Malcolm Gladwell is the best-selling author of The Tipping Point and Blink, two of my favorite books on human behavior and how it applies to business.

Gladwell talks about his friend Howard Moscowitz, a consultant in the food industry, who is credited with the reinvention of spaghetti sauce.

Note: Click on the blog post title (in bold red) above, if you don’t see Gladwell’s video on the left.

Executive Summary

• Do not make any assumptions about what your market wants (the “culturally authentic” platonic dish)
• Market research is CRITICALLY important …
  • Do not act on what people SAY, instead
  • Cater your business to what people DO
• Move away from the universal one-size fits all product
• Identify the multiple niches within your market (horizontal segmentation), and
• Select the niche market you want to become known for (extra chunky spaghetti sauce)
• Learn to embrace the diversity of human beings

What about you? What have been your experiences or challenges in market research?

Did you know that the timing of your marketing message makes a huge difference? Actually, it has more to do about the state of mind of your prospect.

Allow me to explain.

When was the last time you went to Barnes & Noble? Do you remember what was your purpose or intent at that time? Most likely, you were looking for a book. More specifically, you were looking for answers to a nagging question you’ve had.

Well, maybe “nagging” is too strong of a word, but then again, maybe not.

Maybe your problem is how to match the colors in your living room, as you plan to repaint it. An interior design book might do the trick.

Or maybe you were looking for some answers about your autistic child. How else can you move forward, amidst the conflicting information you’re getting from your numerous doctors?

On the other hand, what was your purpose when you last visited Starbucks?

You might say you were there for the Caffe Misto, or perhaps the Caramel Frappuccino Blended beverage.

But were you really?

Wasn’t your real purpose to meet your good friend Johnny? Or were you there waiting nervously, rehearsing in your mind, your 15-min speech to a new prospect you met the other evening?

Or did you just want to spend a relaxing hour to be alone, listen to the mellow music, and just watch the patrons come and go?

Deep down inside you went to Starbucks for the ambiance – for the experience, and not really the coffee.

At B&N, you expect to be educated, while at Starbucks, you want to socialize.

When your ideal customers go to Google, they want to be educated. On Facebook, they want to socialize. They want an experience with family and friends.

That is the psychology behind web marketing. Your ability to attract the attention of your ideal customers, is dependent on their frame of mind at the time they encounter your marketing message.

When a visitor finds an answer on Google, their minds are receptive to buying – most especially, when there is a match between the nagging questions on their mind, and the education that you are providing.

In contrast, Facebook users have a different mindset. They are there mainly to interact with other people, to find an avenue to express themselves. Their nagging question still exists, but they are not currently thinking about it.

Facebook marketing requires a different approach: a Starbucks approach.

When you see a person sitting and reading by himself, you don’t introduce yourself and then immediately offer your book about back pain, do you?

More realistically, you strike a friendly conversation. You ask a few “small talk” questions, and if you receive a welcoming response, then you can slowly get into a more serious conversation.

In other words, Facebook is the NOT the place for direct selling. It is a place to meet people, and warm up to each other. More specifically for you as a business owner, it is a place to earn other people’s trust, and not their money.

Even when using Facebook Ads, it is not advised to sell anything directly.

The same  principles of Facebook marketing apply equally well to social media marketing in general.

If you want to learn more about the art and science of social media marketing, come and join me in my Facebook Marketing 101 class.

Or if you have a quick question, maybe I have a quick answer below.

Control Your Privacy

Social media is the new world order of promoting your message. As a rule of thumb, expressing your personality is a GOOD thing. It makes you more relateable and likeable.

However, a lot of people confuse personality with privacy, and that could get you into trouble: particularly theft and online predators.

