How the World's Best Brands Create Desire for Their Products

How the World's Best Brands Create Desire for Their Products
You need to rethink the language you use to describe the kind of relationship you want to build with your customers.

1. Maintain an aura of mystery around your products.

Since desire is all about the unknown, companies should take steps to incorporate some sense of mystery around their brands and products. Ford says that the brands that are best at this, such as Apple and Google, are very transparent about what their company culture stands for.  But they figure out how to ways to keep people excited about new product launches and other events, by releasing as few details as possible before an event.

2. Mystery around how your company operates, on the other hand, is rarely a good thing.

If there's one area in which you should eliminate doubts and questions, it's in how your company operates and how it responds to criticism. 

Take Volkswagen for example, which came under fire in September for having cheated on environmental emissions tests. Volkswagen will now have to figure out a way to restore trust with its customers. If the company wants to create a sense of mystery in the future, it's going to have to prove that it isn't for nefarious purposes, Ford said. 

You never want to blindside customers. If you do, Perel said you must do three things to repair the relationship: admit the mistake, admit that you hurt the customer, and continue to acknowledge the betrayal as you try to repair the relationship.

3. Figure out what feeling you want associated with your brand.

Ford and Perel said that while luxury brands tend to get associated with a sense of desire more frequently, a high-cost product isn't a necessary part of the equation.

The key to inspiring desire is to identify what feeling you want customers to experience after they interact with your brand. That way, customers have something to look forward to with every new interaction, which maintains the sense of want that is a necessary part of desire. Consider, for example, how Uber does this.

"What they give you is a seamless, wonderful feeling of 'my ride just arrived,'" Perel said. A consistently convenient, easy experience can go a long way toward cultivating long-term loyalty. 

Thank you to Anna Hensel for writing this article.

How to Get Rich: 8 Steps to Make Your First Million Dollars

How to Get Rich: 8 Steps to Make Your First Million Dollars
What's the first step? Stop obsessing about money.

1. Stop obsessing about money.

While it sounds counterintuitive, maintaining a laser-like focus on how much you make distracts you from doing the things that truly contribute to building and growing wealth.

So shift your perspective. See money not as the primary goal but as a byproduct of doing the right things.

2. Start tracking how many people you help, even if in a very small way.

The most successful people I know -- both financially and in other ways -- are shockingly helpful. They're incredibly good at understanding other people and helping them achieve their goals. They know their success is ultimately based on the success of the people around them.

So they work hard to make other people successful: their employees, their customers, their vendors and suppliers... because they know, if they can do that, then their own success will surely follow.

And they will have built a business -- or a career -- they can be truly proud of.

3. Stop thinking about making a million dollars and start thinking about servinga million people.

When you only have a few customers and your goal is to make a lot of money, you're incented to find ways to wring every last dollar out of those customers.

But when you find a way to serve a million people, many other benefits follow. The effect of word of mouth is greatly magnified. The feedback you receive is exponentially greater-and so are your opportunities to improve your products and services. You get to hire more employees and benefit from their experience, their skills, and their overall awesomeness.

And in time, your business becomes something you never dreamed of-because your customers and your employees have taken you to places you couldn't even imagine.

Serve a million people -- and serve them incredibly well -- and the money will follow.

4. See making money as a way to make more things.

Generally speaking, there are two types of people.

One makes things because they want to make money; the more things they make, the more money they make. What they make doesn't really matter that much to them -- they'll make anything as long as it pays.

The other wants to make money because it allows them to make more things. They want to improve their products. They want to extend their lines. They want to create another book, another song, another movie. They love what they make and they see making money as a way to do even more of what they love. They dream of building a company that makes the best things possible... and making money is the way to fuel that dream and build that company they love.

While it is certainly possible to find that one product that everyone wants and grow rich by selling that product, most successful businesses evolve and grow and, as they make money, reinvest that money in a relentless pursuit of excellence.

5. Make it your goal to do one thing better than anyone.

Pick one thing you're already better at than most people. Just. One. Thing. Become maniacally focused at doing that one thing. Work. Train. Learn. Practice. Evaluate. Refine.

