Niche Marketing Matters
By John Bradley Jackson

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow.  It’s what sunflowers do.” – Helen Keller

Do you see the world through rose-colored glasses?  Or are you more of the “glass half empty” type?  Evidence shows that positive thinking and optimism leads to better health and higher levels of happiness in many different aspects of life.  Optimistic people simply enjoy life more.

Being optimistic has significant beneficial effects on your health.  Mayo Clinic lists some of the health benefits of positive thinking:

-        Increased life span

-        Lower depression rates

-        Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease

-        Better coping skills during times of stress

-        Greater resistance to the common cold

The ability to stay positive during hardship is critical to success in many careers.  By looking past the obvious inconvenience of an obstacle and seeing the opportunity within, an optimist is better equipped to handle a crisis.  Optimists do not experience stress the same way pessimists do.

In fact, pessimism can be bad for your health.  Pessimists tend to report higher rates of depression, lack of motivation, and poor physical health.  According to the Positive Psychology Center, studies have linked pessimism with higher rates of infectious disease and earlier mortality.

So how can you become an optimist?  You need to first identify moments of negative thinking so you can combat them.  Psychiatrist Daniel G. Amen calls these “ANTs”, Automatic Negative Thoughts.  Once you have become aware of a negative thought, you must replace it with a positive alternative.

Another important step is to surround yourself with positive people who both inspire and challenge you.  Jim Rohn, a self-made millionaire and successful author, says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”  If the people you normally surround yourself with are usually pessimistic or gloomy, you may be attracting enough negative energy to adversely affect your own mood or wellbeing.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2012
All rights reserved

We are exposed to brand narratives every day.  From L’Oreal cosmetics and shampoo commercials that tell us “we’re worth it,” to TOMS Shoes which donates a pair of shoes to someone in need for each pair you buy – we are bombarded by brand narratives.  A successful brand narrative tells a story about a product or service, but more than that, it engages consumers on an emotional level that traditional advertising is no longer effective at reaching.

A brand narrative differs from a traditional elevator pitch.  The elevator pitch is what you would say to a potential customer in order to entice them to consume your product or service.  While similar to a brand narrative, the elevator pitch is directed by the company.  The brand narrative is a partnership, started by the company but ultimately steered by the consumers.  Your brand narrative is what people say about you, and how they connect emotionally with your product or service.

This emotional connection is critical for a brand narrative to thrive.  People want to be involved and interact with a product or service.  Social media platforms provide a nearly perfect arena for this sort of interactive storytelling.  These platforms allow people to connect with products that reinforce their values or identity.  This is great for business, because these days consumers are more likely to trust their peers than regular advertisers.

Creating a powerful brand narrative is simply good storytelling.  Every story has some major components, like an overall message and a relatable protagonist.  Take Coca-Cola, for example.  Much of Coca-Cola’s advertising has been designed to promote an overall brand narrative that emphasizes the tradition and history of Coca-Cola, as well as the desire to relax and have fun.  Both of these connect with people on an emotional level, tapping into their nostalgia as well as the very primal urge to seek pleasure and gratification.

In a good example of using social media to further evolve its brand narrative, Coca-Cola’s Facebook page is a hub for consumer interaction.  Coca-Cola has recently partnered with the World Wildlife Fund to raise money for polar bear habitats.  Consumers who donate money can track actual polar bears in an interactive platform on Facebook.  This paints Coca-Cola as a hero in its brand narrative, but it is especially brilliant because it also allows consumers to feel heroic because they are helping polar bears.

Humans have long relied on stories to communicate our hopes, dreams, fears, and desires.  Brand narratives use this natural tendency to create an environment where consumers interact with a brand in order to tell a compelling story about the brand and how it fits into their lives.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2011
All rights reserved

Even if you don’t spend inordinate amounts of time on the internet or watching television (and there are plenty who do), you have undoubtedly seen thousands and thousands of beautiful faces used to advertise products and services.  From perfume, tennis shoes, and power tools, to airline tickets, car washes, and online classes, the image of an attractive human face is an essential tool for advertisers.

We respond so viscerally to the image of an extraordinarily beautiful or handsome face because of the way we are programmed.  Evolutionarily, we are designed to seek out attractive mates.  Nancy Etcoff, author of Survival of the Prettiest, highlights some of the traits that we are naturally drawn to when seeking a mate.  Women, for example, are often instinctively drawn to males with strong jaws, thick brows, and broad shoulders.  Men seek facial symmetry in their partners, as well, but are often attracted to women with full lips and large eyes.

The presence of these attributes suggests increased fertility.  Because of the way we are biologically programmed, we want to produce numerous healthy offspring.  It makes sense that we want to select physically healthy, attractive mates.

All of these natural proclivities are heightened and manipulated by advertisers in order to connect with you on a visceral level.  It may sound creepy, but it works.  Beautiful women, in particular, are used to advertise countless products that reach multiple demographics, from low-fat yogurt to luxury cars.  Men with unusually handsome and rugged faces are often used to advertise “masculine” products, like razor blades and cologne.

