8 Things

Justin Hartman has just tagged me in this little blog tag game of 8 things you didn’t know about me. Well, even though I don't usually get personal here, I thought I would give this a go. After all, what's the point if you can't have a little bit of fun too. So here are the 8 things you didn't already know about me:

1. I have three names [with the surname being the fourth]. Its pretty cool most of the time, except when you get a high score in games and you only get space for three initials. In cases like this, I just resort to “DAZ”.

2. Apparently Paul Kruger is my great great great great great uncle [that’s five greats]. I’ve never confirmed it, but that’s the old family story.

3, I have only ever broken two bones in my body – two teeth, when they hit the ground before I did. Either the rest of me is very resilient, or I haven’t climbed enough trees in my time.

4. I first dunked a basketball when I was 15 and about 6 foot tall. This is my only consolation [and my primary retort] to the horrible statement “White men can’t jump”.

5. We moved house three times in the past three years. Ironically, we’ve ended up in the house we started off in. Long story.

6. I’m one of “those people” that travel from Pretoria to Midrand/Johannesburg every day. I choose to take the back roads rather than spending time on the biggest parking lot in the southern hemisphere. Its amazing how much you can do in a car when you’re not actually going anywhere.

7. I taught myself to play piano, to programme [mainly basic and turbo pascal - back in the day], to do magic, to make balloon animals and to swim. Needless to say, I can do all these things, just not very well.

8. My father is British, meaning that I could leave SA tomorrow if I really wanted to. However, I believe we’ve been put here for a reason, so I’m not going to be running away anytime soon if I have anything to do with it.

It seems I need to tag 8 more people with this, so folks below, consider yourselves officially tagged:

Charl Norman
Eric Edelstein
Feistyfemale
Grant Sidwell
Jason Bagley
Marc Forrest
Max Kaizen
Tyler Reed

KYC III – are companies with split personalities the future of marketing?

I believe that the next wave of personalised marketing is coming, where the main ingredient, put simply is KYC [Know Your Client] and the consistency of the packaging really doesn’t matter as long as you package each message in the right way for the individual it is being targeted at.

Think of advertising sms’s – what an infringement of personal space! I dislike them immensely, not necessarily for the fact that they’re useless [most are, but some aren’t], but because I know that about 100,000 other people probably received the same sms at the same time, and that the sender doesn’t care whether I got the message or not, they just care whether 100,001 people got the message or not – and they play the odds from there. Imagine a company sending you an sms in your own spoken language, addressed to you and in a tone and pitch that communicates to you, just like your best friend would.

Seth Godin said this in his blog recently – “The more people you reach the more likely it is you’re reaching the wrong people”, and this in itself is very true. Without detracting from this statement, I would add that the more people you communicate with, the more difficult [and important] it becomes to communicate with them personally.

I believe that companies need different ways to speak to different types of customers. And for some companies, this might mean having three or four different marketing campaigns running at the same time. They would need to be carefully targeted, being sure not to overlap them and dilute the impact [as well as confuse the customers]. Let me put it this way - you can speak to a white teenager, an asian 20-something, a black middle-class manager and a retired foreign professional at the same time about the same thing [assuming they would all utilise your product/service/solution]. But you can’t speak to them the same way.

You might say that this will become too complex and expensive, and I would agree with you if we approach it in a traditional way. That’s why we need to look at this problem in new, different ways… it will happen, of that I’m sure. And the prize will go to those who solve the problem soonest, because they will be able to communicate far more effectively to a much larger audience than you or I can imagine.

You’ll also increasingly find companies that totally revolutionise their entire beings, having several different names, logos and ways of communicating just to show their customers that they do understand them and they do care. Sounds a bit crazy, but some car manufacturers have already done this to a certain degree [think Toyota – Lexus], as have some retailers [Pick n Pay – Boardmans] and product manufacturers .

The old saying goes “It doesn’t matter what you say, but how you say it”. I disagree with the first bit. There is great value to be obtained from finding the right way to say the right thing to the right person, and all three of these are key, not just how you say it.

KYC II – say what?

Carrying on from where I last left off, once we’re sure that we know who our client really is, I would ask what we’re actually trying to achieve in our marketing efforts.

If marketing equals communication, and we are constantly trying to market and sell our products or services or solutions to our clients, the main question then becomes “What are we communicating?” As a customer, what I want to know about is the essence of the company – why does it really exist and how do I know that you really care about me [because if I understand these reasons, I am far more likely to believe that your product/service/solution is the best one for me].

Does this then mean that it doesn’t matter how we communicate, as long as what we communicate is right? I’m inclined to think that this is increasingly true, and I’m also inclined to believe that this has always been the case – it is not just something that happened overnight when we entered the new millennium.

So if this is true, and I’m assuming it is, why do most companies talk the same language to everyone they try to reach? I’m not talking about English versus Chinese here – I mean personal communication that speaks to individuals rather than to population groups or target markets.