Be ruthlessly self-critical, not in a masochistic way but to ensure you continue to work to improve every aspect of that one thing.

Financially successful people do at least one thing better than just about everyone around them. (Of course it helps if you pick something to be great at that the world also values -- and will pay for.)

Excellence is its own reward, but excellence also commands higher pay, greater respect, greater feelings of self-worth, greater fulfillment, a greater sense of achievement... all of which make you rich in non-monetary terms.

Win-win.

6. Make a list of the world's ten best people at that one thing.

How did you pick those ten? How did you determine who was the best? How did you measure their success?

Use those criteria to track your own progress towards becoming the best.

If you're an author, it could be Amazon rankings. If you're a musician, it could be iTunes downloads. If you're a programmer, it could be the number of people that use your software. If you're a leader, it could be the number of people you train and develop who move on to bigger and better things. If you're an online retailer, it could be purchases per visitor, or on-time shipping, or conversion rate....

Don't just admire successful people. Take a close look at what makes them successful. Then use those criteria to help create your own measures of success. And then...

7. Consistently track your progress.

We tend to become what we measure, so track your progress at least once a week against your key measures.

Maybe you'll measure how many people you've helped. Maybe you'll measure how many customers you've served. Maybe you'll evaluate the key steps on your journey to becoming the world's best at one thing.

Maybe it's a combination of those things, and more.

8. Build routines that ensure you will make progress.

Never forget that achieving a goal is based on creating routines.

Say you want to write a 200-page book. That's your goal. Your system to achieve that goal could be to write four pages a day; that's your routine. Wishing and hoping won't get you to a finished manuscript, but sticking faithfully to your routine ensures you reach your goal.

Or say you want to land 100 new customers through inbound marketing. That's your goal; your routine is to create new content, new videos, new podcasts, new white papers, etc., on whatever schedule you set. Stick to that routine and meet your deadlines, and if your content is great, you will land those new customers.

Wishing and hoping won't get you there. Sticking faithfully to your routine will.

Set goals, create routines that support those goals, and then ruthlessly track your progress. Fix what doesn't work. Improve and repeat what does work. Refine and revise and adapt and work hard every day to be better than you were yesterday.

Soon you'll be good. Then you'll be great. And one day you'll be world-class.

And then, probably without even noticing, you'll also be a millionaire.

You know, if you like that sort of thing.

Thank you to Jeff Haden fro conducting this list.

5 Signs You're An Exceptional Employee

5 Signs You're An Exceptional Employee
The first one alone makes you both rare and outstanding.

1. You don't wait to be asked.

Instead of waiting to be told what to do, you take action. If you don't know exactly what to do, you do what you think is best and then take responsibility. You're proactive and willing to take risks. It's more important to you to contribute than to wait for step-by-step instructions.

2. You don't gossip.

Regardless of how you feel about your boss or coworkers, you keep your opinion to yourself at work. If you need to vent or process, you do so with people outside the office. If you have a real issue with someone at your job (including your manager), you address it with them directly. You don't gossip; you communicate.

3. You do what you say you will.

You send the email you said you'd send. You follow up with the client you said you'd run point on. You meet deadlines.

If you don't have the bandwidth for a project, you don't take it on. You have a strong sense of what you can do in what timeframe, and you stand by that. You're comfortable saying no because you know that leads to the bigger "yes" - integrity.

4. You give value.

When someone on your team does well, you tell them so. You're vocal in your support of both of coworkers and superiors, and genuinely excited when someone else succeeds. People want to work with you because they feel uplifted being around you. You're collaborative, not competitive.

5. You offer proposals, not suggestions.

Instead of just criticizing or brainstorming, you give concrete alternatives. You don't force your opinion, but rather offer well-researched proposals about what you think should be done. You have a sense of the overall scope of what a change would entail (beyond just your department) and how you can contribute. You're committed to overall success of your organization, not just your own advancement.

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Being exceptional at work isn't something you're born with - it's something you grow into. You begin by taking stock and then taking action.

It's never too late to start standing out.

Thank you to Melanie Curtin for conducting this list.

Want to Be the Next Uber, OpenTable, or Airbnb? Ask These 6 Questions

Want to Be the Next Uber, OpenTable, or Airbnb? Ask These 6 Questions
In their new book, two economists analyze what makes the strongest platform businesses tick.

