Alex Poythress

IKEA: Marketing Perfected

Tonight I experienced a higher concentration of marketing than perhaps I’ve ever seen. It left me with a new respect and reverence for everyone’s favorite furniture store.

That’s right folks, I’m talking about IKEA.

When you walk into the magnificently huge IKEA warehouse for the first time in your life, you’re expecting to be greeted at the door with countless aisles of meagerly decorated furniture settings. Nothing could be further from the truth.

To the right of the door there was a smiling lady holding a yellow shopping bag. The bin next to her was filled with hundreds of the same bag, and bore a large yellow sign with black text saying “Borrow a shopping bag”. To the left, protruding from the side wall of the colorful and brightly lit daycare center, is an escalator going up.

Further to the right, behind the smiling greeter lady, there were two brilliant white self-serve computer kiosks against an orange backdrop. Arching over the kiosks were bold black letters, “Join the family!” encouraging guests to join a loyalty program.

After smiling at the greeter I ascended the escalator, noticing traces of a warehouse ceiling. That was the last time I would think about - or even notice - the fact that I was in a warehouse structure. As I surfaced onto the second floor I was faced with another self-serve kiosk, donning a map, “product check list”, pencils, and paper yard sticks. After I got a map I looked around to notice I was surrounded by dozens of living areas that seemed to literally be picked up out of a home and dropped into the IKEA studio.

I began following the bright white stickers on the floor, which bore big black arrows to point the way through the shopping experience. Immediately I came to the first of many displays of IKEA furniture. And it was *complete*. Built to be a 3D catalog, walking through this living area was like walking into my friend’s living room. A complete display, with TV, computer, cabinets, wine bottles… the whole works. And absolutely everything in sight had a huge price / spec sheet on it, but I almost didn’t notice because I was so distracted by the beauty of the products on display.

Every one of the 30+ displays boasted this high quality presentation, with masterful lighting accenting the perfect tone and sheen of the furniture. Walking through each of them I glanced hesitantly at my product check list, out of fear that there would not be room to write down the SKUs of everything I would decide to buy - after all, there were only 20 fields for SKUs!

As I finished touring the upstairs I was greeted with the overwhelming smell of deliciousness. I had nearly forgotten about my stomach but was pleasantly greeted by a full-blown cafeteria with tons of delicious food! I stopped and was shocked at the low prices. I ate, and was very happy.

After returning my dishes to the cafeteria kitchen (for as a sign in the cafeteria cleverly pointed out, I must wait on myself to keep the food prices low) I noticed the only way of exiting the premises was to descend into the warehouse through another escalator. As I descended - happily, of course, for I had just eaten - I was greeted yet again, this time by the sweet smell of freshly cut lumber, as if to suggest that the furniture I was about to pick up off the shelf had been hand-crafted for me as I devoured amazing gourmet food.

The warehouse was massive, spacious, wide open. Huge ceilings with a magnificent ceiling fan. I browsed the rows, very easily navigating to the shelves of the products I would have bought if I was there to make a purchase.

Finally as I approached the end of this amazing experience, I saw cash registers, smelled coffee, and saw a fantastically huge wall covered with bags of coffee, bread, ice cream products, and other dessert-ish items. Between the food and me, however, stood the cash registers. And suddenly it all made sense.

After you’ve finished stressing and shopping for your products, why not sit down and have a nice meal? Enjoy yourself, feel like you’re being wined and dined! They want you to be as happy as possible when you go downstairs and start thinking about what you’re *actually* willing to spend money on. And once the endorphins start pumping, you’re going to be happy to spend money. And once you get to the checkout, you’re going to become fixated on the coffee and desert on the other side of the register, so that you don’t even have time to second-guess your purchasing decision. Until you’ve paid and are leaving the store. And that’s when it hits you…

You just spent a few hundred dollars on furniture at IKEA and you didn’t even think about money for a split second.

The Purpose, not the Product

Jake A. Smith re-tweeted a meaningful statement the other day: “When Facebook / Google launch a new feature, a million startups cry.”

Since we started writing Cliks in February, its intended functionality has evolved in a huge way. At each turn in its evolution, I find myself struggling inside to let go of the original concept. Never mind the fact that the original concept isn’t scaleable enough to be successful - “It’s the principle of the matter; this is what I want Cliks to be!”

Of course, I’m wrong. I regularly find myself immersed in Alex’s idea of Cliks, rather than what Cliks should be and how it is capable of impacting the world for the better. This is probably the biggest struggle I have on a daily basis, as the founder of a startup.

The good news is that I’m still learning the ropes, and have investors and partners to keep me in check by reminding me of our purpose: to have a positive impact on social networking.

How messed up would it be if Cliks’ purpose was a function of its product? I strongly believe that if you commit to the purpose of your startup and let it shape your product, then you will be far more successful in the end. That, of course, depends on your purpose being solid.

