Confident, Cookies, Cliff, Xmas

The (Short) Weekly Wrap

Tuesday: Xmas

Wednesday: Confidence

Thursday: Cliffs

Sunday: Cookies

Enjoy!

3 Fatal Misuses of Market Research

I'm not blogging to knock audience measurement or market research.  It put bread on my table for 3 years, while I worked at The Nielsen Company.  My advice, if the numbers don't help your story, turn the graph 90 degrees and check again.  You won't be the first marketing person to do so.

Do blogger moms think I'm sexy?

Having seen the sausage being made, I can say there is more science to it then some would care to recognize, but, still, I see people quote stats all the time and make three fatal errors of market data usage:

1. Asking and understanding the methodology: What were the questions asked, or sometimes, more importantly, what was asked?  Who did they ask?  How many people did they ask?  Was the sample representative?  One classic case you see in reporting on mobile phone sales is comparing sell-through numbers with sell-to numbers.  What's in consumers hands vs. on shelves.  Big difference.
2. Market research is only directional for the innovator: If research data could predict the future, a lot of Nielsen, Gartner, Forrester, IDC, etc. analysts that I know would be retired on a beach somewhere.  They're not.  Data can definitely give you both a status of where the world stands today, and trends, so they offer great directional insight.  When it comes to innovation, however, that's probably the limit.  I've had people ask me if I had research which would validate the innovations they had planned.  That's equivalent to expecting people to say they wanted the Facebook before it was available.
3. Cite your source: If you are going to use some data, cite the source and date of the data.  Otherwise, I can assume you made it up, or its 3 years old, which is okay if your nostalgic, but not so cool, if you are trying to make informed decisions.

Have a good weekend.  I don't have the data to prove that it's going to be good.  I just have a feeling.

The Tide is High

My least favorite Blondie's song.  I prefer One Way or Another, Call Me, or Heart of Glass, not the calypso rhythms of The Tide is High.  It's actually sad to watch the videos posted on Youtube, like One Way or Another, as we must have been very gullible as children, as they are not even trying hard to pretend they are lip-synching the song.  The electric instruments are not even plugged into anything!

But, alas, I am not reminiscing about 1980 this morning, but rather a small business lesson that I learned over the years during a previous boom and bust cycle from yesteryear.  When the tide is high, it hides a lot of garbage on the beach.  When you are in a business or market that is growing, it's easy to get caught up and be happy that you are growing and profitable.  It's really important to inspect the infrastructure that you are building and be honest and open to review failures to understand the causes and take definitive action.  When the tide is high, those failures might not seem as important, but when the tide goes down, you'll notice how they litter the entire beach.

It's easier to grow in a growth market.  A great business can grow and be profitable in stagnent and depressed markets, as well.

My Mom, The Addict

So, I had the immense pleasure of enjoying a fine meal in New York City, at má pêche, last night with Bubs.  Nothing like a fine meal with family.  What amazed me more than the great drinks, great food, and catching up with mom was her self-admitted addiction to her iPad.  She sleeps with it!  Wait until Dick finds out...

She not only admitted she loves her iPad and doesn't know what she would do without it, but she has downloaded and uses apps on her iPhone and iPad like CardStar and Zite, without consulting her IT department!  That would be me, of course.

Frankly, it's amazing at so many levels.  She has bought, used, and loves this technology, without her nerdy son promoting it or provoking her.  She has done things with her devices that I have not.  She told me that her iPhone makes communication so much easier.  Even Nielsen is seeing that Americans aged 55-64 are adopting smartphones at second fastest rate of all other age groups.  What is this world coming to?

I don't know whether to feel sad and shed a tear that she's growing up right in front of me, or be angry that she would do all of this without consulting me.  I feel so...cheap.

Come see me and other industry leaders from Sam's Club, BBC America, The Daily, Ogilvy & Mather, Nutro, The Weather Channel, and Starcom Mediavest talk about tablets in marketing at ad:tech New York City this Thursday at 3:00PM Eastern and 4:30PM Eastern.  If you can't make it, tell a friend and live vicariously through them!

