Everybody does it. When you’re in the middle of something, whatever it may be, words describing the success or failure of your actions emerge almost uncontrollably from your mouth and, at least if you’re like me, the entire thing transpires without even mildly attracting your attention.

Earlier today, I watched someone give a presentation (that’s the not-so-interesting part). What was interesting, however, is that every time that the presenter mispronounced a word or made a mistake, that mistake was followed with a very short monologue on what the presenter had done wrong.

As far as presenters go, this isn’t something that’s limited to anyone in particular. I’ve seen distinguished speakers pull the same routine time-and-time again (albeit with less frequency).

So, how do you combat the monologue of doom? Chances are, it’s probably harder than it sounds. From a psychological perspective, this behavior likely occurs because it has been seen to occur many times before and the repetition of the behavior likely arises with a desire for social conformity. In other words, because other people do it you’ll do it too.

Still, like most behavior that exists as a recovery mechanism for embarrassment, solving this problem is mainly a matter of recognizing that it exists. Of course, at the end of the day, it isn’t really a “problem” at all. In fact, I’d venture to say that this topic probably seems rather boring because it happens so frequently that most people don’t even notice it anymore.

That’s where marketing comes in. Any time that something happens with greater and greater frequency, its ability to stand out in a crowd becomes much like the presentation-slip-up recovery that plagues us all. Just as no one (probably) notices these little mistakes and slip-ups, no one (probably) notices the same ad that they’ve seen 500 times. Subconsciously, they may recall the ad or have some attachment to the advertisement or product anyways, but the fact remains that they’re still not paying attention to it now.

Why? Because they’ve seen it before. In advertising, any time you show the world something that’s only more of the same, you put yourself in a position to be ignored because people aren’t actively looking for something to pay attention to.

Look at Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s much lauded Subservient Chicken campaign for Burger king. It’s weird. It’s different. It’s interesting. It’s still the subject of hundreds of e-mails even today.

Watch Apple’s Get a Mac ads. They’re every bit as funny as the Subservient Chicken campaign with less interactivity.

Now, tell me. What happened in the last ad you saw for Dell? How about Honda? McDonald’s?

Attention is every bit as valuable as money. After all, companies will spend millions every year just to nab 30 seconds of it during the Super Bowl. But what’s interesting about attention is that it’s intrinsically free. If you do something different and something that’s interesting, people will stand up and “pay” attention.

When it comes to advertising, start thinking and stop thinking out loud.

Following directions isn’t always a “bad thing.” In fact, sometimes it’s almost a necessity. Take the fine print on the back of your prescription, for example. It’s probably not a good idea to decide that this is your best opportunity to defy the status quo and do something different. You should probably just play along.

In the world of business however, “playing along” is a sure fire way to end up at the bottom of the food chain. Innovation doesn’t happen by following a set of guidelines and directions; it happens because someone, somewhere was willing to stand up and ignore the directions on how to do something in search of doing it in an entirely different way.

All throughout school (at least if you were like me), you probably lost a lot of points for “not following directions” - that’s because the world is designed to condition people into doing what they’re told to do. But, in the real world, you won’t lose points for not following directions. If you do something different, it will either work or it won’t. If you’re reading this blog, I’m betting it will.

Creating change that matters is all about doing something that hasn’t been done before and, if it hasn’t been done before, then you’re never going to get there by following directions.

Only take two Tylenol at a time, but never kill your next great idea because you think it isn’t following directions. Time and time again, the world’s brightest inventors and most influential innovators will find exorbitant ways to ignore directions altogether. That’s the only direction you need to follow (with the exception of your prescription, of course).

Since I was a kid, I’ve always hated the idea of being paraded through the endless charade of basic concepts that everyone knows (or should know) don’t work out so perfectly most of the time. My disposition against “the basic” has resulted in arguments with teachers, figures of authority, friends, relatives, and strangers at Starbucks. At heart though, the biggest problem with basic is that, by design, it is meant to follow some set of rules. But, as we learn from an early age, rules are made to be broken.

If nothing else, the very existence of the phrase “what if?” serves as the much appreciated bane to basic’s existence. Because, only rarely, can you find rules that are flawlessly functional, I find it useful to frequently be aware of the basic, but simultaneously choose to ignore it.

