Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some of the successful products in recent years.

• Apple IPod and IPhone. Simple design. Ease of use. In fact, most of Apple products have been designed with simplicity in mind.
• IKEA’s furniture. If you notice the design in the IKEA store, most of them are pretty simple and clean. Some are a bit cluttered due to the space but overall, they are still relatively simple yet attractive.
• Operation manual used to be text book sized but has now reduced to maybe one a4 paper for most products. People are just too lazy to read long-winded manual. They just want to get straight to the point and save time.
• And if you use Internet everyday, do you prefer a web site design which is messy or a design which is clean and simple?

It’s pretty obvious isn’t it? When there are too many things available to us, we tend to focus more on simple things which we can understand and digest right away. A complicated or messy design has the tendency to make us more sophisticated (not in a good way) and even, at times, frustrated.

So if you are trying to come out with a design or a product, remember that it’s important to solve the problem with as simple a method as possible. Because unlike in the past when anyone who creates complicated product is regarded as a genius…people nowadays prefer the simplistic approach.

20 years later, the name Dragonball is still very popular in the world of anime and maybe that is why someone came out with an idea – “Why not make a REAL Dragonball movie?!”

Thus, the result is the movie Dragonball :Evolution.

After watching the trailers, my only response – I kept laughing as if this action movie has become a comedy. I can go on and on about why this should not be made into a Dragonball movie….but well, it’s better if you go find it out yourselves. If you’re a Dragonball fan, you’ll either feel disgusted or amused.

Son Goku and Bulma - they do look pretty funny

Anyway, what I intend to say here is that it is never easy to change something which other people have strong feelings on. This movie is one example. There are millions of Dragonball fans worldwide and all of them know what Dragonball is and all the special feelings associated with the franchise – Son Goku is a Japanese! And and Bulma is a Japanese also!! And Master Roshi is supposed to be bald! To change such feelings is never easy and most of the time will backfire.

Another example is KFC. KFC is famous for fried chicken but I recall that few years ago, they tried to be creative and came out with Fish burger. It was a total failure. Same goes for Nandos, the so-called grilled chicken specialist. I’ve tried to grilled fish and my friend tried to grilled beef before……..they sux. Actually, those things are not really THAT bad if they are being sold by other people. The thing here is that, our mindset has been set, and the feelings associated with these businesses have been set – Nandos for SPICY grilled chicken, Kenny Rogers for HEALTHY grilled chicken, Burger King for large burgers, Dragonball for spiky-haired guys that can fly around in the sky and can change hair color at will, etc.

From here, you can see that there are feelings which we associate with certain names….some ever since our childhood days. That is why it’s never easy to change the feelings associated with a famous brand name. It’s pretty risky too because if you can do it very well (like Transformers…which actually didn’t really change THAT much. They’re still robots…not human), then your product/work will be very popular but if you don’t do it well……….it’ll become a laughing stock and expect millions of hardcore fans to boycott you before your product even got launched.

If you are going to change these feelings…..you better be prepared and make sure you have a well-thought plan. 

The small guy will be able to outrun the big guy and make him tired

I told them, that mentality is true and applicable for 2008 but not in the future. Why? Because there will be more and more changes ahead, more so that the large companies might not be able to handle them. Most of us know that large companies are very process-oriented and they have a certain set of procedures you need to follow for every action. I used to work for a Fortune 500 company, and at 1 point, I requested to upgrade my laptop memory to 2GB. The whole process took 3 weeks since it needs the approval from some IT managers in the States. 3 weeks…for something worth RM 200-300.

Anyway, as I’ve predicted, many so-called large companies are falling and falling fast. Retrenchments are not being made by small companies only….but also big companies (some are formerly known for being the best employers in their respective industry). In fact, most of my friends from large companies are suffering job losses or pay cuts but those in smaller companies are only suffering from pay cuts (they only lose their jobs if the company get closed down ).

The thing here is that large companies tend to spend too much time handling their processes and procedures, while the small companies (the good ones) are spending their time changing and adapting to the new environment. In this ever-changing world, whoever can adapt the fastest will win. This is something important and everyone should remember…..but sadly…not many believe in it.

So if you’re still thinking that large companies are better than smaller companies…….think again. In my opinion, it’s better to keep it small or medium for now since changes will be inevitable in 2009 onwards. You wouldn’t want to be the last in the queue to make the changes.

Let’s see….

