Why Target's Gender Neutral Marketing Policy Is Bad

Okay. It has been a while since I have written for this blog, but I would like to provide an outsiders view about why Targets recent policy change on how they merchandise is bad.

On August 7, Target announced that it would stop using gender-based signing. I can bring up numerous instances why this is bad. It removes a core component to market segmentation, gender-based demographics. This means that they will not be selling according to how the products were designed.

Understanding the design process is critical in the moving of a product. The first major question a company will ask when designing for consumers is who is this product primarily intending to reach (age, region, gender, etc.). Gender neutral products, in my observation tend to have a shorter life-span. Now let me make a distinct note on the difference between gender-neutral and general audience products. Gender-neutral is designed to not be offensive to the purchasing audience. BUT, pick up the coin. It has two sides. The same thing that may repulse a shopper from one product would attract them to another. This create a competitive sales force in the market.

By removing the pressure to buy, that utility of the customer can have the product if they got it THEN and THERE if they bought it NOW, in essence renders the purpose of the product as less purposeful. The purpose of marketing is to capture those discretionary dollars the consumer has. This will cause a wider revenue but also a shallower one that is easier to dry or become stagnant.

The problem is Target has sacrificed business for altruism. But Target needs to recognize that they are a business, not a political statement. While I have restrictions that dictate what business I handle, I have to remember that I am still operating a business and if you're not in business to make money, why are you there in the first place? Business's first policy is to add value, and Target is, instead, taking that away. Target should shift it's focus to what made it great in the first place, creating a higher-touch shopping experience. Target grew on affordable luxury, but now its priding itself by pandering to the pauper. These complaining customers are the screaming minority and make little impact on the sales.

I hope target will be able to salvage themselves from this.

The King's Court and The Peddler's Wagon

We live in a crazy new world with less than appealing new norms. The bad guys are the job creators, the wealthy, those who keep our pocketbooks filled, our shelves stocked, and our utilities running. I mean, the audacity! That these men would manage large corporations, prosperous businesses, and ensure we stay on payroll.

No in all reality, we want to stay on the streets as bums and, rather than ask what it takes to get a place to stay, we ask for fancier clothes. A crying shame. I believe thoroughly that we have become spoiled and, now, we ask for these great men (and women) to give to us more.

The way I see it is we have one of two options: Inquire of the Kings or buy the Peddler's snake oil of political, neo-social lies. I recently had the privilege of sitting with some of our area's finest businessmen for a breakfast and listen to the goings-on in our local community. During this meeting it was mentioned that the wealthy are often demonized, which I see happening and, therefore, concur. You see they want to see a legacy happen and see the community thrive, but the community is up in arms for them providing them opportunities and, in return, making money. But many just see these men as taking money.

Who Are The Kings and Peddlers

Lets take a step back. I present to you "The Kings." These are business giants who have carefully managed their people and there finances and built their enterprises, their kingdoms. They have age in their industry, have spent time in the trenches of the field, climbed ranks, and built their empires. Now looking forward a few generations, the kingdoms have seen war and violence, but through careful management, these kings have maintained peace in the land. We see this time of peace. People seem happy. They seem to be going about their business, doing their thing.

Into town rolls a peddler. The "Peddler" could be a politician or an idea represented. Amid the hustle and bustle of the town crowd, the peddler shouts, "COME SEE WONDERS PERFORMED!"

The Speech

A crowd gathers, citizens of the kingdom strain to see this peddler as he commences, "I have what you need. The time of old has passed. You believe you are healthy because the king says you are healthy. But the king is holding out on you. You are comfortable, or so the royalty says. Have you wondered why he lives in a palace while you merely live in huts?" (These are really comfortable dwellings but it's a hut compared to the kings palace) "Why does the king not build you larger dwellings? You see the size of his palace!" A hushed murmuring spreads through the crowd. "You're barely making ends meet. You can barely afford to replace the clothing on your back!"

A shriek from the back of the crowd (The media) cries out "MY WORD-- HE'S RIGHT!" A roar of consensus goes up. The crowd rushes toward the wagon, clamoring, reaching, demanding more of this peddler, the charlatan's snake oil. A young man from the back of the crowd, however, dis-joins and begins to walk toward the castle.

The Audience With The King

This young man walks towards the gate of the castle. He grasps the bronze knocker at the commoner's entrance and strikes at the door. The guard answers. "State your matter."

The young man replies, "I wish to learn how to build my own kingdom." The guard ushers the young man into the waiting area as he transfers the message to the king. 

The guard returns, "The king desires you to grace his presence." With that, the guard walks the young man into the kings court.

The King's Court

The young man comes through the door of the court and the king carefully watches the young man as he approaches. The king says, "Your business, if you will."

The Young man says, "Sire, your kingdom indeed is great and I wish to learn your ways that I too may become become a great ruler. Would you teach me?"

This request pleases the king. A successor? Maybe. "It will require much of you."