In marketing, the basic is one of the worst things that you can do for a product. Following rules, copying the competition, and upholding the status quo are surefire roads to a rude awakening and they’re all parts of what are certainly “the basics.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean that products can’t be simple; they can. Simple and basic are a world apart from one another and, just because something is one, that doesn’t mean that the other is true. Little Miss Matched’s mismatched pairs of socks are simple but they are by no means basic. At an early age, you surely learned the “basic” rule that socks are meant to be identical to one another. The fact of the matter, however, is that it doesn’t have to be that way.

Rules are meant to be broken.

In a split second, someone’s experience with your company can easily shape the entire relationship between the two of you for years to come. It sounds cliché, but it’s not exactly a common practice to translate what everybody “knows” into actual experiences that make people smile. Sure, in business school, you probably learned (or, hopefully, already knew) that if you make lots of mistakes with your customers, you’re not going to have many customers for very long. Still, at least in my experience, the managers, owners, and employees of the world rarely jump at the chance to not only fix or avoid mistakes, but to turn them into opportunities to create those memorably outstanding experiences that make people put you at the top of their list.

Just a few hours ago, while working on a project for a client of mine, I suddenly began to crave the perfect pizza that only Carrabbas can make. I called in a take-out order but, to my surprise, when I arrived, they had misunderstood my order and given me the wrong thing. What happens next should be underlined, italicized, emboldened, and written in size 40 font (but that wouldn’t be very easy to read).

The manager fixed the order in no less than five minutes but, during those five minutes, a waiter had me trying the dish that was served by mistake, drinking a complimentary soft drink, and talking with him about the incredible amount of training that is required to be a waiter at Carrabbas. Needless to say, the manager and employee at this particular Carrabbas have a better understanding of the power of experience than many companies ever will. With little effort, minimal expense, and a few minutes of simple conversation, Carrabbas has sold me for life. They didn’t just fix the problem; they turned it into an opportunity to create an experience that was out of the ordinary.

When you do something small to make a customer smile that ventures beyond their expectations, you begin a relationship that will keep them coming back. It doesn’t have to be big; you don’t have to give them the keys to your store or free food for a year. Just show them you understand who they are and where they’re coming from and they’ll return the favor. Not only will these experiences build stronger relationships between a customer and your company, they’ll open the door to an infinite number of new relationships as that customer tells his tale again and again.

Being first is hard. Doing something that has never been done before is hard. Finding a way to make something that might not even work break through with a ray of success is hard.

But, just because it’s “hard,” doesn’t mean you should confuse it with impossible. The two words are a world apart and, at least in my experience, the second word rarely (if ever) actually exists as a realm of possibility within the vast majority of decisions that you can make in a day.

It’s deceivingly simple to say that “hard” things can be done, but the truth of the matter is that they can. Landing on the moon was hard. Refusing to move to the back of the bus was hard. Building a device that can get directions, make a phone call, read the news, and play a game from the confines of your pocket was hard, but I’m holding it right now.

Being first is all about redefining what hard means for you. If, to you, hard means impossible, then you’re never going to do anything that’s hard. If, on the other hand, hard means difficult, then the only thing that stands in your way is the decision to make it work. If you’re reading this blog, then I’m guessing you approach hard with the latter.

If you have an idea in your head, this is your call to action. If you’re tired of being stuck in a web of bureaucratic scavenger hunts, then this is your chance to kick form XB33-PL9 to the curb.

Being first is all about doing what’s hard. But, you’re in luck. You’re not the first person to do something difficult. You’re the next.

While sitting at the mall earlier today, I noticed something odd. Not surprising, just odd. For every person who took the stairs, fifty took the escalator.

We live in a world in which convenience is no longer a dream; it’s a reality. But, I wonder, if perhaps we’ve reached a point at which the world is becoming too convenient.

I live on the second floor of a building and, without fail, each time I leave by myself I take the stairs. A friend of mine lives on the second floor as well and, despite my best efforts, I’ve been unable to convince him to brave the stairs when a magic box is so conveniently available just a few feet away. After all, why walk when you can have an elaborate system of pulleys do the work for you?

Of course, that’s not to say that these inventions are bad; they’re not. Inventions that have made the normal lives of ordinary people more convenient have made the normal lives of people with disabilities possible. Their existence is, by all accounts, very purposeful indeed. But, sometime shortly after this existence began, they quickly turned into something they weren’t necessarily intended to be. Elevators were meant to take people from one floor to the thirtieth floor or to take those who cannot walk from one floor to the next. They weren’t really intended as a way for people to avoid the mini burst of exercise that comes hand in hand with a flight of stairs.

