Adam Williams

Advice for marketers and small business owners

Marketing

Why Borders failed, a digital strategy and what it means to small bookstores

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Borders, established 40 years ago in Michigan, just shut its doors. To be honest, I’ll miss it. Despite the “big box” feel, I often found myself lost wandering the aisles wishing I could buy everything. In the wake of Borders’ demise, let’s take a moment and reflect on what happened. Some of the reasons that I’ve read include:

  • Huge inventory in each store and large lease spaces
  • Bet on CDs and DVDs (when everyone else was going digital)
  • Did not develop an eReader
  • Dirty bathrooms
  • High prices
  • Handed over the website to Amazon
  • We are supplier (and therefore brand) agnostic

I’m going to touch on the last two specifically.

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Marketing

Developing a Personal Brand: Robert Redford and the Sundance Kid

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What’s in a name? Apparently everything was in the name when Robert Redford took a starring role in the 1969 classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. As a result of his role as the Sundance Kid, Redford has branded his ventures the Sundance Ski Resort, Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute, Sundance Cinemas, Sundance Catalog, and the Sundance Channel.

That’s pretty amazing. Redford transformed this singular event in his life into an internationally recognized and respected brand. The Sundance brand isn’t just about a name though. Why did Redford buy a ski resort? Because he’s an environmentalist. Why did he found the Sundance Film Festival and Sundance Institute? Because he believes in the value of independent films. And why the name Sundance? Because it was an important part of his acting career.

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Marketing

Daily deal sites teach your customers to undervalue your business

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One thing that I’ve learned from Living Social and Groupon is that my wife shouldn’t pay more than $99 for laser hair removal. Typically, it costs $600-$800 per area. However, I usually see a $99 deal once or twice a month. So we never expect to pay more than $99 as long as Groupon is still in business. For us, the value of laser hair removal has been permanently reduced.

The same problem occurs for a lot of businesses. Being featured at 50% off teaches customers that the reduced price is what they should expect to pay. I think that’s one reason you see the same companies offering deals month after month. They have to because that’s what consumers now expect to pay.

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Marketing

Stop using QR codes until you learn to optimize for mobile

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I received a magazine in the mail with an advertisement on the back cover that had both a URL and QR code as a call to action. The URL (shown above) prompted the reader to find additional information about available research by visiting www.companyname.com/research. However, when I visited that URL, I simply landed on the home page. This is a complete failure for two reasons.

  1. The home page had nothing to do with the advert or the offer to find additional research.
  2. The company missed the opportunity to embed tracking code into the URL that would record how many people visited the URL having seen the ad.

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Leadership

Why I won’t be defined by my MBA admissions essays

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I have found writing my MBA school admittance essays to be very daunting for one simple reason – it feels like my life and achievements are on trial. It feels as if a large magnifying glass is scrutinizing my very existence and whether or not it’s been worthwhile.

So I’ve been timid about actually writing the essays for fear that my life isn’t up to par. That my accomplishments will pale in comparison to the other guy applying next to me. It’s a suffocating sensation.

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Customer Service

HOW TO: Build a Voice of Customer program for small businesses

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If you can sign-up for a free account with SurveyGizmo.com or SurveyMonkey.com, then you can create a simple yet customer service enhancing voice of customer program.

Defining a Voice of Customer (VOC) program

Simply put, a VOC program is surveying your customers on a regular basis to find out just what they think of your brand. The key is to gather data that is quantifiable so you can easily track how you are doing over time.

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Insights

Avoiding the “Field of Dreams” trap when launching a new product or service

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Launching a product or service believing that users will simply open their wallets and hand you money just because it exists is what I call the Field of Dreams trap. It’s believing that if you build it, they will magically come.

So why do otherwise intelligent people make this mistake? Usually for one of two reasons.

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