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Gary Vaynerchuk Case Study: The Mom and Pop Advantage

Derek — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 05:54:04 +0000

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Why did Gary Vaynerchuk become successful? We know he is an expert salesman, but there has to be something else. He needed to do something differently, but what was it?

If you ask him directly, “Hey Gary, Why did you become successful?” he is likely to say something like “I hustled my face off” or “personal brand,” but that isn’t the whole story. Gary Vaynerchuk became successful by bringing the mom and pop shop atmosphere to the internet.

Let me explain.

We all like mom and pop shops. It may not be the cheapest place around, but they know exactly what you want and why. They know you and your family. They’re willing to sell girl scout cookies for your daughter and take night calls to fix a leak. Gary Vaynerchuk took “Mom and Pop” best practices to the internet and in the remaining part of this article, I will talk about some of his tactics.

Every Single E-Mail

How great does it feel when a business appreciates you as a customer? I’m not talking about silly corporate speak that says “We appreciate our customers,” but instead, I’m talking about the kind of corporations that send you a gift basket for Christmas (my hosting service, Choopa, did this).

Mom and Pop shops are known for this kind of treatment. They give you personal phone calls and care about what happens in your life. They’re willing to answer your questions and provide that extra level of support that most corporations cut due to the cost. Most importantly, these mom and pop shops remember your name.

Well, Gary Vaynerchuk appreciates his customers and he shows it by answering every single e-mail. Even if he needs to answer “What wine goes with chicken?” one thousand times, he says he responds to every e-mail.

Become a Social Business

In Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely talks about the difference between a money relationship and a social relationship. The money relationship is when people trade their money or time for a paycheck or goods, whereas a social relationship is where people feel they are part of the team and the community. As Dan Ariely pointed out, when people feel like they are on the same social team, they are more likely to go out of their way for each other.

Now we know Mom and Pop shops aren’t the cheapest, but they build a social relationship with their customers. They know what’s going on and they talk about it. They know who lost their job, or who bought a house. They participate in local town halls and help lobby for community improvement projects. Overall, these mom and pops create social responsibility and the community supports them.

Gary Vaynerchuk did something similar with his online business. Even though he runs a $50 million business, he’s willing to treat you like a human being. He uses a Twitter account, runs a personal blog, and uses various other social media tools such as Facebook. He’s not impossible to reach and he isn’t faceless. He talks about the same things we talk about (sports, business, etc…) and he gave his customers someone to trust. So, not only did he build a loyal fan base, but he made sure each of his fans felt socially responsibile to support him and his business.

Personalized Service

We have all been there. We know where we need to go to buy what we want but we don’t know what to buy. In a big-box store, you can’t find someone to help you and if you do, they can’t help you because they don’t know. The other day when I was in a big box store, I asked the customer service representative, “Where can I find the video cameras?” He said, “I have no idea. Talk to sales.”

That would never happen in a Mom and Pop shop. The workers will show you where to go and offer to carry it to your car. If you don’t know what you want, they will make suggestions for you based on your personal interests.

Now as I said before, when you e-mail Gary Vaynerchuk and ask him “What wine goes with my meal?” He will respond and your dinner party in a few weeks will be a huge success. Gary knew that great service was the key to word of mouth marketing, so he made it his priority.

Now What Do You Think?

What else did Gary Vaynerchuk do that made him a great “mom and pop” internet business? Share it in the comments.

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Why Einstein Became Immortal (and how your company can join him)

Derek — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:55:10 +0000

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How can you ensure that people remember your company? How can you prevent your products and innovations from spiraling into a black hole? What can you do to be the 1 out of 10 businesses that become successful?

These are all tough questions with no easily discernible answer. However, we can learn a lot from Einstein and how he joined the immortal ranks of Aristotle, Galileo, and Isaac Newton.

Einstein was a genius. Some claim he was one of the smartest people who have ever lived. But his intelligence did not make him an international celebrity. For example, can you tell me a different physicist who won the Nobel prize?

Einstein was also innovative. He created the micro and macro description of the world (quantum physics and relativity respectively). But his innovation in science did not make people know his name. For example, can you tell me who created Penicillin or the Polio vaccination?

