No More Boring Businesses - by Mortified Cow
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The document provides a summary of 7 principles for making businesses less boring and more fun and profitable. It discusses having a clear mission that customers can identify with, nicheing down to a specific target audience, showing personality in all aspects of the business, selling the benefits rather than just features, and going above and beyond for customers. Examples are given of companies that successfully apply these principles, such as TOMS Shoes, Apple, Hipmunk, Dollar Shave Club, and Zappos. The overall message is that following these principles can help businesses attract the right customers, charge more, and have a more successful brand.
No More Boring Businesses - by Mortified Cow
- 1. No More BoringBusinesses Brought to you by Mortified Cow www.mortifiedcow.com A blueprint for making more money by having more fun
- 2. 2 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun To a lot of people, we were saying “We’re not serious enough for your Very Important Business. Go over there and talk to Platinum Corporate Solutions instead.” Which was exactly the idea, because we don’t want to work with anyone who thinks business has to be buttoned-up and stuffy. Up yours, boring businesses When we named our company Mortified Cow, we were saying something.
- 3. 3 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun We believe that businesses should be exciting, unique and full of personality. Over the next few pages, we explain the seven main principles we apply when we’re hired to create or overhaul a company’s brand – with plenty of examples of businesses who are already using them brilliantly. They should do amazing work for the right customers, and put off the wrong ones before they’re even through the door. These businesses make the world a better place for their customers, and are one hell of a lot more fun for their owners. If you read them, understand them, believe in them and apply them, you probably don’t need to hire us at all – but if you do want to, our contact details are at the end. Oh, but first we should explain what a brand actually is (spoiler: it’s not a logo or a colour scheme).
- 4. 4 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Before we get started, let’s quickly talk about your brand… Your brand is the feeling that someone gets from interacting with your business. When someone talks about “a strong brand”, it means they know exactly what that company stands for, who it’s for, and how people feel about it. A brand is not a logo, or a font, or a tagline. It’s all those things, plus every word you use on your website, how you communicate over email, every image you use, and every decision you make. If you have a strong brand, some people will love that brand. They’ll buy from you even if you’re more expensive, or less convenient. They’ll talk to their friends about you. They’ll actually derive part of their self-identity from being your customer or client. Without a strong brand, you don’t get any of that. You’ll only be bought or used when you’re the cheapest, most convenient option. You’ll get no word-of-mouth, and that customer or client might not even remember you next time they need that same product or service again – even if the quality you delivered was excellent. Whether you’re a clothes shop, an accountant, a web-design company, a marketer, an online swimwear store, a plumber or a session musician... you MUST have a strong brand if you want to stand above the competition, appeal to the right people, and charge more money. Everything we’re going to talk about next is a tool you can use to build a strong brand.
- 5. 5 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Have a mission Why is this so important? People want to buy products and services that extend their self-identity and how they want others to perceive them. So take TOMS shoes. If you buy a pair, they give another pair to a child in need. Their mission is to eliminate death, illness and lost opportunities that arise from not having shoes. The most successful companies have an underlying mission that affects everything they do and every decision that they make. They focus on the “Why” (why they exist to serve their customers) rather than the “What” (what they actually do). In doing so, they inspire us to be with them, buy from them, and use them over the competition. As a customer of TOMS, you get to buy into that mission and preserve/extend your self-identity as a charitable, caring person. Your job as a business owner is to identify your mission – something people can identify with and buy into. “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” Simon Sinek
- 6. 6 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Missiontastic? We think so… 14 Stories 14 Stories don’t just want to plan gay and lesbian weddings – they also aim to promote marriage equality through educational seminars, and donations to LGBT charities on each client’s first anniversary.