Here’s another personal example which is relevant here – for whatever reason, I am a Cell C client. One thing Cell C has done very well is market itself to a very specific population group. Sadly [for me more than for them], I don’t fall into their target market [or at least what I perceive their target market to be]. So despite cool terms like “juice”, “woza weekend” and “hola 7”, and despite the fact that they pay a lot of attention to branding and communication, I feel excluded, and for these reasons, as with ABSA, when they try to communicate with me, I do an Eskom and just switch off.

My point here is not to attack existing marketing efforts of established companies, but instead I have to wonder how we have ended up in this place, where large companies with great products cannot make a client feel comfortable. This wondering leads me to the logical conclusion that there must be more than this.

To carry on from the earlier point then, if its more about what we communicate than how we communicate, will we soon find companies communicating to all their different target markets in different ways? Or would a company doing this just be perceived as contradictory, turning its different customer groups on each other and the company itself in the process?

The reality is that you can’t please all the people all the time, but in an environment where competition is increasing at heart-racing speed every day, getting through to each person is becoming increasingly critical to survival.

Doing it? Ah, well that’s another matter entirely.

To be concluded...

KYC I – they love me, they love me not

Banks are not the most creative environments to work in, but they have one fantastic concept – KYC, or Know Your Client. Sadly, thanks to insatiable legal requirements, they have totally lost the plot and want to know all the wrong things. Well, the right things from a legal point of view, but the wrong things from a business point of view.

Here’s a personal example - ABSA [yes, I’m picking on ABSA and banks in general here, but only because the example is a good illustration of what I’m trying to get across]. I have had a bank account with ABSA since I was about seven years old [in the days when it was still called Volkskas]. That’s a long time [I won’t say how many years], plenty of time to collect information, ask questions and generally get to know your client. To me, though, it feels like they know as much about me now as they did then.

They know my address but they don’t care where I live. They know what language I speak but they don’t care what my language preference is. They know my birthdate but they don’t care how old I am. They know that I’ve studied but they don’t care about what I do. They know all these things and more, but they don’t really care about who I am.

The most frustratingly obvious example of this is when I walk up to an ATM [even an ABSA one], insert my bank card and then get asked to select a language. Once, fine. Twice, maybe. But every single time, after being a client for too many years?

How come business seems to be going backwards, despite the many tools at our fingertips? Technology is a great tool and enabler, but it borders on totally obliterating personal relationships from many aspects of life. Case in point - ABSA have a fairly good banking website where you can enter your personal information and keep it up to date. A good thing in itself, and it should be convenient too, but isn’t this just a nice way of saying “We don’t care enough to find out, so either you come to us and tell us or we just won’t bother”? I mean, really, it’s not so difficult. I’m male, white, English, over 20… those are just the basics. And if this is how I perceive they feel about me, guess what happens inside my mind every single time they try to communicate with me?

How can you build a good business without selling something?
How can you sell something without having a product or service to provide?
How can you provide a service or product without a real need?
How can you identify a real need without finding a potential client?
How can you find a potential client without understanding them first?

Do you really care? As a business, your clients’ loyalty to you is only as strong as you allow it to be, and if you don’t care, chances are very good that they won’t either.

To be continued...

7 reasons why you should want to blog [and you really want to even though you won't admit it]

Stefano Sessa and Nic Haralambous have recently taken opposite sides in the debate about whether it is worthwhile blogging or not. Although each has made good points, they are currently tied at 7 each, so here is my attempt at tipping the scales.

If you, the reader, are uncertain about whether or not to start a blog, here are 7 reasons which may just convince you to take the plunge:

1. You have instant justification for owning [yourname].com. No questions asked.
2. You get to be a writer, designer, artist, developer, and specialist all in one. And it doesn't matter what anyone else says either.
3. You get to proof to everyone how well you kan spel, and how wonderfill your grammar are.
4. You get exposed to new languages and get to meet new foreign friends [like Camiseta, who thoughtfully left a comment on one of my posts here. Now if only I could understand it...]
5. You get to supplement your income [I don't know what I would do without my Adsense cheques]
6. You have a valid reason to add yet another facebook application to your profile - Flog Blog [and you can join the throng of people who blog about facebook. Yay]
7. You don't need a licence to drive a blog [yet. China is possibly the one sad exception]

So, if that doesn't seal the deal, I don't know what will.

Hopefully you've realised by now I'm just having a bit of fun here. In all seriousness, Nic and Stefano's posts are good illustrations of the fact that blogging is a completely personal choice. Fun, yes [mostly]. Easy, no [I might already have stopped if not for the encouragement of a special person]. But definitely a personal choice, made for personal reasons.

Now my only question is - who will be brave enough to write the next post in this "7 reasons why . . . blog" thread? Perhaps something like "7 reasons why my boss should be paying me to blog" or "7 reasons why cows can't blog"?