So then, what makes Einstein different? Why does everyone know about Einstein and E=mc2? Is it possible for your company to stand out like Einstein?

Smash Your Company

Let me take you back to the early 1900s. A Coca-Cola executive approached a designer and asked him to create a glass bottle that would be easily identified as a Coca-Cola bottle — even if you smashed the bottle into 100 pieces. This idea went down in history as the “Smash Your Brand” test.

Now, lets apply this to Einstein. Can you smash Einstein into 100 pieces and identify him as Einstein? What if I were to show you a picture of wild crazy gray hair that is standing on edge? I’m willing to bet you would be reminded of Einstein.

From a physics perspective, Einstein’s work is obviously Einstein’s work. Scientists can identify Einstein’s ideas just by looking at the scope of the ideas. This is similar to how many people can identify Van Gogh’s art just by looking at it.

Whatever business you are in you need to make sure you can smash it. You need to make sure people will recognize what you do by focusing on seemingly insignificant details like your hair style. Or, in Chris Pearson’s case, a nifty options panel for a wordpress theme.

Differentiate Your Company

What happens when you want to break into an elitist genre of old dogs and proclaimed experts? You will battle resistance, but it isn’t impossible to overcome it.

When Einstein started out in his career, he consistently encountered resistance. As Walter Isaacson pointed out in “Einstein,” Einstein was unable to get a job in academia or admitted into a doctoral program. However, it didn’t stop him. He worked on his theories while he worked at a patent office and his dedication and uniqueness paid off.

Now if his theories were similar to what was being discussed in academia, he would have probably stayed in that patent office for the rest of his life. After all, who would notice a no-name unqualified scientist in some silly patent office?

So, if you are thinking about starting a blog about blogging, think again. It’s been done and Darren Rowse already owns it. However, if you plan to add a unique spin or twist to the genre, do it to your heart’s content. Michael Martine of Remarkablogger is doing this perfectly. He’s not as big as Darren, but he offers much easier and practical advice than other blogs.

Or, if you’re looking to break into a a snobbish niche with snobbish followers, you should take a look at what Gary Vaynerchuk did to the wine industry. He focused on describing wine to regular people. He would say things like, “this wine has some of that raspberry slim jim action going on” instead of “esters,” “vintage,” and other words I can’t define. Oh, and he last I heard, Gary did over $50 million in sales.

The Success Factors Prescription

You have been introduced to the Success Factors Spotlight in “Why You Should Put All Your Eggs in One Basket.” Now you can see the “Success Factors Prescription,” which is where you can learn how to implement what we talked about into your company.

So, how do you differentiate your company? How can you help your company stand out?

Make People Feel Great: Many companies claim that their customers are their biggest asset. However, when we call Bank of America’s help line, it takes us more than 30 minutes to talk to a representative. So, make sure you say what you mean and focus on making people feel great. Maybe you should give them a restaurant mint?

Same Niche, Different Angle: You don’t need to come up with a unique idea. You need to find an idea and improve it slightly. For example, Facebook crushed Myspace by targeting college students. They made a slight change and emphasized it. So, if you enter a crowded niche, make sure you make your differences your main marketing tactics.

Keep Moving Forward: Einstein’s famous quote “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving” applies to business. If you want to maintain or develop your competitive advantage, you need to continuosly improve upon what you have. If you don’t, you’re likely to fall over and crash into the concrete.

Do Something Quirky: In college I remember a kid we called shades. Nobody knew him, but he always wore sunglasses and a vest 365 days a year. I still remember him to this day because of his quirkiness and I realized you can do this in business. For example, one of Sam Walton’s store managers created the largest display of laundry detergent. It garnered a ton of attention and sales.

Be Trustworthy: We live in a world where different is no longer different. We have thousands of products and companies to choose from. So, if you want to stand out, make sure you are the most trustworthy person on earth. Don’t do anything you would be ashamed of and people will respect you for it.

What Did I Miss?

Do you have anything to add to this list? Do you have any other great ways to differentiate yourself in the marketplace? Why don’t you write a follow-up blog post or leave a comment?