I had the opportunity to listen to, former CEO of eBay, Meg Whitman. She was promoting her new book (The Power of Many) and currently on the campaign trail in her quest to become the next Governor of California. (BTW her platform she shared is focused on job creation, reducing government spending, and updating the infrastructure for any CA readers) As she paraphrased the book’s contents she talked about two characteristics that allowed eBay and many other companies to be successful.
Successful companies have
- A disruptive technology or a feature that creates value that wasn’t there before
- Some emotional need or component that is fulfilled when customers experience a service or product.
This caused me to reflect on Tshirts4Hire.com (check out this previous post for better understanding of what the company is all about. What is the technology or feature that adds previously unrealized value?
Similar to eBay’s model I think it is the platform the space for businesses, bloggers, organizations, etc. to connect with Social Media Marketers who are willing to rent their wardrobe and share their online influence to drive traffic and customers their way.
What emotional need is met?
This is something I’m still kicking around. Meg talked about how eBay focused just on the collector community initially and that it created a community of people with common interests. This later would translate into the thrill of the hunt or bargain during an auction; the anticipation or “I’m next” feeling.
I don’t think it is the same thing for us.Tshirts4Hire is about providing options to creative and/or hard working individuals; helping them become self sufficient. It also creates a new kind of permission marketing for advertisers.
The t-Marketers (T-shirt-wearing Marketers) are consumers that are often the ones generating their own leads talking to local businesses that they would not mind representing to their online community (spammers don’t have many friends).
It is always easier to promote something you believe in or enjoy and ultimately we all are influenced by someone. We tend to even get and follow medical advice from our friends or acquaintances before we’ll go to a doctor.
This creates a way for companies to capitalize on the loyal fan base, creating self-produced testimonials and mini-commercials that can then be leveraged to sway those who haven’t yet experienced the product or service. If you’re lucky it can go viral (a demonstration of the power of many) and the company finds an audience larger than the Super Bowl or a new set of customers/application. Think of how much traction Subway has gotten out of Jared’s subs only diet.
I’d be interested to hear what others think. Is this something that creates unrealized value? What if any emotional needs are met?