Yo' Momma!

Having worked in technology-related pursuits for over 21 years, I often use the "my mom test" with my work.  I mean, does Bubs "get it?"  I've worked on enough cool new projects that have never made it to the shelf that I figure if my mom does not understand what I'm working on, there's a higher probability that others won't, and its really not the shizzle.

It's not to say that, with new technology, early adopters won't like something and create the buzz that later the "my moms of the world" love.  But for the love of all that's holy, I want my mom to at least understand, in some broad sense, what it is I do.  It's not nuclear physics, for Pete's sake.  I mean, who knows what she's telling her friends at the bridge game?

So, the next time that you're gearing up to pitch a VC on that new service that is like Facebook crossed with Instagram with a built in gamification like Angry Birds, test it out on your momma, first.  Sometimes, momma really does know best.

Come see me and other industry leaders from Sam's Club, BBC America, The Daily, Ogilvy & Mather, Nutro, The Weather Channel, and Starcom Mediavest talk about tablets in marketing at ad:tech New York City next Thursday at 3:00PM Eastern and 4:30PM Eastern.  If you can't make it, tell a friend, and I will think of you while enjoying NYC!

Darn Youth!

I have often said that after the introduction of the iPad, and watching how my kids interact with modern smart phones and tablets, they will look at our computing as my generation looks at mainframes and minis.  It's not that they won't use it, but it will be like my computer classes back in college, in the late 80s, when I had to do my assignment in the CS building from a terminal connected to the mini.  Why would you want to?

It's not just smartphones and tablets either.  All of the technology trends that we create that catch-on with our youth and later seep into older society.  Yet, we as adults have designed these innovations.  Is it because we know more, but still can think and act like children.  I've been accused of acting like a child, quite often, around the house, actually.

It just made me think this morning of what if we gave a design brief or creative brief to kids?  What would they come up with?  Sure, a bunch of it would be nuts, but I'd have to think there would be an awesome idea in there that most adults, no matter how much vodka, would not come up with.

Maybe we should give them an Etch-A-Sketch and let them have at it?

$5

I was walking into Whole Foods Market the other Sunday, and I saw a $5 in the parking lot.  I picked it up and looked around to see if it would recognize its previous owner, and, alas, it did not.  Nothing like finding a $5 bill to add some unexpected joy to the day.

Marketers can find that mobile can offer that same level of surprise, when treated with respect and a understanding of their customer.  No need to search farther than their pocket or pocketbook for the delight.  Not many retailers or brands have gotten to this point, yet, but it will come.  The more that they know the consumer holistically, across online, mobile and physical retail, the better.

To get to this point, however, the retailer or brand has to earn the trust of the customer to begin with.  This is nothing new.  The mobile or tablet or online channel are just that, channels, and equivalent to another physical store.   They offer specific capabilities and opportunities, but like any other channel, if the customer has a great experience, and it adds to the total customer equity.  If they have a bad experience, and it could affect the equity across all channels.

But, treat your peeps right, and what joy they will have when they find their own 5-dollar bill in their pocket.


Come see me and other industry leaders from Sam's Club, BBC America, The Daily, Ogilvy & Mather, Nutro, The Weather Channel, and Starcom Mediavest talk about tablets in marketing at ad:tech New York City next Thursday at 3:00PM Eastern and 4:30PM Eastern.  If you can't make it, I'll miss you, but tell a friend who can!

My Notepad

For such a high-tech guy and self-professed nerd, I've had no bigger revelation in recent years than I take notes best with a notepad.  You know, that bundle of papers, bound in a cover, with a small writing instrument called a pencil.  Quite deflating for my image, I suppose.

Hey, I've tried every electronic solution.  I've taken notes on a laptop, for years, in the meeting reminders on Outlook.  That actually worked okay, but then in Office 2011, Microsoft changed things that killed my ability to do this.  Plus, I couldn't doodle.  Yes, I've tried Evernote.  Even subscribed to their über-package, and it, like many other new fads, over the years, eventually ended up on the shelf, collecting dust.  I've even tried Evernote and Instapaper, which I like, to get around printing out all the online articles that interest me but don't currently have the time to read.  No dice.  They didn't stick.

