Power Direct Marketing article INDEX
Think OutRageous ... Do ReMarkable
with The Magic of "E"
it is precisely the unthinkable
that must be thought."
Tom Robbins
What IS "Creative WOW!" and The Magic of "E"?
Tom Robbins says it well. The whole idea is to "think" different. Those of us in marketing and sales know there is no "box". There is nothing keeping us inside an artificial boundary. Behind some man-made line.
No, we know every contact, every customer, every prospect IS different. And we need to constantly "think" different.
That's what thinking with a Creative WOW! philosophy is all about. That's why all the chatter and ink about 1:1 marketing, Customer Relationship Marketing. And more.
Now, what about this "E" thing? Let's begin with what it is not.
The Magic of "E" is not an E ticket ride at Disney World in Paris or Tokyo or Orlando. Although those are certainly magical places.
Nor is it an Electronic ticket from United Airlines or SAS. If you are a traveler you know the advantages - still that's not what we're talking about here.
And it is not about E-mail, either. A truly magical communication tool we can hardly live without. Or the magic vitamin E - found to slow Alzheimer disease, helpful with blood disorders and in other "magical" medical ways.
The Magic of "E" is about OutRageous Strategy and ReMarkable Tactics. It is about how to think OutRageously to create ReMarkable results.
Okay, why? is this important? Because "thinking outside the box" isn't good enough any more. We must do more. And change isn't enough either - the directive is Charge!
The Magic of "E" is about thinking that BIG thought. And then doing something with it. Very possibly something truly OutRageous. Purpose: to achieve an equally marvelous ReMarkable result.
This is The Magic of "E".
There are 7 parts to "E":
#1. First ... It's Easy!
Let's define easy vs. hard. It's Easy to be successful with Direct Marketing in the USA, the U.K., most of western Europe, down-under in Australia and a large hunk of Asia from Japan to Singapore.
It's much, much harder in Bangladesh. And Zimbabwe. Ecuador.
It's Easy to get a first rate education in Canada, HongKong, New Zealand and India. It's much more difficult in Mexico and Paraguay and Zaire.
An example of Easy is the guarantee from the most successful mail-order entrepreneur style company Land's End:
GUARANTEED. PERIOD.
What could be easier? As Booker T. Washington said:
"Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way." The Land's End guarantee is a perfect example of just that. You see, it's Easy.
The first Magic of "E" is Easy! Because it is.
#2. Educate ...
Love it or hate it, understand it, appreciate it - no matter. No longer can we ignore the fact we must Educate ourselves And we must Educate our marketplace. There is no choice.
Educate is the next Magic. Why? Because there are so many options, choices - without "teaching" our audience who we are, what we offer and the benefits of teaming up with us - we will leave business on the table.
So, we begin by expanding our horizons with other peoples experiences ... sometimes called OPE.
Next we do what Price Pritchett calls "learning in motion". We lay OPE on top of our lifExperiences - and we have something.
You see, we are in what is now named "The Knowledge Era". Not the information age - the Knowledge Era. It is what we know - and then what we do with what we know that set us apart.
So, by exercising our mind, using our ears and eyes, we learn. And we teach. We Educate. Ourselves. Our marketplace.
Excellence expands exponentially is applicable to education, too. We've learned the difference between wind blowing 25 miles per hour vs. 75 MPH is not 3 times ... it is 9X. At sea, a surf of 40 knots vs. 20 knots is 17X! more powerful.
When you Educate your marketing team and your marketplace, you really do see exponential gains.
Oh, and it's Easy.
#3. Enthusiasm ... is the third point of The Magic of "E".
Audiences love those that can express emotion and mean it. Flat, boring, uninteresting presentations, live or with the written word, drive people away. It's when you "electrify" them you turn them on! (Please note I did not say electrocute!)
And electrify with honest Enthusiasm. This does not mean you jump up and down - it does mean you outwardly show you care. You are dedicated. You have a "buzz" about you, your product, your service - about marketing and sales.
Express Enthusiasm ... and It's Easy!
"Creativity is best nourished by exposure to new ideas."
What a marvelous quote from Mary McLure of Hallmark Cards. And a perfect introduction to the next Magic of "E" - Exposure. #4). in the series.
Yes, expose yourself ... and go exploring. Look for things in places you don't normally look. And in the places you do, too:
- Read a magazine, newspaper, good book.
- Go to an arts & crafts fair.
- Take in the theater at any level.
- Visit a gallery or museum.
- Talk with "ole timers".
- Visit a trade show & tour the floor.
