Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

I just got notification from Amazon that my order for The Rational Optimist has shipped. I’ve had the book checked out from the library for weeks, dipping in and out of it…and just can’t seem to finish it (the teetering stacks of reading material around the house are getting out of control.)

The premise of the book, backed by data, is that “the habit of of exchange and specialization – which started more than 100,000 years ago – has created a a collective brain that sets human living standards on a rising trend.”

Here’s the PBS interview with the author, Matt Ridley: Author Says Modern Life is Good Despite Recession.

If you need a bit more perspective, read A Lifetime Washed Away. As the writer notes, “I found most pitiful a family gathered around a prostate brown-and-white brindled cow.” The column personalizes the tragedy of the floods for me in ways no amount of screaming headlines or pitiful photos could. Sure, I can contribute to relief funds but there is NOTHING I can do directly to help that family or save that cow.

This tale was in the same edition of NYT that also had an article on six-figure fish tanks. “Karin Wilzig has a hard time choosing a favorite color from among the 64 that she and her husband can use to illuminate the 14 1/2- foot, 450-gallon aquarium in their TriBeCa town house. The default is fuchsia, which turns the dozen koi a deep pink.”

…and I’m obsessing over what color to repaint the bedroom. Tough life.

If this post resonated with you, please donate online for Pakistan relief. (This goes to the State Department. If you don’t like that – find your own way to contribute.)

NYT: E-Book Wars: The Specialist vs. the Multitasker “The Kindle from Amazon.com is designed to let us do one thing very well: read. To survive, it must excel at this, not only by jostling to stay a nose ahead of other e-readers, but also by maintaining an enormous lead over the Apple iPad and its coming competitors. The multipurpose iPad can do thousands of things very well; used for reading book-length texts, it doesn’t excel, but it’s passable.”

A friend was recently trying to decide between an iPad and a Kindle. She felt the iPad was beyond her budget. And, she’s right. If all she wants is an “e-reader” – why spend the bucks? But she was in a quandary, since the iPad is – well – the “hot” product.

She’s in good company – even high-techers who should know better get all confused. A lot of tech marketers are thrashing around, trying to find/define a target – tablets, laptops, PDAs, e-readers…whatever Apple offers we’ll offer! Me TWO! US TOO! (later, cheaper, not as good…okay, I’m prejudiced but neither Dell’s nor Microsoft’s history give me confidence they’ll bring out anything terrific.)

The iPad is a cool tool – for both fun and biz. It comes in handy for one-on-one sales presentations (and thanks to the inherent functionality, your stuff will look cooler on the iPad, especially if you use Keynote.) One VC observes it seems to be the board room choice du jour (if you don’t want to take lots of notes.) I like its extreme mobility – tuck into my portfolio, zip and go, no special case or lugging required. The keyboard is functional enough for short, don’t lose the thought meeting notes, which I can then email with a click of a button.

I can also use it to read books, including classics (free) from Austen and Poe. (I’ve also downloaded the Constitution and Bill of Rights – and re-read both documents, something I highly recommend to t-par-tees everywhere…;-) However, to read anything in copyright – I still have to buy the books. I’d rather use my local library, for free, with online reservations. The “e-reader” function is a “nice to have” for me, not the reasons I love the iPad.

So, here’s the thing – before companies started the whole “me TWO!” reaction to Apple, they should have looked at the actual customer a bit more closely. How are people actually using the iPad (or Kindle?) Some may have both. I’d also buy the Kindle if I still had an insane travel schedule – due to Kindle’s longer battery life and lighter weight. (When you’re schlepping luggage for [literally] miles of airport corridors, every ounce counts.)

In my not-so-humble opinion, comparing the iPad market share to that of Kindle is like comparing apples to oranges (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

“We were second and almost as good!” isn’t likely to win much (sustainable) biz. You don’t always have to be first, but you should be different (and different enough.)

Last but certainly not least – how long can a market be sustained for a “single use” product? (Word processors? Fax machines? Electronic calculators? Postage meters?) Discuss amongst yourselves.
Read More:
Microsoft’s Me TOO (Two) Strategy
Dell’s Exciting New Streak! (Yawn)
My guest post at Lip-sticking: I’m in Lust with My iPad.

As Maureen Dowd asks in Our Mosque Madness, “What is so frightening about Fox News?”

Target marketing is always tricky. If you do it right, you’re going to cut yourself off from a certain percentage of the market…but they wouldn’t buy from you anyway. (Investors, CEOs, and lazy marketers often have trouble with this concept).

I’m going to dance up to the verboten border between commenting on biz and politics today. The ongoing hysteria, misinformation and political maneuvering re the “Ground Zero” mosque is just too good of an example of what can happen when you start chasing the wrong customer (or wrong voters in this case.)

Both Governor Christie and Mayor Bloomberg have bravely (?! Isn’t it sad I say, “bravely”?) stood up for religious freedom and common sense. And, President Obama started that way…then waffled.