Having admitted these shameful truths, I realize that I was programmed at a young age.  I remember taking notes in second grade.  Like, I wrote everything the teacher said, regardless of importance.  I'm not sure how much I actually go back to review the notes, but I'm sure that the act of writing the notes onto a page helps engrain the thoughts into my brain, more than anything.

It's nice to finally come out of the electronics closet.  It feels good to know who I really am.  Plus, with a notepad instead of an iPad, at least the people I'm meeting with know I'm not sending email or playing Flight Control!

You, Sir, Experience

People always wax poetically about great user interface (UI), or look-and-feel.  User experience (UX) is a science, though, and I always appreciate the science behind everything.  Developing great UX is much more than just "look and feel", though, that sounds somewhat randy when I type it again and again.

It's no wonder I have no friends...

To the UX nerd, the depths of the science likely know no bound.  While Apple gets kudos for the simplicity of its design choices on the unibody MacBook Air or the iPhone 4, this excellent article today pokes at some of Apple's not so nice design choices and teaches us about skeuomorphic vs. metaphoric design choices.

In the case of application design, I believe that sometimes the most important decisions to affect the user experience are the features that are not included.  For example, Home Depot makes an extremely rich mobile application for the iPhone.  I'm not sure there is much you can not do on the app, but I wonder if there is much that you really won't do on a mobile app.  Removing that excess allows a focus on the features that have impact on their consumer's needs or their company's goals, all while freeing up valuable UI space for better creative treatments of what is most important.

In the world of mobile and mobile apps, beauty is indeed more than skin deep.

Innovation

On the longest and toughest days at work, it's things like Oink that can wake me up, get me pumped and remind me why I like my work and my job so much.  Innovation.  It's like a stiff drink after a long day.  It's like a unsolicited kiss on the cheek from your kids.  It's the $5 bill you find in the parking lot of the grocery store.  When it happens, it's a sure smile and new energy.

Thanks to @rfijoey for tipping me to this one yesterday.  I love the different perspective of this service.  Don't just get me to a location, help me navigate inside.  What is the place known for?  Still, like Yelp and Google, it's dependent on crowd sourcing opinions, and sometimes dog+world can give you good advice, but as has been shown through research, nothing replaces the opinion of a trusted friend or family member.  Bubs, for example, is my go-to for dining in New York City.  Should be yours, too, but she doesn't blog.

This idea of enhancing our typical web services to dig deeper, inside of the places, is not unique to Oink.  Applying electronic mapping inside of big box retailers, for example, could help consumers map their path to get in and out most efficiently.  The path data from their (opted-in) consumers could help the retailers organize their product placement.  It could help those same retailers make more contextually relevant recommendations for additional purchase, "you're going to need some jelly with that peanut butter and bread that you bought."

Specific innovations aside, it's always great to explore and see innovators in action.  Sometimes, its a hit, other times a miss.  Sometimes, it's one small step to something bigger.  And, remember, if you are not trying to disenfranchise your service, someone else is.

Gamey

The industry often talks about gamification in mobile apps.  Sometimes, it's done well, but often times, it's gamey.  I think its rare that someone wants to take their time out of other tasks to play a game, and if they do, they will likely play an actual game, with good game play and graphics.  I play Angry Birds and 9 Innings, ad nauseam.  I'm not sure big box retailer or their suppliers want the shopper's attention diverted, shooting imaginary fiends in the rafters, though.

However, consumer do respond to their score and how their actions affect a score.  The introduction of badges to services like Foursquare add a fun element to the check-in process.  Doesn't cost anything but engages the consumer more in the experience.  Just like the bounty that a company puts on sales, the care needs to be given on the targets, the prize, and the resultant bill.

There are even gamification movements in education to revamp the way we measure success.  Some theorize that current grading methods place caps on the levels students can achieve.  If Junior has already reached Level 12 of Chemistry Zombies, why should he be able to advance to Level 13.

