Kainoto: Free your mind

2029: Year, when marketing dies?

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Or will it be overtaken by a network of interconnected microcomputers in our bodies?
Marketing is many times accused of being guilty of commercialisation and the bad stuff that comes with is. But if we can belive some very good scientists, the marketing as we know it shall die around the year 2029.

It is the time when we will most certainly have body implants - small super computer that will be capable of communicating and managing our brains.

In joy of many yet sadness of others, the marketing as we know it shall die that year?

Because marketing is about satisfying needs and finding the best ways of doing this.

And these microcomputers might just do the same.

We might expect them to have a software that will combine our needs with the needs of others and through the network find the best solutions to satisfy them.

Forget for a moment that it only seems science fiction.

As your GPS device finds you the best alternative restaourants nearby, the "personal" computer of the future will find you the best alternative in matter of microseconds. And it will base its decisions on your needs for vitamins, minerals, your banc account status and predictions, time you have until another apointment, crowd on the street, other reservations at the restaurants,... No ads, no commercials. Nothing will influence your best possible decisions for the moment since the overall connected will take care.

No marketing as we know it today since it will only make your decision worst.

Such a computer might even find you the best possible jobs to do for your day. It will base its decisions on current market status, your knowledge, experience, health and mental status, all kinds of stuff.

Forget that it seems scary future. What do you think about it? Ideal no-commercials, no-ads, no-bad-marketing world? Or will we regret the death of marketing as we know it?

Web 5.5 is video revolution

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

If you think you have seen the world wide web development, think again. 2.0 ain't nothing to 5.5 that is in our way.
The news about Youtube starting to give share of ad cash didn't bring much attention to marketing community. Microsoft buying Yahoo just seemed bigger news. Yet what Youtube started is much bigger. We have even discussed this once in a project COW. Possible impacts are amazing and can have major influence on TV, sport networks, culture in terms of income.

Youtube is opened scene where the best authors (not necessary good artists) can get the attention of masses of fans. And that's all a good author should need for a nice living.

Let's put it this way. This is a video that has 432.419 views by the time of this typing:

Costs of creating this video? Change money. Just for fun, let's suppose that 2% of the viewers clicked on an ad that came up on this site at the moment of playing it. And the price of the click for the advertiser is just some below average 0,2 €. Outcome? 1.728 €. Question is of course how much of this can an author get?

Even bigger opportunity here goes for the sport clubs. How much can FC Barcelona get for exclusive video of the training? Here's a video that was watched for 20,724.332 times:

1% clicks at the price of 0,1 € = 20.724 €. Full potential of this is of course deliberatly lowered. And how many such videos can FC Barcelona produce in a week?More than we can watch?

Even FC Maribor can have some money out of this. Perhaps even more then some sponsors give them. All they need is a digital camera that can record a video at 640 x 480 px. Recording can be done by some young enthusaistic fan that has a spare seat in the stadium later. For the fans it does not matter who was the director, editor, supereditor or whoever that made the video.

While most have seen Youtube as a "social media" site, they made a super-step forward. It became a media like TV. The "only difference" is that Youtube has milions of authors for milions of target groups. And milion

Animoto: end of "sweet" powerpoint emails?

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Yes, I hope. :-)
Mark Goren brought attention to an interesting tool: Animoto (feels like Kainoto). You upload some images, choose the music (from their database or yours) and let the system do it. Result?

As written in the blog and comments, the intention of Animoto was for people to stop sending those oversized PowerPoint files with theirs or someone elses ideal vacation. Do animoto and let people enjoy. Please, use it!

The tool itself can be categorized as "video for beginners" for it's simplicity (you must know english). At the same time it can be categorized as "video for small companies" due to effects that look much more professional than many adverts we can see on our local televisions.

Despite that you can make a video in minutes there are some challanges remaining and think of them first (before you start enjoying this fantasticly nice tool):

core message and the strategy

The fact is you must first know whom you're talking to and what you want to say. Afterwards start doing the video. You have to know as well what you will achieve with certain message - positive or negative effects?

create good materials (spend some money on photography)

This part remains underestimated too many times. Cheap camera and a photo that is done by some salesman or somebodies son/daughter is usually not interesting, bad and it's even better there isn't any. Invest in a good material and it will repay at least double.