- 7. 7 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Apple Steve Jobs reinvented the struggling Apple brand around the idea that it was equipping its users with the tools they needed to change the world through their work. Missiontastic? We think so…
- 8. 8 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Freckle For Freckle, it’s not just about the time-tracking software they provide – it’s about what they believe great software should be, and how it should make the user feel. Missiontastic? We think so…
- 9. 9 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun “”The FreshBooks vision is aworld where entrepreneurssuccessfully run theirbusinesses without havingto learn accounting. Freshbooks The FreshBooks “vision” shows the bigger picture behind what the company does, and expresses a worldview that small business owners will share. Missiontastic? We think so…
- 10. 10 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Niche it down Too many businesses try to appeal to everyone, and they end up resonating with no one. (And so the only people who contact them are those on a tight budget looking for a good deal.) “You have to understand that nothing appeals to everybody.” Gene Simmons And that’s why we tell our clients to NICHE IT THE HELL DOWN. By focusing on a tight niche, everything’s easier: you can speak directly to a particular audience and address their specific needs (which means you can dispense with all that infuriatingly vague and jargontastic “Whether you’re a large, small or medium-sized business, we can provide all the logistical solutions you need to maximise your synergies”). You don’t need to compete on price, because you’ll be the obvious choice for those people. Marketing becomes easier, because there’s less guesswork about where your dream customers will find you. And you’ll become so knowledgeable about your niche that these people will trust you and refer you more and more.
- 11. 11 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Niche it down And DON’T just offer a writing service. Offer a writing service for independent estate agents with fewer than three offices, who specialise in rentals rather than sales. If you specialise in that industry, it makes sense that you’re the experts and you’ll get better results for your clients. They’ll see what you’re offering and think “Yes! This is exactly what I need!” So DON’T be an interior designer. Be an interior designer who specialises in modern, minimalist homes – because as soon as people see your site/ advert/mailout, they’ll come straight to you if it’s the style they’re after. And DON’T just be a web developer on Elance (because you’ll be in direct competition with about 100,000 others). Say you only offer to build Shopify-based websites for people selling t-shirts. Suddenly, for anyone selling t-shirts who knows they want to use the Shopify platform, you’re the only choice.
- 12. 12 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Here’s some great niching… Her corner Her Corner helps organise hyperlocal, face-to-face meetup groups for female entrepreneurs. The entry criteria are strict, which has the effect of pushing away the people who won’t be a good fit for the group.
- 13. 13 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Here’s some great niching… Peter Shallard Imagine you’re an entrepreneur and you’ve decided you need to see a shrink. Who are you more likely to choose – a generic psychiatrist who’ll treat anyone, or the “Shrink for Entrepreneurs”? Enough said.
- 14. 14 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Here’s some great niching… Coding for Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurs don’t want to learn coding for fun, or to become expert programmers. They want to learn just the aspects they need to grow their business. This course is just right for them.
- 15. 15 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Show personality “To me, business isn’t about wearing suits or pleasing stockholders. It’s about being true to yourself, your ideas and focusing on the essentials.” Richard Branson When companies say they “provide best- practice consultancy”, or that they’ll act as a “communication channel to deliver thought leadership content”, or that they’ll “go the extra mile to ensure success”, they’re hiding behind a lack of personality. This means they’re competing with all the other personalityless companies out there – and they only way they can really compete is on price. You need to avoid that trap.
- 16. 16 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Show personality It’s often the tiniest touches that give the biggest glimpses of the company’s personality – just take a look at our example below of the cute Hipmunk mascot, whose little scarf flaps in the wind while you’re waiting for the search results. The right people will appreciate that stuff. The wrong people will use Expedia. You need to weave your chosen personality through every aspect of your business, or else it doesn’t work: if you have super-funny website text but deadly serious email correspondence, you’ll seem inauthentic and therefore untrustworthy. Having a personality means the right people (the ones you want to work with) will be drawn to you and will be willing to pay a premium to do business with you. And you’ll have alienated the wrong people, which is great: it means you can achieve the effect of having your dream customer arrive on your site or receive marketing information from you and think “Holy shit, this was MADE for me!” As well as pulling the right people towards you with your personality, it’ll keep them loyal to you, and give them something to talk about with their friends. Of course, your personality or the personality of your business won’t necessarily be fun and quirky like the examples we’ve given so far. That’s fine – maybe you’re more dramatic and over- the-top, or sarcastic and scathing. Just make sure your personality doesn’t vanish as soon as you start doing business.
- 17. 17 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Personalityful companies Hipmunk Hipmunk’s unique personality is all over its site – from the cute little flying chipmunk who appears when the site is loading search results, to being able to sort flights by “Agony” and hotels by “Ecstasy”.
