Todd Sattersten :: Astronaut Projects

Essentials 4.3 - Purple Cow

Purple Cow is Seth's latest work and continues to build on the ideas from his other books. Here he talks about the importance of being remarkable. And his meaning for the word is the definition that has you telling other people. It is another flavor of an ideavirus.

I have really been struck by this concept. When you put the remarkable litmus test on something, you start to think how rare the reamarkable is. Harry Potter is remarkable. Anheuser-Busch is not. Circuit City is not.

Seth again used the concepts to sell the book. It started with a pre-release edition of the book that was available in quantities of 12 for $60. The book came in a purple cow milk carton (pictures). The 4,000 copies were sold in 19 days. And every person that bought a dozen gave friends the other eleven copies. The virus spreads and interest builds as the release approaches.

In conjunction with the release, Seth wrote an ebook called 99 Cows. He wanted to further illustrate the idea of being remarkable with real live examples. He makes it available through Fast Company for free until August 1st. He makes it available through Amazon here and all the proceeds go to charity.

He also offers a Purple Cow workshop. And how do you spread the virus some more? Offer the workshop for free if you buy 25 copies of the hardcover. It got me and most of the other 50 people that were there.

I think it is another Essential read. There are plenty of resources below to find out about the Purple Cow phenomenon.

Purple Cow Links:

• Purple Cow - the Website
  
• Purple Cow - the book


• 99 Cows - the ebook


• Purple Cow - the summary Seth wrote for Fast Company


• Seth's description of the marketing plan for Purple Cow


• Purple Cow - Seth's Remarks from Real Time Miami


• Company of Friends Tele-Conference with Seth Godin talking about Purple Cow


• Moogle - The Other Google

Micro Brews from Brewers Big and Small

When I read articles about products and services I use, I pay a little more attention. No big surprise. What surprises me though is how often I have never heard of the specific product or service. This tells me that there has been some problems with the marketing of that product.

The Wall Street Journal had an article on Friday about Anheuser-Busch and their lastest push into the high-end of the market [link-subscription]. Here is a list of failed AB products from the article:

• Budweiser Red Label


• Clydesdale Copper


• Michelob Maple Brown


• Michelob Spiced Ale

I have never heard of any of these products and I only drink "specialty" beers.

AB has introduced two new products to try again and tap into the high-end segment. Anheuser World Select comes in a green bottle and "tastes more like a Heineken." Bare Knuckle is a dark heavy stout with a big head, which AB says is not meant to compete with Guinness. [shaking my head]

In Wisconsin, we are blessed with some really good breweries. I couldn't end the post without some recommendations:

• New Glarus Brewing Company - my favorite brewery and my favorite brew Spotted Cow


• Sprecher Brewery - a wonderful selection of brews and is becoming known nationally for its gourmet Root Beer.


• Capital Brewery - out of Madison, WI; I give a stong nod to the Wisconsin Amber


• Lakefront Brewery - Milwaukee-based micro-brewery.

Essentials 4.2 - Unleashing the Ideavirus

Seth takes word of mouth marketing to the next level in Unleashing the Ideavirus. He claims interruptions no longer work at means to make people aware of your product. He says the way for someone to find out about your product is from someone else. From there, Seth creates a whole new vocabulary and talks about hives and sneezers.

He again uses his methods to move his book. He posted the book at www.ideavirus.com. Anyone could download it for free. Anyone could pass it on to someone else. At last check, a couple hundred thousand people had done just that.

What is more amazing is that people started contacting Seth and asking when the book was going to be published. You could get the book for free and people still wanted a souvenir. He had a small run of the book published and sold copies for $50 a piece. He sold them out. The more he gave the book away, the more money he made.

Unleashing the Ideavirus is another required read. Go download it for free and figure out how to make it work for your business.

Essentials 4.1 - Permission Marketing

Seth wrote Permission Marketing in 1999 when email was starting to become an accepted mechanism for marketing. Seth was very familiar with the topic, having founded Yoyodyne, a company which created online direct marketing promotions.

The most important point I took away from the book was the idea of getting permission. Seth believes the only purpose of a website is to get permission to talk to a prospective customer. And like direct marketing, you need to give them a good offer in exchange for their permission. Over time, you want to get additional permission to find out more about them so you can tailor your products and services to meet their needs (Direct Marketing 101). What is different is the cost of doing business over the internet is nearly zero and the ability to tailor messages and offers is taken to a whole other level.

What is always great about Seth is he follows his own advice when he sells his books. He created a web site at www.permission.com. It is a one page site that asks you to enter your email address and in return you will be sent the first four chapters of Permission Marketing. The offer worked on me. I got through the first four chapters and had to read the rest. It just happened that the link to Amazon was at the end of the text.

There is alot of basic marketing applied to a different tool in Permission Marketing, but I still think it is well worth the read. Looking over the book, I have started thinking about what I should do with this site...

Definitely a Dynasty

Make that 5 million copies of the HP book sold in the first day.

