Press Interviews: How to Not Sound Like a Dummy

By John San Filippo, jmsb@johnsanfilippo.com
www.johnsanfilippo.com
Subscribe: www.tinyurl.com/jmsbblog

Press interviews are great – as long as you don’t say something stupid. The more prepared you are for an interview and the better you understand the interview process, the less likely you are to say something stupid. That’s where this blog comes in.

The first thing to consider when a reporter asks you for an interview is whether you’re really an expert on the topic. Sometimes a reporter will call just because he thinks you might have something to say about a particular topic. There’s no shame in telling the reporter that this particular topic is outside your wheelhouse if that’s the case. Like the old saying goes, it’s better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you’re ignorant than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. That said, make sure you invite the reporter to call you back about other topics that may better fit your expertise.

So you’ve agreed to an interview. Now what?

Now you prepare. But how do you do that? The one thing you don’t want to do is waste a lot of time memorizing facts and figures. If a reporter is only looking for facts and figures, she’ll turn to Google, not you. What a reporter is looking for is a point of view. What do you, as an expert, think about those facts and figures?

Unless you already have several interviews under your belt, you should take the time to talk to others in your organization, especially the person or persons responsible for your PR. Decide what your overall message is for the given topic, as well as what talking points you want to cover. Brainstorm questions you think the reporter will ask, but …

An interview is one time you should definitely expect the unexpected. The unexpected question, that is. No matter how well you prepare, you’re going to get a question you didn’t anticipate. In fact, when I was a reporter, that’s when I knew I was doing a good job – when the interviewee paused, said, “Gee, that’s a good question,” and then paused again to think of the answer.

The most important thing to remember during an interview is to stay relaxed. An interview is really just a conversation between someone who knows something (you) and someone who wants to know what you know (the reporter). Treat it as such and you should do fine.

Of course, there are some reporters out there who like stirring the pot. They’re the exception, I promise you, but they seem intent on making you break the golden rule of don’t say something stupid. And when I say something stupid, I don’t necessarily mean something nonsensical. I mean something you’ll regret having said later.

There’s a great article here that covers five common “trick” questions and how to deal with them. Based on my own experience, the one you need to be most watchful of is the question about your competition. Briefly stated, don’t ever talk about your competitors to a reporter. I know it’s tempting. After all, your company is so much better than theirs. But don’t do it. In fact, don’t even mention them by name in any context. That way, your meaning can’t be misconstrued.

Along these same lines, be careful of the reporter that comes across too chummy. Maybe he really is that friendly, or maybe he’s trying to get you to put your guard down and offer up that stupid comment. Better safe the sorry.

Finally, don’t ever ask the reporter if you can see a copy of the article before it goes to print. The answer will be no 100 percent of the time and you’ll end up looking like a rank amateur.

Need help prepping for an interview? Drop me an email.

That is all.

Amazon, Your New Diapers Smell Like Poo

By John San Filippo, jmsb@johnsanfilippo.com

www.johnsanfilippo.com

Subscribe: www.tinyurl.com/jmsbblog

 

I want to take this opportunity to thank Jeff Bezos. Jeff, you make my job so easy. Every time I’m looking for a what-not-to-do example of brand management, along you come with your next hair-brained idea.

My very first blog was about Amazon and its ridiculous brand extension strategy. For anyone unfamiliar with this term, here’s the Wikipedia definition:

Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use this strategy to increase and leverage brand equity. An example of a brand extension is Jello gelatin creating Jello pudding.

Extending one’s brand can make a lot of sense – and a lot of money. Using the example above, the leap from gelatin to pudding is a short one, so it makes sense to people.

 

Then there’s Amazon. Amazon seems to think it can be successful with any product or service just by stamping an Amazon label on it. When I wrote my previous blog on Amazon and brand extension, the company had just introduced the Fire Phone. I predicted that the Fire Phone would be a fiery flop – and it was. When a consumer wants a new phone, there’s no way Amazon can compete with Apple or Samsung for top-of-mind positioning.

 

That didn’t stop Amazon from introducing the Fire Stick, which appears to be a Google Chromecast knock-off. Amazon expects you to believe that they’re now experts in television viewing experiences.

 

Just when I thought I’d seen it all (or smelled it all, as the case may be), along comes the news that Amazon is getting into the disposable diaper business. Yes, you read this correctly and it’s not an Internet prank. Amazon has slapped its brand label on your baby’s butt – as long as you’re an Amazon Prime member, that is.

 

It’s true. Along with video streaming and free shipping on some items (whatever those two have to do with each other), your Amazon Prime membership now includes the privilege of buying Amazon diapers. Non-members will still need to find their diapers elsewhere.

 

It’s hard for me to even imagine the strategy session that resulted in this brilliant idea. Let’s see. We’ve already turned our bookstore into a big flea market. We’re trying to keep up with Google and Microsoft in the cloud computing business. We’re also-rans in a wide array of consumer electronic items. How can we screw this brand up even further? That’s it! Diapers!!

 

How should Amazon have extended its brand? I said years ago that they should have opened brick-and-mortar bookstores. An observation I made just the other day convinced me I was right.

