Why Simple Works

Why Simple Works
by Danny Brown
www.dannybrown.me

Copyright (c) 2010 Danny Brown

Why Does Simple Work?
Marketing and business ideas can be overloaded with so many facts that
none of them actually stick.

Sometimes the simplest of ideas work. Not always, but more often than
you might expect.

Letting the point speak for itself can be easier for marketers to create and
customers to consume and retain.

This ebook offers reasons why simple might work for you.

Thanks for reading,

Danny.


Quality Assurance
You have a new product. You need to test it before it goes public. You hire
an agency to carry out a focus group for you. You pay people to tell you
what, essentially, you want to hear (many focus group participants
won't be completely honest since they want repeat invitations).

You've just spent five figures to find out just a tiny bit more than you knew
before about your product.

Now. You have a new product. You need to test it before it goes public.
You give it to your sales people; your marketing people; your customer
service people. You know - the ones who have to live with its real value
from the front line.

Who do you think will offer the real feedback?


Universal
Ideas begin with one person, but the best ones are chewed over by many
before being released to the public.

There's a reason for this. Personal bias and parental protection often
makes us myopic about letting go, and this can make us miss the
bigger picture. Afterward, we realize our good idea became great
because of universal viewpoints.

Something to keep in mind the next time you're about to tell someone
they're too junior to offer an input into your business master plan.


Reinventing the Wheel
James Dyson looked at the vacuum cleaner and gave people a different
way to do things - no bags. Simple.

EasyJet looked at international flights and gave people a different way to
fly - no thrills affordability. Simple.

Sony looked at video games and gave people a different way to view
gamers - cool mass appeal chic. Simple.

We don't always have to build something brand new. We don't always
have to spend millions on research when the audience is already there.
We don't always have to create from scratch.

Sometimes just reinventing the wheel is more than enough.


Do Not Disturb
Your voicemail is permanently on (or your secretary is diverting calls). Your
office is a no-go area except to the limited few. Your cell phone has
dedicated ringtones so only three people get through (and they're all
"Yes" people).

You're permanently in meetings that you've arranged that don't need to
happen - the earth won't fall away if you miss one of them. Simply put,
you're so busy that your life is one big "Do Not Disturb" sign.

Your competitors, on the other hand, like to be disturbed. They like new
ideas from the many. They like phone calls; emails; faxes.
They like meetings that only happen when.. well, when something
happens or needs to.

In short, your competitors are busy being disturbed by customers. Isn't it
about time you unlocked some doors?

Belief Systems
When George Lucas made Star Wars, he waived his director's fee in
exchange for licensing rights. Despite most studios turning down his
movie idea, Lucas believed in it and was willing to put his money where
his mouth was.

Twentieth Century Fox agreed to the deal, believing that movie
merchandise wasn't a big selling point. Star Wars went on to become
one of the most successful movies ever, and the toys, video games,
soundtracks and other merchandise made Lucas millions.

While you might not be George Lucas, there's no reason why you can't
make your own blockbuster. All you need is belief.


One Size Fits All
Marketing to a law firm is very different to marketing to a butcher's shop.

Implementing social media strategy for a school is not the same as
implementing social media strategy for a school for spine surgeons.

Flying a kite is not the same as flying a three hundred passenger Boeing.

One size fits all solutions?

No such thing.


Leaders Don’t Just Lead
If you're considered a leader, what type of leader are you?

Do you lead from the front and refuse to ask those under your guidance to
do anything you wouldn't yourself? Do you hang back in the shadows
and delegate from afar? Do you have lieutenants under you that carry
out your work for you, and you just sign off the paperwork?

Your troops are your front line of defense. This could be a sales team; a
customer service team; a tech support team; or commenters on your
blog. They can tell you what's happening every day. They can see
changes you miss in the ivory towers of leadership. They can be the
eyes that see new opportunities and best practices.

Leaders - true leaders - don't just lead; they're led as well. If you're
considered a leader, what type of leader are you?


Old and New
Old often equates to age, and wisdom. Old shows staying power and
stamina, and hard battles fought and won.

New often equates to eagerness, and a willingness to experiment. New
shows paths yet to be journeyed and successes to come.

Mix old and new and you have the wisdom to journey the right paths. The
staying power to battle to success.

Old and new are two different words but they don't need to be two different
worlds.


Friends and Family
When you're down on your luck, who do you turn to? When you want
honest advice and ways to make things right, who do you turn to?
When you need to get rid of all the BS and be the person you need to
be, who do you turn to?