Even Amazon ran out, but they expected more in today. By most accounts, there aren't any left in the city of Milwaukee.

The Essentials #4 - Seth Godin

I think you need to become familiar with the work of Seth Godin. As a matter of fact, I think it is so important that I am going to devote the whole week to talking about his stuff. You can read his bio here.

I would start with checking his blog out. He uses it to illustrate the ideas he is talking about.

Coming up, we have three days of Seth's books (and each has a pretty good story). On Friday, I think I will give you some links to other places you can find him and his ideas.

The HP Dynasty

I would be talking about the Harry Potter Dynasty. Today, Amazon is shipping the 1.3 million copies they pre-sold. It is interesting to see what happens when something like this gets so big. Scholatic printed 8.5 million copies of the 896 page tome. Bookstores are opening at midnight get get people their copies (because they are going to go home and start reading).

Companies seem to think they need to spend more money to make more money. Scholastic is going to spend $3 million to $4 million to market the book. Billboards, newspaper ads, activity kits, blah blah blah. One of the programs is a series of "Harry Potter Days" at MLB ballparks. How many more books is that going to sell?

The book is going to sell itself. Have they ever considered doing less and spending less? Keep the $3 million, take everyone out to lunch, and go find the next Dynasty.

If there is any chance you don't already have your copy, click here to get your copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Ancient Art of Leadership

The next historic leader to emulate: Alexander the Great

*Here is the book review from the Boston Globe - Amazon

You Zig and They Zag

It seems there are just too many stories like this one. You lose track of what is going on in the market. The need for new products doesn't seem as great as the need to make earnings.

As many times as you hear stories like this one, you would think more leaders would heed the lessons.

The Essentials #3 - Marketing Sherpa

I have been subscribing to marketingsherpa newsletters for probably a year now. What I enjoy most is that it is orginal content. The cases feature small and medium sized companies doing everything from direct mail to search engine optimization to trade shows. The cases provide great detail into the problems and the tactics they used to solve it.

There are eight weeklies to choose from:

• B2BMarketingBiz


• EmailSherpa


• ConsumerMarketingBiz


• ContentBiz


• GreatMindsinMarketing


• MarketingFAME


• Sherpa Store Alerts


• SherpaWeekly

Go over and check it out.

You Should Care About Health Care

There were three articles in WSJ today relating to healthcare:

• GE and their unions settled on a four contract. GE says its total health-care costs have risen 45% to $1.4 billion in 2002 from $965 million in 1999. This year, it expects its health-care costs will rise around 15%. Employees contributions will rise anywhere from 30% to 50% over current levels [article - subscription needed].
• "Just look at that guy, his belly's almost touching the steering wheel...It's gross." At Rockford Products Corporation, employees are criticizing each other over their eating habits, their weight, and their old age. The article profiles how lifestyle plays into healthcare costs [article - subscription needed].
• HMOs are trying to become more proactive the care of their customers. A high risk pregency called for bedrest. The HMO called for a housekeeper and a hospital bed. Interesting approach [article-subscription needed].

Why I am talking about this for the second time in a week? First, I think there are unserved markets here. The Census Bureau put the number of uninsured at 41 million people. A private policy for a family of four runs about $1000 per month. I would think that someone could fill this gap with an affordable solution.

I also think that this going to become a personal issue for many people. How will people deal with healthcare costs of parents become older? Should allergy medicine be paid for by insurance? Should people be penalized for the lifestyle choices they make or don't make? These are highly charged, emotional issues.

I can't say I have the answer for all of this, but I don't think the current system can support the changes taking place in demographics, genetics, and technology. We'll keep talking about it though.

Difficult Times

This article from strategy+business outlines the problems for major airline carriers.

Consider these two paragraphs from the article:

While the major carriers face a future of red ink, low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Ryanair are prospering by exploiting a huge cost-of-operations advantage. Low-cost carriers spend seven to eight cents per seat mile to complete a 500- to 600-mile flight, according to our analysis. That's less than half of what it costs the typical hub-and-spoke carrier to fly a flight of the same duration and distance.

and

That revenue outlook is likely to get worse. By our conservative estimates, low-cost carriers could potentially - and successfully - participate in more than 70 percent of the U.S. domestic market. Southwest Airlines typically prices 50 percent lower than large carriers in one- to two-hour nonstop markets. Even though traditional airlines have attracted a richer business mix than the low-cost carriers, they still stand to lose 25 to 35 percent price realization in those markets.

For an industry that lost $10 billion last year, the major airlines cannot afford to see continued erosion in their top line.

The article has great analysis of the problem and offers some possible solutions. Well worth the read.

Short Circuit

On Wedneday, there was an article in the WSJ about the replacement of highly paid workers with lower paid ones. One of the companies highlighted was Circuit City.

[The top salespeople] simply made too much money at a time when the company was desperate to economize. Circuit City then hired about 2,100 lower-paid hourly workers to replace Mr. Wood and the [3900] others, who had represented 20% of its sales force.