Here’s the thing – no matter what Obama does, the GOP is going to attack him. Tea parties will always hate him. And, anyone who actually takes Fox News seriously is NEVER going to to vote for him…or any supposedly “dangerously liberal” candidates. Obama never did very well, even at the height of his popularity, with “old white males” (the majority of Fox viewers are over 60, white and male.) So, why chase ‘em?

Related Posts:
Sell To the People Who Want It
Stop With The Polls Already!
McCain’s Brand Disconnect
Our Target: The Stupid People

Or, more specifically – your mission? In biz and in life. Forget the ponderous corporate speak stuff (”Leading-edge provider of premium solutions to…”) What gets you excited? What will your customer remember? What can you live?

As my (real life, 3-D and Face Book) friend, Scott Westerman noted in his Monday Motivator this week: “I was recently assigned the task of reading the mission statements of a group of business units. I did. I can’t remember a word. Each one filled at least a page, many took two pages. None of them made an impression.”

Yep. Been there, done that. Carefully, oh-so-carefully crafting something that won’t offend anyone but yet soothe the CEO’s ego. (“PUT INNOVATIVE IN THERE!”)

So, what is your mission (and mission statement?)

Here’s mine (for biz and life): Make a difference and have fun doing it.

Thanks to Scott for reminding me.

Related Posts:
But What Do You Do?
The Magical, Mystical Mission Statement!
Marketing Without Blinders

Happy Friday 13th! Now, my Friday Martini Time post.

A recent NYT article, But Will It Make You Happy? notes that, “The latest round of research [about happiness], for lack of a better term, all about emotional efficiency: how to reap the most happiness for your dollar.”

The article goes on to note that people WILL (and continue to) spend on experiences that make them feel good. (Indeed. This is why I keep postponing hardwood floors and kitchen renovation. I’d rather travel.) The article also notes that Apple seems to be the only retailer that gets this. (Yep. See my umbrella post from earlier this week.)

I’ll never get my possessions down to just 100; I really can’t give up toilet paper; and I can’t live on 50% of what I earn (since as a indie consultant that can vary dramatically from year to year.) I can, however, keep working on simplifying, reducing, reusing…and generally removing stress and clutter (real and virtual) from my life.

I’ll continue to drive my 10-year-old (long paid for) jeep with the cracked windshield until it’s a No. Va. (Sure, I won’t impress any valets…but then I don’t go anywhere with valet parking.)

And, then there’s also…

No Tee-Vee Service. I canceled my DirectTV service. Of course, I had a brief panic spasm when I realized this meant I’d miss the real time season premieres of Sons of Anarchy and Supernatural! But, I’ll live (and can watch later online). I’ve got piles of DVDs, can get many more from the library, and, old-timer that I am, I rediscovered my videos and VCR, all of which work fine, after years of gathering dust. I’m watching less and enjoying it more. (Kicking that channel surfing addiction cold turkey.) I also immediately put the equivalent of 12 months of DirectTV in my savings account. Not a fortune, but a considerable sum to spend on experiences with friends, like day trips and good dinners.

Instead of one, buy none. I’m a museum junkie (Ohhh, postcards! Reproductions! Posters! Catalogues! Books!) and I love unusual handcrafted things. But, over time (and thanks to downsizing my house, I don’t want to end up on Hoarders...) I’ve learned to be just as happy looking as owning. Certainly, I still buy here and there, but only if I really, really want the item. But, I’m under no illusion I actually need another painting, book, or tchotke.

Pay-as-you-go cell phone. Yep, me, drug dealers and spies…;-) I don’t travel that much. I have both an iPad and a MacBook. I’m not a brain surgeon on call. My friends aren’t panting to know every single thing I’m doing right now (Are you as sick as I am of the people in supermarkets mindlessly wheeling their carts around while they have some inane conversation at the top of their lungs…while their kids are screaming for attention at the top of their lungs? Really, who needs to know I’m buying bread? I also like knowing what’s going on around me. Heck, I even acknowledge the checkout clerk is a human being.)

If I accidentally drop kick the no-glitz phone across a parking lot and it breaks, no great loss, either financially or emotionally. (I did the drop kick thing, it still works.)

…and no, you can’t have the number.

Now, I’m clocking off, getting in my old Jeep, stopping by the library to pick up some (free) DVDs I reserved, then using my $5.00 off coupon at Flying Star to eat local…and then shop local (for things I really need, like vodka, at the locally-owned liquor store.)

Read More: Aaron Greenspan, Why I Don’t Have a Cell Phone

Related Posts:
Living Richly Or Well?
The Not So Big Life
‘Tooni Musing: Getting Down and Dirty

That’s obviously different than “in the dark.” (And don’t we often feel like we spend way too much time working our way through the murk with vendors?)