In long term we can not expect this tool to replace the professional tools for presentations and making videos. There are just too many limitations and problems to it. Yet if you're very short on the marketing budget (small company) and you really need a quick and effective presentation, this is a good solution. Took me like few minutes to make this video.

Sleepy event visitors?

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Or a bad event management?
This video was taken as a case of weakness of some Slovenian politicans (if you can't see the video, please see it in this site):

Well, a question for everyone dealing with event management:

Who's to blame here? Visitors or organiser? Would this same people be sleeping if the event had a different concept/performance?

I think it must have been a bad event.

Natalija

Satisfation No.4: Visualize it by importance

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

There's a lot of ways to see "unsatisfaction" of your customer or employees.
<< Satisfaction No.3

High satisfaction of the employees with their work space is totally irelevant if the employees are unsatisfied with their payment. Simply said: if you earn 500€ per month you don't actually care about a new front door with cool reception and large LCD screens all over it.

Therefore we must measure importance of the satisfaction factors along with the satisfaction itself. Most of the researches do that. Yet researchers often forget to show it in a simple way:

The graph shows the factor in two-dimensional matrix that has importance on y-axis and unsatisfaction on x-axis.

The goal of this matrix is to divide the factors into four groups:

Factors that have higher unsatisfaction and higher importance (critical);

These factors are extremly important and need to be taken seriously. The employees (customers) should be somehow involved into their resolving.

Factors that have higher unsatisfaction yet less importance (acceptable);

These are usually rare since the importance grows with unsatisfaction. Yet they should be monitored closely since they might gain importance and become critical.

Factors that have more satisfaction and greater importance (cooperative);

We can expect with these factors that most of the employees feel satisfied with them. So it is useful to expose them when trying to deal with critical or in other situations where we want to get employees motivated.

Factors that have less satisfaction and less importance (side factors);

These are factors that don't influence much yet we must watch them closely since they might be hygienic factors. There can be correlation between importance and satisfaction again.

When we monitor the

Satisfaction No.3: Cruel reality - your customers are not satisfied

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

You might have done a customer satisfaction research and got a wrong anwser that they are satisfied.

<< Satisfaction No.2

One of the things that amuse me last few years is looking at different satisfaction research results. Customers or employees. It is very typical that they consist of at least one such graph:

(Employee satisfaction with different aspects of their work - click for larger image)

Followed by interpration: your employees are somehow satisfied with the work conditions and product quality, yet a bit less with possibilities for education and personal development...

If you have such a research, you might be having big problems. Much bigger then you imagine. Your employees (or customers) are actually not satisfied. And what is your actual problem?

First you assume that your employees are "somehow satisfied" with the factors that have a higher score. But a research we have been doing for 5 years have shown that these anwsers actually mean they are "somehow unsatisfied". Their expectations are not met.

To discover this, you must first make a research that will show what are your employees (or customers) expectations and what is their perception of the outcome related to the expectations. Result that comes even in the most nice environments are as follows:

Black line shows the average expectations and the blue line the average perception of the reality. Difference between them is allways negative. Expectfully negative since this is human nature. Whenever our expectations are met, we raise them a little bit. So our expectations are actually on higher level then the perception of reality in long term. And the difference between them is unsatisfaction.

Yes we are talking about averages

Autumn smoking chill

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Saturday, October 20th was a day of civil resistance by smokers (under slogan "It will be smoke"). Smokers have made a fight for their "rights" tougher, the bars are backing them up.
This story has a beginning.

At exactly 00:01 on that day a "cigaret fighter" enters the restaurant but after a short debate with weitress and friends ends his fight.

In the middle of the day I come to a famous bar in the town centre. Everything is full, airconditioning doesn't work, there are no smokers in the bar. So I sit outside, the sun throught the clouds gives kinda warm feeling. I just start enjoying reading marketing profs blogs when an eminent Maribor's director comes by. Cigaret fighter I find out.

She calls the owner of the bar and gives an interesting idea: make all the tables outside reserved for smokers. "Amazing, it is all full out here and with non-smokers! It's not fair, we have the right to sit out, they should be sitting inside!"¹. She even tries to persuade the weither but he somehow manages to sneak out of the fight with "I'm only a waiter" phrase.

