One of the simplest methods of motivating people on a day to day basis is Ferguson's Formula based on the methods of Sir Alex Ferguson. He recommends using 'well done' when you find people doing good work and to not be shy of giving clear criticism right away, without harping on it too long. He recommends to not express anger and be mindful of timing and tone while criticizing.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Branding: Key Features
Nigel Hollis in his blog says, ''Strong, profitable brands are meaningful to their consumers, perceived as different from the competition, and are more salient than the alternatives.''
Couple of examples from his blog,
''Chobani provides an example of how a product that delivers a noticeably different experience can overtake the competition. The company came along in 2005, after years of focus on low-fat products had left the US yogurt market vulnerable. Chobani’s brand strategy focused on the taste, texture, affordability, and authenticity of its “real” yogurt. Consumers responded enthusiastically and the brand attained mass distribution in just two years. In five years, the company held over half of the U.S. Greek yogurt market, and nearly 20 percent of the total yogurt market. By 2011, Chobani was the number-one yogurt brand in America.''
''Mini Cooper, a car that reentered the US market in 2002 after an absence of 30 years. Younger, more non-traditional car buyers were attracted to the unique brand appeal of the Mini’s compact size, fuel efficiency, and fun, sporty performance. The company relies on clever stunts (challenging a Porsche to a race), event marketing (annual road trips for owners), and offbeat outdoor advertising to stand out in a crowded marketplace and appeal to the non-traditional consumer base. As a result, Mini has grown from one to seven available models at 119 dealers in 38 US states. Sales in the US have eclipsed those in the UK, and the company posted a 26 percent increase in 2011 and 15 percent increase in 2012. Mini’s well-defined and targeted purpose clearly made a clear impact on the bottom line.''
His suggestion is, ''Everything you do in business builds your brand for good or ill, as your actions generate feelings, associations, and ideas in the minds of your consumers. The challenge is to make sure those actions create a meaningfully different experience that people want to repeat. This is because people are predisposed to choose things that stand out from the crowd. A brand’s difference gives consumers an easy rationale for choosing it, and a ready justification for paying a price premium. Research by Millward Brown finds that brands with a meaningful difference command a price premium 13 percent higher than weaker category alternatives.''
Couple of examples from his blog,
''Chobani provides an example of how a product that delivers a noticeably different experience can overtake the competition. The company came along in 2005, after years of focus on low-fat products had left the US yogurt market vulnerable. Chobani’s brand strategy focused on the taste, texture, affordability, and authenticity of its “real” yogurt. Consumers responded enthusiastically and the brand attained mass distribution in just two years. In five years, the company held over half of the U.S. Greek yogurt market, and nearly 20 percent of the total yogurt market. By 2011, Chobani was the number-one yogurt brand in America.''
''Mini Cooper, a car that reentered the US market in 2002 after an absence of 30 years. Younger, more non-traditional car buyers were attracted to the unique brand appeal of the Mini’s compact size, fuel efficiency, and fun, sporty performance. The company relies on clever stunts (challenging a Porsche to a race), event marketing (annual road trips for owners), and offbeat outdoor advertising to stand out in a crowded marketplace and appeal to the non-traditional consumer base. As a result, Mini has grown from one to seven available models at 119 dealers in 38 US states. Sales in the US have eclipsed those in the UK, and the company posted a 26 percent increase in 2011 and 15 percent increase in 2012. Mini’s well-defined and targeted purpose clearly made a clear impact on the bottom line.''
His suggestion is, ''Everything you do in business builds your brand for good or ill, as your actions generate feelings, associations, and ideas in the minds of your consumers. The challenge is to make sure those actions create a meaningfully different experience that people want to repeat. This is because people are predisposed to choose things that stand out from the crowd. A brand’s difference gives consumers an easy rationale for choosing it, and a ready justification for paying a price premium. Research by Millward Brown finds that brands with a meaningful difference command a price premium 13 percent higher than weaker category alternatives.''
Motivating People
This is one of the most discussed topics and in a way one of the greatest challenges at every level and not only where one has subordinates. One is required to motivate not only their subordinates but also co-workers, customers, suppliers, and various stakeholders to take action. At home one is required to motivate their children, spouses, other family members to take action in the desired direction.
One of the best books I have read on this subject is by Edward L Deci on Understanding Self-motivation, where the author distinguishes between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the inherent drive whereas Extrinsic is dependent on external stimuli. Intuitively we know that Intrinsic motivation lasts longer and can produce the state of Flow as popularized by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The requirements of Intrinsic Motivation as per Edward Deci are as follows:
Autonomy: Giving the person the options and the freedom to choose as opposed to telling one what to do.
Competence: People want to experience mastery i.e. to get better at doing things. Thus, one would be more motivated to perform a task that requires a person to stretch his/her capabilities and get better in the process.
Relatedness: People want to interact, they want to connect.
Similar findings and suggestions are in another good book on this subject called Drive by Daniel Pink. He also suggests three drivers of which two are same as above - Autonomy, Mastery - and the third one is Purpose, which is 'yearning to do in the service of something larger than ourselves'.
In my experience Purpose acts as a motivator after one has met the bottom needs on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Thus, four drivers would cover most of the motivational needs i.e.
Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness, and Purpose.
One of the best books I have read on this subject is by Edward L Deci on Understanding Self-motivation, where the author distinguishes between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the inherent drive whereas Extrinsic is dependent on external stimuli. Intuitively we know that Intrinsic motivation lasts longer and can produce the state of Flow as popularized by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The requirements of Intrinsic Motivation as per Edward Deci are as follows:
Autonomy: Giving the person the options and the freedom to choose as opposed to telling one what to do.
Competence: People want to experience mastery i.e. to get better at doing things. Thus, one would be more motivated to perform a task that requires a person to stretch his/her capabilities and get better in the process.
Relatedness: People want to interact, they want to connect.
Similar findings and suggestions are in another good book on this subject called Drive by Daniel Pink. He also suggests three drivers of which two are same as above - Autonomy, Mastery - and the third one is Purpose, which is 'yearning to do in the service of something larger than ourselves'.
In my experience Purpose acts as a motivator after one has met the bottom needs on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Thus, four drivers would cover most of the motivational needs i.e.
Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness, and Purpose.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Viral Marketing
In today's world where millions of digital contents are fed online every day it is important for any marketer to cut through the clutter and make an impression of its product or service. Campaigns that go viral help a marketer to achieve this objective. The question every marketer asks is 'How' to make a campaign go viral. Rather what should be the 'content' of a story/campaign/ad for it go viral. On this subject there is a research done by Kelsey Libert and Kristin Tynski. They have suggested a 3-step process:
1) Compelling title
2) Use Strong Emotional Drivers: Hit the viewers hard and fast with strong emotions, but remember to keep the branding to a minimum.
3) Create Content that Strikes the Correct Emotional Chord: Following emotions came out on top based on the research of the viral campaigns - Curiosity, Amazement, Interest, Astonishment, Uncertainty, and the emotion of Admiration.
1) Compelling title
2) Use Strong Emotional Drivers: Hit the viewers hard and fast with strong emotions, but remember to keep the branding to a minimum.
3) Create Content that Strikes the Correct Emotional Chord: Following emotions came out on top based on the research of the viral campaigns - Curiosity, Amazement, Interest, Astonishment, Uncertainty, and the emotion of Admiration.
Link to Old Posts
I have now shifted from Typepad to Blogger. Following is the link to my blogs on Typepad
http://typepad.vishal.com/
http://typepad.vishal.com/
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