So, how does this tie into marketing?

It’s important to recognize that whatever your company sets out to be, your customers are the ones who will tell you who you “really” are. BitTorrent is a wonderful technology, but many of its users have decided it’s a tool for piracy - so it is.

That’s not to say that some don’t use it for other things; they do, but, like elevators, a lot of people use it for something else entirely. While you think that all of your customers are taking the stairs and only a few are using the elevators, they’re probably all waiting around for the next elevator as you read these words.

I and many others spend a lot of time talking about what could be done better within the worlds of design and marketing. But, if you really stop and think about it for a minute, it’s amazing how well things seem to work already.

Sure, there’s a bad experience here or there. But, for the most part, everything works almost exactly as it was intended to. In the grand scheme of things, it’s actually almost stunning how few and far between bad experiences really are. The only reason that they stick out at all is because they’re pretty rare to begin with.

How many times have you had to wait four hours for a table at a restaurant? If I had to wager on it, I’d say once (at most). Yet, despite the obscurity of that experience, it likely still pops into your mind whenever you hear the name of the restaurant.

By and large, the parts of the world that work are taken for granted by most of its inhabitants (me included). And, while many things can always be improved, it’s fascinating to think about all of the things that are almost perfect already.

For the better part of the year, ads are, in large part, ignored. But not today.

Despite the fact that Americans are exposed to an unfathomably high number of ads each and every day of their lives, they somehow manage to muster the attention span to watch every single ad within the confines of the Superbowl timeslots year after year.

Of course, people don’t just “watch” them. They watch them again. They watch them with friends. They talk about them for weeks. They’re as important to the Superbowl as the sport itself.

The question is, why do companies waste their time airing boring ads for the rest of the year and try to make up for it in brief slots during the Superbowl?

Sure, it makes sense from an economic perspective to concentrate resources into what will derive the most value. But, think about it. How much value is being lost in the 364 days of less-than-stellar advertising that is virtually ignored by every possible viewer?

Every ad should be a Superbowl ad. Every interaction should be as important as one that costs your company $2 million for 30 seconds of time. After all, 30 seconds is all it takes to win someone over for life.

The dominant news story this week was, almost without a doubt, the inauguration of Barrack Obama, the 44th President. Or was it? As an avid watcher of quite a few late-night talk shows as well as the occasional news clip or two, I believe that I may need to extend the honor of news story of the week to Aretha Franklin’s hat.

Whether she intended it or not, Aretha’s decision to wear such a recognizable hat (”Exhibit A” below) has spawned an unbelievable amount of publicity that has sent her name back to the top of the country’s mind when the word ‘music’ enters the conversation.

Exhibit A:

As of this post, if you Google the phrase “Aretha Hat,” you end up with no less than 501,000 results - most of which actually have to do with Aretha’s hat. So what’s the deal? Why has a hat earned so much attention in a week where most of the world has far more important things to worry about?

To put it simply, Aretha’s hat is worth talking about. It’s interesting. It’s a break from the souring economy, the worries of foreign policy, and everything else that is ailing the world this week.

If you give people something they’ve never seen before and that they weren’t expecting, there’s a good chance that they’ll really want to talk about it. Comments on Ms. Franklin’s hat range from curious to comical to down right mean. Still, before the 20th, how many of you knew that such a hat even existed? Thanks to the overwhelming response to ‘The Hat’ / “Exhibit A” by the blogosphere, a good part of the world now not only knows that these hats exist but is actually lining up to buy them (or their imminent replicas). That’s amazing.

So next time you’re sitting in a board room thinking of ways to generate stronger word of mouth, think to yourself “How can we dress this up in Aretha’s Hat?”

For further reading on the hat that changed the world, the New York Times has an interesting look at Aretha’s hat.

There’s something very wrong in the world of sales. Profits and products have taken the place of an asset that’s far more important to your company than anything else - people.

Today’s business climate places far too much emphasis on “selling” things to consumers, on influencing and convincing and suggesting their purchasing behavior to skew it in favor of a brand or product - and that’s the problem. You’re not selling products. You’re buying people.

As strange as it seems, that’s precisely what any successful business is trying to do. There’s a market out there for just about anything: blankets with arm holes, chicken-flavored candy, and who knows what else. If you make it, someone out there will probably buy it. But, the question isn’t whether or not you can get them to buy it but rather if you can get them to buy it again.

