This is the third of a series on Mistakes Countries Make and How They Can Get It Right.

Those immortal words were heard in millions of American homes every Sunday night, during the 1950’s and 60’s, as they were spoken by television impresario, Ed Sullivan on his weekly variety show.  His show was so popular that it was common for children and adults to mimic Sullivan’s nasal accent saying, “Tonight we have a really big show.” A “really big show” for Sullivan fans meant an extravaganza of music and theatrical variety.  It wasn’t Elvis Presley’s first television appearance but certainly was his most famous.  It’s where the Beatles were first seen by most Americans and where viewers were introduced to opera and ballet.  If it was big in entertainment, it was on Ed Sullivan.

The idea of the big show continued into business where today, the really big shows are the Consumer Electronics Show, National Housewares Show, MacWorld Expo and many more.  Large trade shows have become prolific in the U.S. and around the world to the point where they are almost a commodity.  Their cost for exhibitors has increased rapidly placing a premium on those shows where one can see a clear rate of return.

Yet, despite the high costs of trade shows, the idea of the “really big show” has morphed into private, branded trade shows and has become a part of many marketing programs from foreign industries.   It has become common for foreign governments to come to the U.S. and hold large private events for their industries such as food, wine, textiles, technology and more.  An event company and PR firms are hired, hotel and exhibit space secured, visitors and prospective buyers are recruited, foreign companies provided with exhibit space and dignitaries flown in to cut the ribbon or give a keynote speech.

The expectation is that the U.S. media will show up (they rarely do), give the event, its organizers and the foreign industry the right amount of fawning coverage in newspapers and magazines and that buyers will attend with their wallets at the ready.  To ensure the event’s success, the media from the home country is brought in, photos are taken, ribbons cut, speeches made and the event is widely proclaimed to be a grand success…except that it’s often not.

What can’t be seen from abroad is that Americans have become jaded by the extraordinary amount of marketing clutter in their lives.  Surveys have suggested that Americans are exposed to more than 1,500 marketing messages a day.  From the time they wake up until they turn their lights out at night, Americans are bombarded with radio, TV, print, Internet, outdoor, mail, email, phone and tradeshow messaging.  Of course, this takes place in other countries but it has been going on for more years in the U.S.  What foreign visitors most comment on when they visit the U.S. is the number of choices that one has during the day, whether shopping, viewing, listening or traveling.  It all adds up and the bottom line is that the only thing that makes a difference in our lives is the value of our relationships.

When there are so many modes of marketing, word-of-mouth from people we trust has so much more influence than anything else on what we buy and the decisions we make.  Just as we trust our personal friends, business relationships are what influence us in the end.  With all the decisions we have to make, and features and benefits to evaluate, it’s the value we place on relationships and the people who make recommendations to us that makes a difference.

The problem with the “really big show” is that relationships are begun there but not developed or solidified.  We use shows for looking, evaluating, asking and considering but rarely for buying.  When considering any product that has a high cost or a long-term evaluation or testing phase, shows, at best, serve as introductions.  It’s the work that takes place afterward that makes a difference.  Small events or conferences are often better than big ones because they allow prospective buyers to ask more questions and conduct a give-and-take with the seller.  Prospective buyers considering a foreign supplier want to know that both the individual they’re dealing with and their company isn’t going to be in the U.S. for only a week here and there.  They want a commitment to a relationship, to being involved for the long-term, to possible risk sharing or even partnership.

Trade associations and their government partners who have the mandate to promote industries, should consider:

• More small events are better than a few large ones.
• Teach your people to engage with Americans.  Too often foreign business visitors to the U.S. stay back and don’t approach Americans.  We like you to reach out to us.  In fact, events that are built around networking are likely to be more effective than those built around display.
• Events, big or small, will be more successful with both pre and post event follow-up programs.  Prospective sales are most often lost because of poor or slow follow-up.
• You should have an active online social media program that reaches out to prospective buyers.  You’ll know the difference when your social media site has far more Americans or customers on it than your domestic friends and associates.  It’s incredible how many companies and industries tout their facebook and linkedin pages that are filled with people from their own country.  Where are the buyers?  Who’s building relationships with who?  To what end?
• Remember that social media sites like facebook and linkedin are closed systems and have their limitations.  There are no lists to download nor will you have access to anybody’s email address.  At futureshift, we build private communities that support events but more importantly build and support relationships because members self-subscribe and willingly give you their private contact information.
• Rather than think about events, think about building communities.  Community members gain trust for each other and that’s what builds brand loyalty and sales.

