Seth Godin Inspires Again

I wrote in an earlier blog that everyone should regularly read the blog of one marketing guru -- I follow Seth Godin's religiously. One of his recent posts ‘Random Rules for Ideas Worth Spreading' hit a few chords for me relative to topics I'm often discussing with early-stage companies.

• "You can name your idea anything you like, but a Google-friendly name is always better than one that isn't."
  • I think this is particularly relevant, as is most of his advice, for people working on consumer ideas or businesses. That said, if you are working to rebrand or rename your company, considering the implications of search for your brand is often overlooked but increasingly critical. Criteria for a brand name: clear (or can become clear, depending on your budget) to your target audience, punchiness and memorability, and helps in organic search.
• "Figure out how long your idea will take to spread, and multiply by 4."
  • This seems like a good benchmark, especially as my gut reaction was "no way, 4x as long?" That's probably why delays tend to be such bad surprises. I would much rather have to deal with the challenges of too much momentum, more quickly than planned. That might actually be fun.
• "Seek out apostles, not partners. People who benefit from spreading your idea, not people who need to own it."
  • Along these lines, I was talking a few weeks ago with JumpStart Venture Partner Ted Frank about finding customers whose own profit, or sales strategy, or value proposition is made better with your product. If you are trying to get your channel to sell something that inherently won't help them accomplish their goals, it's much harder. Very obvious to write, harder to do, I realize.
• "Prefer dry, useful but dull ideas to consumer-friendly 'I would buy that' sort of things. A lot less competition and a lot more upside in the long run."
  • Loved this idea of "dry, useful but dull" ideas -- and that idea that these are, in fact, sexy businesses. A few of these to a consumer marketer like me: microprocessors, enterprise solution systems, clean energy technologies to sell to energy companies...     no big businesses there, right? Realizing this is a challenge. I wish mainstream media wanted to cover these technologies and innovations more, thinking about how to make them interesting for everyday consumers.
• "Surround yourself with encouraging voices and incisive critics. It's okay if they're not the same people. Ignore both camps on occasion."
  • Amen! We've had our own critics -- or should I say, challenging voices -- lately, if anyone has been reading them on Cleveland.com. In fact, we've had lots of people challenge our thinking throughout our history. Their points of view definitely make us better, as we listen to the questions and concerns, learn from their perspectives, and double-check our own thinking. This thought is also why our culture at JumpStart is about being both honest and fun (equal parts incisive and encouraging?).