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Behavior Streams

May 12, 2009

Marketing.fm

A rocky stream in Hawaii
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There are a ton of products and services out there that you really cannot “get” until you use them. The general value proposition is that you should just use it, then you will understand. This is an inventors dilemma as useful and time saving services are sometimes tough to explain. This is why the power of word of mouth is so much stronger from friends vs. an advertisement.

I remember telling my previous company about a free conference call service which was better, faster, and cheaper than the service we currently used. Everyone used a subscription service booking times, scheduling calls, and a shared number. This resulted in accidental overlap, failed meetings due to overbooking, and time wasted. I pitched a free conference service where numbers were unique, no scheduling was needed, and it was free. Nobody used it!

When I started using it in meetings, pitches, and client calls – my team members began to “get it” and it became part of our behavior stream. They started looking for this option with other account managers and when it wasn’t there, the efficiency gap was realized, and they requested it.

Soon everyone switched over from the old system, but not as a result of me trying to explain it – simply as a result of it being used and understood. There was simply no way for me to present my option as a strong enough value proposition until people got it for themselves.

User behavior is one of the hardest things to change and yet, I hear about people asking to change it all the time. By entering into the flow of current behavior, you have a much better chance of getting someone to try out your new service. Get into someones behavior stream, then show them how to save time, money, energy.

Breaking user behavior and asking someone to do it differently is a tough proposition, especially when things have been done that way for years. Entering a behavior stream and showing improvement can be a much more powerful way to empower users to understand your story for themselves, without you having to do any of the explaining.

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  • http://www.spencerfry.com/ spencerfry

    I completely agree that getting into someone's behavior stream is the most affective way to market. For us, we had the challenge early on (3 years ago) of convincing designers that they didn't need to design their own portfolio. Not an easy feat! We had to persuade them that it’s preferable to have a neutral backdrop so that your real work pops off the page (see: http://www.davegorum.com).

    It was definitely a challenge early on, but as long as you keep the entire process dead simple, you’ll gain early adopters — like you and the free conference service — that’ll then spread the word. One of the things that really works in our favor is that as artists see other talented people using Carbonmade, we’ll then gain their trust immediately. We get in their behavior stream visually if that makes sense. :)

  • http://www.spencerfry.com/ spencerfry

    I completely agree that getting into someone's behavior stream is the most affective way to market. For us, we had the challenge early on (3 years ago) of convincing designers that they didn't need to design their own portfolio. Not an easy feat! We had to persuade them that it’s preferable to have a neutral backdrop so that your real work pops off the page (see: http://www.davegorum.com).

    It was definitely a challenge early on, but as long as you keep the entire process dead simple, you’ll gain early adopters — like you and the free conference service — that’ll then spread the word. One of the things that really works in our favor is that we’ll gain the trust of new users immediately as they see other talented people using Carbonmade. We get in their behavior stream visually if that makes sense. :)

  • http://www.spencerfry.com/ Spencer Fry

    I completely agree that getting into someone's behavior stream is the most affective way to market. For us, we had the challenge early on (3 years ago) of convincing designers that they didn't need to design their own portfolio. Not an easy feat! We had to persuade them that it’s preferable to have a neutral backdrop so that your real work pops off the page (see: http://www.davegorum.com).

    It was definitely a challenge early on, but as long as you keep the entire process dead simple, you’ll gain early adopters — like you and the free conference service — that’ll then spread the word. One of the things that really works in our favor is that we’ll gain the trust of new users immediately as they see other talented people using Carbonmade. We get in their behavior stream visually if that makes sense. :)

  • http://www.frogblog.biz Fred H Schlegel

    And there is the true power of free trials and targeted beta – get folks on board who will use, share and recommend. You get authority and live demonstrations in real life situations.

  • http://www.frogblog.biz Fred H Schlegel

    And there is the true power of free trials and targeted beta – get folks on board who will use, share and recommend. You get authority and live demonstrations in real life situations.

  • http://www.frogblog.biz Fred H Schlegel

    And there is the true power of free trials and targeted beta – get folks on board who will use, share and recommend. You get authority and live demonstrations in real life situations.

  • http://www.spencerfry.com/ Spencer Fry

    I completely agree that getting into someone's behavior stream is the most affective way to market. For us, we had the challenge early on (3 years ago) of convincing designers that they didn't need to design their own portfolio. Not an easy feat! We had to persuade them that it’s preferable to have a neutral backdrop so that your real work pops off the page (see: http://www.davegorum.com).