So given all this, what made Ed Sullivan such a successful icon?  Sullivan spoke to American audiences in the 1950’s and 60’s when modern marketing was in its nascent stages.  He spoke to us every week, his way of building a relationship with us, and he always showed us things we had rarely seen before.  If you’re a modern day business version of Ed Sullivan, which probably means your name is Steve Jobs, go ahead have the “really big show”.  Otherwise, do something that makes sense and works in today’s U.S. marketplace.

Tags: Americans, Assumptions, Communities, Customers, Ed Sullivan, Events, futureshift, Governments, Marketing, Media, Social Media, Steve Jobs, Trade Associations, Trade Shows, U.S. Marketplace

I spent last week in Romania, not exactly where most people I know travel, but it was a business trip.  It hadn’t been on my list of places to go but I’m glad I went for a couple of reasons.  First, it’s different and different is good.  We need to see places and meet people who are unlike us, who have a different view and see the world from a different angle of the world.  In the U.S. we tend to be too internally focused and while we make a pretty big impression on earth, it’s good for us to see that the planets don’t revolve around the good old US of A.  I know that’s anathema to some, but more about that in a later post.

First, before I got to Romania a funny thing happened on the way.  As I was walking through the aisle for my flight from London to Bucharest, I looked to my right and saw someone who looked familiar.  I looked again and was sure that it was Rich Hodapp, a consultant I had seen…oh…maybe fifteen years ago.  Now, what are the chances on that particular flight, on that day, heading to Bucharest of all places that we would be on the same flight…after fifteen years?  I don’t know how or why these things happen.  Is it fate?  I doubt it.  More likely, it can be explained by statistics and probabilities, but still, it is mighty strange when these things happen.  (Rich later said to me, “I was waiting for you to show up.”)

Now, why is meeting Rich important to a blog called Corporate Myopia?  Well, Rich, who remembered me right away, is the inventor/creator of Decision MAPping® (http://www.decisionmapping.com/) and when I met him fifteen or more years ago, I had the good fortune to be trained in Decision MAPping® by Rich.  I can say that it has influenced me ever since and it’s principles are pretty much part of my way of thinking about the world and how we work with clients.  You could say that Decision MAPping® teaches you to see the forest for the trees.  It is a myopia prevention machine.

We wander through our daily lives passing all kinds of signs that tell us what’s important to our co-workers, friends and family and to our clients and customers, and we often don’t see them.  They are signs that tell us what’s important to them in making their decisions about us, and all of our clients, customers and constituencies make important decisions that affect us everyday.  They decide whether to listen to our sales pitches, sign and renew contracts, monitor our progress and evaluate whether to continue to work with us.  It’s not about showing them all the great features we offer but about what concerns them and what keeps them awake at night.

Decision MAPping® teaches you to turn the telescope around and learn how they see you.  It also teaches you that there are two components in every decision that they make about us.  They look at both the content or tangible benefits of what a relationship offers and at the process or nature of our relationship.  Like every good marriage, how we engage with each other and manage our processes with others determines whether the relationship will last, but remember it’s they, not us who make that determination.  The decisions that others are going to make about us can be put on a map.  The map tells us where we are, where we’re headed and how best to get there.  For those who learn this process from Rich, it is a sure course to winning and has been used by successful companies and countries for years.  You should check it out.

At futureshift, we’ve taken the general principles of Decision MAPping® and added our DirectLink® system that enables us to learn what is keeping thousands of people awake at night.  Our strategic planning process asks both what your internal capabilities are and matches them with what your target market says it’s looking for.  It provides you with insights that either could not be obtained or were just cost prohibitive to do so.  We don’t put decisions on a map.  You need to see Rich for that but we give you an understanding of what your customers’ and non-customers’ frustrations are.  A frustration is simply an unmet need.  Meet the need and you’ll have a loyal customer.

That flight to Bucharest and seeing Rich was a good reminder to me of what’s important in our business — meeting the needs and solving the business problems of others.  Rich and I have begun to exchange ideas and maybe we’ll solve some problems for each other without having to wait another fifteen years for a mutual flight to some far-flung place.

Tags: Bucharest, Customers, Decision MAPping®, futureshift, Rich Hodapp, Romania, Strategy, Winning