Girls just wanna have fun

I've been doing Voice of the Customer research on my own while working as a food demonstrator at a large grocery chain. 100% of the time, the selling points provided by the manufacturer are dull, dull, dull. Where's the fun?! What people respond to is FUN.  An upbeat attitude and a playful manner trumps zero transfats, low sodium, and all natural ingredients every time.

"You can't BORE someone into buying your product." So I'm told by a wise friend. Memorable consumer ads have a funny or dramatic hook to get you involved.

But what about the serious world of B2B marketing communications? Aren't we just presenting facts? 

Certainly facts are important, but ONLY in terms of what's relevant to your buyer. To be relevant you need to understand how users benefit from using your product or service. If you aren't sure, ask! A little research can go a long way toward building your company's sales success. 

Once your message is relevant, it's time to develop a personality. People buy from other people, right? Since they're your company's public face, marketing communications pieces need to present a consistent, likeable personality. 

Injecting humor can do this. It might be light-hearted visuals or tongue-in-cheek headlines. Either way humor requires that you relax and take a fresh look at what you're selling. It can be tricky but pay off big-time.  Done right, an attitude of fun creates a strong bond with prospects.

Here's a little 80s fun to inspire you:

      http://youtu.be/PIb6AZdTr-A

      http://youtu.be/HId2jQBEbYY   (live in Paris)

Love that Cyndi!

Grow your own.

Creativity. It’s a talent that’s little understood. Sometimes undervalued.Sometimes considered rare.

I believe we can all be creative. After all, nature is infinitely creative.

Hope these quotes inspire you to encourage the creativity in yourself and those around you.

Abraham Maslow:
The key question isn't "What fosters creativity?" But it is why in God's name isn't everyone creative? Where was the human potential lost? How was it crippled? I think therefore a good question might be not why do people create? But why do people not create or innovate? We have got to abandon that sense of amazement in the face of creativity, as if it were a miracle if anybody created anything.

Erich Fromm:
Conditions for creativity are: to be puzzled; to concentrate; to accept conflict and tension; to be born every day; to feel a sense of self.

John W. Gardner:
When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for the famed teacher, Diogenes replied, "Only stand out of my light." Perhaps some day we shall know how to heighten creativity. Until then, one of the best things we can do for creative men and women is to stand out of their light.

Linus Pauling:
The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.

R. I. Fitzhenry:
Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter:
Creativity is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. You look at a set of elements, the same ones everyone else sees, but then reassemble those floating bits and pieces into an enticing new possibility.

Tina Turner:

Sometimes you've got to let everything go - purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything . . . whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you'll find that when you're free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.

Claire Cunningham:
Be courageous. Be creative.

Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto

One of my blogposts has gotten over 800 page views. Over 800!


I know this doesn’t seem like much in the world of big-time bloggers who get hundreds of thousands of page views. But for little old me who started with about 10 page views per post, this is HUGE! That’s either a 800% increase or 8000%. I’m too happy to do math. I think I’ve gone viral.


But now I’m experiencing the dilemma marketing folks in many companies feel about social media. What did I do that attracted these people? (Was it the catchy headline? Something in the content? Was it the guest post I wrote for another blog?) Who are these readers? Are they the people I want to reach? Will they come back? What can I do to make them come back? And is this worth the effort?


AARRGGHH! Success can be stressful.


Upon reflection what I keep coming back to is gratitude. So…Thank you, readers, for your attention and time. I hope you found something of value. Thank you, Geoffrey Cooling, for inviting me to expound in your great blog, Just Stuff, (http://geoffreycooling.blogspot.com/). Thank you, LinkedIn and Twitter for being my forum. Thank you, universe.


Thanks. Gracias. Danke. Merci. Obrigado. Grazie.