Of course, some of this depends on the product. After all, there can’t be too many lost souls out there clamoring for a candy bar that tastes like chicken. But, if there are, you can bet that you’ll be a lot more successful if you can find a way to keep them buying your poultry-flavored treats.

Most companies make this challenge harder than it needs to be. Sure, it isn’t easy, but it isn’t rocket science either. If you think about any successful relationship that you’ve had in your life, what were the things that made it successful?

One interaction surely wasn’t responsible for the success of the whole relationship, although just one bad interaction could swiftly have ruined it. What makes a relationship successful is trust, openness, and excitement. If you’re company can find a way to do all of those things, you’ve just won over your customers for life (that is, until you stop doing one of those three things and create a bad interaction). 

If you want to buy people, you need to decide the price that you’re willing to pay for them. It doesn’t have to involve actually paying them to buy things from you (you’re still in it for some profit after all), but it does require a little bit of effort on your part. You have to give them something that makes them feel special and coddled, something that makes them feel lucky to be your customers. 

There’s no limit to what this payment could be but, without it, it’s a lot harder to realize your full potential - both in life and in business.

Watching the inauguration today, I was reminded of something that I’ve noticed ever since I was a little boy - the media (in this article, television media) don’t have a lot of material to talk about (but they try to anyways). As hordes of people congregated into the constricting vessels of the National Mall, reporters on every channel from Fox to NBC pointed out anything and everything that came to mind to ensure that not a second passed without their commentary.

There are times when this is okay. Sports, for example, occasionally warrant play-by-play status updates. Apple’s famed Keynotes, too, deserved to be described in minute-by-minute detail as Jobs’ unleashes never before seen products on the world.

Inaugurations, school days, and lunches however do not need to be narrated piece-by-piece. In the past week, every major news network has spent an innumerable number of hours reflecting on what Michelle Obama was wearing, what President Obama’s children were doing, how President Bush was acting, and how much security surrounded the events of today. It’s reached a point where most of their audience doesn’t even notice the commentary anymore but, nevertheless, they continue on in their quest to put every visible detail into sentence format. It’s almost eerily familiar to the scandals of paparazzi followed princesses and celebrity relationships.

It’s important to talk about things that are happening in the world. It isn’t important to say that the Secret Service dress in black and protect the president. We know.

In terms of marketing, these lessons couldn’t be more relevant. People don’t need to be told things that they already know in a way that they’re already aware of.

You have two options: 1) Give people something new to care about or 2) Show them a new way of seeing something that they already know. The media doesn’t (usually) do this. They’re very good at what they do but what they do isn’t always exactly newsworthy. How many times have you turned on your TV only to learn something that you already know?

Of course, they’re there when something happens and they bring live and breaking coverage of everything from natural disasters to terrorist attacks to screens all over the world. That’s why people watch the news. But, when there isn’t much to talk about, they keep talking. 

If you’ve ever fallen victim to an infomercial late at night, you know what happens when companies act like the media. How much is there to really learn about the Bowflex, OxyClean, the ShamWow!, or even the Snuggy? They don’t have a lot to say but they keep saying it and saying it anyways.

Before you talk, ask yourself “Do I really have something to say?” You’ll be amazed at the results.

I just came from the mall and noticed something peculiar about a few of the ads displayed on the kiosks throughout the building. A number of ads highlighting grand openings, promotions, and sales that took place in October and November of 2008 are still up in January 2009. 

Of course, aside from draining the ad budgets of some poor company that needs to hire a new marketing firm, these ads have little (if any) effect on the success of the stores that they’re promoting. After all, who wants to shop at a sale that happened last year?

If you don’t care enough to keep track of and change the dates on your ads from time to time, then your customers won’t care enough to pay attention to you. Why should they? There are plenty of other things to pay attention to.

Ads for things that are going to happen three months ago aren’t a good way to spend money. They’re not a very common occurrence, but it’s still a little strange that they occur at all.

Most companies exist to make a profit while (hopefully) making their customers happy. No doubt, if you’re employed in an organization led by someone other than yourself, this is likely the mantra that drives your company’s actions. It is business, after all.

But, what if we were to change that sentence around a bit? What if we made it say “This company exists to make its customers happy. If they’re happy, then the company will make a profit” instead?

