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SMARTY.

The human side of business

Archives for July 2017

Small Business

Millennialmania.

July 25, 2017 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Parades, fanfare and applause. #calmdown

I can’t tell. Is the entire universe enamored with, or terrified of, millennials? Without question, they have emerged as the demographic most often mentioned in an initial phone call with a prospective client, and the last thing raised during a marketing meeting. It usually goes something like: “Make sure millennials will like it,” or “Let me run it by my daughter… she is a millennial.”

But what many of my collaborators and I actually hear, is the subtext of this conversation, which is: “OMG we are NOTHING without millennials! If this doesn’t appeal to millennials, we are doomed. Insignificant. Done.”

First, let’s calm down.  Millennials represent about one-quarter of the buying power according to retail analysts who are tracking these things (by the minute, it seems.) That leaves 75% of the rest of us who also have money and (actually) buy things.

Second, millennials may not be as exotic, omniscient, and powerful as we’ve made them out to be. Yes, they think differently and shop differently than a 60-year old consumer, but what they may really represent is a more honest and efficient approach to selling products or consuming content.

  • They don’t respond well to hype, over-selling or noise – neither do you.
  • They want to “buy from” not be “sold to.” So do you.
  • They want to know what their friends think. So do we, but we share over a conversation in-person as opposed to sharing online.
  • They buy from their devices, rather than their desktop. That’s becoming truer for all of us.
  • They want all of the information in a single sentence, or better yet – a hashtag. Secretly, you sort of agree.

See where I’m going? It may be that when it comes to being consumers, we really aren’t all that different. Yes, there are differences (I’m not discounting my retail people and their lengthy discourse on the subject) but millennials, and their short attention spans, have also contributed to creating efficiencies that are representative of most attention spans, not just theirs. After all is said and done, the result of our current obsession with them may actually end up being better, more transparent marketing.

See, when brands make big shifts in their businesses and make key marketing decisions in service to one demographic or trend, it has a limiting effect. It restricts quality thinking about how those people or topics will grow, change and evolve. Millennials will mature like all generations before them (we sincerely hope) and along with better work ethics and less entitled attitudes, will grow into people who think for themselves, rely less on peer input, and use the same devices the rest of us use to buy the stuff they want, at the right price, through the most efficient platforms, from the brands they trust. At that point we will welcome them to the 75% who feel the same way and do the same thing.

Does Gen Y matter? Sure.

But I caution us to stop glorifying their thinking to be more rarefied than it is. It may not look so different from what you also appreciate from the worlds’ marketing departments.

Funny, disarming, short-form, real, inspired, truthful, provocative – or – just on sale. Not so different.

#millenialsecretsrevealed

Big Brands

Colette.

July 18, 2017 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Courtesy, Colette.

Gallery/Bookstore/Runway/Water Bar. A key member of the Good Taste Committee retires.

Following a trip to Paris earlier this summer, I learned that one of my favorite reasons for going to this great city would be closing by year’s end. For as long as I can remember, the Parisian concept store Colette has been the retail embodiment of global style and experimental design – possibly even the birthplace of cool. On a busy corner on Rue St. Honore, this four-story retailer regularly unveiled provocative window designs, unexpected collaborations and undiscovered talent, attracting critical recognition and insider credibility. You could always count on Colette to deliver something surprisingly imaginative, original, and brave. If this store were a person, she would be as direct and disarming as she was enigmatic; a beautiful contradiction that always made sense.

It is hard to see a good thing come to an end, but my heart also breaks for what the closing of Colette might mean, in the broader sense.

Can the deeply original, but (intentionally) un- scalable, survive anymore?
Is the mass-market becoming the only sustainable market?
Do beloved spots like Louis Boston (Boston), Le Deux Gamin (New York City), Zenon (Eugene, Oregon), Dutton’s (Los Angeles) have finite life spans and is this what makes us fall in love with them?

Does the nature of true chemistry need to be fleeting…for us to embrace and appreciate it?

When a place, person or idea yields to whatever unknown market forces may be at work, I get a pang of existential angst. Why is it, with so many expendable options, that it is the rare and un-replicable that leave us?

Whether we know it or not, I think we crave these provocateurs, their discerning eyes, playful spirits and indelible points of view. We need these risk takers to continue to experiment, to connect dots between disciplines and industries the rest of us can’t even see. I know I look forward to seeing how design, art, commerce, pop culture, fashion, literature, music, and food cross-pollinate and amplify one another. Beyond the aesthetics, these visionaries make sense of things we didn’t know we were trying to solve. Their creativity opens doors and creates ripples, and ultimately raises the average.

I don’t actually think originality is getting diluted or disappearing, but do think that we, as consumers, may need to be bolder in recognizing and supporting these valuable outposts.

Thank you, Colette, for building an altar for our imaginations. Long live the many places, like you, around the world, who continue to take chances, and who unearth ideas that resonate, provoke and inspire us.

Let’s continue to celebrate you, with our attention and patronage, wherever we find you.

Big Life

Downsellers.

July 10, 2017 · By Amy Swift Crosby

It’s what you see; not who you are.

Most of us fall into one of two camps: Upsellers or Downsellers.

Upsellers are always going to give you the bright side – the pitch on why you should do x, y, or z. They are perceived by many as positive.

Downsellers, on the other hand, are always going to offer up both the strengths and weaknesses of doing that same x, y, or z. They may or may not be invested in enrolling you in the experience. Still, they – or shall I say we – are often perceived as being critical.

