You Get What You Pay For

By Kenneth Lim on November 18, 2007

When selecting a product or a service, price tends to play an important role. Except price sometimes plays an important role for largely the wrong reasons. Price is equated with cost and not with value. Lower prices mean lower costs, but (long-term) benefits, such as value (in quality and/or speed) and a good relationship, might be overseen.

I came across an interesting case recently where a client more or less demanded a service agency to invoice less—despite delivering all the services as described. Not only is this morally unfair, it’s disrespectful.

You get what you pay for. You pay for what you get. Don’t destroy a potentially solid long-term relationship by making the wrong one-time decision. Go for the best that your organization can get, the price will justify itself.

As David Schwartz alluded to in his book “The Magic of Thinking Big” (Amazon link): Go first class, you can’t afford not to.

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Don’t Think Outside The Box

By Kenneth Lim on October 14, 2007

I hate the term “think outside the box”. I cringe when people use the term and throw up in my mouth when people use the term to describe themselves.

Maybe I don’t understand it, but what exactly is “the box”? The problem with the phrase is that it has a different meaning for everyone because the reference for “the box” is different for everyone. Sure, there could be unwritten parameters that would describe what is conventional and what would be “outside the box” within a certain context, but even these can be arbitrary. Instead of determining whether something is inside or outside, adjust the parameters by which you judge.

Don’t think outside the box. Make your box bigger.

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The Future Of Press Releases

By Kenneth Lim on September 16, 2007

I’ve recently been given a book which describes how to write a press release. I have to admit that—until now—I never paid much attention to press releases. Maybe ignorance was bliss, but I do feel grateful for realizing that most of them are basically full of crock.

This is roughly the basic layout for a press release:

  • First paragraph: Provides answers to the questions who, what, where and when
  • Second paragraph: Elaborates on the why and the how
  • Third paragraph: Adds more context/history to the press release subject
  • Fourth paragraph: Contains quotes from involved people
  • Fifth paragraph: Provides some additional (non) essential information

It’s all very elementary but the advent of a more consumer-powered media culture makes the press release seem old-fashioned. While press releases are sent to the media, the media aren’t the target audience. The consumers are and the media are only a channel.

There is a case to be made for renaming “press releases” to “community releases” that spark both consumer (community) involvement and interactivity. People will have questions about your press release. Why not open up a channel towards them and start the dialogue with them? This might sound like more work, but think of it this way: you can focus a large part of the conversation to a single point, a single point that you control.

Empower your consumers to talk to you. Empower them to talk about you.

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Will Internet Kill The Video Star?

By Kenneth Lim on August 19, 2007

I’ve basically stopped watching TV for the last two years or so. Most of the TV time has been replaced by the Web. The Web has provided with more value than TV, both from as source of information and source of entertainment.

So is the Web supplanting television in the same way television replaced radio? In short, no. For the last few years, there has been a major convergence trend between all the multimedia channels. This convergence will continue and video will play a larger role on the Web.

New business models will be developed to monetize online video and videos will be used more frequently to attract visitors/fans or drive traffic.

Consider whether your company/brand/product/service can benefit from focusing more on video.

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The Redundant Human

By Kenneth Lim on July 15, 2007

Advancement in information and industrial technology has resulted in many new solutions that make human involvement unnecessary. Take travel websites for example. Websites like Expedia, Orbitz and—my personal favorite—Kayak are able to search the web for you to find the best deal for your next vacation.

Where does the good old travel agency come in? Nowhere, really. Some may have their own websites where they provide a similar search service, but the fact is that any human involvement can be cut to zero.

Of course there will still be people who prefer to visit a travel agency. Some travel agencies will continue to exist, but they only do so because they differentiate themselves by offering more than being able to find the best deal for a customer. They offer knowledge and expertise in a special area, like adventure travel, or specialize in a particular niche/audience.

Differentiate. Improve your skills and knowledge, if only to prevent being replaced by a machine.

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Exit Strategies

By Kenneth Lim on June 17, 2007

Things stop working. Your TV for instance. That’s when we move on and buy a new one. Similarly in business, products/services stop working. Not everyone can be a Coca Cola, living off the success of a single, unchanged concept for decades.

Products/services come to an end for a multitude of reasons. Most common ones include:

  • Consumers don’t buy them anymore leading to losses
  • Margins have been cut due to competition
  • Companies divesting in a certain product/service
  • Substitute products/services have entered the market

Whatever the reason for the end of a product’s lifecycle is, have you thought ahead? Do you have in mind what to do once that moment comes?

Some questions to bear in mind are when considering future options are:

  • What would you want to do? Put motivation behind the direction you’d like to take.
  • What would your customers want you to do? Think about your target audience, your value proposition and your business model.
  • What can you do? Choose a direction that emphasizes your strengths and competences.

Think ahead. Stay ahead.

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Think In Processes

By Kenneth Lim on May 13, 2007

The terms Business Process Reengineering, flowcharts and Microsoft Visio are enough to make most people throw up. In some cases, rightfully so, but there are useful purposes in charting your processes.

They give you an overview, either when you’re already in business or before you enter an initiative. Process diagrams give you an indication of how complex a certain series of activities is. Maybe something made sense during a meeting, but a diagram reveals how cumbersome that something is. Adjusting the process and implementing it will result in clarity and consistency.

Evaluate your processes. Look for shortcuts. Achieve results quicker.

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How An Economy Kills The Social Aspect

By Kenneth Lim on April 15, 2007

Last year, I wrote about altruism in online communities. Status and recognition were considered to be the currency in which community members were rewarded in exchange to their contributions.

But what if you had an actual economy? What if community members had access to an exchange to real or virtual currency?

As we’ve seen with virtual world Second Life, the presence of an economy has destroyed the concept of fair value and the social aspect of altruism. The result has been a community where the power lies with the rich and the rich protect their status by giving little and taking much. As a result, they impose a high barrier to entering the community’s elite and discourage the notion of sharing to those who enter the community later.

Play into your community members’ egos but don’t play into their potential greed.

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