We are bombarded with more print and commercial advertising than ever before.  Our brains process a huge amount of information, and many worry about the effects of so much advertising.  Especially when advertisers use images of hyper-sexualized faces and bodies, our perceptions of what is normal and what is beautiful changes.

As bizarre and superficial as it may seem, our visceral response to beautiful faces is probably a good thing for our species, because it means we will continue to have offspring.  Advertisers use these biologically attractive features to connect with customers on a primal level and get them to buy their product and service.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2011
All rights reserved

Bad news isn’t wine. It does not improve with age.

Sometimes in sales, you have to give bad news to customers. While this is never easy, a little preparation goes a long way to helping you get the job done. Start by gathering all the facts and preparing yourself emotionally. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and figure out how you would feel when delivered this bad news?

Here is a basic process to follow when delivering bad news:

• Define the situation: What must you communicate? How does this situation impact the customer? Do you need to provide all the background information? Where a strong emotional reaction is expected from the customer, providing reasons may only serve to fuel that reaction.
• Emphasize the positive points: Once you have presented the situation, are there positive points that you can emphasize to the customer? What will not change? Be honest with the customer to remind him/her what will not change in this situation.
• Be prepared to accept the customer’s initial reaction: Try to predict the customer’s reaction. How would you feel in this situation?
• Responding to the reaction: Prepare a possible conversation on what the buyer will probably say. Prepare your response. Restate positive points, if there are any.
• Express your expectations: How do you expect this situation to be resolved? Are your requirements negotiable? If “yes” then what is negotiable? What action, including deadlines, must be performed by this person and what is the deadline?
• Restate the basic agreement with a timeline: Confirm in writing and be specific.
• Follow-up action: Negotiate the best time for a follow-up meeting or phone call.

Delivering bad news is never easy, but a little preparation might help ease the pain (yours and theirs).

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2011
All rights reserved

Often entrepreneurs find themselves needing advice and counsel; worse, they are just plain lonely. This vacuum can be very prevalent at small businesses and, by definition, exists for the “solopreneurs” (the individual business person).

Frankly, few of us really are multi-talented and this can quickly be brought into focus when you start a company or go off on your own in a small business. Running your own business requires you to be an accountant, marketing guru, an operations manager, and a human resources manager, to name a few of the skills required.

You really have no choice but to look outside and ask for help. You can pay for this counsel or you can get it free; either way most of us need it. I recommend that you set up your own personal board of directors. Look for people who know what you don’t. This could include law, managing people, sales and marketing, finance, spirituality, real estate, technology, and others. They must be willing to help you. You probably have friends who support you already. What I suggest is that you take the next step and formalize the relationship.

First, you need to identify the people who have the knowledge, expertise, and contacts that you don’t. They could be friends, relatives, neighbors, colleagues, and strangers. Just about all my friends started out as strangers, so don’t let the fact that you don’t know someone stop you. You are looking for people who also have the desire to coach, teach, or share.

Next, meet with them in a casual setting one on one; I like a business lunch best, but that is up to you. At this meeting, a key objective is to explain your admiration for their skills and how you don’t have the same skills. This disclosure can be powerful for you and for them. Most people need to be needed and will bend over backwards to help you. Ninety-nine times out of one hundred, your prospective personal board of director will be complimented by the words and they will admire your self-disclosure. Most will agree to help you on the spot. It is just that easy.

From there, it is up to you, but I recommend that you make a point of meeting, phoning, or e-mailing your individual board members monthly. Keep them updated on your progress, successes, and failures. Be gracious and thankful. Look for ways to give back and help them. The goal is to set up a friendship or bond similar to that of a coach and player.  The coach gives and the players gets. My personal experience as a coach is that I have been paid back in full many times over. You will find this same attitude with most people who are willing to join your board.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2011
All rights reserved

I got a call this week that my old friend Don was dying of congestive heart failure and was in a hospice. Time was short. He asked for me.

Early in my career I struggled with my desire to be successful and to be true to myself. Like many young executives I wanted more money, a bigger job title, and a chance to show others that I was capable of being a leader. Yet, I felt very conflicted about the compromises that I was having to make. It seemed that success (as I had defined it) required me to work exceedingly long hours away from my young wife and children. Additionally, aggressiveness in the workplace was a necessity to get the sales results that the company demanded. I was challenged to grow the business and do whatever  was necessary to make that happen.

Don was an older and wiser executive in Human Resources who took me under his wing. He challenged me to be authentic and to stay true to my personal mission. He told me that it was no accident that I was on this planet and that I had a unique purpose. It was my job to discover and embrace that purpose and to live it with intention. He suggested that, if I truly knew my mission, day-to-day decisions would be easier. Like a compass, my personal mission would help determine what was right for me.

My wise friend coached me to answer basic questions:

1) What is my life about?
2) What do I stand for?
3) What am I doing to fulfill that purpose?

He said that answering these questions might not be easy. He offered an exercise that might help get me going. He said, “Imagine that it is your 80th birthday and you are having a grand party. All your family, friends, co-workers in your profession, and neighbors have gathered to hear you speak. What would you say to them is important in life? What did you do for 80 years? Why?”

