York Times interview with Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of Box.net. Levie used to do magic shows as a teen, and he says some of his most important leadership lessons come from the hobby: “…it’s all about getting in front of people and telling a story, something that people buy into that is hopefully entertaining. It’s all about capturing people’s imaginations and getting them excited about what’s possible.” I realized that’s exactly what makes Jobs such an effective pitchman – magic. Let me break this down a little.
Social media marketing essentially evolved from The Cluetrain Manifesto assertion that markets are conversations. The world of social media then exploded and conversational platforms, tools and networks evolved. Markets are conversations … whatever that means. When you translate it into the practical, not the etherial, you have to try and figure out conversational marketing. How do you have conversations with people with the intent of promoting a product or service?
Motorola Inc. is close to rolling out a new plan that it hopes will revive a long-suffering effort to separate the company's main business units, according to people familiar with the matter. In recent days the Schaumburg, Ill., company has moved toward reversing a months-old strategy of selling off the largest of its three divisions, which makes set-top boxes and wireless-networking gear, these people said. The company has instead signaled it will likely chop that unit in two—continuing an auction for its wireless-networking business, while spinning off its set-top box business with its core handset business into a new, publicly-traded company, these people said.
When you're trying to sell your idea, it's natural to assume that the people you're selling to think the way you do. If you can only show them the facts and stories that led you to believe what you believe, then of course they'll end up where you are... believing. The problem, of course, is that people don't always think like you.
The conventional wisdom is that brands should mostly concentrate on listening rather than talking in social media. This may not be totally accurate. Publicis Groupe digital shop Performics has found consumers are actually quite receptive to direct response-style product offers on social networking sites like Facebook. "Companies need to look for ways to do classic push marketing," said Michael Kahn, svp of marketing at Performics.
I was doing my grocery shopping yesterday when I stumbled upon a discount that I assumed was a clerical mistake: some fancy olive oil had been reduced from $23 to $9. Needless to say, I immediately put a bottle in my cart, even though I didn't need another bottle of olive oil. But then, just a few minutes later, I began to wonder: why was the olive oil so drastically reduced in price? Is something wrong with it? What isn't Whole Foods telling me? That nagging suspicion - and I'm sure it was completely unfounded - was enough for me to put the bottle back on the shelf. It was too good a deal.
The opening act has the toughest gig in town. The audience isn't here to listen to you. They're restless. Perhaps you'll get a few seconds to earn their attention, but not much. Your gimmicks will fall flat and you might even get booed off stage. The rock star, on the other hand, has the crowd chanting for him before he shows up. He starts a song and people applaud. They sing along. They finish his lyrics for him. Most marketers are opening acts.
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