 

My seven-year-old granddaughter is an exceptional reader and, unlike me at that age, she actually enjoys reading. When she needs a new book, does she say, “Nanu, log me onto iBooks,” or, “Nanu, bring up the Amazon website on your computer”? No, she says, “Nanu, can we go to Barnes & Noble?” Can we go to Barnes & Noble? That's a great user experience.

 

Banks and credit unions continue to build branches, and they’re not alone. Brick and mortar is making a comeback. You heard it here first.

 

But is there a lesson in all this for financial technology companies? I think the lesson is universal. The only thing that drives crazy brand extension is greed. So the simple lesson is: Don’t be greedy. Among the many other problems that greed causes, it will screw up your brand. And in the end, your brand is really all you have.

 

That is all.

 

WTH Is the Diff Between a Product Sheet, a Case Study and a White Paper?

By John San Filippo, jmsb@johnsanfilippo.com 

www.johnsanfilippo.com 

Subscribe: www.tinyurl.com/jmsbblog 

 

We’ve already established that content marketing is a pretty important thing. You can read my thoughts on the topic here, as well as here. With the holiday slow-down inevitably upon us, it’s a good time to take inventory of your content pieces, make sure everything is up to date, and most important of all, see if you’re missing anything you need.

 

Implicit in this last step is an understanding of how each content piece is supposed to function – what purpose it serves. So today I’m going to discuss three common marketing documents and where they fit in your content arsenal.

 

Product Sheets

 

Call it a product sheet, a product brief, a product slick, a brochure. Whatever you call it in your organization, I’m talking about a document dedicated to describing a single product.

 

My rule of thumb: Every product should have a product sheet. It doesn’t make sense to me to tell a prospect that our product is important enough for you to buy, but not important enough to justify one stinkin’ page of copy.

 

Of course, like all others, this rule has an exception. If your product has a base module and a bunch of optional add-on modules, it makes sense to explain the entire suite in a single document. Imaging systems are a good example of this. Remember, the whole idea is to make your products easy to understand for prospects. And in any event, every product still gets mentioned somewhere in your marketing materials.

 

The Big Mistake: The most common mistake with product sheets is the copywriter who provides too much information. Stop the TMI! A product sheet isn’t supposed to tell everything there is to tell about a product. On the contrary, the product sheet should merely pique interest – it should raise questions and spark a conversation with the salesperson.

 

Case Studies

 

I love case studies. Out of all the content types you can produce, case studies create the most emotional connection with their readers. That's because a case study represents a peer telling a reader how he or she addressed a situation.

 

Sure, anyone reading a case study knows it’s just another marketing document created by some company trying to pimp its products. On the other hand, the reader also knows that one of his peers was willing to put his name on the line to endorse the product.

 

That carries a lot of weight.

 

The case study format is fairly simple: 

1. Describe the problem.
2. Explain how it was solved.
3. Detail the results in quantifiable terms.

If you have happy customers, you have plenty of case study source material.

 

The Big Mistakes: There are two common case study mistakes. The first is adding a bunch of marketing fluff. For example, instead of saying, “Last National Bank achieved a 10-percent reduction in operating costs,” you might be tempted to say, “Last National Bank achieved a 10-percent reduction in operating costs because our product is so freaking great.”

 

People get that your product is so freaking great. They understand that’s why you’re writing a case study about it. You don’t need to beat them over the head with it. Step back out of the way and let your customers tell their own stories.

 

The other common mistake is multiple case studies that tell the same story. I’m all for more than one case study on the same product – as long as each one tells a unique story in terms of problems solved and results achieved. Otherwise, you’re just going to bore your readers telling the same story over and over again.

 

White Papers

 

Why do we write white papers? To establish thought leadership, right?

 

Whatever.

 

The Big Mistake: Yes, I’m starting this section with The Big Mistake.

 

If you’re only writing white papers for the lofty goal of establishing thought leadership – i.e., you’re not writing them with the willful intent to market your product – you’re missing the boat.

 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying there’s no value in thought leadership. What I’m saying is that you need to put some effort into deciding exactly what direction you want to lead that thought. Or put more bluntly, you need an ulterior motive.

 

I’ve found that white papers are especially useful in two situations. The first is when there’s some broad misunderstanding or lack of knowledge out in the marketplace.

 

For example, document management (DM) systems and enterprise content management (ECM) systems both compete for an FI’s imaging dollars. ECM systems are much more robust, but they’re also typically more expensive. Do you know the difference between DM and ECM? If you’d read the white paper I created when I was at Jack Henry, you would. My paper explained the difference, but in a way that clearly pointed the reader toward ECM (JHA’s product).

 

Another great use of a white paper is to espouse the features that make your product unique, but in a very generic way – in other words, to highlight your key competitive differentiators without telling anyone that’s what you’re doing.

 

For example, suppose the key differentiators of your product are “less filling” and “tastes great.” You might write a white paper explaining why anyone shopping for a product in your product class should only consider products that are less filling and taste great. You sound neutral in the white paper, but the logic inevitably leads the reader to your product, and only your product.

 

If any of this doesn’t make sense, please feel free to drop me a note. I’d love to hear from you.

 

That is all.