Let’s begin with a basic question – why do we want to be big? Here are a few plausible responses to that:

1) I want to make a lot of money.
2) I want to employ many people.
3) I want to serve as many people as possible with my product.

Number one is the most popular because this society is hinged on the premise that the more you have the better you are (and the happier you’ll be). Your stockbroker-turned-baker friend will tell you – money doesn’t make you better or happier. More importantly in business, it certainly doesn’t make for happier customers. When money starts to matter more to a company than the quality and caliber of its product or service, its customers are exponentially more susceptible to competitors. Good products breed loyalty and loyalty means repeat business.

Let’s take answer number two. I want to be big so I can employ a lot of people. Why? If its a matter of power you have other problems. But if its a matter of responsibility or wanting to help people, then remember that happy employees are better societal contributions than people with jobs. A company being big and hiring many people means nothing if the employees are unhappy. Large companies are the poster child for this atypical largely depressed American workforce. It’s not that all large companies are bad companies, it’s simply that large companies are generally less able to scale an environment where everyone is doing what they love and feels valued and rewarded for it. Don’t focus on hiring more people, focus on growing a passionate team. That will take a lot more time than Groupon and Wal-mart may lead you to believe.

And finally, the most noble – to serve as many people as possible with your product. Why is that important? For a non-profit that’s easy – to help as many people as possible! (Mental note: There should be a lot more very large non-profits.) But if you’re a business what is the value of serving as many people as possible? A good answer is that you believe that your product makes people’s lives better in which case you really want as many customers as possible. (Apple and Steve Jobs are a reliable example.) But if that isn’t your response, which in most cases it isn’t, then consider that the more people you try to make happy the less people you will. Democratizing your product for the sake of quantity, makes you less able to serve your real customers. Take Jean Paul Gaultier. His fashion is weird and controversial, but its this exactly that his loyal customers love and what’s gained him global brand notoriety. Conversely, trying to please everyone is the reason (I believe) most American cuisine stinks. Pleasing the palettes of immigrants from dozens of countries across the world is no easy to task. Lesson? Create a brand based on who you really are as a company; customers that share your values will buy.

A good product, a good team and finally a strong brand are what make a good business – not size. Happy customers and profitability (not revenue!) are the result. I am not saying that growth is bad, growth is good (I wrote a lot about it last year.) But what is bad is growth for growth’s sake. Its the root problem behind America’s financial collapse and the fact that this country rates 150 out of 178 on the World Happiness Index (two slots above Rwanda). Focus on being the best possible business, not the largest, and chances are growth will come naturally.

There are arguably many advantages to steep discounting.  It can bring in new customers and allow businesses to get rid of excess inventory.  For business-to-business companies, offering a “deal” on a new contract might be what gets your foot in the door.

We can’t argue that new business is great, but wouldn’t you rather have new customers who value your offerings rather than a flock of them who want cheap goods? A good client knows a good product. She also knows that quality services and products will cost a bit more.  Constantly running promotions is a sure way to dilute your offering’s [and subsequently your brand's] worth.

Promotions aren’t all bad. Consider using them more wisely.  Perhaps offer discounts to reward valued customers.  If you want to run a promotion to attract new customers, consider a giveaway versus a price cut.  Alternatively if you’re willing to lose money to gain clients why not instead invest dollars into smart marketing that will bring new customers without the cost of devaluing your brand.

A brand ambassador is a key influencer in any given topic that agrees to endorse your product to their audience.  For example, this year The Limited clothing brand launched a new plus-size brand called Eloquii.  Instead of reaching out to one of the many full figured actresses in Hollywood, The Limited hired plus-size fashion blogger Gabi Gregg of gabifresh.com.  Gabi’s blog is read by thousands of readers who look to her for plus-sized fashion inspiration.  If Gabi posts a blog about a gorgeous piece from Eloquii you better believe tons of her readers, who already emulate her style, will run to the site and purchase that very article of clothing.  