1. What's the friction, how big is it, and who benefits from solving it?

A friction is the authors' term for the marketplace problem that your matchmaking technology or service would solve. For example, OpenTable solved the friction that existed between restaurants and diners. Prior to OpenTable, few would have said making a reservation was a low-hanging problem. Likewise, prior to Uber, few would have said getting a cab was a low-hanging problem. But in both cases, a technology came along whose efficiencies enticed two different groups to connect with each other in a newly streamlined and mutually beneficial way.

2. Does the platform design reduce this friction, balance the interests of participants on all sides, and do it better than other entrants?

The authors note that answer to this question is usually no. For example, they write, when YouTube came out, there were many entrants in the marketplace, hoping to cash in on the same general notion about marrying the Internet and video streaming. The point is, many founders saw the friction; but it was YouTube that had the best technology for reducing it and luring its initial batch of participants--consumers who wished to watch and share their own videos. 

3. How hard is the ignition problem, and do I have a solid plan for achieving critical mass?

By "ignition," the authors mean growing the population of one set of your customers. For example, OpenTable knew that a key first step was igniting reputable restaurants to participate, believing that there'd be a massive marketing benefit if the first adopters were the places in big cities where movers and shakers liked to dine. What was more, they had the common sense to recognize that if the destination restaurants adopted the platform, then their eager customers would have little choice but to do so--and the match would be made.  

For aspiring platform businesses, it's important to research--and realistically project--if your cost of customer acquisition will be low enough for you to reach critical mass without running out of cash. 

The cost can be very high. When OpenTable launched, it had trouble getting restaurants because--at the outset--it had few prospective diners or restaurants signed on. What was more, its initial approach didn't consider the realities of owning a restaurant in 1998. At that time, many restaurants didn't have computers or Internet connections. They also didn't have the available cash to outright purchase a table-management software system. So OpenTable adjusted in midstream and began charging a small installation fee and a monthly rental for the system. "They had to go in and subsidize the deployment of broadband to get Internet connections in the restaurants," says Evans. "They burned through tens of millions acquiring those restaurants. That cost was very high. But it was essential to getting the participants on board."

4. Do prices necessary for ignition and growth enable the platform to make money?

Your investors might be willing to pay exorbitantly for key participants if you can convince them that--ultimately--there'll be profits at the end of the rainbow. OpenTable burned through $1.1 million a month in 2000 and 2001. But it went public in 2009 with a market cap of $626 million on its first day. And it was sold to Priceline for $2.6 billion in 2014. The moral is this: You have to watch your cost of customer acquisition, but you also have to place it in the context of what your platform will ultimately be worth, if it ignites. 

5. How is my platform going to work with others in the broader ecosystem, does it face related risks, and has it dealt with them? 

For example, Apple and Google were both aware that the success of their smartphone operating systems would depend on partnerships with mobile carriers; so each company partnered accordingly. Likewise, before starting Apple Pay, Apple built relationships with the major credit card networks and merchant services providers. Apple realized that Apple Pay would only take off if Apple made it easy for consumers and banks to participate with the debit cards that were already in circulation.

6. Am I ready to modify my design and ignition strategy quickly in response to market reactions?  

OpenTable, for example, pivoted quickly when it realized it would be easier for restaurants to pay a small installation fee, followed by a monthly rental fee. Likewise, OpenTable shifted its marketing strategy when it realized the key to ignition was gaining critical mass at prestigious restaurants in a few large U.S. cities--San Francisco and Chicago--as opposed to growing piecemeal by focusing on all big city restaurants regardless of prestige. "They realized that lining up every McDonald's was not going to help them much," says Schmalensee.

Yes, pivoting quickly is important for any business. But for a platform company, it's especially crucial. You need to ignite and gain critical mass with at least one of the groups you're hoping to match with another--before you burn through all your cash.

Thank you to Ilan Mochari for writing this article.

Millennials: 7 Simple Tips to Dramatically Increase Their Engagement

Millennials: 7 Simple Tips to Dramatically Increase Their Engagement
Here are seven ways that you can boost Millennial Employee Engagement.