From the perspective of a normal person, it is quite a good deal since I only need to spend RM 1 or RM 2 to get something worth RM 1500 but whether I get it or not, its strictly based on luck. But well, it’s still not a very bad deal since a meal outside would already cost me at least RM 3 – RM 4 nowadays. RM 1 or Rm 2 don’t really mean a thing in our world anymore.

And from the perspective of the contest organizer, it’s a very good opportunity to earn big bucks. There will be thousands and thousands of viewers for those “big matches”, and say 20% of them are feeling lucky and decided to join this man-of-the-match contest. 20% out of ….maybe 100000 viewers = 20000 people, each would vote once = RM 20000. Look at the profit margin?

And they have this more than once a week – maybe 4 or 5 times.

No wonder there are so many SMS contests nowadays.

Anyway, this concept does not apply to SMS contests only. It’s applicable to any form of products or services. So when you want to sell something using such concept, remember a few points.

• Make the process as trouble-free as possible. Example, typing a SMS is simple but sending an entry form is not. And typing the name of a player is simple, but writing why you chose the player is not.
• Make it as cheap as possible. RM 1 SMS charge is not significant and people will not notice, as compared to RM 10 entry form or RM 5 SMS. Also, if your price is cheap, people will be willing to send/purchase more than 1 unit.
• Make your contest or product or whatever you’re selling, as well-known as possible. Spread the words because you’re relying on numbers here.
• Get some partners, preferably the reputable ones so that whatever you are planning to sell will appear more trustworthy.

One bad thing about this is that, there will be a lot of work unless you are doing something like the SMS contests which should be automated. If you’re selling some small items/products, the large amount of items will add up to the cost and all those inventory problems (if you can’t sell them off).

So my suggestion to you is, try finding something which is automated (save time) and preferably, won’t take up too much space (save cost).

We don't need new hand-free accessory every few months, do we?

But look at now. Nokia comes out with a new model every 3 months, and there are different ranges of mobile phones – the N series, the E series, the normal 6000s series, etc. If you take into consideration the models from other companies such as LG, Samsung, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson, there are easily more than 10 models for a particular price range. Consumers are simply spoilt for choice – which, is creating a new market for the reviewers since they are helping people to test our stuff and help consumers make their decisions.

This is not really a bad thing for the consumer. Problem is, with a new model every 3 months, the value of the current model will drop and drop FAST. It’s as if the attention span or life span of the model has becoming shorter, unlike many years ago where there will only be a new model every 6 to 9 months. Buying a N85 soon? Expect the price to drop for at least 30-50% 1 year later.

And with the attention span of products getting shorter, the money spent in the R & D and development of the new models will increase – thus, cutting down the profit margin. To me, this kind of market is becoming a bloody red ocean where competitors are fighting with each other in terms of price and technology. There will never be a big winner in such a situation.

But maybe, just maybe, companies involved in this kind of war should stop and look at what consumers really want. Why do I say this? Well, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other phone companies have been fighting for so many years………but when the newbie Apple came in with their IPhone, they managed to dominate a large chunk of the market share.

Why? Because Apple realizes a few things when it comes to catching the consumers’ heart.

• Consumers don’t need, and most don’t want to change the item to a newer version every 3 months unless it’s free.
• Consumers hate seeing the value of their item drop so much within a short period of time.
• Consumers want items which have longer attention span and not some items which are bought and forgotten within a month’s time.
• Consumers want good quality stuff.

Maybe companies should start realizing the above points and give the consumers something SPECIAL. No point fighting with each other and neglect what the consumers really want. Because in the end, people will just ignore you and your war, and go to the one which gives them the best.

P/S…. i will be away to Bangkok for project deployment (finally!!) from Sunday until Wednesday. Thus, I might not be able to update the blog regularly at that time.

Why is that so?

This is good!! Maybe we'll have an automated coffee machine as well?

Reason is simple. When everyone is having a good time in the good economy, there’s no reason why people should take such high risks and venture into something uncertain – when creativity and entrepreneurship are  concerned, it means uncertainty, even with a proper plan. People are willing to just sit down, relax, and enjoy the benefits and money that the good economy brings. After all, nobody is going to take their rice bowls away from them. And those competitors who try to be too creative? They’ll either perish before we know their name, or they’ll become very successful……….which is VERY RARE.

Well, that’s the assumption of most people anyway.

But when time is bad and economy has gone terribly wrong, some people will lose their jobs and some businesses/corporations/companies will be forced into a corner or a tight spot. Remember that I mentioned before, when one is pushed to a corner without anywhere to run……..one will be forced to take the risk which he/she was not willing to take few months before. Dire circumstances call for desperate changes. If they don’t change, they’ll just perish like the rest.

