Sometimes You Have To Let People Do What They're Going To Do

I recently played bocce ball with new players.

#ohboy

One of the new players was in a particularly interesting situation. He wanted to roll the ball at 74mph, blowing everything up. The "right" play was to gently roll the ball between the other balls to achieve the desired result.

No amount of communication or logic could convince this inexperienced player to do the right thing. He had a theory (maybe). He wanted to test his theory. Maybe he just wanted to see what happened if he invoked the nuclear option.

He rolled the ball at 94mph. He looked stunned when the outcome was opposite of his pre-conceived notion of the outcome ... ultimately causing his team to lose.

These are the kind of situations that come up every day ... in government, in business, in public health, in your personal life.

This certainly comes up in e-commerce. Somebody is hired, they have theories that are untested, they have a lot of confidence, and then their results aren't good. Sometimes you have to let these people do what they're going to do. You can make a really good living cleaning up the messes left by fools.

Fools. You can't talk them out of wreckin' things.

For My Catalog Readers: Catalog Keynote Presentation #2

It's lunchtime at NEMOA, which means it is time for my second keynote (click here). My advice is for several of you to sit around a table with your iPhones, perusing the content. Have a group discussion. Sound good?

Do You Want A New Metric?

Try this one on for size.

• YouTube Index:  Total Subscribers / (Annual Net Sales / 1,000,000).

Let's consider two companies.

Company #1:  JCP. Approximately $11,000,000,000 in annual net sales, 61,900 followers on YouTube.

• YouTube Index = 61,900 / (11000000000 / 1000000) = 6. Six subscribers per million in annual net sales.

Company #2:  Griot's Garage (I've used this example frequently ... and I don't know their annual net sales, let's say it is $20,000,000). 39,300 followers on YouTube.

• YouTube Index = 39,300 / (20000000 / 1000000) = 1,950. One thousand nine hundred and fifty subscribers per million in net sales.

Now, Griot's Garage could have double that volume in net sales or half that volume ... it doesn't matter. They have a video following. JCP does not. Griot's Garage customers/prospects care.

If you are a traditional catalog brand, your days of lists and co-ops are ending. They ended years ago to be honest. You'll move over to Google/Facebook, but your merchandise assortment (catering to a 60-84 year old customer) won't align with prospects in that realm. You'll be disappointed. You'll tell me that digital doesn't work very well. It works fine. It's a merchandise / channel alignment that flummoxes you.

Meanwhile, Google/Facebook become more expensive as time passes ... and the competition out there dilutes response. Acquiring new customers? It gets harder every day.

This is why community matters. In 2025, Community is your prospect list ... it's the place where you interact with both best customers and prospects ... it's the place where best customers and prospects interact. It's a living, breathing ecosystem that doesn't cost you much but pays you back handsomely.

YouTube is just one aspect of community, but it is a reflection of how much prospects and customers want to come along for the ride with you. In the example I gave above, the Griot's Garage customer/prospect is 300 times more interested in going along for the ride than is the J.C. Penny customer/prospect.

Your YouTube Index matters. It tells you how much your customers and prospects care.

If your YouTube Index is over, say, 200, you've got a fighting chance. Though these numbers aren't set in stone.

What is your YouTube Index?

For My Catalog Readers: Catalog Keynote Presentation #1

Here's the link to Keynote #1 ... tomorrow we focus on Keynote #2. It's lunchtime at NEMOA, so it's a good opportunity for you to gain a different perspective! Gather 'round your garden salads with chicken breast, fire up your noise cancelling headphones, and watch the keynote on your iPhone.

Reminder: Happy Hour on April 3 at 8:00pm EDT / 5:00pm PDT

Send me an email (kevinh@minethatdata.com) to get your link for the 50 minute event on Thursday night!

Great Moments in Omnichannel History

Joann Fabrics: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/bankruptcy/how-joann-fabrics-went-from-a-cult-favorite-retail-darling-to-a-bankruptcy-disaster/ar-AA1BTmh7

Elite Program participants know all about the "COVID-bump", correct?

MLB

When you pay $150ish for the MLB package and it is opening day, you expect the service to work.

Now, when my internet cable is out for the better part of a day, my cable company could care less ... deal with it, moron.

So at least give MLB props for trying to make amends.

How did they make amends?

• Take $10 off your purchase of $25 or more at mlbshop.com ... here's the code: EFW5WFYSTF.

You know what this means, right? If we assume they have 65% or higher gross margins, they're making money off of their mistake.

Outside of my marketing audience, much of my former readership on the old Twitter had contempt for marketing professionals ... and we get another example here why that's the case. Not only do you not get a pro-rated credit for the service they couldn't provide, they have to make money off of the crumbs they do offer you.

Ok, I'm done now.