Was this a creative marketing idea for the bars that feel a fall in their income? What would this signs on the tables bring:

For smokers:

Increase all decrease of the income? Positive or negative image? Change in the consumer behavior?

Since the bar was full (without smokers) somehow it made me think. Are the smokers a proper target group to adopt your business to them? Or should tha bar owners find another group? Like pet owners? Or rock music fans? Or classical music fans? Or the fans of chinese food? So why not have such table stands:

For dog fans:

For classical music fans:

Dušan

Photo from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Aprt.jpg

- I felt a bit like discriminated. Yet they feel discriminated by the law that was enforced, so it was 1:1 win for both. Anyway, that was the reason for the main photo (discrimination)

Summer heat: need for recognition and respect

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Summer brought a new anti-smoking law in Slovenia and exposed an interesting marketing area.
Do you remember moments when you or your friends started smoking? Mostly this starts in teenager years when need for recognition and respect evolve. And lighting a cigarette is one of the easiest ways to become respected in teenage societies. For some lighting a cigarette is curiosity, but for many it is about being respected.

And this summer, the Slovenian smokers were taken away this respect. It was the new law that said smoking is prohibited in any internal public place, including the most painfull => bars. The smokers were protesting and expressed strong feelings about it. They were shocked.

Still, the law does not prohibit the smoking itself. It only prohibits smoking were it influences other (non-smoking) people. With prohibiting smoking in public places, it only takes away the possibility to satisfy the need for respect. The need for recognition. The need to smoke and be respected for it. The need that evolved in young age and was satisfied by cigarette.

And this need is too often forgotten in business world. The need for respect. It is remembered in HRM, but rarely used in marketing. When did we last time show our customers that we really trully appreciate and respect them? Give them something to show our appreciation and respect for them? Let them know that their opinion counts?

P.S.: respected smokers, this is not an article against you or the law itself. It is an article that uses this case as an example for business development.

P.S.2: This article continues.

Dušan

Satisfaction No.2: emotion, attitude or just a word?

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Word satisfaction origins in latin words satis (enough) and facio (to make, do, create). And to satisfy means to do enough.

There is one amazing fact about the word satisfaction: it is totally not related to feelings or attitudes as we like to think. The origin of the word (satis - facere) means to-do-enough. Therefore (if it didn't sound silly) we could say:

to finish the project, we satisfied (did enough)
for water not leaking we satisfied (did enough)
...

It is obvious that the origin is not necessarily connected to human emtions or needs, but somehow this connection evolved during time.

The word itself can be mostly very good used for describing the physical or psychological state and in everyday usage it can mean feelings (I feel I am satisfied). Still we need to understand here that this is an everyday usage of this word and that it has simply plugged in for many other words such as: happy, excited, thrilled,... And it has somehow became the description of the state when all these feelings come together.

When someone says they're not satisfied with something it simply means that person has negative feelings about this - dissapointment, fear, anger. Strong negative feelings are ussualy even not described as "I'm strongly dissapointed" but as "I'm furious".

It is quite interesting that in some researches the respondents don't stay with the word satisfactions when it comes to describiong this phenomenon. Giese and Cote (2000) found out that by deep interviewing users describe satisfaction as certain emotion that evolves as reaction on certain situation. 64% of the respondents actually changed the word "satisfaction" into something else (love, excitement, euphoric,...).

So what is satisfaction? Word in everyday language or something more?

Dušan

Employee market behavior: 10 minutes of bitter truth

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Nice sunny morning reveals its 10 minutes of bitter truth about employee marketing behavior.
Nice sunny morning reveals its 10 minutes of bitter truth about employee marketing behavior. Starts with driving out of parking place. Workers of the waste management company must have been really angry for noone has opened the ramp for them. So they had to move the waste containers for another 10m. Well, they just left the containers in front of the ramp with a clear message: "put them back yourself!". Accidentally, neighbour that ussually openes the ramp is on vacation.

Just moments afterwards, some electro-company car passes me by with great speed and almost drives over an older lady in the pedestrians crossing. He even tries to send some kind of a message with his hands, but most of us in shock don't actually get it.

