March 2010
6 posts
The Right Moment is Everything
Folks in the tech startup scene are always trying to gather a big audience. Then they get really frustrated when they try to make money off of that audience - and find it to be very difficult.
Their problem is. What do you know about someone who is throwing a sheep? Or playing a game? Or tweeting? The problem is. You don’t know shit about them.
These aren’t the prospects you want....
How to Get E-mail Addresses - Benihana
My family - who lives somewhere other than where I do - recently went to Benihana’s for my brother’s birthday. My mother sent me an invite to view photos of their night out. To view the photos, I have to enter in my e-mail address.
Do you think I’m going to let a little bit of spam get in my way of seeing family photos? Nope.
Psychology Hacks of Dave & Buster's
Traditionally, arcades have had to rely on the psychology wrapped into the games themselves to drive profits. But Dave & Buster’s has turned their entire experience into a game that keeps customers spending; and their innovation all revolves around how customers pay for games.
Dave & Buster’s has taken arcade payment to a whole new level with their card system. Here’s...
Design Doesn't Matter
Anyone who enjoys Asian cuisine recognizes this bottle. It’s Sriracha Thai hot sauce, and it’s good stuff. The design on the bottle is naive at best: a hodgepodge of Asian characters, cartoonish Roman characters, starbursts, and - famously - a Cock emblazoned upon the front. It’s design that any design student worth their salt would likely ridicule. No doubt including the 8...
Opinions Don't Matter
The problem that many organizations have is that there are too many people. And people have opinions. And most opinions. Don’t matter.
Should we make the button red or blue? Should it be shiny, matte, or flat? Should our mission statement be “to make the finest products on earth,” or “to make the earth’s finest products.” It doesn’t matter.
...
SEO is the new "location, location, location"
Folks on the tech scene talk about product a lot. But sometimes product isn’t nearly as important as distribution. The caveat is that sometimes great product is distribution.
You’ve heard the old adage “location, location, location.” This bit of wisdom illuminates the fact that distribution is every bit as important as product. If you have a restaurant on a busy street...
October 2009
1 post
You Aren't Google or Apple
I see lots of companies trying to copy the design of Google or Apple when designing their home page; and this is usually misguided. To understand why, you need to understand the factors behind their design.
On one end of the spectrum, some companies say to themselves “we want our site to look like Apple’s. A really compelling image about our product, with a short explanation right up...
March 2009
1 post
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh at SXSW 2009
“We run our warehouse 24 hours a day, even though that isn’t the most efficient way to run a warehouse…when a customer orders some shoes, and they show up on their doorstep 8 hours later, that really *wows* them.”
“We only show items on our website that are physically present in our warehouse.”
“We don’t have scripts, we don’t upsell, and we...
February 2009
3 posts
"Take as much as you'd like"
That’s what the Southwest flight attendant said as he offered me bags of peanuts. People will naturally police themselves, only taking 1 or 2 bags (I took two), but the offer to “take as much as you like” pays dividends in customer experience.
P.S. This is written from a Southwest plane - yes, this plane has WiFi (Skype & the like thankfully blocked).
120,000
120,000 Twitter users have 500 followers or more. Twitter is growing exponentially. What do you want them to say about your product?
January 2009
5 posts
Make it about your customer
I was just riding the bus. An announcement came over the loudspeaker:
Vandalism costs CTA 4 million dollars per year. If you witness vandalism, contact a CTA official immediately.
That’s a compelling statistic. But who cares? If they really want to inspire vigilance. Why not make it about the CTA customer?
12 cents of your CTA fare goes towards countering vandalism. Keep CTA fares low: If...
It Bounced! The Dog-Ears Principle.
“It bounced!” That’s what my two year old nephew said when I was showing him photos on my iPhone. I taught him how to flip through the photos. Then he got to the last photo. He tried to flip past that photo. It didn’t just refuse to move. It bounced. & it was enough for a two year old to recognize how cool this was.
I was reminded of Kathy Sierra’s presentation...
Cost Per Wow. Why?
Word of Mouth is more important now than it ever has been. You know this, of course.
The days of consumers passively sitting through commercial breaks, watching. Believing. Are over. You know this, too.
The internet has brought an age of the most measurable advertising ever. Now you know, from each ad impression. How many clicked? How many made it to page 2 of the funnel? How many acted?
This...