Even your existing audience can serve as brand ambassadors.  Whenever someone in your company’s social network shares content linking back to you, they are spreading the word.  If you are still warming up to the idea of social media (and you really should be on board by now!) try creating a traditional marketing campaign that encourages your network to serve as brand ambassadors. Perhaps you can send out stickers for clients to display on their doors or windows, or maybe infuse an incentive into a referral-based campaign. The idea of brand ambassadors works for two reasons: it is based on the fail-proof equity of word-of-mouth and second it allows your brand to tap into the trust already built between an influencer and their audience. If you are unsure exactly who is the best person to reach out to for an ambassador  partnership you can try tools like  Klout.  Klout is a website that measures peoples online influence and  can help you get your products/brand in the right hands.

By building partnerships with brand ambassadors you will be able to precisely pinpoint your audience. So stop playing phone tag with Tom Cruise’s people and start identifying the attainable celebrities that will help give your brand some real cred.

The decrease in commenting can be accredited to none other then social media. More and more people are opting to share posts they find interesting rather then comment. And guess what? It’s good for business! Think of it this way… having a client tell you they are happy with the work you provided them is great, but what’s even better is having that client tell 5 friends they are happy with the work YOU provided them.

Adding a sharing tool (a widget that allows your blog visitors to easily send your link out to their social networks) is a great way to get visibility and drive your brand values.  It’s also a great way to get a group of people talking about your brand who otherwise wouldn’t.  Be sure to look for sharing plugins that make it easy for you to track who is sharing your link. (AddThis is the industry standard, it’s easy to install and best of all free).

As nice as it is to hear all the positive feedback you also want to be able to track down any negative issues as well (remember social networking is a great opportunity for customer service . Add sharing tools to your blog today to open the conversation… to everyone.

3D Printing on YouTube

My good friend Dan recently shared this incredible video about 3D Printing. I am familiar with 3D printing—in fact my engagement ring was made possible through the use of a 3D printer—but I had never stopped to think about the possibilities. What really amazed me was that this printer can create moving parts. Genius!

They mention space in the video and I can only imagine that astronauts must need to pack every tool imaginable in case of potential problems while in space. With a printer like this all they would need is a computer file and if need be they could print the tool on demand. Not only is that a space saver but such a sense of security as well.

Now all I want to do is own a 3D printer. I am told that this sounds something like the Makers from the futuristic comic Transmetropolitan:

Makers are great. No argument. You turn to your maker and say, “Give me a roast dog leg, tossed salad, a black linen shirt, and a taser,” and bang, out it all comes. Makers aren’t particularly bulky, nor power-thirsty, and an average middle-class family can afford a good one.

But.

Makers are designed to operate with base blocks—superdense chunks of neutral matter which the maker breaks down and recombines into whatever you’ve requested. And base blocks are horrendously expensive. Out of a middle class family’s price range. So the stores sell a converter that allows the maker to use ordinary garbage as the base. Not as efficient, and the mileage stinks, but there you go.

Which leads me to the city’s new pest. Middle class families raiding the backyards of the lower classes for garbage—because if you’ve got a maker, you don’t make garbage. Only those without makers buy prepackaged food and clothing… Transmetropolitan #2, “I Hate It Here”

The predicted future from a comic book could become our reality? Given a 3D printer can not produce a tossed salad, it still has a vast array of objects it can create.

So say that these printers become affordable and a part of our everyday life, like computers and cell phones; what will this mean for the brand names that manufacture the products we are now able to print at home? Will this push brands to create higher quality products? Will it force them to reduce their prices drastically? Perhaps their business will completely change and instead of selling us the finished product we will purchase Craftsman 3D printer files from their website, from the comfort of our own homes.

Also, imagine the reduction of waste if this printer material is recyclable. Or the impact this may have on the global economy and products imported from foreign countries. Could this be the next technology to change our everyday lives?

What is AR anyway? Wikipedia defines it as: a term for a live direct or an indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input, such as sound or graphics. An example could be  sports game on TV that while we see the live game happening – we have scores, timers or a dancing robot layered on the screen. Turns out that I am familiar with AR.  Upon digging a little deeper, specifically in Europe, I discovered a world of promise, opportunity and excitement.