1. Using a weak password – We should learn from Sarah Palin when her email was hacked during her VP campaign trail. The perpetrator simply made a guess, and managed to get into Palin’s private emails. Ideally, you should have a mix of numbers, letters, lowercase, uppercase and special characters; e.g. Ls3*Vt4F.  Now I realize that this is difficult to remember, so I would suggest a password management tool, such as Roboform, especially if you have multiple accounts across different social media websites.
2. Disclosing your full birthdate – Not that I don’t want to let people know my age, but birthdates can be used for identity theft.
3. Ignoring privacy controls – Your Facebook profile is notoriously open by default. Your photos for example, can be seen by anyone on Facebook. You have the option to share photos only with your friends, or even a select group of friends.  So make sure that your settings are the way you want it to be.
4. Posting your child’s name in a caption – Younger kids’ names shouldn’t be posted, because they could be targeted by online predators – especially if they have their own social media account.  This goes hand in hand with your photo sharing option. Share them only with trusted friends (not friends of friends).
5. Mentioning that you’ll be away from home – plus of course, you shouldn’t be disclosing your home address.
6. Allowing search engines to find you – This can be a good thing for your LinkedIn business account, or your Facebook business page. However, think twice before you allow Google to find your personal information. Now it can be argued that you’d like your high school sweetheart to find you, but that’s another story. Go to the Privacy Settings in Facebook, then go to the Search section, and choose your options carefully.
7. Not supervising your kids - The best and easiest way to oversee their activities is to become their online friend. If you want to take it up another notch (especially for younger kids), you can use YOUR email as the contact in their user profile. Children can innocently post their status that would indicate whether they’re alone at home or not.

In conclusion, my own strategy is to keep my personal and business accounts separate. I generally tell my clients not to take it personally, but I will be ignoring their friend requests on Facebook. However, they are more than welcome to hook up with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and of course, Launchpad!

If you have any suggestions or questions, feel free to enter a comment below.

Last week, I sat down with a potential business client at Starbucks.

As Carrie (fictitious name) tells me, she has a very successful offline practice and very busy helping a lot of clients herself.

A few years ago, she decided to diversify and offer her knowledge and skills in the online world.

I looked at her web assets, and she has made a lot of progress; much more than any other local business that I’ve encountered.

She had a lot of the pieces put together, but not quite working together as a well-oiled machine.

So for the next 45 minutes or so, I described to her the big picture strategy, and outlined the various steps necessary to develop an internet business plan.

Mentally, she stepped back and realized that she needed to change her approach.

Unbeknownst to me, there was another lady in an adjacent table who couldn’t help but overhear our discussions.

She politely introduced herself, and then asked for my business card. Unfortunately, she did not have a card to exchange with me, but she said that she was very much interested in what I had to say, and will later give me a call.

Shortly thereafter, I also parted ways with Carrie – giving her a lot of things to think about.

The weekend went by, and frankly, I forgot all about the “Starbucks stranger”.

Then last night, I received an email … and I almost missed it too.

Here’s what she had to say:

I met you at Starbucks this past week. I can’t believe I did this, but I misplaced your business card somehow. I was able to track you down though with the few details I remembered. So I Googled you and found you on LinkedIn, which led to your e-mail address!

Also through your LinkedIn profile I was able to find your website. So at this point I’m checking that out and reading up on all you have posted there. I wanted to at least touch base with you, however, and let you know that it was a pleasure running into you. I would certainly enjoy speaking with you sometime.

How would you like this to happen to you? How would you like this to happen everyday?

This is social marketing in action!

And this is the kind that I like best, because it is the most effective: a combination of offline and online social interaction. (Of course, 100% online works too.)

Here’s one thing for certain: if you don’t start building your internet real estate properties, your business will never be found.

So what about you? What social marketing stories do you have (either online or offline)?

If you don’t have a story yet, you can take baby steps by attending my next presentation –> Twitter 101

“How do I get started on the internet?”

That’s one of the most frequently asked question I get.

You’ve got a business idea, and you want a website to sell that idea on the internet.

I can immediately start building you a website, simply by following your instructions on how you want your website to  “look and feel”.

But here’s my question back: “How do you know people are going to buy your product or service off the internet?”

Buying from your physical store is way, way DIFFERENT vs. buying it online.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Find out what keyword(s) people use to find your product or service .
2. Determine the volume of searches for that keyword.
3. Assume that you are going to get 1/2% sales conversion from that search volume.
4. If the profit is greater than or equal to the costs of generating that sale, then you have a potentially viable project.

