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Jules Epstein, President and CEO of Primary Design presents to the AIM Conference 2010 in Huntington Beach, CA.
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AIM 2010
What Do I Know About Failure?
Jules D. EpsteinPresident and CEO
Primary Design, Inc.
• 56 year old Jewish guy from Philadelphia who ignored family’s advice to become a doctor or a lawyer. Instead, insisted on a life in real estate marketing.
• Bought my first 200 year old house at 26 and restored it singlehandedly over 10 years. Made my first $100,000. During the same period, my good friend, Steve, bought and flipped 5 homes without touching them. He made his first $Million.
My Credentials
• Owned a 50% stake in a vacation home that I sold to my real estate partner for $375K to save my business in the recession of 1989. He held onto it and recently sold it for $3.25M.
• Advised several friends to sell their Apple stock when it “topped out” at $80. I haven’t heard the end of this one.
My Credentials
• A relative term
• Without an occasional failure we would not know success
What is Failure?
• With the exception of consultants who are always right, absolutely
• As marketers we cannot help but fail on occasion because we “test” new ideas
• And again, failure is relative. It’s inevitable when you have a great run of successes
Is it OK to Fail?
• Failures fall into one of two buckets:
–Bad Ideas–Bad Execution
Analyzing Marketing Failures
• A Bad or Uninspired Idea with a great execution can be a resounding success.
Take for example…– Lady Gaga– Subprime Loans
Analyzing Marketing Failures
• Or on the other hand, a great idea executed poorly can be a total failure.
Take for example…– A Well-Done Filet Mignon– Insurance (any)
Analyzing Marketing Failures
• New Coke
Bad Idea or Bad Execution?
• DeLorean
Bad Idea or Bad Execution?
• Tropicana Packaging
Bad Idea or Bad Execution?
• Windows Vista
Bad Idea or Bad Execution?
• The Sawmer
Bad Idea or Bad Execution?
• Refrigerator Pet Door
Bad Idea or Bad Execution?
• Coffee and Doughnut in One
Bad Idea or Bad Execution?
We don’t
How Do We Avoid Failure?
• Stick to what you know– Utilize media sources and ideas that have a proven
track record– Do not force ideas. Usually if it doesn’t feel right, it
isn’t right
Minimizing Failure
• Avoid being the guinea pig– Never stick your neck out too far. And if you do,
only do so if you are willing to lose all– Maybe it’s better to be Burger King and let
McDonalds spend the marketing dollars– Be cautious buying untested media. Let someone
else be the guinea pig. You can always go in the next edition
Minimizing Failure
• Do your homework, ask questions– Has your competitor already tried this approach
and failed?– Is this executable and financially viable?– Why hasn’t anyone done this before?
Minimizing Failure
• Track your results– Use unique call-in numbers and URLS – Use all analytic tools at your disposal– Talk to your customers
Minimizing Failure
• Nip it in the bud– Keep on top of your results– Swallow your pride– If you are not getting the results you expected, cut
your losses. Remember the Apple Newton?
Minimizing Failure
• If you get stuck with a bad or old idea, find a way to make it work – Most ideas are mediocre at best anyhow– Think out of the box and take a fresh approach
Minimizing Failure
• If you have a good idea, don’t screw up the execution– Be sure it’s properly funded– Be confident that its launch is timed properly– Make sure it is appropriately positioned to your
market
Minimizing Failure
• Cover your bases– It takes a “cocktail” of “drivers” to get your market
where you want it to be… at your door– Resist putting all your eggs in a single media
basket. These days, the media or website du jour is likely to be the failed media or website of tomorrow
Minimizing Failure
In Summary
Never forget the immortal words of NASA’s Apollo 13 Flight Director, Gene Kranz (or was
it Ron Howard?) when he declared…
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!
Thank you and may all your failures be small!