No matter how mundane your product or service is, chances are people have different needs around it today than they did a few short years ago. As the world, economy, and culture changes, so do people. Their reasons for buying something yesterday may be different from their reasons today. As such, you need to always be looking at what your customers’ current needs are and then find ways to de-commoditize your product accordingly.
Continue reading ‘Decommoditize by Identifying New Needs’ »
Posts Tagged ‘opportunity management’
Decommoditize by Identifying New Needs
Follow Trends To Decommoditize Your Product
Pay close attention to the trends going on in your industry and with your customers. Based on current trends happening, what future trends can you identify? If you can accurately pinpoint where your industry or customers will be in the next few months or years (or what your customers will want), you can de-commoditize your offering and get that business.
Continue reading ‘Follow Trends To Decommoditize Your Product’ »
Make Your Commodities Stand Out
No matter what industry you’re in, chances are you have a few products or services in your line that are commodities. From food and beverage items to household products to daily services, commodities are everywhere and make bottom line profits harder and harder to attain.
Continue reading ‘Make Your Commodities Stand Out’ »
Plug Into Your Future By Unplugging from the Present (Part II)
The key to becoming an opportunity manager is to have the discipline to unplug from the present at least once per week and instead plug into the future. Last month, I shared two steps on how to solve tomorrow’s problems before they occur and see the new opportunities change can bring. This month, I have two additional steps you can take to move the ball forward and watch your success grow.
Continue reading ‘Plug Into Your Future By Unplugging from the Present (Part II)’ »
Beyond Voice: How Your Cell Phone is Evolving
In the early days of cell phones, they were used merely for talking. Today, cell phones have a myriad of other applications. For many people, their cell phone is their daily organizer, music player, camera, GPS system, and news and weather device. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In the very near future, cell phones will also be people’s banks, credit card, keys, remote control, and video conferencing platform, just to name a few. Clearly, today’s cell phones are much more than phones, and tomorrow’s cell phones will revolutionize the business world.
In order to stay competitive and ahead of the curve, businesses need to look beyond what the cell phone is today and anticipate where it will be tomorrow. You have to ask yourself, “How is the cell phone changing my customers?” “What new service could I deliver on a mobile platform?” Or, “How are these beyond voice capabilities changing my customers’ customers?”
Continue reading ‘Beyond Voice: How Your Cell Phone is Evolving’ »
The Future of Radio Advertising
I just finished presenting a speech to the owners, operators, and marketers of radio stations across America. They have all had a very successful past selling radio advertising and serving the public. However, as they look to the future they are very worried. Today, most of their advertising customers see radio as “old media,” versus YouTube, PODcasting, and Blogs, which are all part of what is seen as “new media.” In addition, listeners have many new choices for entertainment, giving them less time to listen to radio. And, to make matters worse, Satellite Radio, launched a few years ago as a direct competitor, and Howard Stern’s move to Satellite Radio, grabbed headlines. For many in my audience, the good old days seem to be in the past.
SCARCITY BRINGS SCARCITY – ABUNDANCE BRINGS ABUNDANCE
I found another problem in the industry. They operate under a scarcity mentality, which I find common among most well established industries. Why? Because in the old days, it worked. For the most part, everyone wanted a bigger piece of an ever-shrinking pie. They were used to competing with each other. The enemy was the other radio stations in the area.
A NEW FUTUREVIEW
What is needed is a new view of the future based on seeing new media as a vehicle for extending the reach and redefining the power of radio. I explained that there is nothing more powerful than the spoken word and that, coupled with entertainment such as music, and the ability to deliver it to any device, including streaming radio to a cell phone or allowing listeners to listen to a show later via a PODcast, is what makes radio a timeless media, not old media.
The old view of radio is to think of it as a physical device just as many think of a newspaper as paper. In the past, newspapers delivered timely and relevant information and commentary on paper. Now, their reach has been extended thanks to what they once saw as the enemy, the Web. Profitable on-line versions of a newsletter such as The Wall Street Journal, have made the online version different, interactive, and complementary rather than redundant to the paper version.
When we think of radio as sponsored audio content and entertainment instead of a device, then new media can become a vehicle for growth rather than a threat. Listeners can already send text messages to the station and, thanks to new HD Radio, they will soon be able to get real-time information about road conditions or where the nearest location is for a product they may want to purchase. In addition, stations are no longer limited to audio content; they can now couple their messages and entertainment with Web-based video.
The enemy is not the other radio stations or Satellite radio, it is a scarcity mindset and a view that the good old days are gone. The future truth is that the good old days for radio have just started.