Luckily, I listened to Don and I amended my definition of success. I answered the three questions and re-discovered my purpose. I stayed true to my own personal code of ethics. Decisions did become easier.

When I spoke with Don this week, he was lucid and calm despite his failing body. He was very accepting of his condition and told me not to worry about him since he had lived a good and long life. We had not spoken in many years and he was curious about what I done with my life. I dutifully brought him up to date. I told him that he had changed my life and thanked him for everything he had done for me.

Don said, “John, that is exactly what I wanted to hear. Nothing could make me happier. Now go and finish what you have started. Live with intention.”

With that I said farewell to my dying friend.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2011
All rights reserved

Usually when two people think alike, it’s because one of them is not thinking.  Let me submit that agreeing with anyone for a prolonged length of time won’t make the world a better place. Rather, disagreement is powerful and it is how we make the world better.

Need some evidence? Our legal system is based on arguments about the law which is far from black and white. In fact, these shades of gray are the basis of any legal argument. Like the law, few things in life are actually defined with black and white specificity.  Rather, we must make choices.

Choices can be hard to make and that is because the potential outcomes are not always clear. This is why many people avoid making choices and some may let things happen as they may. It is easier that way. Not better.

Business people must make quick decisions. Unlike the lawyer, executives and business owners often have little time to deliberate. It can be a lonely feeling and fear can dominate your thought process to the point of being disabling.  Obviously, we want to do the right thing. If time allows, seeking the advice of a close friend or colleague is a common course of action.

Here lies the challenge. Too often we seek advice from friends and family with the intent of getting our ideas validated or approved; it is no accident that these people think like we do. This validation makes us feel better and enables us to go forward, but this tacit approval may be the wrong advice.

Enter the power of disagreement. Instead, seek out a trusted adviser who thinks differently than you do. You will recognize this person (also known as a contrarian) by his or her behavior. They vote differently than you do, like foods that you don’t, and don’t watch the same movies as you. It can be very uncomfortable to be around them.

The “certified” contrarian will likely view a situation or decision from a different angle. That other perspective is where the power of disagreement resides — the other party may see things that you do not. You may have blind spots or biases that could propel you to make the wrong choice. Listen to the argument from someone who does not think like you do. They may help you make a more informed decision.

Disagreement is good.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2011
All rights reserved

According to the Youth Entrepreneurship Study by the Young Entrepreneur Council and Buzz Marketing Group of more than 1,000 college students and recent grads, more than a third of them (36%) were “side-preneurs” — they started businesses while getting their degrees, and about 1 in 5 (21%) started businesses after college because they couldn’t find a job.

Startling news? Not at all. The old mantra of go to college and get job is so 20th century. Today students must invent their jobs with eBay and Craigslist since the large employers have stopped coming to campus. While traditional employment has its advantages, today’s grads understand that they must do. As for their parents, they are stuck in the last century.

At least, that is what my son told me while he was home from college.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2011
All rights reserved

Holding a grudge is hard work and stressful.  Forgiveness lightens your load and allows you to put your energies where it really matters.

There is growing research about the negative health effects of prolonged anger and bitterness. Ruminating on what others have said to you or have done to you is not healthy in the long run. In fact, this persistent mulling over of past words and deeds is a component of chronic stress, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and many other major mental health disorders.

Here are a few tips for getting on to forgiveness:

1. Acknowledge the pain and the incident that caused it. Go ahead and write down all the details about what happened.
2. Examine the offending party’s motivation or point of view. Why did this happen? What were they feeling?
3. Take a moment and look back at an incident when you erred and someone forgave you.
4. Next, decide to forgive.  Commit to letting go of the anger and bitterness.
5. Stay focused on forgiveness. When the bad memories reappear, think about how good forgiveness feels.

By moving on to forgiveness, you give room for peace, hope, gratitude and joy. By choosing to let go of the negative emotions, your mind and body stop fighting. Physical symptoms may improve including a reduction in blood pressure and heart rate; you may even see a decline in allergies such as hives or chronic itching.

While the injury that you incurred may never go away, forgiveness will minimize the pain that lingers and it will make the past offense less important. Forgiving others can allow you to move on to new feelings of empathy and compassion for the other party. You will feel better because of it.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2011
All rights reserved

P. S.

Why the detour into armchair psychology? I have seen many entrepreneurs and corporate executives totally stalled in their careers, because of these negative emotions.  Instead of making life better with their creative skills, they wallow in anger while clinging to the hope of revenge. Life is short.

Listen to the radio (recorded) interview of John Bradley Jackson and Aaron Barkenhagen of Bootleggers Brewery.  Aaron is a former student (of Jackson’s) who has launched a microbrewery in Fullerton, California.

This interview was hosted by Theresa Harvey, Executive Director, Fullerton Chamber of Commerce.

Issues addressed include:

• What it takes to be an Entrepreneur
• The role of social media in a start up
• How great beer gets made in Fullerton
• How the University partners with local business.

Listen to this interview on the Fullerton Chamber Hour archives website (recorded June 3, 2011) Or, click here to download the MP3 file (28.6MB) and listen to it in your favorite music player.

John Bradley Jackson