How To Have Good Ideas

Posted on 27. Aug, 2010 by David in Strategy

John Cleese shares his wisdom on writing, creativity, getting in the zone, and interruptions. Find your blind spot..it’s hard!

Chasing Butterflies

Posted on 17. Aug, 2010 by David in Fun Stuff

This video made me think about how I spend my days.

Do I get distracted by the butterfly or do I focus on the fish?  Most days I focus on the fish…but the butterfly does look nice sometimes!!

Facebook acquaintances the new TV stars

Posted on 28. Jul, 2010 by David in Takeaway

So this is why we all find Facebook fascinating.

Money Quote:

Since TV was invented, critics have pointed out the dangers of watching the perfect people who seem to inhabit the screen. They are almost universally beautiful, live in interesting places, do intereseting work (if they work at all), are unfailingly witty, and never have to do any cleaning. They never even need to use the toilet. It cannot be pschologically healthy to compare yourself to these phantasms.

So it’s interesting that social networks have inadvertantly created the same effect, but using an even more powerful source. Instead of actors in Hollywood, the characters are people that you know to be real and have actually met. The editing is done not by film school graduates, but by the people themselves.

Read The Directions

Posted on 21. Jul, 2010 by David in Fun Stuff

I know it’s fun to just dive right in and start playing around when it comes to all this search engine and social marketing stuff.  However..it’s best to start slow and learn along the way.  Baby steps everyone…

…or you might end up like the Swedish Chef!  Happy Wednesday!!

Best Marketing Advice I’ve Read In A While

Posted on 12. Jul, 2010 by David in Strategy

From http://econsultancy.com/


I’ve summarized the 7 below…read the full thing here.


1. Keep your eye on the ball – Draw up a chart of each step a customer needs to take to create a sale and ask yourself if the small tasks you’re working on facilitate this. If they don’t, then they aren’t relevant.


2. Market to your customers, not to yourself – There’s no need for the hard sell.


3. Stop learning about it – Limit your research to specifics and realise that you can’t fit the entire internet in your head. Make sure you know everything about your own product first.


4. Diversify – Build yourself an online safety net.


5. Build relationships – Don’t just say hello and then never speak to someone again.


6. Find a niche – Find niches and exploit them.


7. Don’t be a tease – Space promotions across no more than two weeks.

Please Watch This Video!

Posted on 07. May, 2010 by David in Announcement

So this talk really got me thinking.  WOW – I’VE BEEN SO WRONG!

I spend all day trying to convince people that Buttonwood has better features than our competition.  I think that’s what I’m supposed to do for a living!

This guy is telling me I’m wasting my time! …and I think I agree with him!

(read this after you watch the video)

I’ve always thought that suppliers and distributors deserved better!  Most of the technology products available to the industry are kind of crappy and ugly. I genuinely believe that we can do better and I’ve always thought that by explaining why product configuration and supplier integration are important  that people would “get it”; do the obviously smart thing and become our customer.  Boy was I wrong!! ..and this video does a great job of showing me EXACTLY how I was wrong!

Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! …for being so boring all these years and trying to explain something very technical without having a very compelling reason for why Buttonwood matters!

Why should buying a promotional product be any different from buying a plane ticket or buying a computer?  All three are fairly complicated purchases with lots of options and expensive non refundable consequences for making a mistake.

Promotional Products suppliers and distributors deserve to have the same good technology tools as everyone else.

Why do we accept that we can’t figure this out and that Dell and Delta can?  Are we less intelligent….I don’t think so!! (Have you ever talked to a airline or computer customer service rep and felt like you found a genius?)

I believe that we can give our end user buyers the same experience that they get from their other business vendors.  We can be just like Delta and Dell!

I believe relationships matter and the sales experience is a big part of the relationship. We need to give a buyer a compelling, interesting and engaging experience. If we frustrate our buyer by offering them crappy online service then they will go somewhere else…it’s just common sense!

With a few notable exceptions most suppliers and distributor websites scream “I’m a little business that has no clue what I’m doing online.” If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard a supplier or distributor apologize for their website I’d be a very rich man! We’ll let’s stop saying sorry and start being proud of ourselves!

I believe that the best way to stand out from the crowd and be different is to be better than the other guy.  Look a little better, dress a little better, smile a little more, be faster to answer a question, make it easier to buy from you and always be offering suggestions and solution to you customers problems.

I want Buttonwood to make our customers better than the competition. I want a buyer to go online and feel that they just had the same kind of online experience that they got at Dell or Delta.  I know we can do it!!

Well…that’s a start…and sorry for all that talk about product configuration and supplier  integration…without some meaning it’s all just noise!!

What Makes A Company Creative?

Posted on 22. Apr, 2010 by David in Takeaway

One of the challenges in running a business is to manage the totally unmanageable creative process….I’m always looking for advice and ideas.

The Economist interviews Ed Catmull, the president of Pixar.  They discuss what makes a company creative, how to manage success and how to work with creative people.  Scott Berkun adds some great commentary…

Sorry I couldn’t figure out how to embed the video –> Watch Here

My favorite quote:

So there is this balance, what is the state of the thing… we need to have honesty, we want to have honesty, but honest is a buzzword. Its one of these things we hear, everyone nods their head on, ‘it’s all true’, [but] the gap between the abstractions and where people actually do it is enormous. And people fill it in with all sorts of crap.

More Money with Better Stories

Posted on 12. Apr, 2010 by David in Takeaway

Good Morning Monday!

From the econsultancy.com comes an amazing story!

New York Times writer Rob Walker tells cool stories about products he sells on eBay. In a not so big surprise…the products with stories sell for LOTS more money.

Can our industry tell better stories about the products we sell and make more money in the process? Anyone with some thoughts feel free to leave a comment!

Logorama

Posted on 07. Apr, 2010 by David in Fun Stuff

This is the incredible animated short made up entirely of corporate logos which won the Oscar this year. The plot follows two Michelin tire guys who pursue a terrorist Ronald McDonald. It’s outstanding.

Logorama from Marc Altshuler – Human Music on Vimeo.

Cool Ad From IBM

Posted on 06. Apr, 2010 by David in Fun Stuff

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