It makes sense to me, as long as it doesn't mean my kids are playing Flight Control during study hall.

My Life as an Antenna

When I was a kid, we literally got a handful of television channels, over the air.  The reception was terrible, and my brother and I would lie on the floor with our feet touching the television to act as antenna to improve the signal.  We watched whatever was shown.  We actually believed the commercials.

Today, I get hundreds of channels, much more than I want, from a satellite in space.  If I'm not available to watch a show, I can record it, digitally and fast forward through the commercials, though my wife often has to remind me to do so.  I can even watch shows while away from home, anytime, via a series of tubes known as the Internets.  It does not even require me to touch it and act as an antenna.  As a result of these advances, my 5-year old daughter does not comprehend the concept of live television.  Doesn't even register.

She thinks she can play any content from any device, but I once put my mom's music on a tree.  One day, my brother and I hung my mom's Neil Diamond albums on the branches of the tree in the back yard.  We walked upstairs to our bedroom window and using his BB gun, we held target practice.  All while Bubs was in the kitchen, watching.  Proud moment in our childhood, really.  We had maybe 2 dozen albums.  Billy Joel.  Aerosmith.  David Bowie.  George Carlin.  The White Album with coffee rings on it, so it was not exactly white.

I have a lot of music today.  My iPhone holds a fraction of my collection, which still amounts to thousands of songs.  I can play them on almost any device, except the tree, and even send the music through the air to my television or my computer to play back.  I can play them in any order, and often times, my daughter would like to hear the same song over and over and over.  Devices can do this automatically, much to my dismay.

As many parents, we often reminisce about the way things were, and talk about "if our kids only knew".  Personally, I'm glad my kids aren't shooting my iPhone with a gun, while it hangs on a tree in the back yard.  They will make their own mischief, I am sure, but I actually worry more that with all the play dates and additional structure, they can't get into enough trouble to learn better.  I guess I'm not worried that new technology is a barrier to our kids growing up normally.

My grandmother, before she passed, was notorious for 15 second phone calls.  We learned not to take it personally.  I'm sure it was a remnant from when making any phone call was expensive.  Life moves on.  Our kids will adapt, just fine, thank you.  The question is, will we?

Making Calls with Smartphones

It's an amazing idea: the ability to make a phone call with a cellular phone!  Who would have thought!?!

Actually, jokes aside, this is not to bash on the spotty coverage of your mobile operator, but to stress the fact that mobile, as opposed to tablet or PC, at its core, is a communication device first.  When you think about it that way, it's very easy to understand which apps and usage is most popular: calls, SMS, Facebook, Twitter, or quick mobile web checks for items like store locations or phone number look ups.  It's also why email has done well on mobile since its first good implementation on Blackberry.  This also explains the typical shorter session durations in apps and mobile web versus tablets found in research.  In and out, nobody gets hurt.

This is not to say that commerce or entertainment and gaming or information management do not have a place on mobile.  Au contraire, I make quick purchases and product look-ups, play Angry Birds and 9 Innings Baseball, and my mobile calendar manages me like a general.  Which is actually kind of sad, when I read it back.  Still, mobile apps that communicate get daily engagement.  It could even be daily communication from a trusted brand.

So, actually having a call to action that's actually a call is an okay response in a mobile app or site.  Sometimes, it's quicker than going through a long web form or a series of screens.  As long as your carrier doesn't drop the call or your in a dead zone.  Can you hear me now?

Oldie, but a Goodie

When you work around technology as much as I do and have, it's easy to get caught up in a new idea or concept and believe it will take the world by storm.  On top of slow technology adoption rates, most new concepts have ecosystem challenges that even if solved, are not solved overnight.

There is an excellent Bill Gates quote that always tempers me: "We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction."

On the one hand, don't get caught up in the hype.  On the other hand, don't be a spectator when the action begins.  Great strategic planning helps you to know what to do in the first years and how to tilt the table to your advantage for when it really matters.

So, patience is a virtue, but inactivity is a trap.