This led me to an augmented reality mobile browser called Layar app. In it I opened a Groupon app in Layar and peered into my mobile screen. It looked like the street I was standing on and then Groupon offers, in my area, began popping up all around me, overlaid on my screen. I was able to see my surroundings, on my phone, through the eyes of Groupon. Among other apps I found was the movie Battle Los Angeles app, where you can find scenes from the movie overlaid on various landmarks.  Also an ad for the Netherlands demonstrating how to find real estate, bars and even healthcare providers with the Layar app. This video sums it up perfectly:

View on You Tube

Amazing. The ideas and opportunities for AR feel endless. Now when dining with friends instead of going to the same place we always do, I can open Yelp on my phone and it will suggest a variety of options with reviews within my area. Soon I see a world where we can sell real estate, advertise current sales, bar specials and offers our city’s best tourist attractions all through the use of an AR application.

But will it go even further than that? Could we potentially start bringing more than just locations to life? Will we one day be able to correlate this technology with printed materials, similar to the way we can post a QR code and immediately direct users to our website? Perhaps we’ll spend our commutes scanning ads with our phones and watching the commercials on the bus or train ride to work. Maybe we could reinvent direct mail to become an interactive experience. Will I be able to one day send out a resume that when viewed through an AR app reveals my design portfolio right then and there?

I don’t know the answer to that.  But at the rate our mobile technology is evolving today I believe it’s possible. I can’t wait to see what our incredibly smart phones have in store for us now.

This Thursday night I went to see Matisyahu at the Congress Theatre.  It was the best concert I’ve been to.  He was brilliant.  He had a profound way of flowing musically and physically that made everyone in the room flow with him. This was particularly beautiful to experience because the crowd was the absolute most diverse group of people I have ever seen.

Matisyahu

Whether they relate to his background, style, voice or values, people of all walks of life like this young artist. A Hasidic Jew who is not only musically talented, Matisyahu is hot, young, a father, a family man, religious, real,  deep, cross-genre, and to boot, has a positive message.  This unexpected combination allows an enormous spectrum of people to connect to him.  Case in point, any variation or combination of any demographic that you can think of – age, race, ethnicity, style, class and color – was represented in the crowd that night.  It was refreshing.  It was inspiring.  It was real.

Classic ideas about diversity will soon be irrelevant.  As immigration, shared economies and technology tear down physical borders, major cities the world over are becoming increasingly diverse.  This has begun to spawn a new generation of children who are so intermixed that the traditional ideas of diversity (i.e. black, Chinese, Latino) lack meaning. Take my new son, for instance.  He is Serbian-Herzigovian-Cuban-Dominican-American.  What kind of ad do you think he will connect to?

The lesson to businesses and organizations?  If you want to connect to today’s audience in a credible way, you must forego the shortsighted act of nurturing cultural differences in favor of developing a message or value that all people can connect to.  (i.e. We ALL want to be loved, have peace, be better, etc.).

A traditional approach to diversity

A new approach to diversity inspired by Matisyahu

At the concert I had a vision of the future. Our tomorrow will not be defined by our differences but instead by our common ground.  Like Matisyahu the people, companies, organizations and leaders that define our future will not herald diversity as a cultural imperative – they’ll be a living representation of it. You will recognize them in that they will call us to a higher state of existence – one that can only be experienced when we look beyond diversity and accept a grander view of the world.

Sealed with a K.I.S.S. – The look and feel of this site is very simple and clean.  The Keep It Stupid Simple principle is most certainly applied.  With social networking the content is driven by users whose content cannot be anticipated.  Keeping the site design simple allows the website to avoid looking cluttered.

Easy Catch – The usability of the site is also pretty intuitive. The different sections on the site all have catchy names that make it easy for you to associate them with their purpose.  All your updates and friends updates can be found on the Stream, Your friends can be found and grouped together in the Circles section, conversations happen over in the Huddle, and Spark is the section dedicated to showcasing and discovering things that interest you – a strategic repurposing of Google’s all powerful search.  Finally if you need some face time with a friend or two head on over to the Hangout section for video chatting.

