20 definitions by Prof Bruce
A prime consideration for every enterprise, even not-for-profits and charities, is what their sales or distribution channels are or will be. These are channels that you sell into and can take years to develop.
If you can not acquire customers and clients in a cost-effective manner, your company is doomed. Sales channels can help you do that. They are a ‘Magic Marketing Button, MMB’—every time you find a way to effectively ‘ping’ a channel, new clients and customers appear, as if by magic.
Once you have developed these effective sales channels, you can also look for other products and services that you can resell or distribute through them—which will raise your margins since the cost to add products and services produced by others to your sales channels is usually small and quite often zero. You may also be able to thereby create new recurring revenue streams for your enterprise.
By bundling other company’s products and services with your own, it may also be possible to co-brand or co-promote with them—they can promote your enterprise to their clients, customers and suppliers and you can do likewise, opening up whole new markets for both.
If you can not acquire customers and clients in a cost-effective manner, your company is doomed. Sales channels can help you do that. They are a ‘Magic Marketing Button, MMB’—every time you find a way to effectively ‘ping’ a channel, new clients and customers appear, as if by magic.
Once you have developed these effective sales channels, you can also look for other products and services that you can resell or distribute through them—which will raise your margins since the cost to add products and services produced by others to your sales channels is usually small and quite often zero. You may also be able to thereby create new recurring revenue streams for your enterprise.
By bundling other company’s products and services with your own, it may also be possible to co-brand or co-promote with them—they can promote your enterprise to their clients, customers and suppliers and you can do likewise, opening up whole new markets for both.
“Craig Miguelez met up with Jack MacGregor to discuss Craig’s new auto feed system for major bulletin board and classified ad services. Craig realized at once that Jack had developed an amazing sales channel over the last four years—he does professional photography for REALTORS and has more than 1,200 clients. Craig’s pitch to Jack was simple: ‘You resell my auto feed system through your sales and distribution channel to your clients for $30 and you keep $10. My system will make sure that their listings are always up to date on these bulletin board and classified ad services, you’ll make $12,000 per month of recurring revenue with almost no marginal cost and I’ll be able to acquire 1,200 new clients in one fell swoop.’”
by Prof Bruce April 11, 2010
If your enterprise cannot connect efficiently and cost effectively with new customers and clients, it will not survive.
To do that, each organization (for-profits, non-profits, charities, even NGOs and government departments) needs to have a magic marketing button: a button they can push, over and over again, that reliably and cheaply makes ‘the phone ring’. It is an ‘easy button’, so to speak.
To do that, each organization (for-profits, non-profits, charities, even NGOs and government departments) needs to have a magic marketing button: a button they can push, over and over again, that reliably and cheaply makes ‘the phone ring’. It is an ‘easy button’, so to speak.
“In the mini storage industry, for example, their magic marketing button can be as simple as sending a postcard to nearby homes reminding them that, if they have too much stuff in their garages, say, they can get rid of it in a hurry.”
by Prof Bruce August 3, 2010
A Startup Whisperer is a person who has a natural feel for what it takes to build a successful new enterprise.
“Thinking of starting a new business and not too sure what you need to do? Then call in the Startup Whisperer.”
by Prof Bruce September 13, 2010
You’ve heard of SAAS, Software as a Service, well make way for PAAS, Product as a Service. Customers are subscribing to services that regularly deliver products they need over and over again. This could create a whole new class of business models.
Instead of selling your product to one customer, once, you might be able to turn it into PAAS, ‘product as a service’—people would subscribe to your service and you would deliver the product to them, say, once a quarter. It could be anything people use over and over again— like hair gel, shaving cream, razor blades, perfume, face cream, hey, maybe even socks and underwear.
by Prof Bruce April 2, 2011
Today, pro teams are highly restricted in what they are allowed to do in their local markets by League head office. For example, fans are often not able to create images, merchandise, videos, mashups, stories or music about their favorite team without getting a ‘cease and desist’ letter from highly paid League lawyers who are looking to protect league licensees. So fans need to create underground websites, Twitter/Facebook/YouTube accounts, blogs, podcasts and other online as well as real life properties that hide their real identity—they are forced to become underground fans.
“A while ago I created a bunch of t-shirts with my favourite football players on them using the motif of the film 'SIN CITY'. The idea was to create cool stuff that folks could buy during the playoffs with all the funds raised going to benefit local charities. But after I got a bit of media traction, we received a cease and desist letter from a League lawyer and we had to stop. Now I am an underground fan of my team—if I ever do this again, I’ll do it anonymously. The thing that gets me is that league policies destroy any creativity by fans as well as local teams, everything is just the same everywhere.”
by Prof Bruce May 21, 2010
A co-opetitor is someone who competes with you but, sometimes, cooperates with you. Someone who engages in co-opetition.
“REALTORS are rivals for listings and buyer clients but when they put them on MLS, they cooperate which means that he or she becomes a co-opetitor.”
by Prof Bruce October 31, 2010
Triangulation is a geometric method of locating a point by first determining two angles on a fixed baseline. It is used in times of war to locate hidden radio transmitters, ships on the high seas or aiming an artillery piece.
In business, it is used in a different way—CEOs, for example, triangulate on employees or other sources of information to be sure that they are getting accurate information which is mission critical to any enterprise’s longevity and sustainability. CEOs know that direct reports often tell them what they think the CEO wants to hear instead of the unvarnished truth. That is a reason why many CEOs like to speak directly to customers and suppliers—they disintermediate everyone else.
In business, it is used in a different way—CEOs, for example, triangulate on employees or other sources of information to be sure that they are getting accurate information which is mission critical to any enterprise’s longevity and sustainability. CEOs know that direct reports often tell them what they think the CEO wants to hear instead of the unvarnished truth. That is a reason why many CEOs like to speak directly to customers and suppliers—they disintermediate everyone else.
“Tom Sanders (played by Michael Douglas in the 1994 film, Disclosure) is a manager at tech company, Digicom. He is told by ambitious executive Meredith Johnson (played by Demi Moore) that the drives they are working on are failing at an unacceptable rate due to Tom’s negligence (in software design). Only by triangulating on Meredith (by checking with two independent sources) does Tom discover the truth and save his career—that Meredith had authorized a cheaper solution (they are using a lower level clean room) which is actually causing tiny specs of dirt to foul operation of their new drives.”
by Prof Bruce February 21, 2010