"May my heart be great enough to handle the tasks at hand"

The next few days, weeks, months, and years, the young man spent with the king, learning his ways, completing his tasks, growing his wealth and wisdom. This whole time, the rest of the town found the peddler to have wasted their time and money, and soon began to buy the elixir of a competing peddler. The first peddler left town, then the next, then the next. All the while, the young man became a knight, then a captain, then a scholar, then a lord. The people went on wasting their earnings, and failed to notice the goings in the castle until the death of the king was announced and the crown and scepter was passed to a once-young man who chose to ask the king. There he would reign, manage and grow the kingdom, endure hardship, keep peace, and wait for that next young man to ask what it takes to become a great ruler.

The moral of the story is learn to sit in the king's court and stop giving audience to the peddler. These titans are fading off the scene and it is time for the next generation to rise up and prepare to take the kingdom because God forbid a peddler sit in the throne of a giant and let the kingdom banners of enterprise become tattered relics of the past. Learn to ask and ask the right questions of the right people in what you wish to become and do and, as always, stay curious  

   

The Power of Belief

Greetings fellow discoverers. It has been some time since I last wrote a post and for that I am sorry. It was my lack of diligence to learning and sharing discovery in this wonderful field called life. That being said, I would like to bring to light something that has been given stage multiple times but, I feel, we as mere mortals don't fully grasp, and that is the power of belief.

Lets begin with giving belief definition. According to Webster's, belief is "a feeling of being sure that someone or something exists or that something is true." Webster's also gives a more concise definitions that I think give better credence to the word "belief." This definition states that belief  is "a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing" [Emphasis added].

What do you believe. No. Not say you believe, but truly believe. What is your habit of mind? 

Today in one of my classes I was asked a question that struck me because, when asked, I laughed. It was a laughter of discredit. Now I have said before that I want this in life or that in life, but when I was asked if I thought that such event would occur, I only laughed in disbelief. The fact is, while I said I wanted such events to take place in my life, at my core, I didn't believe such events were possible to unfold. When presented with the opportunity to answer honestly, I did answer honestly, and realized that my belief was setting me up for failure.

This, I believe, is the majority of society. We talk about the next greatest innovation, the next great trends, building projects and developments, gaining the big client, and more. We think of great goals in our head, but our habit of mind conflicts with such goals. This is why, as a whole society and as individuals, we must make clearly stated goals. By clearly stated, I mean written and rehearsed. If we aren't writing our goals, we aren't making declarations against old habits. If we aren't rehearsing goals, we are not allowing the goals to win in our mind.

Its like setting your goals in a boxing match. In one corner, you have human-tainted belief. He is lazy, selfish, and pitiful. He would rather win and have you do nothing because humans are naturally inert. In the other corner, you have goals, clear, concise, etc. His interest is winning and making your situations and others around you better. The bell sounds. This is where justification is important. Why should you act this way or that? Justification is your strategy and focus. It draws attention to the issue. It should counter and dominate the old beliefs. The third part to winning over these old beliefs is will. This is the "Make yourself." Will acts on your justifications, delivering blow after blow to your old beliefs.

It boils down to this: If you don't have goals, you have nothing to rival your old, failing belief systems. If you can't justify your goals, you have no focus on the opposing beliefs. If you don't implement your will, and make yourself, your goals only remain wishful thinking. Oppose your habit of mind, Justify success, and win. 

Don't remain in a wishy-washy state of "If only" and "I'd like to." Believe that there is more to be had in life, and believe it more than more is not for you. Set goals and set out to destroy those core beliefs that cause you to fail again and again. And realize, sometimes you will have to fight old beliefs for the full 15 rounds of your life and it will come down to a decision of whether you fought better, and other times it will be TKO for the old beliefs and you will be the undisputed victor. Fight. Win. Stay Curious.
 

Stop the Business Obesity!!!

We have a problem. Companies are too fat. They are ingesting extra calories that they can't afford. And I am talking unnecessary, excessively disgusting overhead. And many times they don't think in terms of cost vs. price. Many times its price alone. There is a failure to way out each and every option. Yes this option may be cheaper at the short term, but have you seen the calories in it? 

example (That I know from experience): Run your system on a basic macro command line, yes its basic, but you take extra time to process the command lines. Upgrading tqo a easy-flowing graphic user interface (GUI) could save you 2-3 minutes per process, sometimes more. Yes the basic is cheaper, but when time is money, that is time away from getting more accomplished. This also means less time in handling the next request. 

Another example: I remember going through Walmart late in the evening. The employees were refilling some of the displays in the impulse sections at the store front. I watched as one girl refilled an empty EOS lip balm container. She opened the same exact display box and took the balms from one to the other and then continued to throw out the package. This was an additional 10 seconds taken from other tasks because she didn't simply switch out the packages.

One of the things Chris Gardner, author of Pursuit of Happyness talked about doing during his internship was rather than hang up the phone while cold-calling prospects, he would press the receiver button instead and dial the next number on the list. He would also avoid liquids to keep from running to the restroom. This is thinking lean.

One final example: Some store POS systems handle credit applications in-store to ensure immediate approval. One system I observed has the clerk scan the license and then ask if address is current. Unfortunately, the state IDs don't load the information for some IDs. They would be better going straight to the fields that need information and automatically loading what information it receives from the scan. At that same step they could also include phone and email fields (minus three more steps). Also, when asking about the Account Protection, they can insert a check box on this same screen to eliminate another step. Then to the Social for processing. That is okay, but by merging all these other steps to one screen, the store in essence eliminates extra pages and takes nearly half the workload from the clerk. 

