Are You a Dandelion or a Flower?

My daughter loves dandelions. She thinks that they are just the most beautiful thing around.

I started to think about this and started to think about why it is that people don't like dandelions and why some even go to extremes to try and rid their lawn entirely of dandelions. It seems to me that the problem is that they are everywhere, and they are hard to get rid of instead of hard to get.

Flowers, on the other hand, can take more work You definitely can't run over a tulip with a lawnmower and expect it to pop back up next week (believe me I have tried). The reason a dandelion is a weed and not a flower is precisely that it pops up everywhere and will even take over your lawn given enough time.

I also had a conversation with someone the other day about a company I used to work for. This company really likes to have every product they sell to have SAVE in big red letters on it with a marker showing the percentage they save over MSRP, and then trow in three prices that are crossed out to show that they are lowering prices. Needless to say the pages of their web-site are extremely busy and "in your face". This person mentioned that they didn't like the site for precisely that reason. He had even purchased from there before, but doesn't go back because the clutter is distracting and annoying.

What could this company do to bring its costs down? They would get a lot better return if they treated their product like a flower instead of a dandelion. The focus for this company should be on how the company provides value, instead of attacking the customer with an onslaught of propaganda as to why they should buy.

So make your product a flower, especially if it is better, and treat it like one.

Adam Sandler: Same New Story

My kids watch Sesame Street every morning while I get ready for work. This song has been on a few times and every single time it gets stuck in my head for the rest of the day:

One day I was singing this song to myself while walking around the office and it occurred to me that Adam Sandler is a genius.

OK maybe Adam Sandler isn't a genius, but he is definitely a very intelligent person that manages to delight his audience 75-90% of the time. If a company could learn to develop products that their customers not only liked but were delighted about 75% of the time they would be virtually unstoppable.

So why is it that Adam Sandler is so good at getting into our heads whether it is a movie or a song on a kids show about a puppet? Two things: simplicity and unexpectedness.

Simplicity - You always know what to expect out of Adam Sandler, if it is a movie the plot is simply the unassuming/everyman hero has a problem, and there is a girl involved. The hero always solves the problem and gets the girl. The characters are simple, you know the role each plays from the moment you see them on the screen.

Unexpected - You never really know what unexpected thing he is going to say or do next. I mean did you really expect the dragon to "kiss and tellmo"? I don't think so.

The result is that we are kept entertained with something that is familiar and unexpected at the same time. Now to get your brand to do the same thing. . .