Business Archives

How to Sell a Product: 3 Major Principles, Explained

How do you sell a product, any product, and create something that people can’t get enough of? What you are trying to ignite is a social epidemic, when an idea, message, or product spreads through the public masses like wildfire and creates a craze. This is how to sell a product. We’ll take a cue from medical epidemics: When a virus spreads, it starts with one person — Patient Zero — who gets sick and infects a handful of others. Then each infected person passes the germs to more people, and with exponential speed and reach the virus spreads until

Early Adopters Model: Your Most Important Customers

What is the early adopters model? How do innovators and early adopters affect the success of your marketing strategy? What is an early adopter example? The “early adopters” model is a system in sociology that explains how a contagious idea or product spreads among people who adopt it at different phases. In the model, an idea spreads from innovators and early adopters all the way to the laggards. We’ll cover how the early adopters model works, what an early adopters example looks like, and why innovators and early adopters should be important elements of your marketing strategy.

Spread Ideas to Create an Epidemic: 3 Surefire Strategies

How do you create a trend, or a social movement, or a product that people can’t get enough of? How do you spread ideas? What you are trying to ignite is a social epidemic, when an idea, message, or product spreads through the public masses like wildfire and creates a craze. Take a cue from medical epidemics: When a virus spreads, it starts with one person — Patient Zero — who gets sick and infects a handful of others. Then each infected person passes the germs to more people, and with exponential speed and reach the virus spreads until it

How DeeDee Gordon Got Preps to Wear Skater Shoes

Who is DeeDee Gordon? How did she get preppy kids to wear skater shoes, resulting in the epidemic success of the shoe company Airwalk? DeeDee Gordon is a maven able to spot trends that are about to explode. She was responsible for making Airwalk’s skater shoes mainstream, which led to the company’s widespread success. We’ll cover how DeeDee Gordon turned Airwalk’s branding around and how ideas like Gordon’s become epidemics through the diffusion model.

The Stickiness Factor: Make Your Ideas Catch On and Spread

What is the “Stickiness Factor”? Where does it come from? Why is it important in business, sales, and marketing? The Stickiness Factor is the idea that you can change the presentation of a message to make it more contagious and stickier (having a more lasting impact). This idea was popularized in Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point. We’ll cover examples of products and messages that have the stickiness factor and look at why the message needs to be sticky for businesses to succeed.

Power of Context–Your Idea Won’t Spread in the Wrong Setting

What is the “Power of Context”? Where does it come from? Why is it important in business, sales, and marketing? The Power of Context is the idea that the environment in which the message or idea is delivered can have a huge impact on whether enough people adopt and spread it to create an epidemic. This idea was popularized in Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point. We’ll cover examples of the power of context and look at why the context of a message can make all the difference.

What Is Scalability? (And Why Should You Care?)

What is scalability? How does scalability affect our lives? When is scalability a good thing? When is it a negative thing? Scalability is the characteristic or ability of a company or process to grow and adapt to changing demands. In the scalable parts of our lives, physical limits don’t apply and effects tend toward incredible extremes. We’ll further explore the scalability definition above, cover how scalability affects our lives, and cover which areas of our lives are most impacted by scalability.

Malcolm Gladwell’s Maven: Why You Need One on Your Team

Who is Malcolm Gladwell’s “maven”? How are mavens crucial to the spread of ideas and important for business? Mavens are information specialists. They are the kinds of people who are endlessly curious and adept at gathering and retaining information on a wide variety of (sometimes obscure) topics. The term comes from Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. We’ll cover the role of Malcolm Gladwell’s mavens in business and why they’re crucial to the spread of ideas, services, and products.

Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen: Key Players in Marketing

Who are connectors, mavens, and salesmen? Where do these distinctions come from, and how are these three types of people crucial to the spread of ideas and important for business? Connectors are sociable, gregarious, and naturally skilled at making friends and acquaintances. Mavens are endlessly curious and adept at gathering and retaining information on a wide variety of topics. Salesmen are the people who pitch the idea or message behind an epidemic and persuade people to jump on board. The terms comes from Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. We’ll cover the role of connectors, mavens, and salesmen in business and

Weak Ties: Why You Need Them, Especially in Business

We don’t think of weak ties as good things–aren’t lasting friendships and deep connections what matter? We’ll cover why weak ties are important, especially in business and marketing. Learn why you should have a “connector,” someone with many weak ties, on your team.