For example, let’s look at the keyword term “Sarasota Homes For Sale”:

• Google database = 135,000 searches per month
• Statistically, position #1 on page 1 of Google search gets 42% or 56,700 searches per month, or 1829 searches a day.
• Assume 0.5% phone call conversion rate, or 9 calls per day, or 63 calls per week.
• Now ask yourself: How good am I at closing this inquiry? Can I convert just one person/family to close on a new home, per week or per month?
• Let’s assume that you can close 2 homes per month on average
• Let’ also assume that you’re getting 2.5% net commission on a $150K  average home.
• 2 homes x $150K x 2.5% = $7500
• So are you willing to invest $1500* to keep an income of $6000 per month?

*Note: $1500 is a  hypothetical number for illustration purposes. The cost of an internet marketing campaign varies widely depending on where you are right now, where you want to be, and how competitive it is to get there.

So probably, here’s your question: How do you get to the Google database to get the keywords for your business, and their respective search volumes?

It’s not a straightforward answer, so I decided to show it to you, using a video tutorial. However, I don’t want the general public to see it. This tutorial page is password protected.

After entering your info below, check your email for the password.

Again, don’t forget the password in your email.

Yesterday, my wife and I visited Petco in the Valley, and I noticed something I hadn’t before.

I was surprised to see that Hollywood Video is already closed. Apparently, they filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy as of Feb 2nd, 2010.

Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised, since its main competitor – Blockbuster Video, already closed their store in my neighborhood about a year ago.

Clearly, they are both victims of the digital revolution that is overturning the world economy.

The past 2 weeks, I was preoccupied on consecutive Tuesday evenings. I was not able to watch my all-time favorite show, Lost.  (One of these days, I might blog about this brilliantly scripted TV series, that is a great case study for marketing. But that’s another story.)

Let’s get back to the digital upheaval that is currently going on.

Instead of waiting for replays of Lost, or maybe even waiting for the DVD release of this season, I went to Hulu.com.

This website offers web-based commercial-supported streaming video of TV shows and movies from NBC, Fox, ABC and many other networks and studios. Viewing is free.

I brought my laptop and watched it in bed with my wife. After the show, she asked me a question that I couldn’t answer, so we replayed the last 5 minutes to satisfy our curiosity.

If I had an adapter, I could’ve connected my laptop to our HD TV. Or if I have the new iPad from Apple, I could watch it in the car while my wife drives on our way to Seattle. (Actually, it’s probably more the other way around.)

Note: The name Hulu comes from Chinese Mandarin, and has 2 meanings: 1) holder of precious things, and 2) interactive recording. Seems like an appropriate name for what they do, don’t you think?

Now, who would have thought that our lifestyle would change so fast? Wasn’t it only yesterday, that we were swapping our collection of VHS tapes into the DVD format, and before we could blink an eye, Blue-Ray seems to be where action is.

Or is it streaming internet movies?

Hollywood Video and Blockbuster failed to see the writing on the wall. Or most likely they did, but they weren’t creative enough to think of something, or maybe they weren’t nimble enough to ACT on it.

It took someone else to first come up with the concept behind RedBox, the DVD vending machine network, or Netflix, the rent-by-mail service (they’ve just expanded into streaming video). But who knows if these are going to survive, unless they continuously innovate to keep up with consumer taste, demand and technology.

Technology seems to be the stumbling block for most people, isn’t it?

In this day and age, it is very surprising to meet business owners who are in denial. Or maybe that’s too strong of a description. Perhaps technology is just too overwhelming that it renders us paralyzed. It’s certainly easier to do nothing, than to even think about what to do next, isn’t it?

Even as a technology person, I would be the first to admit that I too suffer from paralysis. But I don’t really have a choice, do I? I’ve got to face the music.

Which leads me to the question, what are your plans for your business to survive the digital massacre?

A classmate from my high school days recently sent this to me on Facebook. I think it applies to all of us who are frazzled and challenged by the business world.

God: Hello… Did you call me?
Me: Called you? No.. who is this?
God: This is GOD. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat.

Me: I do pray. Just makes me feel good. I am actually busy now. I am in the midst of something..
God: What are you busy at? Ants are busy too.

Me: Don’t know. But I cant find free time. Life has become hectic. It’s rush hour all the time.
God: Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results.
Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.

Me: I understand. But I still cant figure it out.. By the way, I was not expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.
God: Well I wanted to resolve your fight for time, by giving you some clarity. In this net era, I wanted to reach you through the medium you are comfortable with.

