Whole Foods’ Amazon-powered price cuts are live, have already expanded to include several grocery staples

 Amazon’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods closed today, and the grocer is already rolling out discounts on select food items as result. While Amazon last week shared a list of products expected to be discounted on Monday, a trip to local Whole Foods stores indicate that the price cuts are already broader than announced. For example, prices on some grocery staples – like… Read More

from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/28/whole-foods-amazon-powered-price-cuts-are-live-have-already-expanded-to-include-several-grocery-staples/?ncid=rss

Amazon marks its territory at Whole Foods by selling ‘Farm Fresh’ Echo devices in select stores

 One thing can certainly be said for Amazon: the company moves fast. The retail giant’s $13.7 billion Whole Foods acquisition only officially went through today, and it’s already moved in to mark its territory. Amazon Echo displays have begun popping up in strategic locations in Whole Foods across the country, sporting tongue in cheek signs that market the ‘farm… Read More

from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/28/amazon-marks-its-territory-at-whole-foods-by-selling-farm-fresh-echo-devices-in-select-stores/?ncid=rss

Sonos is testing a speaker with a mic and voice control

 It looks like Sonos is nearing the release of a speaker that has a built-in voice control assistant. According to an FCC filing found by Dave Zatz, the company is seeking to get approval from the US government to sell a speaker that sports “integrated voice control functionality with far field microphones” and “multiple voice platforms.” It’s impossible to say… Read More

from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/28/sonos-is-testing-a-speaker-with-a-mic-and-voice-control/?ncid=rss

Marketing about power and with power

Often overlooked is the decision every marketer makes about how they will treat the issue of power (asymmetrical or not) in their marketing.

Consider insurance. Companies like Allstate don't market themselves as the dominant force in the relationship. They don't say, "you give us money every month for a very long time, and one day, if we think it's a good idea, we'll give you some money back." Instead, they say, "you're in good hands." Insurance is here to take care of you.

That's pretty different from the power dynamic we see implicit in the marketing of Harley Davidson motorcycles. Buying one makes you James Dean. They give you power over others. Luxury brands promise a similar result in certain social situations.

Horror movies don't promise an equitable experience. You sit there, they scare you.

There's some part of our culture that wants to be told what to do by a powerful autocrat.

Microsoft made a lot of enemies (and friends) when they had monopoly power. The message to users and even to partners was, "We're in charge and you have no choice... here's what's next." A large portion of the market responds well to that message. It takes the pressure off decision making and eases responsibility (it can't be your fault if you had no options). Apple is starting to adopt that power mantra with their approach to upgrades and new models.

The new Microsoft, of course, puts the user's power first. Different strategy for a different audience.

Every brand gets to make this choice, pick one of three:

• We have the power over you
• You have the power over your choices and your competitors
• Our products and services give everyone power

Famous colleges market with straight-up power. We have the power to choose you, to grade you, to give you a magic diploma. And in response, millions of kids send in their applications. In fact, they often avoid the alternative (less famous) schools that instead of power, ask, "how can we help you?"

Many businesses prefer to buy things when they have no choice. They not only respect the power of the big auditing firms or the race to serve a search engine or a social network, they actually seek it out. It focuses the attention of the bureaucracy and offers the promise of rapid forward motion with little responsibility on the part of the client.

A lot of freelancers, on the other hand, have been beaten down so often that they can't imagine projecting power, instead only offering to serve those that do.

Danny Meyer has built a restaurant empire around the idea that customers ought to be powerful. Instead of bullying his patrons, he trains his people to serve. No velvet rope, just a smile.

Each of us gets to choose what sort of marketing we respond to. Those that use bully tactics to gain power over us only get away with it because it works (on some people, some of the time). And often, when power is put into our hands (sometimes known as freedom... the freedom to create, to speak up, to lead, to challenge), we blink and walk away.

Some people persist in thinking that marketing is about ads or low prices. It's not. It's about human nature and promises and who we see when we look in the mirror.

When you see confusion, look for fear, and look for the dynamics of power.

       

from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/450465716/0/sethsblog~Marketing-about-power-and-with-power.html

Where does Blue Apron go after Amazon wraps up its Whole Foods deal?

 Last week, Amazon said that its massive $13.7 billion deal to acquire Whole Foods is wrapping up on Monday — giving it access to one of the strongest food brands in the United States, as well as hundreds of grocery stores in metropolitan areas. That means it’s going to be easier and easier for people to get access to great ingredients, and there’s been a continued trickle… Read More

from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/27/where-does-blue-apron-go-after-amazon-wraps-up-its-whole-foods-deal/?ncid=rss

The toxic antidote to goodwill

Anyone who has done the math will tell you that word of mouth is the most efficient way to gain trust, spread the word and grow.

And yet...

It only takes a moment to destroy. Only a few sentences, a heartless broken promise, a lack of empathy, and it's gone. Not only that, but the lost connection can easily lead to lawsuits.

Doctor, the surgery seems to have gone wrong!

It's not my fault. I did a perfect job. Tough luck.

Architect, the floor is sagging, the beams were put in the wrong direction!

I don't care. There's a three-year statute of limitations, and even then, it wasn't my job to ensure that the work met the plans. 

Airline, my two-year-old can't sit in a row by herself, and the agent on the phone said you'd work it so we could sit together!

It's not my fault. If you don't want to get on the plane, don't get on the plane.

In all three cases, there are significant operational barriers to magically fixing the problem. But that's not where the breakdown happened. It happened because a human being decided to not care. Not care and not express anything that felt like caring.

A human being, perhaps intimidated by lawyers, or tired after a hard day, or the victim of a bureaucracy (all valid reasons) then made the stupid decision to not care.

By not caring, by not expressing any empathy, this individual denied themselves their own humanity. By putting up a brick wall, they isolate themselves. Not only do they destroy any hope for word of mouth, they heap disrespect on someone else. By working so hard to not engage (in the vain hope that this will somehow keep them clean), they end up in the mud, never again to receive the benefit of the doubt.

What kind of day or week or career is that? To live in a lucite bubble, keeping track only of individuals defeated and revenue generated?

It turns out that while people like to have their problems fixed, what they most want is to be seen and to be cared about.

Of course you should use these fraught moments to reinforce connections and build word of mouth. Of course you should realize that in fact people like us get asked to recommend airlines and doctors and architects all the time, but now, we will never ever recommend you to anyone, in fact, we'll go out of our way to keep people from choosing you.

But the real reason you should extend yourself in these moments when it all falls apart is that this is how you will measure yourself over time. What did you do when you had a chance to connect and to care?

       

from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/449280762/0/sethsblog~The-toxic-antidote-to-goodwill.html

What you know vs. what you do

In 1995, my book packaging company published one of its last titles, an anachronism called, Presenting Digital Cash. It was the first book on digital cash ever aimed at a mass audience. And it was ahead of its time, selling (fortunately) very few copies. The examples in the book were current, but it was soon outdated. (The foreword was written by Neal Stephenson—someone who is ahead of his time for a living).

Thirteen long years later, Bitcoin was introduced to the world. I didn't invent it, even though I'd written about digital cash more than a decade before. I'd created an entire book about digital cash, and thought about it deeply for months.

Except I didn't buy 1,000 dollars worth of Bitcoin in 2008. If I had, I'd have more than $40,000,000 today.

It's not that I didn't know.

It's that I didn't act.

Two different things.

I knew, but I didn't know for sure. Not enough to act.

All the good stuff happens when we act even if we don't know for sure.

       

from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/448124824/0/sethsblog~What-you-know-vs-what-you-do.html