    It was definitely a challenge early on, but as long as you keep the entire process dead simple, you’ll gain early adopters — like you and the free conference service — that’ll then spread the word. One of the things that really works in our favor is that we’ll gain the trust of new users immediately as they see other talented people using Carbonmade. We get in their behavior stream visually if that makes sense. :)

  • http://www.frogblog.biz Fred H Schlegel

    And there is the true power of free trials and targeted beta – get folks on board who will use, share and recommend. You get authority and live demonstrations in real life situations.

  • http://www.marketing.fm EricFriedman

    This is a really nice looking system. Having more people use it as their
    portfolio will drive people to the bottom of those pages to see who “powers”
    their sites. Looks like you have some good users promoting it already and
    the designprogramming of it looks seamless which is key.

  • http://www.marketing.fm EricFriedman

    This is a really nice looking system. Having more people use it as their
    portfolio will drive people to the bottom of those pages to see who “powers”
    their sites. Looks like you have some good users promoting it already and
    the designprogramming of it looks seamless which is key.

  • http://www.marketing.fm EricFriedman

    This is a really nice looking system. Having more people use it as their
    portfolio will drive people to the bottom of those pages to see who “powers”
    their sites. Looks like you have some good users promoting it already and
    the designprogramming of it looks seamless which is key.

  • http://www.marketing.fm EricFriedman

    Targeted beta is almost another blog post! Its tough to do, yet essential
    to a launch.

  • http://www.marketing.fm EricFriedman

    Targeted beta is almost another blog post! Its tough to do, yet essential
    to a launch.

  • http://www.marketing.fm EricFriedman

    Targeted beta is almost another blog post! Its tough to do, yet essential
    to a launch.

  • http://www.spencerfry.com/ spencerfry

    I was hoping to make it to Fraser's event today (“Conversion Metrics”) in your offices, but caught a 24 hour bug yesterday that I'm just getting over. I didn't want to bring my germs into the room. :) I will definitely share at the next one.

  • http://www.spencerfry.com/ spencerfry

    I was hoping to make it to Fraser's event today (“Conversion Metrics”) in your offices, but caught a 24 hour bug yesterday that I'm just getting over. I didn't want to bring my germs into the room. :) I will definitely share at the next one.

  • http://www.spencerfry.com/ Spencer Fry

    I was hoping to make it to Fraser's event today (“Conversion Metrics”) in your offices, but caught a 24 hour bug yesterday that I'm just getting over. I didn't want to bring my germs into the room. :) I will definitely share at the next one.

  • http://www.marketing.fm EricFriedman

    This is a really nice looking system. Having more people use it as their
    portfolio will drive people to the bottom of those pages to see who “powers”
    their sites. Looks like you have some good users promoting it already and
    the designprogramming of it looks seamless which is key.

  • http://www.marketing.fm EricFriedman

    Targeted beta is almost another blog post! Its tough to do, yet essential
    to a launch.

  • http://www.spencerfry.com/ Spencer Fry

    I was hoping to make it to Fraser's event today (“Conversion Metrics”) in your offices, but caught a 24 hour bug yesterday that I'm just getting over. I didn't want to bring my germs into the room. :) I will definitely share at the next one.

  • http://www.marketing.fm EricFriedman

    Ah, too bad – the event went well this evening and we may do another one.
    Would definitely appreciate a longer conversation.

  • http://www.marketing.fm EricFriedman

    Ah, too bad – the event went well this evening and we may do another one.
    Would definitely appreciate a longer conversation.

  • http://www.marketing.fm EricFriedman

    Ah, too bad – the event went well this evening and we may do another one.
    Would definitely appreciate a longer conversation.

  • http://www.marketing.fm EricFriedman

    Ah, too bad – the event went well this evening and we may do another one.
    Would definitely appreciate a longer conversation.

  • http://www.hotelbackpacker.com Backpackerresources

    Another way of explaining things in a new perspective but in its simplest “form”.

  • http://www.hotelbackpacker.com Backpackerresources

    Another way of explaining things in a new perspective but in its simplest “form”.

  • http://www.hotelbackpacker.com Backpackerresources

    Another way of explaining things in a new perspective but in its simplest “form”.

  • http://www.hotelbackpacker.com Backpackerresources

    Another way of explaining things in a new perspective but in its simplest “form”.

  • huangqin
  • http://www.marketing.fm/2010/02/11/thoughts-on-google-buzz/ Thoughts on Google Buzz | Marketing.fm – Eric Friedman

    [...] Google has made a very smart move to launch this product within an environment that has such a large mindshare.  They have even slightly revamped the Buzz product due to some early privacy concerns about exposing your contacts you email with when you activate your Buzz account. I have written about this before and feel it is very important to get into someones behavior stream. [...]

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