The difference is subtle, but now more important than ever. What if more companies put the happiness of their customers before profits? What if they prioritized customer happiness and satisfaction above all else? I think, paradoxically, that prioritizing happiness over profits would actually have a dramatic and positive impact on a company’s profits in the long run. Sure, it’s a risky thought; but, good businesses, at heart, are built on risk.

In the words of Seth Godin, “Safe is risky.” You can do everything perfectly but, if it doesn’t make your customers happy, it isn’t going to work very well. If you’re willing to take the risk to make your customers happiness a priority higher than profits, then perhaps the wonderful profit genies in the sky will be good to you after all.

Eating out doesn’t have to be expensive. The system is rigged to poke and prod you into spending money that you don’t need to spend. But, fear not; there are a few little tricks that can save you some cash at your favorite restaurant without taking the fun out of eating out.

None of these things are particularly unknown, but they may not come to mind when eating out so it’s always good to think about them a little bit:

1. Stay Away From Add-On Sides

Restaurants are eager to throw in an extra side, a salad, or a cup or bowl of soup. While these things are okay, they’re usually unnecessary in America because our portion sizes are large enough to fill almost anyone’s appetite. Fast Food chains in particular are notorious for upsizing and combo convincing. Aside from the negative health effects, the financial effect of adding fries and a drink can (sometimes) double the cost of your food. 

2. Skip The Drinks

Drinks at restaurants are expensive. A coke can sometimes add $2.50 to your bill and if everyone at the table gets one, you could be looking at another entrée. Aside from the added expense, soft drinks also increase your appetite and make you feel hungrier than you really are - likely the reason why nearly everywhere in America you can get free refills. 

3. Buy Giftcards

Normally, gift cards aren’t among the soundest of investments. But, given the sagging sales at food chains nationwide, their marketing departments have jumped into action with bonus card offers that can actually net you a profit (sort of) on eating out. Many restaurants are now offering deals where if you purchase a gift card for $25 or $50, you’re eligible to receive another $5 or $10 free of charge. Of course, this option is only advantageous if you’re planning to go to one of these places anyway but, if you are, why not earn a little extra for eating there?

4. Tip Accordingly

I’ve always been a little confused about the rules around tipping. The way I see it, you shouldn’t just tip based on a percentage - even if that percentage is rather high. Sometimes you’re not that hungry and you only order an appetizer and water; the check comes out to $8.39 and 20% of that is $1.68. Did the waiter only do $1.68 worth of work? Or was he or she friendly and attentive? Likewise, if you get an appetizer, steak, and dessert and the check comes out to $60, did the waiter really do $12 worth of work? Tipping based on percentages is strange; it often amounts to too much or too little. Instead, tip based on the quality of service and the atmosphere of the restaurant. Friendly and attentive waiters deserve more money no matter what you ordered.

5. Sign-Up For E-Mail Alerts

I hate getting pointless marketing e-mails as much as the next person but, in light of the economy, restaurants have stepped up their efforts to send out coupons and special offers. It’s not rare to receive a coupon for a free appetizer, $5 or $10 off, and other goodies to entice customers. Sure, these e-mails are annoying, but is the tiny annoyance worth free food at your favorite restaurant?

Have you ever found the perfect potato chip in the worst looking bag? Or the best tasting chocolates in a plain, boring container? Most of the time, packaging and marketing decisions are made by someone tucked away somewhere neatly within the confines of a grey and felted cubicle who thought to himself “this detail doesn’t matter.”

Little things do matter. In fact, sometimes, they matter as much or more than the things themselves. Take bottled water. There isn’t a huge difference between water from Norway and water from New York. They’re both water. But, they come in different bottles with different stories and different logos and little things that make one feel more attractive to a consumer.

Think about it. For $1-$2, would you buy a bottle labeled “Spring Water” with no story behind it, nothing special about the bottle, and little to offer besides the promise of water? Or, would you buy the bottle that came from an ancient spring deep below the surface of the earth with water that claims to be the purest on the planet and comes with its very own attractive bottle?

In a world where lots of people are ready and willing to make the same thing, the details start to matter a lot more than they used to. Apple didn’t turn itself around by ignoring the details. It embraced them and made them their strongest assets. If you look at anything in Apple’s product arsenal, the attention to detail shows. From the packaging to the people to the products themselves, it’s all there.

So, the question is, what details are you missing? 

Something small can mean the difference between success and failure and, success, after all, happens one step at a time.