"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper
tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure,
the process is its own reward."
Amelia Earhart
Square Watermelons - Thinking inside a box
by Clay Campbell
I read a story about square watermelons. I thought the lessons could very well be applied to business.
Japanese grocery stores are much smaller than in the USA, and watermelons wasted a lot of space. Most people simply told the grocery stores that watermelons grow round and there is nothing that can be done about it. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach. If the supermarkets wanted a square watermelon, they asked themselves, “How can we provide one?” It wasn’t long before they invented the square watermelon.
The solution to the problem of round watermelons wasn’t nearly as difficult to solve for those who didn’t assume the problem was impossible to begin with and simply asked how it could be done. It turns out that all you need to do is place them into a square box when they are growing and the watermelon will take on the shape of the box.
This made the grocery stores very happy and had the added benefit that it was much easier and cost effective to ship the watermelons. Consumers also loved them because they took less space in their refrigerators which are much smaller than those in the US meaning that the farmers could charge a premium price for them.
So I say: what does this have do with anything besides square watermelons?
Are a few lessons business owners can take away from this?
Business Owners; Don’t Assume. The things that you have been doing a certain way in your business might have taken on the aura of the round watermelon and you likely don’t even take the time to consider if there is another way to do it.
Break away from the thinking you have had about marketing, advertising, and growing your business.
Contact a Wizard of Ads Partner - they will show you how to think
differently about growing your business during these difficult times many businesses are facing.
Wizards Question habits: Am I just doing this because we have always done it this way?
We have a saying, “It is hard to read the label when you are on the inside of the bottle.” The Wizard Partners will help you see new and better ways to attract customers.
Wizards can Be Creative: When faced with a problem Wizards can be creative in looking for a solution. This often requires thinking outside the box. Most all people who viewed this question about getting the water melons to grow square thought it would be a much more difficult process to accomplish.
The Wizard Partners can help you find a better way: The square watermelon question was simply seeking a better and more convenient way to do something. The stores had flagged a problem they were having and asked if a solution was possible. Do you have a problem? Are you spending more money and getting less in return?
Is Your situation Impossible? Most Often It Isn’t: If you begin with the notion that something is impossible, then it obviously will be for you. If, on the other hand, you find someone to help you, that has the advantage of looking from the outside in they can see things you can’t.
So then, all you have to do to grow square watermelons is to put ‘em in a square box when they are small? All you may need to do to get your business out of the square box it’s in, is to find a way to grow it outside the box.
All you may need to fix the problem you are having in your business is to contact a Wizard of Ads Partner.
Your business will never be the same. Would you like a slice of square watermelon?
Big Words - Big Marketing Lessons
by Jeff Sexton
The New York Times, probably the most literary newspaper of record in the US, just released some startling data. And understanding it could do astounding things for your marketing.
The online version of the Times allows readers to look up the definition of words simply by highlighting them.
Not only is this a great service to readers, but that data (of which words are looked up and how often) is tracked
by the paper. And in this case, tracking that data has allowed them to compile a list of the 50 most-looked-up
words.
If you're interested in the list, you can download it here.
So here are the marketing take-aways:
1) All those terms, concepts, and jargon you think your audience knows (or should
know)?
They don't know 'em.
Or at least your audience is probably a lot fuzzier on them than you think. To a Times writer, whose adult life has
been spent within literary circles, every intelligent reader knows the meaning of words like, "solipsistic." The reality? Solipsistic was the second most looked up word on the list.
Are there reasons to use lesser known words rather than a more well known alternative word or phrase? Absolutely. Nuance, precision of meaning, emotional associations, concision, displaying "tribal" identification, and just plain style. Lots of good reasons to break out the occasional 50 cent word. But they need to be weighed against the cost, which in this case involves confusing or turning off the reader - bad for a columnist, deadly for an advertiser.
For advertisers, though, industry terminology takes the place of highbrow language. How many grill salesman assume that everyone knows what BTUs are and why a grill capable of producing more of them is a good thing? How many vitamin stores assume customers know what anti-oxidants are and why it's a good idea to supplement with them? I'd put money that the same holds true for your business and industry.
2) Be wary of uncritical interpretations of data.
Don't you just naturally assume that the people looking up those words are doing so because they don't know the meanings? And therefore that The New York Times readership isn't nearly as literate as one would hope? That was my first reaction.
Further reflection revealed that actually looking up a word is, in fact, a very literate thing to do. And that it's likely that many of those readers may have already had a darn good idea of what the word meant, but hadn't previously seen the word used in the specific manner or context in which the writer had employed it. Maybe the reader knew the gist of the word, but had never bothered to get a real definition and, in seeking to clarify the meaning of a sentence, said reader looked up the word, just to be sure. Kind of changes the meaning of the list a little bit, doesn't it? Using words on the edge of a readers vocabulary is entirely different than routinely using words readers have never heard of.
Uncritical interpretations happen all the time in advertising: "We tried radio and it didn't work," or "we had a website, but it never did anything for us, so we pulled it down." Or any other number of assumptions. Force yourself to come up with plausible alternative explanations and customer motivations.
3) Test assumptions - force yourself to watch what people DO and not what people say!
No one likes to admit that they don't know what a word means. So I rather doubt if anyone ever complained about the times word choice, which is why it was the online version of the Times - and not a focus group, interview, or complaint - that provided this insight into the top 50 most-looked-up words.
The same thing goes with your advertising: test, test, test. Measure actions, not opinion.
4) Know when to go tribal
As I mentioned previously, the right words can signal your membership in a tribe - meaning that confusion amongst outsiders aint always a bad thing. If you're a hard core cyclist, you don't need to have someone tell you who Lance Armstrong is. Foodies don't need to be told what, say, Balsamic Vinegar is. Copy directed to hard core members of a tribe would do well to use their language and cultural touchstones/allusions without apology. Not only does this attract the hard core, but it attracts wannabes as well.
While The New York Times probably should be concerned about striking a balance between appealing to a broad readership and maintaining a literary style, those concerns would be poison to The New Yorker. Aimed at an even more literate audience that the Times, The New Yorker almost has to employ writers who sprinkle in SAT-type words, because seeing them in an article - and seeing them used well - sends a signal to its subscribers about what kind of magazine they're reading and what kind of tribe they belong to.
Perhaps now would be a good time to have a complimentary meeting with a Wizard of Ads Partner. Links to their websites and blogs are listed down the right side of The Wizard Times. Hundreds of their articles with free insightful advice can been seen at www.americansmallbusiness.com 2009 would be a great year to attend a class at the Wizard Academy 21st Century Business School in Austin Texas. What is the Wizard Academy?
See you next week.
Clay Campbell
Wizard of Ads
PS. Need help to attract more customers and grow your business?