I'm guessing friends and family. Those you trust. Those you've grown with;
feel comfort around; know only have your best interests at heart.

Now. Imagine if your customers were your friends and family. Imagine the
trust you could build. Imagine the belief in each other. Imagine the
greatness you could create together.

Imagine the potential.

Ready to make new, true friends?


Bedside Manners
The best doctors are successful because they have immaculate bedside
manners. Some of the traits of great bedside manners include:

Being a good listener.

Using easy-to-understand terminology.

Caring about their patient's concerns.

Respectful of their patient's time.

These traits are second nature to good doctors. Maybe more business
owners should go to medical school.


Give to Get
Giving up is easy. Close our eyes, wait for problems to go away - anyone
can do that. The highway of life is full of sleepers and short stay hotels
of those that have given up.

Getting back up? That's the difficult part. But think how many times you've
been ready to give up in the past, only to keep getting back in the game
for more.

No-one likes giving up, but sometimes it's the only natural thing to do.
How, and if, you get up is the separator.

Ready to get?


Clock Watching
Tick tock. The sound of a clock. The sound of watching the minutes go by.
The sound of boredom. The sound of anywhere but here.

Silence. The sound of creativity at work. The sound of not really feeling like
a job. The sound of expressing yourself. The sound of making things
happen the way you want them to.

The sound of success.

You're not encouraging clock watching, are you?


Instant Coffee
Instant coffee is fast. Instant coffee offers the quick solution you need at
that time. Instant coffee keeps you satisfied until you can get to the
gourmet roast or Colombian dark coffee from your favourite bean.

As customers, we love full bean flavour but we don't always need that -
sometimes all we need to keep us happy is some instant coffee.

How's your business at serving coffee?


Bridge Builders
You don't have to be a superstar. You don't have to be the top dog. You
don't always have to be the number one.

It helps. It can offer kudos and credence to your name. But superstars
fade. Top dogs become old. Number ones can fall by the wayside.

Stop solely concentrating on the numbers and positions. Instead, think
about being a bridge builder.

We're in a people business. Yes, people work from numbers but
they really believe in the connection. You're the bridge to that
connection. The decisions you're making today are being viewed by
others, and they will come to you for their needs.

Build the bridge right and the numbers will follow.


Be Fearless
Be fearless. Be bold. Be new. Be exciting. Be inspired. Be passionate. Be
different. Be crazy.

The world is full of normality but who wants to stop at the world?

Be fearless.

Be you.


Impossible Possibilities
600 years ago we thought the earth was flat. Just over 100 years ago we
thought it was impossible for man to fly. Just over 50 years ago we still
thought that steam powered was the way to travel by train. 40 years
ago we hadn't put a man on the moon.

Every day we're faced with impossibilities. We're told, "You can't do that;
it'll never work.“

But you know... an impossibility is simply a problem that we haven't
conquered yet.

Consider that as you next commute to work on your electric train.


Influence the Evangelists
You're responsible for a blogger outreach program. Who do you go for -
the influencers? Is this the right approach? Why aren't you reaching for
the evangelists?

Influencers take a paycheck (or some from of payment) to talk about you.
They don't always have a vested interest in your brand. They won't
necessarily tell you where to improve.

Evangelists don't need a paycheck. By all means, give them first shot at
your new goodies, but payment? Not their style. They have a vested
interest in your brand. They want to see you be the best, so they'll tell
you what you're doing wrong and where you can improve.

Influencers are for the now. Evangelists are for the now and after now. Still
want to reach the influencers?


Real People
ATM's are automated, but you need to deal with a real person to buy a
house.

Phone trees are automated but you need to deal with a real person to
resolve a complaint.

Production lines are automated but you need a real person to sign the
shipment papers.

Our processes may be becoming more automated, but we still need real
people to initiate the process. Is your business recognizing your real
people every day?


Complaining Cleverly
If approached properly, a complaint can turn into a discussion can turn into
a process improvement can turn into a case study. Everybody wins.

Are you being clever with complaints?


The Business of Dating
Dating is a tricky business. Building up the courage to ask someone out;
the nerves of the first date; the choices that you make deciding whether
you'll have a second date or not; and keeping conversation flowing
being just some of the hazards.

Then you have to worry about the success of the second date. And the
third. And so on. Then (if you're lucky) it becomes a relationship and
you can begin making long-term plans together.