The other hot, sunny day I walked past the Apple store. People were standing in line to get in (yes, Standing.In.Line – to spend money, in this godawful, woe is us, we’re all doomed economy.) What really rocked my world is there was also store staff standing by the line, holding great big umbrellas and doing their best to keep the customers in the shade. Wow!

Compare that to – oh, let’s say – The Radio Shack, Best Buy, or virtually any other retail operation. Apple understands retail sales is all about the total experience, not just the store full of products.

Nice positive moment, having just come from a restaurant where the clueless hostess bluntly informed us there would be a “20 to 25 minute” wait (take it or leave it, no skin off her young nose)…when we’re standing there looking at empty tables. Uh-huh.

P. S. I don’t think we’re all doomed, but we do need to change from an economy based on mindless mass consumerism.

Recently, I was doing a software review with a client’s development team. We were groking and rolling, covering a lot of ground…fixing a lot of not-so-little things. But, as we were going through the process I realized – there’s sometimes a difference between a techie’s idea of “unbroken” and actually fixed.

Fixed is when the (non-techie) user can truly use the application – easily and intuitively.

Unbroken is when the code works as it was written.

Grok the difference? If not – think of a web site (or application) that has driven you to distraction…but it “worked.” (See? Betcha can think of at least one.)

The recent shameful mess (and media pile-on) re the firing of Shirley Sherrod is yet another example of otherwise intelligent people blindly reacting.  Instead of taking time (in the Google age, this could be – gasp – long minutes) to do some research and find out the truth and context of Ms. Sherrod’s remarks, the USDA went into full political panic mode (“We’re under attack”  “OMG, Sherrod is racist!”)…and to add insult to injury, they forced her to pull over to the side of the road and submit her resignation via her Blackberry. (?!!!)

She is reportedly uncertain if she’d go back to work for the USDA (or any other government post). Well. Duh.

So, this is a “learnable moment” for all of us.

When confronted with an issue (first make sure it IS an issue.)

Stop.

Breathe.

Think.

Then don’t rush to the keyboard or phone.

What’s the outcome you need from this?

Then proceed.

(Me?  Sometimes I wait a whole day, before doing anything…maybe even the weekend! World hasn’t ended yet.)

P.S. Sometimes it’s best to do or say nothing.  A radical concept in today’s tweeting, you-tubing world, I know.

Maureen Dowd: Miami’s Hoops Cartel “LeBron and the James Gang make a big public relations mistake.”

I’m far from a sports fan.  The last time I really paid any attention, the Detroit Lions were – um – in Detroit. And, I went to OU, when football players could do anything they wanted…one thing they didn’t have to do was attend class.   Never was a b-ball fan, unless it involved a cute guy in high school…;-)

But, even I couldn’t miss the recent LeBron James angst, anxiety and general hoo-ha.  Sports aside – I found the whole flap and foolishness interesting from both a sociological and marketing standpoint.

Sports stars move around all the time – but LeBron was showing both his immaturity and lack of EQ in the way he left Cleveland.   Not even a bone tossed to the fans who buy the tickets that pay his salary.  Totally tone deaf in making his announcement from Greenwich, CT?!? in a television “special.”

Merchandise sales? Um, not so much.  Endorsements?

Hmmm…maybe LeBron should talk to Tiger Woods about “brand management.”

Certainly memories fade…but one injury could end his career in the very first Heat game.  Then what?

(Semi) Related Post: It’s Not Tiger Woods Fault

“Why don’t you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini?” (Robert Benchley to Ginger Rogers in “The Major and the Minor,” a 1942 movie)

Ah, it’s Friday again. It’s been extremely hectic around the Schmidt office and casa of late, as you may have inferred from lack of blog posts. But, whatever happens – good or bad – Friday always arrives, doesn’t it?

So, in the spirit of TGIF – and for ‘tooni drinkers everywhere – a few classics re “our” favorite drink.

The Thin Man movie (first one, the sequels got progressively worse). I get woozy just watching them pound down the ‘toonis (“Will you bring me five more martinis, Leo?”), but Myrna Loy is sheer delight. Alcoholism never looked so glam.

Martini time with W.H. Auden (Lovely article about a relationship with the poet.)

M.F.K. Fisher: Martini-Zheen, Anyone? (Gourmet archives, 1957; I’m happy to say I own an original issue with article.)

Mental Floss: 10 Famous Martini Preferences

#5:Alfred Hitchcock and Winston Churchill had the same idea – Hitch said the closest he wanted to get to a bottle of vermouth was looking at it from across the room. That quote is often attributed to Churchill, actually, but the Washington Post says otherwise… Churchill is misquoted all of the time, so I’m inclined to believe them. (I gaze fondly at the vermouth and then gently shut the fridge door…(yes, I do occasionally use it, but hardly ever in my Friday evening martinis.)

Happy Friday to all.