In doing so, the retailer made an increasingly common cost-saving move: swapping expensive labor with lower-paid workers. The approach, which is generally legal, doesn't eliminate the position but rather the high-paid person in it. The technique is especially attractive to service businesses such as retail. Like so many companies today, they face massive pressure to cut their labor costs. [link to article - subscription needed]

The Essentials #2 - Fast Company

I am amazed by the number of people who still haven't heard of this magazine.

I think of it as Fortune on a high dose amphetamine.

But it is more than that. The ideas they talk about strike a chord with people. A friend once described it as hope. I think that is a great description. The magazine taps into the idea that we are trying to make our companies and ourselves better. And others are struggling to do the same thing.

Fast Company has created such a devout following that reader groups have sprouted up all over the world. The network is collectively know as Company of Friends. The activities vary from city to city. I am one of the coordinators for the chapter here in Milwaukee and we meet monthly to discuss an article from the magazine. We normally bring a speaker in (many times the author or subject of the article) to discuss the topic in further depth.

So after you subscribe to FC for $12, find your local chapter and attend an event this month.

Ethical and Medical

These are two strong themes that are going be continuing themes over the next couple of years.

Ethical problems where again headlines today with two left-over MCI executives resigning as more information surfaces about their involvement. Samuel Waskal gets the book thrown at him. It is going to take years to recover from the acts of Enron, WorldCom, ImClone, Tyco, Global Crossing, [breath]...need I go on?

The rising cost of medical care is reaching a boiling point. Unions are striking over it . Employers are trying everything to "control" costs. Locally, Aurora Healthcare has been publishing their First Monday Reports that talk about areas of rising costs and what they are doing to try to help control costs. Today, the Wall Street Journal had a front page story talking about growing signs that the rise in health care costs is slowing:

"The shift marks an unexpected turn of events, because it is being led by two of the most stubborn drivers of medical inflation: prescription drugs and hospital spending. The reasons include a loss of patent protection on some big brand-name drugs -- such as Claritin -- lower use of outpatient surgical services and stingier new health-insurance plans that force patients to pay more of their medical bills."

The rest of the article is more lukewarm about a slowing and I am not sure I believe it either.

What are you doing to address these topics in your business?

AFP Essentials #1 - The Wall Street Journal

I think there are a set of items that a businessperson needs to be familiar with and using to be successful in today's world. This is the first installment of the A Penny For... Essentials:

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Most people's first reaction to the Wall Street Journal is "only big, important people read that." With a circulation of 1.9 million people, are there that many big, important people?

I will admit I was one of those people who thought it wasn't for me. About two years ago, I started reading it secondhand as my mother passed it along from her business. That went on for about six months, and then she stopped getting it. Almost immediately, I started to get the shakes and had to get a subscription myself.

I know I haven't convinced you yet. Let me tell you how I read the Journal:

1. I start with the "What's News" Section. It gives you a column of business teasers and news teasers. There is enough room to get beyond the big stories and touch on some things you would have missed from other normal morning news sources.
2. Next I turn to the Marketplace section. I find these to be the most interesting stories and read almost every one. These stories really talk about what is going on with companies and trends in the economy.
3. I usually head back to read the offbeat story off the front page - always worth the read. Todays was a story about the owners of a small shoe store in Detroit that are trying to revive America's long-distance running program.

Beyond the business writing, the Personal Journal runs three days a week and covers topics from retirement to health to child rearing to gadgets. Great, in-depth coverage of things that are affecting you everyday. The editorials are outstanding. During the Iraq War, it was the place where you could read the op-eds world leaders writing.

I know I probably still haven't convinced you.

Get the 13 week subscription for $60 and try it out. See if you have the shakes when it runs out.

Some people say they don't have time to read the paper. My answer is that part of your job is to know what is going on around you. Here is a good start.

I couldn't end without a nod to the iconic hedcuts.

Apple Gets It

Apple sells 3.5 million songs in the first six weeks of iTunes and that is only selling to 5% of the potential market. Being in the other 95%, I can say what it is that is so appealling about their proposal.

Gareth Lloyd tries to make an economic case for the success of selling music online [via kottke.org].

Bob Lefsetz makes a more practical argument. The idea of taking entertainment product and moving it through another distribution channel is not new. Does anyone remember the VCR? [via Seth's Blog]?

Is there something Apple understands better about the music buying experience on the Internet?

The Idea

There are not very many blogs that are having an interesting conversation about what is going on in business.

I have worked for big companies and small companies. I picked up an MBA along the way. I would not call myself an authority, but I have been around the block.

I have always found the dynamics of business very interesting. Psychology drives the interaction between customers, suppliers, and employees. Science and discovery fuel innovation. Art becomes the basis of great design. You can find all of the great human endeavors.

As I started with, I think there is an interesting conversation here. I want to talk about issues and opportunities facing business. My idea is to create a community with alot of different voices and tap into the vast knowledge and experience of that community.

Idealistic? Maybe. Interesting? We'll see. I just think this is what the Internet allows people to do.

This is the beginning of

This is the beginning of a new blog. :)