Me: Tell me, why has life become complicated now?
God: Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated.

Me: why are we then constantly unhappy?
God: Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.

Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?
God: Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.

Me: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty..
God: Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?
God: Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer. With that experience their life becomes better not bitter.

Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?
God: Yes. In every terms, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.

Me: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why can’t we be free from problems?
God: Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons (to) Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and endurance, not when you are free from problems.

Me: Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don’t know where we are heading..
God: If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides insight.

Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction. What should I do?
God: Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you.Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing you rode ahead. You work with the compass. Let others work with the clock.

Me: In tough times, how do you stay motivated?
God: Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

Me: What surprises you about people?
God: when they suffer they ask, “why me?” When they prosper, they never ask “Why me”. Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few want
to be on the side of the truth.

Me: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here. I can’t get the answer.
God: Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.

Me: How can I get the best out of life?
God: Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

Me: One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.
God: There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.

Me: Thank you for this wonderful chat. I am so happy to start the New Day with a new sense of inspiration.
God: Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don’t believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve.

What do you think?

Are you attracting or chasing followers?

One of the business owners who attended my Twitter 101 seminar, posted his status on Twitter:

love this winter our dog thinks its great. How do your pets like this weather?

It’s an engaging tweet. He does not attempt to be INTERESTING to his followers.

Instead, he is INTERESTED in them (or their pets, in this case).

One of the books that have had a lasting influence in me, is Dale Carnegie’s “How To Win Friends and Influence People”.

It’s a classic that’s a must read for everyone. The principles in the book were meant for the real world, but they equally apply in the digital social universe.

In one section of the book, Carnegie spells out “Six Ways To Make People Like You”:

1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile
3. Remember that a person’s Name is the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in terms of the other person’s interest.
6. Make the other person feel important, and do it sincerely.

In contrast, let me give you independent examples of real tweets that BREAK these Carnegie principles:

1. TVI Express Holiday Voucher – How To Claim / Redeem | Join TVI Express
2. f.my.life. why did i listen to someone who only wants me to be as miserable as they are.
3. Hello Twitter, my name is Joann, check out my website for great silk flowers! Deal of the day coming soon!
4. Feel all alone sometimes? Confused? Need some support or direction? My business offers this and more. Why not take a look?
5. I’m starving. I want sum Ramen
6. going to church later with my mom. don’t really want to

To be fair, I don’t know the context in which these tweets were made. They could have been part of a conversation.

However, in general, how did these tweets make you feel? Are you inclined to follow these people?

What do you think? What strategies do you use?

$2M per month?

Since I started working from home in 2006, I have had the chance to watch TV in the afternoon, and observe the ratings success of certain TV shows.

One such example is the Glenn Beck program. You either love him or hate em. Either way, there is no denying that Barbara Walters selected him as one of the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, and just recently, he was rated as the 2nd most popular TV personality behind Oprah.

Winfrey – the undisputed Queen of TV!

I’m not about to discuss Beck’s political views, that’s not the subject of this post.

This is about my observations of the marketing lessons we can learn from Mr. Beck. Can you imagine making almost $2 million a month? That’s what Glenn’s empire makes.

As I see it, there are 3 main ingredients that we should always have in any marketing campaign, whether it be through the internet or not.

1. Visibility

While Beck’s TV program is his primary marketing medium, it is estimated that his personal income from Fox News is less than 10% of his total income. In addition, he has a radio show, 3 NY Times bestselling books, an offline & online magazine publication, a website that brings in more revenues than his TV salary, plus his live tours and appearances.

What can we learn from this? Diversification. For your business, that means: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogging, LinkedIn, Launchpad, etc. Wherever your ideal customers hang out, you need to be there as well.

Obviously, you can’t have all of these overnight. Beck started in radio, about 20 years ago, and built his marketing presence one medium at a time.

Likewise, your business should start with one tool, e.g. Twitter, and you methodically build up, according to a strategic master plan. As you develop a better understanding of your customer’s needs, you adjust and execute your master plan accordingly.

2. Controversy or Compelling

I first came across Mr. Beck when he was at CNN. In 2008, I remember telling a friend that Glenn Beck is a milder version of Bill O’Reilly. Since Beck’s transfer to Fox News, however, he has become the wilder version of Mr. O’Reilly. If you know Bill, who would have thought that anyone can be wilder!?