What this all boils down to is are we thinking as lean as possible. Are we burning clean. If you work cleanly, you create an efficient work environment. This means more time with customers, less time tasking, and more. This means more time accomplishing the customers goals and generating repeat business. Are you thinking lean?  

When All Hope Is Misplaced

Let me ask you a dumb question. Have you ever lost your keys? Wallet? How about your phone? We all have been there. But in how many scenarios were they really misplaced?

Tough times can rattle oura ability to cope with pressure and decisions. In the business world, when the sales aren't coming or the traffic is dead, all hope could be "lost." Maybe that large sale fell through. Perhaps that client went with a competitor at last minute. Truth be told, the only numbers you are seeing go up might belong in the liabilities column. The trend may not seem to reverse and you may just feel like throwing in the towel and liquidating.

But I want to ask when was the last time you turned your problem on its head? When was the last time you tried a new product line or adjusted your market approach.

One thing I have come to believe is that markets never really disappear unless they're lost to a newer, more efficient market. You just have to be the smartest, most efficient person when it comes to marketing your idea. You may have to create a new product, or advertise in a different region. The fact is, your business is not hopeless.

I would like to encourage you to find the gold among the rocks. You are an intellectual and a creator. There is always a method of approach. Hope is only misplaced. You can still find it.

The Next Collapse... and What Can Be Done

Today I am slightly frightened of the medical and medical insurance industry. I believe that this industry might be the next to collapse.

Here is why. The government has required everybody in America to get healthcare. This creates a flood of new holders. Because of the healthcare industry grab, the value begins to go at premium rates. The premium rate accelerates the value to above acceptable return values. Now the problem occurs at the riskier level. These higher risk holders cannot afford the care they are entitled to receive. This creates a type of default. As these defaults occur, it makes it difficult for those more entitled to receive the quality of care paid for. The value of their insurance becomes higher risk yielding to either a higher success or failure. Eventually the investments slip into failure, forcing the policy holder to not get the quality of care he is entitled to.

What we have essentially re-created is the sub-prime housing crisis, except with one added problem... you can't replace a life.

Now what is one way we can help avoid this devaluation of life? Simply put, bring the healthcare in-house. This eliminates the need for insurance by keeping this in house.

The second thing we can do is promote healthy eating and exercise by providing discounts to those who regularly practice habits that reduce their risk factor. This will in essence make healthcare insurance a less valuable liability, leading to a more profitable value-on-return.

The third thing is industry accountability. We need to have a system in place that promotes whole health and not just symptomology. Drugs are not made to cure a disease, but to mask a symptom. The problem is the body doesn't work this way and many side-affects are counter-productive to a healthy life. By not having accountability in place, we are making healthcare more inefficient and more ineffective.

In summary, ObamaCare is not efficient nor is it effective practically. It creates billions of dollars waste and doesn't remedy a failing health system. It only insures Americans will continue to receive the same incompetent healthcare while doing nothing to solve people's lack of responsibility of taking care of themselves. ObamaCare needs scrapped before it trashes a system necessarily intended to help us lead healthy lives

The New Renaissance Era

Welcome readers and happy (belated) new year. It has been a few (almost six) months since I last blogged, but many changes have been going on in my life. For those who check back regularly, hoping for something new, sorry for the delay.

But today, I want to write about a trend that I, and many others have been noticing. I would like to welcome you to the New Renaissance.

Starting off, what is typically defined as the Renaissance Era? The Renaissance is typically descriptive of a movement starting in Italy from the 14th to the 17th century. During this era, there was a rebirth of the arts, humanities and education. Philosophy was resurrected and knowledge became king. Universities grew, Cities that promoted ideas flourished and we were not maintaining what was broken, but trying to build society better. Creativity flowed, details were taken into account and many of today's most beautiful pieces of art were the cutting edge of design.

Guess what... It is back. This time in a new form. New ideas have come into play, new sciences have emerged and now a new future is upon us. We have seen manufacturing at its height, the door-to-door salesman has loaded his cookware back into his trunk, and amenities are no longer delivered in a 400+ page master catalog labeled Montgomery Ward. The red-hatters have been dismissed and now aristocracy and the pauper linger on a Facebook page together.

Kickstarter is kick-starting millions of dollars in new ideas, Indiegogo is funding new gadgets, and new products flood Etsy's pages.

The bookstores are selling books, Pinterest is pinning pins, and everybody seems to be in the mood for a fancier cupcake. 

The business classes are filling up with people looking to get their ideas going, MeetUp has new ideas and hobbies being shared, and the communities that grow are growing together.

The future is now. The next thing is today. The next generation has been born. And it's time for its parents to hand out a new product and the legacies to give an old memory that will help these new babies thrive. It's an era of regeneration and a time of new birth. It's a celebration of marriage of the business and the new idea. It's a time of entrepreneurship.

WELCOME TO THE NEW RENAISSANCE ERA