While waiting for Natalija to finish her bank visit, I spot few taxi drivers having a nice chat. One of senior lady drivers steps to her car and just before entering she throws a smoking cigarette on the road.

Ussual everyday human behavior, feelings and actions. Nothing too extreme ur unussual if those same people wouldn't actually represent the companies brands they ware. Represent and expose their image and reputation. Even creating the image of our own town (speaking of taxi drivers). Isn't it about time we marketers start working on employee marketing behavior?

Dušan

Satisfaction No1: Is customer satisfaction really important?

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Let's face it: satisfied customer is the most abused phrase of the last decade.

The truth of one summer: unsatisfied crowds of tourists, driving for 6 hours for 60 km in Slovenia. Angry, dissapointed users of that same road come back every year. Using that same road again. Why should traffic minister even care for their satisfaction? Loyalty is outstanding.

The other truth: the soup was cold for the second time in a well known Maribor restaurant. I won't be comming back for a long time.

Extreme moment of truth: user of Siol (ISP) records a message that hits email boxes in a day. Every once in a while I listen to it again so I relax a bit.

Truths and commedies asside, let's face it: satisfied customer is the most abused phrase of the last decade. How many times have you read it? Written in visions and missions statements as well. In strategic goal. Yet how many times have you been really satisfied by those companies?

Yes, while talking about satisfaction, we all agree that customers, employees, suppliers, local communicty and other company partners satisfaction is important to achieve long-term success of the company. Yet so important that we deal with it on regular monthyl meetings of the board? Or just that much important that we take a look at ISO-customer-research-results observations?

What do you think? Where is customer satisfaction in your priority system? If you were traffic minister, would you be dealing with satisfaction problems of the drivers? If you were the owner of the restaurant, would you take care of the soup temperature? And if you were an ISP, would you do something when unsatisfaction virus would outbrake?

Dušan

End creativity. Start creating.

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

You don't need creativity to start creating the best ideas.
I've had hundreds of opportunities to attend "creative meetings". There was allways some interesting behavior to notice:

fear to say something stupid
need to expose
expectations of golden treasure
envey
wish to escape

It is time to change this. Creativity is not something that is just for "creative people". Creativity is a process in which we use certain rules (or break them) to find solutions to our problems. Creativity is to create. And is something we all can do.

If you want to know what others think, look into Wikipedia. Interesting shorrt idea is presented by Paul. Personally I can just add some advices:

Rename creativity into let's create or something. Perhaps might not sound the same, but at least it will make you feel better not comparing to "creative people".
When you will have "let's create" meetings, say stupid things for at least first 5 minutes. Total stupid things that are even hard to think of. If you are very intelligent, force yourself. Talk stupid things.
Satisfy your need for expose. Talk about your ideas and why you think like that. Be heard.
Don't tell anyone how smart and beautiful you are and how many years of experience you have. Noone wants to know. Really don't say this in the "let's create" meetings. If you really must, go on the toilet, call someone and tell them that.
Write a goal on a very visible place. Underneath write that this is the golden treasure.
If anyone brings out a really good idea, tell that person you envey him/her. If you really do. Don't keep it in yourself. You will make an effect
When you think to run away because of the stupid thing you said - it is time you look at that written goal. And below it.

Simple advice and much more in the inventory. Well, first your comments. Down here.

We've changed something - again

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Designing, painting, writing, shaping, drawing.
Well, quite a lot, even tough not much to see. We have tortured our little brain cells and discussed. Complicating and simplifying. Looking for new ways and improving old ones. Testing new technologies and hide them in the background. Designing, painting, writing, drawing and shaping.

Secret of our work is in front of you. Knowledge database, hot project and many other things are renamed in Free your mind. Services into Your business development. Portfolio... well, we didn't change this (and sorry, in english version you can not see it for now).

Much more important is that we have combined and mixed everything, yet left it simple as it can be. So surf it through and comment. That's why we have this fields down here.

In summer months we will slowly discover why your customers are not satisfied. And what the hell is satisfiement? Sign in for most sympatic, different and relaxed e.news and discover this with us.