Our “spiritually” over-saturated culture has done much to create an unwritten code of positivity. An allegiance to being “positive” throughout every interaction has become ubiquitous. Upsellers are rewarded for their limitless positivity, while Downsellers are thought to be “downers.”

Clearly, it triggers something in me because as a life long Downseller, I think it’s disingenuous to put a positive spin on experiences or products simply to avoid being thought of as “negative.“ When did critical thinking translate to bad mojo?  I see it less as a view on someone’s disposition and more a difference in filters.

But here’s the problem.

A Downseller can’t unsee what she sees (I’ve tried.) I can walk into a freshly cleaned kitchen and see tomato sauce on a floorboard before I acknowledge the sparkling counters. It also means I can open a design presentation or read a headline and identify why it doesn’t (yet) work. I don’t particularly like the burden of the ‘gift’ at times, but an engaged and critical mind serves me well at work and adds a lens to how I see the world that creates value for my clients.

The reason Downsellers make great consultants is that they have a very high “negativity bias,” which in simple terms means, they see what’s missing naturally and quickly. Whether creatively, operationally, or managerially, this ability acts like X-Ray vision, and is precisely what allows them to improve what others may think is finished – unearthing blind spots that can be game-changing for a business.

Downsellers may appear to see the glass half empty, but the reality is, we just see the glass for what it is; clean, dirty, soap spots, lipstick rims. The thoughts presented by a Downseller may be harder to swallow, but in certain circumstances, could prove to be more potent.

But if I’m being really honest, we sometimes come off as continuously unsatisfied, with standards that can’t be met. And that’s not really useful, for any reason.

So…

A challenge to Downsellers: We need to use our powers for good, and position whatever feedback we have with a solution in mind. We can present our ‘truth’ with enthusiasm, support and genuine intention. And there is no harm in turning off the filter when it no longer serves the mission.

And to Upsellers: Please know that we do what we do because we care. We may have an opinion about everything, which admittedly gets tiring, but know that because of us, there is probably less mediocrity in the world. #yourewelcome

Big Life

Hood Ornaments.

July 3, 2017 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Warhol called it.

For those of you who feel ambivalent about placing yourselves at the center of your brand’s marketing efforts, this commentary is for you.

Years ago, as the creator of monthly SMARTY events, I was moderating panels of extraordinary women helming press-worthy businesses. This visibility placed me on the receiving end of some considerable attention and unexpected brand opportunities. While it was all very positive, it forced me to think carefully about how to respond to it—and how to leverage it. You’ve probably had to consider similar choices.

The prevailing advice I heard at that time was to “Make it about me.” Smart, well-meaning people tried to convince me to lead by example, which would have required me to build a digital platform and take pictures of myself on vacation or enjoying the fruits of my labor, all while espousing tips on “how you, too, can become…bigger/better/richer.” Or basically, more like me.

Although this approach may be profitable, at the time, it gave me the moral stomach flu.

It makes me question where we want to live when it comes to self-promotion – and where do we start to get a little nauseated by it? Is there anything wrong with sharing talents, achievements and deluxe vistas as a brand strategy? Not inherently. After all, this is at the heart of social media.

Yet, as the chief promotional officers of our own brands, many of us feel simultaneously that we are the best hood ornament for what we sell while being keenly aware of the tension it produces.

One script does not fit all – and I think everyone has to answer this for herself. I moved 3,000 miles away from me-as-a-brand-opportunity due, in part, to ambition fatigue. Not because I was exhausting myself with my own, but because being around so much ambition, and the resulting self-promotion, was exhausting me. That’s my own tolerance showing, not a judgment against what anyone else’s may be.

But….in a world where professional narcissism is at an all time high, there should be some self-imposed guardrails. My own requirement is that I not embarrass myself (to myself). That, I cannot live with, no matter the applause that may be generated “out there.”

Here’s a thought that may be relevant for anyone – whether flexing abs in a bikini or doling out champagne dreams from Rome: Even if you are your own brand, and you are the thing you’re selling—whether it be expertise, wisdom or flip flops—consider that there’s a lot more longevity in standing for something bigger than yourself.

The spotlight may be required to stay on you, for whatever reason, but my advice (did I just contradict myself?) is to make yourself a representative of the mission. Not the mission itself.

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About Me

photo of Amy Swift Crosby

Amy Swift Crosby is a brand strategist and copywriter who has positioned or voiced messaging across the commercial spectrum, from icons like Ford, BVLGARI, Pottery Barn, Pantene and Virgin, to boutique brands like The Wild Unknown, fitness franchise Barre3 and the rebrand of legendary metaphysical bookstore, Bodhi Tree. She has leveraged this expertise to help entrepreneurial women and small businesses owners hone their skills, mission and message, while uncovering their own “voice.” This blog explores “the human side of business,” and universal themes like uncertainty, anxiety, the tension between engagement and disconnection, personal value and most importantly, of finding - and hearing - our own voices in our everyday life.

Photo - Andrew Stiles

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SMARTY began as a thriving community in Los Angeles and Boston with weekly panel discussions and events designed to better understand the mindset and growth strategies behind successful entrepreneurs. Today, SMARTY is a weekly blog written by Amy Swift Crosby who chronicles her life as a creative, parent, entrepreneur and spiritual seeker. As an urban refugee living in a New England seaside village, she unpacks topics ranging from uncertainty and doubt to the built environment and advertising. More on Amy.

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