Amazon just recently put out some numbers that shows e-books are putting up a good fight with the old fashioned print book, and may be going for the knockout? This past month alone Amazon sold 180 e-books for every 100 hardcover books. What was the tipping point?… the price structure. Since bringing the price point down to $189 sales have shot through the roof. As the iPad lowers their price, the Kindle will have to continue to lower there’s to remain competitive. For just a basic e-reader, setting the price right under the $100 mark will be smooth sailing – but that’s for another time.

How is this going to affect publishing?

Here’s the thing, I don’t see e-books affecting the publishing companies as much as most people think. Yes, of course, there will be whiteboard sessions in finding ways to strategically reposition themselves, but this happens all of the time anyways. This new form of absorbing ‘book’ content is relatively new for the average reader. People are excited about it and are racing to the checkout lines to get a hold of the latest and greatest.  I want to assume that those who purchase e-book’s don’t necessarily stop purchasing the printed book. Which brings me to my next point…

There’s enough room for both the digital and print platforms.

The e-reader is excellent for the busy body traveler who already has too many gadgets to carry – so they’ll slim there reading material down to just digital, catching up on all of there publications by a click of a button.

Then you have those who find extreme pleasure in the emotions that come along with the printed edition. The feel, the smell, the colors, absorbing the beautifully designed cover, brushing your fingers across the page all nestled up on the couch in front of a fire. Harnessing the book’s they grew up with or their children grew up with. The experiences, memories, and emotions that connect with the print book is just simply irreplaceable.

What about the music industry from CD’s to mp3 files, that didn’t turn out so hot?

What about it?… The book publishing channel does not fall into that category, it’s created their own identity. The CD is completely different in the sense to fully enjoy the content within that platform you had to put the CD into a CD player, so you weren’t actually holding it, or smelling it, or touching it while absorbing the content. With the print book, from cover to cover, you are emotionally and physically absorbing that content, the book itself, along with the content, is always present.The emotion that’s connecting with the print book isn’t comparable to that of a CD.

Mashable did a poll this week that backs up my thinking fairly well. They’ve found, through their readers, that the printed book was in favor over the e-book by roughly 19%. What does this mean considering the DNA that makes up Mashable’s core audience (social media, tech savvy, geeky gadget lovers: fore the mos part). There’s something of value here and it may fall within the lines of the level of difficulty to replace that physical connected emotion that comes with reading a print book.

Not to mention, how do you go to book signings with an e-reader?

So, is there room for both an e-reader and the hardcover on your bookshelf? And if you purchase an e-reader, will that keep you from purchasing other print books?

During a jog this morning I was listening to a podcast series by ‘The Marketing Guy’, Jay Ehret – called the “Marketers Roundtable”. They brushed on this topic a bit and it lead me to this post. My thoughts…

There has been a lot of talk about who actually controls you brand, especially with social media in the realm; folks have been leaning towards the acceptance of your customers controlling your brand, because you really can’t control it anyways.

I think there is a little give and take on this.

You can’t totally allow the consumer to dictate or define what your brand stands for. Not all customers see your brand like everyone else does. They create their own use and how they see you individually. People will always talk about your brand, whether it’s good or bad. This doesn’t control your brand, its merley dialogue. Where the control, or brand representation, comes in is how you respond to those messages. Your actions, your demeanor, your attitude is what dictates your brand. It’s a personality, it’s how you live and breathe.

Your brand is going to be hated, loved, and felt somewhere in the middle. By altering it, one way or the other,  to gain acceptance by those who don’t accept your brand, it’s most likely going to disrupt your loyal customer base. Just like human relationships, not everyone is attracted to everyone. They usually gravitate towards a certain personality. It’s up to the brand to hone in on the loyal customer base to please them and flourish that relationship, others will proceed, you just need to establish a loyal foundation.

A brand comes from the inside out, you the organization controls your brand.

Don’t be influenced to do otherwise. If you do this, you’re altering your personality to ‘please’ everyone, thus resulting in an ‘artifical’ relationship. You’re basically putting on a good face.

For instance, back to the human interaction (relationship), when two people are about to enter their marriage life as one they do so because they were gravitated towards eachother because of who they are, to both the good and the bad. In this sense, the good by far outweighs the bad, therefore a few mishaps is ‘life’.

We don’t enter this stage of our life with the mindset of thinking that there is potential in this person, so what the heck, - ”I can just create or mold my significant other into the person I’ve always imagined I’d be with”. This doesn’t work, it may work for a while, but the controled partner will soon reach it’s boiling point and will have had enough. They’re not being themselves and they’ve lost touch of who they really are - it’s a fictitious relationship.

So, to end, your brand’s relationship with the customer, in a sense, mimics that of a human relationship.

It really can’t be molded by your consumer. They must be loyal to your brand because of what your brand stands for – they must gravitate towards it naturally. This, of course, is done with the assistance of marketing and advertising. If your brand is continuously changing to please everyone, you send mix messages and alleviate all loyalty. You can’t trust or be loyal to something that is constantly changing.  Products and services are always going to change, but your brands message must remain constant.

What’s your take? Who is in control of your brand?

Would love to hear your insight in the comments below.

Augmented Reality has been around for some time now but really created a hype in 2009, but I think in 2010 the kinks will be ironed out and it’s going to go from hype to implementation. By implementation I mean small businesses really utilizing this tool for mobile users and local search.

Augmented Reality (AR) has different interpretations but for the most part it’s taking reality, seen through a camera (mobile), and adding a computer driven layer that includes data and imagery by using the phone’s location-based services, and compass.

The future is now…

With the revolutionized geo location software capabilities already in play on our mobile devices and now augmenting reality with those same devices, makes the “futuristic” AR the next BIG thing for 2010.