- 18. 18 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Personalityful companies Dollar Shave Club Dollar Shave Club delivers a monthly supply of razors to men’s doors for a monthly fee, and their advertising and website text fits the brand’s sarcastic, self-mocking and witty personality. It’s not for everyone, but the men who like it really like it.
- 19. 19 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Personalityful companies Black Milk Black Milk Clothing is run by James, who manufactures and sells printed clothes from a design studio in Brisbane, Australia. The site doesn’t just show you some product photos and the price: there’s oodles of James’s zany personality and enthusiasm on every page.
- 20. 20 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Personalityful companies Print Hut Print Hut’s services and quality are probably just the same as their competitors’. But the site’s fun text, silly special offers and colourful design make it feel so much more appealing to the right kind of customer.
- 21. 21 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Sell the benefits “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!” Theodore Levitt So you’re an accountant? Great… what’s in it for me? You’re a nutritionist? Wonderful… so? You do brand consultancy? Interesting… now where’s the guy with the crudités? Stop describing what you do! You need to show how what you do can benefit ME or my business. Basically, your client doesn’t REALLY want an accountant, or a nutritionist, or a brand consultant… they want an outcome that these things lead to. And you’ll be one step closer to getting them as a client if you can connect the dots and explain the outcome for them. Also, you’ll sound far more exciting at cocktail parties if you say “I help women rinse their cheating ex-husbands for everything they own” instead of “I’m a lawyer.”
- 22. 22 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Companies that sell the benefits really well Apple iPod The iPod Classic isn’t an MP3 player. It allows you to hold “up to 40,000 songs, 200 hours of video, 25,000 photos or any combination”. And its battery life means you can “keep on rocking for a long, long time”.
- 23. 23 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun The Wow Company The Wow Company isn’t a firm of chartered accountants. It helps small businesses “make more profit, pay less tax, have more fun”. Companies that sell the benefits really well
- 24. 24 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Packed Branding Tessa Stuart of Packed Branding isn’t a researcher for food brands. She helps your food products “fly off the shelf”. Companies that sell the benefits really well
- 25. 25 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Go above and beyond “We asked ourselves what we wanted this company to stand for. We didn’t want to just sell shoes. I wasn’t even into shoes – but I was passionate about customer service.” Tony Hsieh Always think about how you can provide better help or service for your customers: you’ll be rewarded with loyal customers, plenty of word-of-mouth, passionate employees and the opportunity to set yourself apart from your competition. What’s more, it’s fun to delight people. Most companies let themselves down with crappy customer service – even though treating your customers awesomely is one of the easiest ways to get good PR and good vibes. When you look at the examples below, you’ll realise just how effective “going above and beyond” can be when it comes to your perception of the companies. You don’t need to go as all-out as they do, but simply creating a culture of exceeding customers’ expectations will get you far.
- 26. 26 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Companies that go above and beyond Zappos Zappos (the online shoe store) is referenced constantly when it comes to great customer service – generating free publicity like these headlines.
- 27. 27 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Morton’s Steakhouse This is what happened when Peter Shankman tweeted at Morton’s Steakhouse with a tongue- in-cheek request. They did exactly what he asked, Peter Shankman told his 150,000 followers, and Morton’s got a load of great press. Companies that go above and beyond
- 28. 28 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Be remarkable when things go wrong The best companies know that when things go wrong – when they slip up, when customers get annoyed… – it’s an opportunity to prove themselves, mollify their aggrieved customers, and possibly gain new ones as a result of positive word- of-mouth. “Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.” Zig Ziglar Technology now means that a customer’s complaint could be heard by thousands of people rather than just their golfing buddy. That’s a nightmare for businesses…or a huge opportunity. Because customers will seldom say anything when things went as planned, but will tweet from the rooftops when a problem is brilliantly resolved.
- 29. 29 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Companies that proved themselves when things went wrong Replies UK Razerzone When UK Razerzone got in a bit of a kerfuffle over an unauthorised discount code their customers were using, they honoured the discount rather than cancel the orders – much to the respect of their Facebook fans.
