Hugh MacLeod

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The “job” of the best product/service is to increase possibility for the customer

May 22, 2012 in entrepreneurship by George | 2 comments

We buy a musical instrument because it represents the possibility of creating art that we/others might enjoy/buy (why do you think guitar stores have mirrors?)

We buy a computer because it represents the possibility of writing a book/building a business (why do you think Apple gives away apps like GarageBand and iMovie with their computers?)

We buy ingredients for dinner because they represent the possibility of a meal enjoyed with the family/loved one (why do you think food tends to be sold in the quantities it is?)

We buy a vacation because it represents the idea of happiness with family/loved one (why do you think EVERY parent feels compelled to take their kid(s) to Disney?)

You have to understand the purpose/job of the product. Why do we HIRE a product/service – what do we really want from it?

This HBR article (worth the $6) sums it up:

Unlike traditional market segmentations that are based on a correlation of product sales or service with the attributes of the purchaser (such as age, gender, income level, and education level), jobs-based segmentation seeks to understand the causal roots of purchase-when a buyer needs to “hire” a product or service to get a “job” done.

Think in terms of what role your work is filling in the life of the customer. Think also where your customer would turn if your work didn’t exist. Then make sure that your work is doing the job your customers are hiring it for… better than any substitutes could.

When the product/service you offer is hired by someone because they feel this product/service will do the job of making them better/smarter/more beautiful/more creative/more successful/etc. (i.e. increase their possibility) you will have a hit.

This hangs in my office:

Of all of Mr. MacLeod’s work, it’s the one I always come back to.

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Marketing Examples Found in Nature: Bright, Delicious Fruit

September 20, 2010 in marketing, strategy by George | 1 comment

Have you ever wondered why many fruits and vegetables are so vibrantly colored?

I’m no botanist, but I have a theory that I’m working on for inclusion in my next book: For a fruit or vegetable to survive and its growth to spread, it must attract the attention of an animal.

For example, we have a row of – when ripe – beautifully colored blueberry bushes near our house. We’ve probably eaten like ten blueberries; they are delicious. The rest — all surreally beautiful purples and blues — have attracted the attention of, and been eaten by animal(s) (birds, deer, wild turkeys (see exhibit A below[*])).

These animals eat them, go on their way, and then, in one fell “poop” (sorry, couldn’t resist), plant and fertilize the indigestible seeds in various areas along their perambulations.

The color and taste of the fruit act as the attraction agents that entice the distribution agent: the animals who eat the fruit.

The same principle applies, of course, with the products or services we want to spread. We need to attract the attention — by being bright and delicious — of a customer who is predisposed and able to spread the word.

What are you doing with respect to attraction?

Once you’ve attracted the right customer, what seeds and fertilizer are you providing this customer to enable the spread? (Hint: think in terms of social objects. My thoughts on Social Objects: HERE; the always-worth-reading Hugh MacLeod’s thoughts: HERE).

[*]Exhibit A: Turkeys in the Yard

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“Artists cannot market” is complete crap

May 9, 2009 in Uncategorized by George | 8 comments

Hugh MacLeod of Gapingvoid.com and the soon-to-be-published Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity tells it like it is in a recent interview:

“Artists cannot market” is complete crap. Warhol was GREAT at marketing. As was Picasso and countless other “Blue Chips”. Of course, they’d often take the “anti-marketing” stance as a form of marketing themselves. And their patrons lapped it up.

The way artists market themselves is by having a great story, by having a “Myth”. Telling anecdotal stories about Warhol, Pollack, Basquiat, Van Gogh is both (A) fun and (B) has a mythical dimension… if they didn’t, they wouldn’t have had movies made about them. The art feeds the myth. The myth feeds the art.

The worst thing an artist can do is see marketing as “The Other”, i.e. something outside of themselves. It’s not.

I’m the proud owner of, “The Bluetrain,” one Mr. MacLeod’s prints:

(Gotta get that booger hung and framed; get your own at Mr. MacLeod’s Gallery.)

I highly recommend you read the whole interview. A lot of it aligns with my recent rant during the Artists House live webcast, where I implored those watching not to wait around for the “Industry” or “Hand of God” to come pluck you out of anonymity (FF to about 10 minutes in for said rant).