Make The Job About More Than Just Profits

92 percent of Millennials believe that business should be about more than just profits. We need to communicate a higher cause, highlighting how their work is benefiting people and the society, how it's helping to solve a problem. The more we can do this the more engaged they will become.

Connect With Them on Social Media

Millennials are the most connected generation, and over 70 percent having friended their manager and co-workers on social media. The better we can connect with them, make the feel included and connected to the company the more involved they will be. Too many bosses resist the request to connect, but when we refuse the connection, we reduce involvement which limits their commitment.

Create a Collaborative Working Environment

Many Millennials have grown up working on projects collectively and collaboratively, and this is a style of working that they understand and enjoy. Given that teamwork is an important aspect of building a high-performance organization, we should look to encourage and promote this style of working. 

Be Flexible About Working Hours

The days of Monday to Friday nine to five working weeks are long gone and in many jobs, the need for all employees to be working the same hours just isn't there anymore. Some companies, and managers, persist with this approach because it makes it easier for them.  

When we have flexible working hours it does need us to manage and lead differently, holding people accountable for outcomes rather than fixed attendance. It requires us to be more trusting too, which is also good for creating engagement as the more we show respect and trust for our teams the more they will show for us.

Allow Home Working Where possible

The same goes for onsite working too. In many jobs, the need for the teams to be in the office full-time is no longer there, especially for knowledge workers. Many companies I consult with see this as an issue, they'd like to have some flexibility in home working, but they don't want to give carte blanche to the employees. So rather than define a loose, flexible policy that accommodates some home working, which they see as possibly being open to abuse, it's easier to have a clear no home working policy.  

Start small, if possible let people work from home one or two days a month, define some core hours that everyone needs to be there in case of meetings. Set up the right tools to allow collaboration, and see how it goes.

Leverage Social Media 

Many companies look to ban social media in office hours, but given that most people have some for of social media access on the smartphones, this a stable door that is practically impossible to bolt. Instead, why not look to leverage social media, incorporate it, and benefit from it.  

Give feedback Regularly Don't Just Wait For Annual Performance Reviews

No one really likes annual performance reviews, yes they serve a purpose, but most people like to have on the spot feedback, and in today's always on, always connected the world the demand for that type of feedback is higher than ever. 

85 percent of Millennials say they would feel confident if they could have frequent conversations and feedback with their managers.  Building employee confidence is a great way to help get and keep them motivated and enthusiastic. Also, what gets recognized gets repeated which means building a culture of recognition is a great way to help improve performance.

We live in fast-paced, ever-changing world and if we want to keep our teams engaged and motivated we need to change and adapts our management styles and practices to engage with our teams. 

If you want to attract, retain and engage the best Millennial talent, then create a great working environment. One that incorporates flexible hours and working locations, that focuses on building collaborative and connected teams, that give regular feedback and can show it's not just about profits.  If you can do that then you will be able to get the best out of the majority of the working population.

What is your company doing to help engage Millennials? I'd love to hear from you.

Thank you to Gordon Tredgold for conducting this list.

6 Daily Habits That Will Make You Look Smarter and Powerful

6 Daily Habits That Will Make You Look Smarter and Powerful
Building your executive presence now will be a tremendous advantage to your career in the future

1. Look the part. Executives within your organization likely dress on a similar level of formality. Whether that's business attire or sweats, they set the norm for their circle of leadership peers. Noticing those trends and mirroring them in your own wardrobe is a starting place. Of course, bringing your own sense of style along is key.
2. Have an opinion. Leaders speak up on issues that matter to them when they have the opportunity. So should you. If you're concerned about thinking up something relevant or generally like to have more time to mull over points before forming an opinion, that's great but do a little research ahead of time on the topic so that you have some constructive and ready-made feedback to contribute.
3. When entering a room, take a moment before flying through the door and finding a seat to notice who's in the room. Pick the seat you want and take it, intentionally.
4. Ask great questions. Being known for asking great questions about how the issue at hand will impact customers, staff, suppliers, partners, etc. will not only help you form your opinion about key topics, you'll be noticed for having the interests of important stakeholders in mind.
5. Sit up straight with your feet firmly on the ground. Focus on projecting your voice to the furthest person in the room without shouting. Speaking too quietly for everyone to hear and having to be asked to speak up can be embarrassing. It also erodes others' sense of how confident you feel in your point. Our body language not only impacts what other people think, it impacts how confident we feel. Check out Amy Cuddy's TED Talk on power posing to learn more.
6. Avoid qualifying statements such as "I think...," "I'm sure you already thought of this but...," and "I don't know if this is where we're going with this but..."