Whether you love or hate Glenn and/or Bill, it is a fact that these 2 political commentators DOMINATE TV ratings. Whether they intentionally create controversy or not, that’s entirely a different topic.

The marketing lesson is: controversy attracts eyeballs, and if your message connects with your audience, it translates to revenues.

However, if you cannot squeeze an ounce of controversy from your product/service, then you have to be a little more creative.

You have to discover a compelling message for your ideal customer, something that would trigger their emotional hot buttons.

3. Consistency

I’m not only referring to the frequency of your marketing messages, but more importantly the integrity of what you’re saying. If your marketing is built on a foundation of principles, then this should be fairly easy, and it comes naturally.

You see, your customer is looking for your opinion about a particular brand or model. When they ask why or why not, your explanation needs to be consistent with your personal convictions or values.

If they sense that you are recommending one product over another, just because one puts more money in your pocket, then you’re going to lose credibility.

In business, your most valuable asset is the TRUST you have established with your customers.

On the internet, trust is even more critical. You must do everything you can to earn it, and keep it.

What say you? Do you have any examples of how you’re using these 3 ingredients in your business?

The eyes hold the secrets of magical superpowers.

Your eyes, your voice – are windows that showcase your personality.

My prediction: 2010 is the year for “personality marketing”.

But before I discuss your appeal to your customer, let me tell you about my dear friend Mike. It’s my personal experience about the power of social media.

I met Mike in an online forum. (This was during the ancient days of 2006 when Facebook was exclusively for college kids). There were business questions posted in the forum, and Mike and I contributed our opinions on separate ocassions.

I found out, through his profile, that he is a realtor in Florida, while I’m an investor here in WA state. That common interest led to a private message, then to an email, then to a phone call, and the rest is history. We”ve been on the phone almost every week for the past 3 years, discussing business and marketing ideas.

As Mike said to me the other day, “I talk to you more than I talk to my friends next door, … and the conversation is better.”

Likewise, the feeling is very mutual.

Now, Mike and I have nothing against our neighbors, but we both share a lot of personal and professional values – even though he’s an English major and I’m an engineer.

You see, Mike and I have NEVER met face-to-face; but I would put him in the top 10 of my immediate circle of friends and associates.

Thanks to the power of an antique  social media tool 4 years ago.

In my previous post, I talked about your customer drowning in the information age.

2010 is the dawn of personality marketing, because your personality will distinguish you above everyone else, giving you “magical superpowers” to save your customer from drowning.

Your personality will help your customer make educated choices, while they look for solutions to their problems.

Social media makes it easier to establish connections beyond geographic boundaries. People get to KNOW YOU.

But you know from Sales 101 that that’s not enough. There are still 2 missing components:

1. The reassurance of your voice (both the sound, and the OPINION you have)
2. The sincerity through your eyes.

People really would like to hear from you – what they want to hear.

Let me say that in another way: your customer has already made up their mind about a solution (not all of them, but a great majority). They’re just seeking validation from you.

If your values are synchronized with their values, they will LIKE YOU. If your eyes have sincerity, they will TRUST YOU.

So here’s the process:  KNOW YOU –> LIKE YOU –> TRUST YOU –> BUY FROM YOU

Video is now easier more than ever.

On the internet, the great differentiator is video. Does it have a place in your business marketing plans?

But before your head starts spinning, and come up with all the excuses against video, let me clarify:

• You don’t need a type-A personality
• You don’t need fancy and expensive equipment
• In some cases, you don’t even need a video footage of yourself (an audio recording will do).

Here’s what you need to show: a strong passion for the solution(s) that you’re offering. Let  your conviction come across crystal clear.

I’m not talking about being a cheesy salesman, but be someone who projects confidence and integrity.

The 24/7 internet is the perfect medium to express your passion and sincerity.

In essence, the internet allows you to clone yourself – to make that preliminary connection with your prospect.

When that prospect finds you likeable, then you can spend quality time either face-to-face, or over the phone.

My friendship with Mike is strong, because we help each other from drowning.

My prediction: those who utilize video for personality marketing, will grow their business.