While Mr. MacLeod is speaking about visual art, methinks it applies to music too:

Rich patrons are nice, but… (A) there aren’t too many of them and (B), “Get in line, Dude”. It’s not like you’re the only one who thought of that business model. New York and London are FULL of young, aspiring hopefuls, just waiting for Charles Saatchi or some celebrity to come along, “discover” them, and make their Hollywood Ending a reality.

And as statistically unlikely the Hollywood Ending may be, even if your plan works, it can still come back and bite you in the ass. A friend of a friend, an artist, sold a sizable chunk of her work to Charles Saatchi a couple of years ago. She thought she was set for life. Then Mr Saatchi went ahead and sold it all back a year later. Her prices plummeted. In one fell swoop, Saatchi’s action had pretty much marked her forehead with an “X” for life. Nice try, Ma’am, but… Piss off. She was very bitter about it.

As Hugh would say, “Rock On!”

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Gaping Void: How to be Creative

July 30, 2008 in creativity, marketing, music business by George | 1 comment

I was reminded this morning of a blog I love, but haven’t been reading as much recently (for no good reason). Hugh MacLeod’s Gaping Void is as good as it gets: smart, funny, honest, and instructive.

To give you an example of his fine work, check out this amazing post on How to be Creative. Here are the bullets:

1. Ignore everybody.

2. The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours.

3. Put the hours in.

4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being “discovered” by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.

5. You are responsible for your own experience.

6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.

7. Keep your day job.

8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.

9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.

10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.

11. Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.

12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.

13. Never compare your inside with somebody else’s outside.

14. Dying young is overrated.

15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.

16. The world is changing.

17. Merit can be bought. Passion can’t.

18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.

19. Sing in your own voice.

20. The choice of media is irrelevant.

21. Selling out is harder than it looks.

22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.

23. Worrying about “Commercial vs. Artistic” is a complete waste of time.

24. Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.

25. You have to find your own schtick.

26. Write from the heart.

27. The best way to get approval is not to need it.

28. Power is never given. Power is taken.

29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.

30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.

31. Remain frugal.

32. Allow your work to age with you.

33. Being Poor Sucks.

34. Beware of turning hobbies into jobs.

35. Savor obscurity while it lasts.

36. Start blogging.

37. Meaning Scales, People Don’t.

37. When your dreams become reality, they are no longer your dreams.

What makes Mr. MacLeod’s writing so great is that far from just being a list, each of the items is given full exposition. As an example, here’s what Mr. MacLeod says about number 4, “If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being “discovered” by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.” (I find this advice particularly relevant to many aspiring musicians waiting for that label to swoop in and give them a deal):

Nobody suddenly discovers anything. Things are made slowly and in pain.

I was offered a quite substantial publishing deal a year or two ago. Turned it down. The company sent me a contract. I looked it over. Hmmmm…
Called the company back. Asked for some clarifications on some points in the contract. Never heard back from them. The deal died.

This was a very respected company. You may have even heard of it.

They just assumed I must be just like all the other people they represent- hungry and desperate and willing to sign anything.

They wanted to own me, regardless of how good a job they did.

That’s the thing about some big publishers. They want 110% from you, but they don’t offer to do likewise in return. To them, the artist is just one more noodle in a big bowl of pasta.

Their business model is to basically throw the pasta against the wall, and see which one sticks. The ones that fall to the floor are just forgotten.

Publishers are just middlemen. That’s all. If artists could remember that more often, they’d save themselves a lot of aggravation.

Anyway, yeah, I can see gapingvoid being a ‘product’ one day. Books, T-shirts and whatnot. I think it could make a lot of money, if handled correctly. But I’m not afraid to walk away if I think the person offering it is full of hot air. I’ve already got my groove etc. Not to mention another career that’s doing quite well, thank you.

Please do read the linked post in its entirety, and also cruise around the blog; tons of great information, such as this fantastic line about marketing wine (a theme that I keep coming back to, as it seems to relate so closely to marketing music):

“…stop thinking so much about the product- the grapes, the vineyards, the terroir, the hummingbirds gathering nectar in the early morning sun yak yak yak. Instead, I find it far more useful to be interested in the actual people drinking it. Who are they? What do they need? What’s their schtick? What works for them?” [my emphasis]

Gaping Void, definitely one for the RSS

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