- Read a children's book.
- Visit an industry outside yours.
- Go to an association conference.
- Take a walk in the park, or at the airport.
- Climb a mountain, row a boat, fly anyplace.
- That is, be an extrovert. DO something
There are 3 "rules" to follow if you want to open the door to new and different things - Exposure:
1. Start immediately.
There is no advantage to waiting. Begin now.
2. Do it flamboyantly.
Step up and out. Be seen taking this new look.
Make a "scene" out of your effort.
3. No exceptions!
Later, after you dive in and search and explore - really expose yourself to new, different, unusual, OutRageous things, then you may "edit".
And remember, Exposure, this Magic of "E" stuff ... is Easy.
5. Next in the series is Empathy
Nothing happens sole any more. So, plan to reach out and touch. Not as an afterthought - as a part of your direction, your focus. Show Empathy.
Research taught us customers have 5 expectations. When they make a
buying decision this is what they expect:
1. Options ... meaning a choice. And more than small, medium and large. More than red, white and blue. Options is a variety of ways to respond - mail, fax, phone, e-mail +++. Options is a different way to do business. For exampe, the banks, with ATMs, drive-through windows, phone, fax, mail, e-mail, the Web, off-site locations. Offer choice.
2. Quality ... means different things to different people.
Yet, no one expects a Chevy to match a Rolls Royce.
A Timex is not a Rolex. Still, you expect a level of quality from every product, from every service. As Mike Kowaiski of Tiffany's says:
"Quality is not expensive. It's the most cost-effective way of doing business."
3. Service ... is more an individual call than quality. It is real one-on-one. It is the receiver who decides the service was acceptable, good, outstanding or horrid.
And because this is true, the philosophy of L.L. Bean and Leon Gorman is equally true:
"Service is just a day-in, day-out, ongoing,
never-ending, unremitting, persevering,
compassionate type of activity."
4. Value ... not cost, is the real issue. Since cost is so easy to "see", many mistake price for value. It is not.
Value to a customer means "I got more than I paid for, more than I expected. I got good value." Yes, that may also be a "good deal". Yet, the deal comes only if there is value. If it is a rotten product and free, it is still rotten.
5. Convenience ... means being available to your audience.
24/7 is convenience. A branch on every corner is convenience. Payment options of bank draft, credit card, bill-me-later, time-payments, cash make for convenience. A toll-free phone and fax number is convenience. Access to my account with you through a web site is convenience. The marketplace tells us they are more likely to do more business with us when we offer a higher level of convenience.
These are the 5 Empathy points audiences tell us are important in doing business. And ... it's Easy.
#6. Evaluate ... is the next Magic of "E".
How fitting to talk direct response marketing and sales, and talk Evaluate. The perfect word for the business.
Always you need to Evaluate in 2 areas:
How Efficient are you ... and
How Effective are you.
As many high-tech manufacturing industries are doing today, they are expecting a zero level of tolerance. There is no other way - zip defects.
They are expanding their look toward "perfection".
Okay, when is 99.9% not good enough? When ...
- 2,488,200 books get shipped in the next 12 months with the wrong dust cover,
- 315 entries in Webster's unabridged dictionary are misspelled,
- 18,322 pieces of mail are mishandled in the next 60 minutes, just in the USA,
- 302,400 inedible pieces of pizza are served every day (of course, there are those who say ALL pizza is inedible!)
- 2 planes crash at Chicago's O'Hare Field ... every single day! (those of us who fly through ORD frequently, find this stat scary!)
"Evaluate" requires we be the very best every time, with everything for everyone. Because our market expects extraordinary results from extraordinary effort. That will be their measure of Evaluate.
... and it's Easy.
Point #7. EnJoy! is the last of The Magic of "E".
"When work is work, try a new field."
Businessman Harvey Mackay says it well. When you don't like what you're doing - whatever that is - move on to something else. No one is capable of giving their best when they are unhappy in what they are doing.
Our bodies and mind are "energy". When we put true effort into what we do - it shows. It shows up ... or it shows down.
EnJoy also allows us to think about the future - eternity - and mix it with the reality of today. A change in our direction, objectives, goals, can make our today much more enjoyable.
EnJoy ... it's Easy!
That's it ... The Magic of "E". Thoughts on how to think OutRageous in order to perform ReMarkable. How to make all your Creative - WOW!
This is The Magic of "E":
... It's Easy!
... Educate
... Enthusiasm
... Exposure
... Empathy
... Evaluate
... EnJoy!
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