- 30. 30 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Zappos Online shoe store Zappos is the master of great customer service. Companies that proved themselves when things went wrong
- 31. 31 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Give away useful, free content Content marketing is all about giving away heaps of information – for free – in ways that are easily digestible for your potential customers. It could be in the form of an in-depth blog, a podcast, a course delivered over email, a Content marketing is much, much cheaper than regular marketing/ advertising – in fact, it’s usually free. And what’s more, it’ll get you lots of love, trust and word-of- mouth in return. presentation on Slideshare, free seminars in your office, a community site, a series of YouTube videos, a free book, or any other way you can think of to disseminate your information. Remember, this isn’t marketing material – it’s educational material. So if you sell engagement rings, don’t produce a video about the outstanding quality and value of your products: instead, produce a video that shows hopeless husbands-to-be how to evaluate the quality of a diamond. This isn’t about you, it’s about them. “Traditional marketing talks at people. Content marketing talks with them.” Doug Kester
- 32. 32 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Why is all this so effective? Your free information gets you found. Especially if you’re sharing on another platform (like YouTube, Slideshare or iTunes) – where people are already searching for information, and which appear high up in organic search results. Even if you’re just giving away free stuff on your own site, you’re creating natural SEO by answering questions that people will be searching for the answers to. Selling breaks rapport; educating builds rapport. People hate being sold to. If they get to know you as an educator and an expert, they won’t have the natural wariness we all have when approached by a salesperson. There’s no need to pay for advertising. In fact, people might pay you for information that helps them to become a customer of yours. You build authority and trust. Rather than asking people to believe that you’re an expert on the strength of a qualification and a few testimonials, prove it beyond doubt by showing off everything you know. Customers arrive ready to buy. Once they’ve benefited from what you’ve freely given away, you’re the only choice of who to work with when they’re ready to take it further. Price isn’t an issue, because you’re not a commodity.
- 33. 33 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Big givers Lauren Luke application. The videos were useful rather than salesy, and people trusted and respected her tips. Sales went through the roof. Lauren Luke began selling make-up products on eBay in 2007 – and to improve sales, she began creating YouTube videos on practical make-up
- 34. 34 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Likeable Media But you’re not going to do that, because you’re lazy and busy, and because they obviously know what they’re doing. So you’ll pay Likeable Media to do it all for you…and you’ll trust them, because they’ve told you exactly what they’re going to be doing, and you believe that it’ll work. If you read all the information on Likeable Media’s blog about how to successfully use social media in your business, there’d be nothing to stop you putting it into use and getting great results. Big givers
- 35. 35 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Meaningful Money and loves what he does. After watching them all, would you decide that you actually know enough and don’t need a financial adviser anymore? Of course not – you still need help applying his general (and extremely useful) information to your own situation. Pete Matthew is a financial adviser. He’s created nearly 300 free videos about his profession – proving that he knows his stuff Big givers
- 36. 36 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun River Pools & Spas For anyone visiting the site as a result of searching online for information, RPS would then become the no-brainer place to actually buy the pool when they were ready to make a purchase. Unlike most other swimming pool sellers, River Pools & Spas (RPS) has a blog that educates potential customers about everything to do with swimming pool selection and maintenance. Big givers
- 37. 37 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun About Mortified Cow We’re Mish and Rob, we’re married, and we’re on a mission to make businesses magnificent. We write personalityful, relationship-building copy for web and marketing materials, and we project manage the creation of beautiful websites. But there’s no point doing any of that until there’s a strong, consistent brand to back everything up – which is where our seven principles come in. While we do all this, we’re travelling the world as digital nomads – we do all correspondence over Skype and email, and have served our clients from 26 different “homes” on three continents in the past year. We blog about our ridiculous lifestyle on our blog, Making It Anywhere (makingitanywhere.com). Want to work with us? Just email [email protected] Thank you for reading! Mish & Rob
- 38. 38 No More Boring Businesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun So…are you with us? If “yes”, please share! We believe that if all businesses were based on these principles, the world would be a better place – not only for their customers, but for the business owners too. Will you help us to spread the word? Click on a link below: Share on Twitter Awesome free guide to getting the right clients for your business: www.mortifiedcow.com/notboring Share on Facebook No more boring businesses! Mortified Cow have got an awesome free booklet on how to undullify your business and get the best customers at the same time.
- 39. No More BoringBusinesses A blueprint for making more money by having more fun Designby:iamtomsmith.co.uk Brought to you by Mortified Cow www.mortifiedcow.com