For instance, you’re walking down Michigan Ave. and you’re in search of restaurants, whip out your smartphone and point your camera down the street. Not only do nearby restaurants start to appear, but by clicking on a particular restaurant their specials at that very moment appear, menu items, business information, ratings and reviews by other consumers, the latest tweets, etc. The app searches the internet for all relevant information on the restaurant so you can choose the best dining experience based on the data that’s drawn.

This is not only powerful for restaurants, but any small business; dry cleaners, carpet cleaners, auto repair, etc.

A lot of the AR apps available now are more directed towards tourism. For instance, one is viewing a historical building and wants to know a little background on it, just point your phone at the stunning architecture and tons of relevant information is suddenly at your fingertips; Wikipedia entries, tweets, blog posts, news articles, etc. Become knowledgeable of your surroundings instantly.

Smartphone and Touchscreen phone usage is on the rise and quickly…

These types of capabilities on smartphones is going to be around for the long haul. The usage of smartphones has skyrocketed in the last couple of years. ComScore, in November, released a study showing that in August of 2008 Touchscreen phone usage was at 9.2 million users (with a 153% change of increase) to 23.8 million users in August 2009. Smartphone usage in August 2008 was at a whopping 20.7 million users (with a 63% change in increase) to 33.7 million users in August 2009.

Below are a few examples of AR apps found on BusinessWeek’s Best iPhone AR apps for Business post:

Yelp
- The new Monocle feature is activated by pointing your phone at a building and it then compiles data driven from Yelp.com.

Screenshot below provided by Rachael King

Urbanspoon

- This application is based on ratings and reviews for restaurants. Point your phone at a particular restaurant, center it in the cross hairs of your scope, click on the restaurants name and you’ll be able to view the most recent ratings and reviews compiled from various sources.

Screenshot below provided by Rachael King

New York Nearest Subway

- This app allows you to look through your phone’s camera to locate the nearest subway.

Screenshot below provided by Acrossair

Augmented Reality is quite fascinating and it’s going to be interesting to see more players get involved and also how the small business community is going to tap into this.

Have you used any of the AR apps? What were your thoughts?

Marketing is getting people who have a specific need or problem to know, like, and trust you.

This is the definition John Jantsch uses for small business marketing. John is the author of  “Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide“. This is the type of book where you read it once and ideas flow, then you read it again filling in your own marketing strategy. It really gets you excited about communicating your business.

Everyone is in the marketing business.

John refers to this statement over and over again. Regardless of your product or service, your in the marketing business. Small business owners get overwhelmed in even a simple thought of implementing any kind of marketing on top of running their day-to-day business operations. If you, as a business owner, use just one core ingredient to start out with your  plan, your business will reap benefits. But, the outcome lies in being consistent and true to that one ingredient. When your ready, grab some more duct tape and put its sticky system to use.

Before you can implement anything there are two elements that must be answered:

1.) Identify your ideal client.

What does your most loyal customer look like?

2.) You don’t sell goods and services, you sell solutions to problems.

What are you really selling? (click here for further thoughts)

After some soul-searching and really understanding who your client is and what they’re really purchasing, this lays down a solid foundation to build a successful campaign.

John really emphasizes on creating a group of extremely loyal customers (influencers), and then utilizing his referral system. This group of influencers can take your profits from a flat line to a steady upward slope.

Not only did I read this book with  a mindset of marketing a small business, I also read it in terms of marketing my own personal brand. I think there are a lot of relevant elements in doing so… I want to dig a little deeper into this thought and will post something soon.

This book definitely needs to be in the hands of anyone doing any kind of business. It’s a thought-provoking read in the way you view your own business image and how you can get your customers to see it the same way, if not better. The short review tips at the end of each chapter are excellent refreshers and the examples are idea generators.

Is this a two thumbs up read? If you’ve read it, let me know what you thought?

Photo courtesy of mrkittycatguy

This weekend I started reading “Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide” by John Jantsch (amazon link). He also has a very informative blog and podcast.

I am currently a little over half way through and right off the bat, 30 pages in, he poses a question that I couldn’t get out of my mind. I stopped, pondered and grabbed an old fashion pen and paper and started writing.

This question is an important aspect in forming a solid marketing plan and doing any type of loyal business. The way you answer is even more crucial.

What are you really selling?

Answering this question correctly is the first step in setting your business apart from your competition. It’s what encourages repeat business and referrals. It’s what creates a trusting and well-respected relationship between seller and buyer.

Most will answer this question with some kind of product or service, some kind of physicality. But that’s not the case at all. As a business owner you need to dig deep and do some soul-searching in what it really is that consumers are purchasing from you.

As a Realtor, for example, your answer shouldn’t be just homes. What you are really selling are memories, neighborhoods, sense of security, pride, new chapters, new beginnings, 4th of July barbecues on the back deck, snow forts in the front yard, etc.

Once you are able to communicate to the buyers what they’re really buying (and disclosing what’s in it for them) then your service becomes unique.

Tom Peters quotes the Harley Davidson executive who said: “What we sell is the ability for a 43-year-old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns and have people be afraid of him.” They don’t sell motorcycles.

So, what are you really selling?

The direct/targeted advertising made my browsing experience create a whole new intimate connection with both UNI and SI.

With SI’s national presence the ad drew me in to feel a sense of connectedness. I was extremely shocked to see this ad, the ad itself is nothing to hype about but the logistics of the full page placement is very powerful. I am not certain how long they have been doing this or if it indeed was a national ad placement, though I doubt it. This type of targeted placement is what the industry needs in a time where content is moving all online. This could definitely buy the magazine and (national) newspaper industry some more time before the unthinkable occurs.

Am I a little late to notice this concept or is this relatively new? Or was this ad placed in all issues?