For Friday: Ideas are Gold

Not every idea is worth its weight in gold, but you won’t know that unless you hear it first.

This weekend keep the following in mind. You are an entrepreneur because you had an idea and didn’t think the world could do it as well as you. That means that you understand the value of an idea. So when people throw an idea at you, no matter how crazy it sounds, at least catalog the idea in your mind. Consider how it fits in the grand scheme of life, and think through it for a couple of minutes. And most important, don’t forget it.

I keep a document with all the ideas I hear. Some people carry little books around with them to jot down the ideas they hear, on the fly. Regardless of how you keep up with them, the point is this: we need to be in the practice of taking ideas seriously, because if we don’t, we may find them idea eating our lunch some day.

“The white board is too small”

We have a 4’x8’ white board in our office. The main developer working on Cliks, Jake A. Smith and I use it to collaborate, brainstorm, draw things that we pretend are wireframes, settle arguments, and relieve stress.

Jake and I are strong believers that one of the most important parts of a startup is the white board - and it seems like it can never be big enough!

Here are six ways to use your white board - tried and true by every entrepreneur I’ve ever met.

1. On one side of the white board, write down everything you need to do today. On the other side, write down everything that is distracting you from productivity. In the middle, write out your thoughts on how those distractions fit into your to-do list for the day. Try to make your distractions work in favor of your to-do list.
2. If you’re using a lot of gestures to convey an idea, stop. You have a white board. Draw it out. We have found that it takes us about 1/4 the time to understand each other if we draw vs. use gestures. And we’re pretty good communicators.
3. If you’re trying to figure out how to communicate a big idea to investors, customers, etc., and you feel like you’re spinning your wheels, try this. Write out the idea in a way that only you can understand it. Nobody else needs to know what it means, as long as you do. Don’t worry about how it’s going to look when you’re done, don’t even hesitate if you’re not sure what to write. Just start drawing. In the end, you’ll have thought through the logical pieces enough to actually start articulating your idea in a coherent pitch.
4. If you fall in love with an idea and you’re just not sure where it fits into the overall scheme of things, don’t throw it out. Jot it down on the board. A few days later, chances are good that you’ll be using the white board to communicate to a partner or employee, and you’ll have a lightbulb moment that involves that idea. Having it already on the board will keep you from saying, “What was that idea…?”
5. My personal favorite productive use of the white board is our way of communicating. Chances are pretty darn good that if Jake and I are on a conference call - or sometimes even if one of us is overhearing the other in a call - we’re going to make notes to the other on the board. “Don’t say that!” or “Let’s talk before we give him an answer.” This severely improves the communication lines between business partners.
6. Seriously. Don’t be so serious. If you’re having a stressful day or you’re just not getting any traction, draw something, anything. Mock yourself. Draw a comic that articulates how you feel. Let loose and stop stressing. The white board is a tremendous canvas when you want to do that.

We do all of the above mentioned things, often several times a day. If you need more space and don’t want to get another white board, we recommend snapping a picture of the board on your phone, erasing it, and starting over with more ideas, etc. Keep the pictures in a centralized folder for the team to access. I bet you’ll be surprised how fast the folder fills up. And if you don’t have a white board… go get one now.

Have fun, and happy white boarding!

Behind the curtain of Cliks

Since Cliks began development in February, it is safe to say that it’s had its share of drama. Team member conflicts, funding issues, and slower-than-ideal development time.

But somehow we have made it to the final stretch of pre-launch and have begun interacting with investors and other social shakers. And in reflection, the ideas and goals for the project have changed… radically. In startup terms, we have pivoted.

Part of the reason for our pivot was due to a realization that, frankly, privacy is not a market driver in social networking. People willingly and knowingly forego their private lives to gain the advantages of a social networking site. It’s a trading piece that far too many people are willing to part with.

A conversation with one of our highly qualified advisors in Dallas, TX. helped us get on the right track. In Mike’s words, “Sure, the party across the street is safer… but everyone I know is at this party.” A lightbulb came on.

Safety won’t draw a critical mass away from the party. But what if the party across the street is more exciting? Would you look at it and think, “Bummer, I’ll stay here at the boring party with my friends”? No. You would make a case to your friends that they need to get up and haul themselves over to the party “Where it’s at.”

That isn’t to say privacy will not still be an integral part of Cliks. But it is not enough.

So we lost sleep, argued, and assaulted the white board, struggling to find the answer to the core question, why will people join Cliks? And yes, we found the answer.

We think that, enhanced by the ability to maintain privacy, the *awesome* features we’re developing for Cliks will become integral to your social life - online, and in real life.

What am I talking about?

That’s the big surprise. :-)

Hello, World.

I have given in and created a blog. I make no promises on the frequency of updates, but I do assure you that my posts will be clearly thought out and possibly relevant to you.

Please feel free to share your thoughts or suggestions for a blogroll. I will be updating and customizing over the coming days, and hopefully begin to fill this puppy with some good reading.