Barack Obama...Spreading an Ideavirus

Welcome to this edition of the Samera newsletter. In today's edition:

Barak Obama - Spreading an ideavirus

Only 12 months back and not many of us would have heard of Barak Obama, but in 12 months a lot has changed in the world of US politics.

Out of virtually nowhere has this charismatic democratic leader emerged to defy all odds of being potentially the first Black president of the USA.

Rather than discuss politics it is the meteoric rise which really interests me. How did this unknown American who was raised in Indonesia get to such a position in the last 12 months?

My first recollection of even hearing about Barak Obama was on a newsnight feature around 2 years ago, easily forgettable. But my interest arose again when I was sent an email link to a music video about how this girl had a crush on Obama performed by a young lady, it is quite amusing –If you are one of the very few who has not seen it check out:

Obama's funny music video

(If it does not work just search for Barak Obama songs)

This web video was biggest web video of 2007 according to Newsweek magazine.

This video, allegedly nothing to do with Obama’s official campaign has had over 8.5 million views (compare this Obama’s own music video which has had 7.9 millions views on Youtube). Through the power of the web, the funny music video idea has spread Obama quickly across the world . An ideavirus (not created by Obama’s camp) had been created and spread. Although the success of Obama cannot be attributed to this funny music video, it spread a clear message very quickly across the globe, which only could have helped his profile.

A New Gatekeeper

In the old world this idea may well have spread but it would have had to be picked up by network TV channels, the historic gatekeepers to what we could see. In our new world, the gatekeeper has changed, the TV and newspaper editors are no longer the gatekeepers, Google and its friends are the new gatekeeper.

The term ideavirus can be first attributed to Seth Godin who has repeatedly said that the key to marketing is creating an idea that will stand out and then it will spread like a virus. In this instance, a funny music video was the virus attached to Obama's campaign. Eventually the virus will end up killing itself, but Obama is a long way off yet from killing his virus off yet!

So what does this have to do with you and your business?

Everything. Building a business whereby others spread the message is nothing new, yet how many practices focus on doing this? Not many. Most marketing effort is still focused on traditional medias, when perhaps a re-think of their whole marketing approach is required.

In words it is simple, create something remarkable and then get your customers or patients to spread the positive virus for you! It won’t happen overnight, but the key is to create a business around creating something remarkable and then organising your business so the virus spreads for you! Who could imagine that the best way to start a multi billion dollar company was to quietly start a website? (Google). And who could imagine the US may have its first Black President within a matter of months?

Credit crunch marketing!

So ok Arun great concept what does mean practically in respect of the credit crunch? Yes, the news out there is gloomy, with consumer spending at an all time low, house prices across the nation falling, and also a slowdown in discretionary spend amongst consumers at dental practices.

Well, you can have two views on this 1.That the world is falling apart or 2. That during such a down turn there is real opportunity to be had. I prefer the latter – perhaps it is the ever the optimist streak in me?

Whilst consumers are holding back on spending, I am certainly not advocating go and burn cash on marketing with no clear directed plan. But in fact, look at your business closely and see what is so unique about it that those customers you do have will go and speak volumes and spread the virus for you.

Economic downturns are a perfect opportunity to review your business model, assess your financial performance in great detail and then identify what amongst your marketing is working well for you. This is exactly what we do for our dental business and our Ultimate Financial Control clients

Focusing on what you have got, rather than what you have not got, is usually a better option, especially in these tumultuous times. In our practices we have identified various areas that require further development, such as further team training, and making the website more customer centric. This is not expensive, it just builds on the foundations of our existing business to help the idea virus spread further.

SWOT analysis

As a suggestion, look at your business through the ever trusted SWOT analysis. Identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and of course threats. Taking valuable time to do this will only serve you well in credit crunch times.

World Aesthetic Congress (WAC)

We will be at the WAC Friday and Saturday some come along and find us! Our team of experts will be on hand to discuss your practice needs and so we look forward to seeing you then. Watch out for our red t-shirts you can't miss them, we would be delighted to have a chat with you to see if we can help you!

In the meantime have a great week and hopefully the sun is here to stay!

Best wishes

Arun Mehra ACA

Managing Director

"Helping Dentists Build Better Businesses"