Are you treating your customers like a date? Are you keeping the
conversation flowing and making the right choices to keep them
interested in you? How are you building the long-term relationships with
them?

Dating is a tricky business. How successful are you in the dating game?


Brand versus Reputation
Your brand is what you make it. Your reputation is what makes you.
There's a small difference in wording but a big difference in overview.

Brand may get you the initial success; reputation is what keeps it going.


Building Forts
Forts were built for a reason - to keep invaders out. Yet if the invaders
came with numbers prepared for a siege, forts also left you trapped
inside, unable to make your escape until you either surrendered or died
from starvation.

When you're building your business, you may be looking at your growing
empire as your own personal fort, keeping you safe from competitors.
Just make sure you don't get barricaded in and trapped from innovation
by being too protected from your competitors.

Innovation comes from awareness. Awareness comes from seeing what's
going on around you. Can you see past the walls of your fort?


Numbers
Most people have probably heard the story of how Jesus fed 5,000 people
with just five fish and two loaves of bread. It's one of the most popular
tales from the Bible and whether you're religious or not, it's likely you've
heard it.

What does it tell us? That success isn't dictated by numbers. You can have
the biggest company and satisfy the fewest people. You can have the
smallest company and satisfy every single customer, every day.

Numbers aren't the important thing. It's what you do with the numbers that
is. You might be a solitary fish in the sea, but you can still satisfy 1,000
people.


Simple
If someone tells you that you want something, do you listen? Or do you
ignore and think that only you know what you want?

If someone asks what you want, do you tell them your ideas and wish-
lists? More than likely. We all like to be heard.

So why are you telling your customers what they want? Why are you not
asking them? Instead of saying, "Hey, this is our new product, it's just
what you've wanted", why not say, "Here's the product you asked for"?

Or is that too simple?


Love
Love is fleeting. Love can come and go. Love can be betrayed. Love can
be consuming and powerful. Love is everything.

When was the last time you loved your customers? Your clients? Your
employees?

Offer them your love. Unconditionally.

You never know how much love you'll get in return, but you may be
pleasantly surprised.


Threshold
The best strategies have an exit plan. These are the thresholds that say,
“Okay, we tried but it’s not working.”

Can you adapt something that isn’t working? Did you plan for all
eventualities? Do you have an exit strategy?

If so, what’s your threshold?


Auto-Pilot
Being on auto-pilot is just the same as switching off your senses and
letting the machinery take over.

You miss the real things that are happening, the real stories, the real
people.

Fine if you're a machine, but as a human being?

Auto-pilot is life's blindfold.


Voices
All of us are just one person, yet we use many voices every day.

You control these voices and how they’re used. You control whether
they’re used positively or negatively. You control whether they garner
fear or respect. You control whether you help change the world or
accept the status quo. Your control defines the perception of you by
others.

We may have numerous voices, but at the end of the day there’s only one
that truly counts.

What’s your voice?


Satisfaction Levels
Businesses spend so much time getting their brand right; their marketing;
their PR; their sales; their online strategy. But you know what?

None of this means a thing without customers. And customers do not want
to feel second-rate. Strange but true - satisfy your customers and you’ll
satisfy your shareholders and accountants.

How’s your satisfaction level holding up?


Choices
Do we need so much choice all the time? Do your customers, your blog
visitors, your newspaper readers, your immediate connections need
that amount of choice? They come to you for a reason - should you
potentially dilute that reason with too much choice?

Sometimes we say better things when we don’t say anything at all. Other
times small voices make the biggest noise. What choices would you
prefer?


New Blood
Some of the brightest voices are being unheard because of the way you
think. Industries are changing and new blood is heading the rush.
Instead of trying to hold that back, embrace it.

Change is all around us. Are you keeping up?


Why Simple Works
About the author:
Danny Brown has been providing business branding
and emerging media consultancy services to the
consumer and commercial markets for more than
15 years, from small start-ups to Fortune 500
businesses.

Danny is also the founder of the 12for12k Challenge, a unique charity
project using social media to connect globally and help locally.

Find Danny Brown online:
Blog: www.dannybrown.me
Twitter: @DannyBrown

Copyright: Cover image Catalina Rusu. The thoughts in this ebook were originally inspired by the
Posterous blogging platform.You are free to download, share and embed this ebook. Any
quotes or passages you use must be attributed back to the author.


Why Simple Works

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