Here are links to the two previous posts in this unofficial thread:

• Stefano Sessa - "7 reasons why I don't blog"
• Nic Haralambous - "7 reasons why I DO blog"

A time for breaking down?

“For everything there is a season… a time to break down, and a time to build up”

I have found myself being caught up in focusing on creativity and creating things – my mindset telling me that to do something good, you must create something amazing. Or at least build something up by adding to it creatively.

Now, I look at the extract above and believe that this is a reminder to myself, and possibly others, that although this is often the right approach to life’s opportunities in many circumstances, it is not the full story.

There are times where we need to break things down before we can go forward and build properly. Think of a house being built on poor foundations… that house will never stand the test of time regardless of how well it is has been built or which materials have been used, since it is only as strong as the foundation it is built on.

One person I greatly respect often quotes CS Lewis, who said something along similar lines: “We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.”

I have never advocated breaking down, simply because most people I come across believe in a destructive breaking down, regardless of what it is being broken down. Breaking down is also generally a painful and sometimes devastating experience with consequences that need to be dealt with and pushed through. However, in this context, breaking down becomes a positive and progressive act, something moving us toward our goal rather than away from it.

We all face circumstances at times where we sit with poor foundations in some part of our life. Now, before you go ahead and build your house, may I challenge you to carefully assess those foundations, if necessary, break them down [taking care not to be reckless] and rebuild them strongly before continuing. In the short-term, this won’t be easy, and many around you may label you insane for what you are doing – as you will be perceived to be going backwards. Your reward will be in the long-term, where your house will stand stronger and longer than they [or you] could ever imagine.

This is certainly one of the challenges I take forward into the coming year. Should you take it up as well, I trust that you and I will be able to build stronger than ever before.

South Africa – will the last one out please turn off the lights

This is definitely not the first thing I imagined I would be writing here in 2008, and really its just a slight glimpse of the negativity I’ve seen and heard over the past month. Sadly and ironically, with Eskom going at its current rate, you could ask whether there would even be lights to turn off.

I know that, for some, there is a right time and there are right reasons to leave SA, and I would be the first to support someone doing so on this basis. But running just to get away? Doesn't make sense to me.

My guest post on SA Rocks generated the anticipated backlash from disgruntled citizens. Thankfully there were some good points raised inbetween the droning and moaning, the most interesting to me being the fact that many of those who are currently staying here and have a large role to play in the future of building this country have a culture of taking rather than a culture of building. In addition to this, during this time I also happened to come across a large number of people who are less then enthralled by SA’s current leadership, policies, status and [insert your own relevant noun here].

Is all of this negativity warranted? It could be, and there is evidence of these things they describe around us. But again, its about choice – about choosing to ‘see’ something that others probably don’t see. That’s what visionaries are – people who change nations and the future because they can see something that other people don’t see. Let’s face it, when things are going well, its easy to be positive, and when they’re going badly, its very easy to be negative. That’s why there are so many negative people around in SA now – they’re taking the easy way out, choosing not to see or believe for something more.

So negative attitudes versus positive attitudes here have become a bit of a quantity versus quality debate – the sheer volume of negative people trying to outweigh the faith and belief of the positive people.

If we are to build this nation well, we all need to be a part of it, and it's easy to believe that as an individual, I can't make a difference - but I beg to differ! Practically, how can I make a difference? Here are some quick thoughts on a few of the more important elements:

• Believe. Believe you can make a difference. Believe you're here for a reason. Either you believe or you don't, there's no middle road here.
• Attitude. Choose the right attitude, not just for the new year, but for your whole stay here on planet Earth.
• Be who you are. You are unique, and you've been put exactly where you are to do something absolutely amazing. But you can't do what you're supposed to if you're trying to be someone else.
• Invest. I'm not talking about the JSE here. Invest your money in others. Invest your time in others. Invest your belief in others.
• Be generous. When's the last time you gave someone something expecting nothing in return? Perhaps gave something to someone anonymously. Often, giving requires sacrificing something... neither one is fun, but the value you create is always exponentially more than what you give [if it is given with the right heart].
• Encourage. This is how you invest your belief in others. It's so much easier to try your best when someone is cheering you from the sidelines. And how awesome is it to watch someone achieve more than they ever dreamed of... and to be a part of that?

I know that these are difficult to do... that's why I say that being negative is the easy way out. But to me they are the building blocks for, well... building well.

Thankfully I know quite a few of the positive visionaries, and their inspiration and input has been invaluable. They are great people who I am privileged to know, and I would be honoured to work with them in changing this nation. The other important factor that makes a difference – faith. Faith that things do happen for a reason [whether good or bad]. Faith that we are here for a reason. Faith that whatever happens, it is only temporary, for we are only here on Earth briefly – it’s what we take into eternity that really counts!

So to all those who want to stay and build, I say “I’ll stand with you and believe!” And to all those whose greatest aspiration in life is to leave SA, there's nothing more I can say to you, so please don't bring your negative snipes without putting something constructive with it, because I'm just not interested.