If you have aspirations of earning a promotion within your organization, starting to build your executive presence now will be a tremendous advantage to you in the future.

Thank you to Robin Camarote for conducting these 6 steps.

7 Simple Steps to Expanding Overseas

7 Simple Steps to Expanding Overseas
You know there are great growth opportunities when you "go global." Here is a strategy for doing just that.

1. Educate yourself.

Familiarize yourself with the culture, the language, and the legal climate, no matter what size your company is. There's an urban legend  about Chevrolet executives scratching their heads because one of their cars, "Nova"( translated in Spanish to 'doesn't go') was selling poorly in Latin American countries. Go figure. Regardless of whether this happened or not, you never want to be the company that tried to win over customers and expand your business to a foreign market but got lost in translation. Understand the customers you are selling to and market towards them.

2. Check out the competition.  

Take a long, hard look at the market that you'll be selling in before deciding if a certain area is a good fit. In order to succeed in another country, your product will have to fulfil a need that is not currently being addressed by a local business. If your product is the proverbial 'better mousetrap' than what's available locally, it will need to be significantly better. In addition to being a new entrant into the local market, you may also have to overcome nationalistic tendencies that drive consumers to favor those products that are produced by domestic companies. Find out why and if it's worth your time to expand.

3. Determine the best way to get your product to the international market.

Once you've decided you want to expand in a certain area, you must determine how to get your product there. For example, you could export  directly to consumers overseas, or you could engage a distributor who already has connections in the market you're planning to penetrate. You could also contract with an exporter in the US, who will export for you,  or even  manufacture the product in the target country and sell it there. No one said it's impossible to open a new location in another country.

4. Find a partner you can trust.

If you are going to send your product overseas, as opposed to having a physical presence there, you may be better off finding an exporter or distributor who has done this before. If you know other business owners who have successfully exported, don't be afraid to approach them and ask for guidance. You'll need someone you're comfortable working with as well as someone who can help with the legal and finance side on a local level.  Do your homework and  trust your gut.

5. Get acquainted with local labor laws.

Provided you hire employees oversees, it's important to know the ins and out of local labor laws as they vary from place to place. Low wages may be attractive, but some countries require much more extensive benefits than we usually see in the US, including vacation and family leave. Decide whether the people who supervise your employees should also be local, or if you should send someone from the home office.

6. Forecast your foreign sales separately from your domestic revenues.

While you will need to fund your foreign expansion from US sales at the beginning, it's important to know how long it will take for your international operations to be profitable. This will help you to determine whether or not it makes sense to take your business global.

7. Get insured.

If you do end up opening a new location, or generating revenue from outside of the US,  it is important to make sure that you've disclosed the international nature of your business activities to business insurance provider.

Some small business insurance policies include both a geographical limit and a jurisdictional limit which help define what international activity is and isn't covered . Your geographical limit explains where your policy covers you to carry out work. Likewise, while your jurisdictional limit tells you where your policy covers potential claims brought against you. Remember, if you carry out work for a client outside the US you could face claims brought in a foreign court, even if you never physically leave the US yourself. Some contracts have a governing law and jurisdiction clause covering which courts will be responsible for governing any disputes.  It's always better to take the time to talk to your insurer upfront so you can be sure your activities are covered, than to find out you're not properly insured when a summons lands on your desk.

And, if you are uninsured, make sure to get covered so you can continue expanding and taking on risk to help your small business thrive.

Expanding into a foreign market requires due diligence in many areas. But if your business is successful in the US and you do your research, this may just be the smoking gun your business needs to jumpstart its growth spurt. 

Thank you to Russell Findlay for taking the time to compile this list.