Seamlessly Annoying – Since this is a Google product naturally the site seamlessly integrates all your Google accounts into your profile.  No need to upload pictures.  Your Picasa (soon to be Google photos) automatically feeds into your Google+ account.  As much as I enjoy having one less thing to do this ended up being even more of a hassle as I had to go into my Picasa account and change the visibility settings to a ton of my albums.

Out of Business – If you are wondering how and if your company should set up a Google+ account the only answer is no.  Google has yet to open up the new site to businesses and brands and in this early stage most users are just familiarizing themselves with the network and are more focused with building their personal circles.

Even though Google+ isn’t a place for brands just yet I think Google definitely has the clout to make this a top contender in the social networking scene which in the future could lead to a new venue for online advertising. I encourage you to bookmark the site and keep your eye on it for future marketing opportunities.. In the interim take note on Google’s simple, clean, and catchy approach to social networking which is a + in my book.

I HEART Strategy is a bi-weekly blog post where I talk about strategy, good and bad, in the media, business, community and life.

While I don’t have television service, I still love watching shows. Thanks to services like Hulu, iTunes and Netflix I still do.  During a venture on Comedy Central’s Full Episodes video section, I encountered a very smart Sears commercial.

What it was?

A video ad touting Sears having 10 of the top 10 appliance brands under one roof.  Message – Thinking about going somewhere else?  Think again.

Why its good strategy?

Sears realized that people like having all of their options in one place. This is why data integrators like Google and retailers like Wal-mart have thrived.  Sears’ promises the same ease and access.

A psychologically astute tagline. Sure all calls to action are an imperative, but this one speaks to the consumer right before they are about to make a big purchase – susceptible to self-doubt and often reconsidering their options.

Appliances are big for Sears’ business. This campaign is  an investment in maintaining Sears’ position as a market leader to new and upcoming audiences (i.e. affluent 30 somethings starting families) who are more propense to shop online.

What we can learn?

• Learn about what your customers do and how they behave.
• Consider your customers’ mindset while decision making to develop emotive messaging.
• Use marketing as a tool to keep your core line of business sustainable.

Who this strategy is good for?

• Established businesses looking to stay relevant

While over the last 8 years Sears stock price looks like the American Eagle at Great America, the strategy revealed in this campaign is a great direction for a company that needs to stay relevant in a very dynamic marketplace.

Right under your nose – The first place to look for social media followers is your client list.  Current or past clients are the ideal audience to build a foundation for your fan base because they (hopefully) have a good relationship with your company and will have no problems letting people in their network know how much they enjoy working with you.

If WE build it – We’ve all heard the saying ‘If you build it, they will come.”  Unfortunately it isn’t that easy with social media.  Including your audience in decisions and encouraging them to voice their opinions will make them root for you much harder. When WE build it instead of YOU not only will people come they will tell their friends about it.

Make it worth their while – The more brands realize the importance of social media, the more saturated social networking sites are becoming.  People have the option to follow hundreds upon hundreds of their favorite brands. In order to stand out you’ll need something exclusive to offer your followers. Whether it is exclusive information or special offers/discounts, show your online community you appreciate them.

Follow the leader – A great way to build a following is to tap into a community that already exists by building a relationship with its leaders. Look for popular bloggers in your field, follow them and engage in online conversations.  Their networks will soon notice your back and forth and their curiosity will most likely get you a few new followers.

Make friends, not enemies – Definitely  try different tactics for gaining new followers to see what works and what doesn’t however, there is one method that has proven to be a social networking no-no.  Do not bombard your followers’ networks with unsolicited messages/request to follow you.  Most social networking sites have strict rules on this practice; mainly it’s spam. Spamming is counterproductive to building your network since your account will most likely be suspended.

Taking these tips into consideration, your follower count should go up in no time.  Remember to provide valuable information and engage with your new found friends. Staying an active member of your own online community is just as important as seeing the numbers rise.