That is why when people have nothing more to lose (like jobless people), they will be willing to take up higher risks and be creative. Same goes for businesses and corporations because when the “normal way” doesn’t save them…….maybe the “abnormal way” will.

So expect to see more creative products (and sometimes useless) and ideas coming out in 2009. As consumer, let’s enjoy the ride. We deserve it! After all, our money is becoming a rare commodity in 2009!

Then I asked them. Did they actually try that out or prove that theory/belief?

Nope. None of them did.

Honestly speaking, I’m one of those Shell supporters because my bro-in-law told me that Shell can actually last longer. From where he heard that from, I’ve no idea.

Well, that’s the power of word-of-mouth. If someone says you’re good, a lot of people will believe you are especially if it is very difficult or troublesome to prove otherwise. If someone says Shell is good, a lot of people will not be bothered to test it out by driving their car out…pump using Shell’s fuel….and go around to see how far they can go. It’ll be too troublesome and time consuming for us. Also, that is not our job…that’s the job of the folks from Mythbusters.

So if you’re planning to come out with a product, try to make it a good one or at least an OKAY one…but make everyone believes it’s good. Also, make sure it’s not easy to prove that your product is actually not that OKAY. People will be too lazy to prove your product is not OKAY.

Last but not least, never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth. It can either be your best ally in marketing…or your worst foe.

If you’re not, sorry to say, those privileges will not be available to you but to your competitor who is the best in your industry.

And that is exactly why there are a lot of businesses out there which want to be the best. There’s even a saying which goes like “if you can’t be the best in that field, choose another field”. Forgot where I’ve seen it though.

The thing is, it does require a lot of efforts and possibly money to get to the top and be the best. As a business, you need a remarkable product with unique features. Something like Apple IPhone or Nintendo WII. They can be considered as the pioneers in their respective industry. That’s why these 2 products are so popular. But how many such products actually managed to make it to the top? Definitely not Microsoft with their big failures such as Microsoft Zune and Microsoft Vista. Oh, by the way, Sony’s PlayStation 3 is a very big risk too because of the amount of money Sony has put into its research. If PS3 fails to sell well, Sony Entertainment might have to be closed down.

Yes, it is THAT risky.

So do you still want to be the best? After all, being average does not mean your business cannot earn. You can still earn. Notice how many clones are there for all the famous products? Those are average products, not the actual stuff. For example, just go to Kajang and find the famous satay. You will end up finding a lot of Satay Kajang without knowing which is the original. But those who know which is the best, they will still go to the best. The average ones will only have customers if the best is fully occupied.

That’s the path of an average business. You can still earn with lower risks, but don’t expect to earn big bucks.

So which do you think is suitable for you and your business? The very risky but rewarding path, or the less risky and average path?

Last but not least…a reminder to you. Always ask yourselves this question “Why would people still buy from me when my product is actually not the best? Is it more affordable than the rest? Or does it has more features?”

Because it’s our nature to celebrate, discuss and pay attention to the popular things. For example, when you go to the bookstore, do you check the top 10 fiction or top 10 non-fiction books? Or if you are planning to go to the cinema but are unsure which movie to watch, will you check the rating and also the top 10 Box Office list?

The brand new IPod. Will this become very popular too?

The same thing applies to other popular items such as Apple IPod, MacBook, Honda and Toyota cars, McDonald, etc. These are very popular brands and brands which most of us know. Imagine if Apple IPod is not Apple IPod but maybe Orange Nono….a device which nobody knows much about, will you actually take a look at it? I doubt.

Another example. Do you dare to try a new restaurant if there’s no customer in it? What if the new restaurant has A LOT of customers? You will feel like trying too right?

This is actually a very normal human behavior especially for those who are indecisive and need to refer to others in order to make decision for themselves. They will think that because Apple IPod is so popular, it must be something good. Otherwise, why would people pay for such an expensive price for a MP3 player?

To them, popular product = quality product = and buying them will not make them regret.

That’s why there are a lot of companies who are willing to spend a lot of money on branding and to make their products popular. Because once they managed to do that (to make their products very popular), they can be 100% sure that the money will start coming in.

Don’t believe me? Try to look for the top 10 books in Amazon. Do all of them have good ratings or reviews? Nope. And yet, a lot of people are willing to spend money on them. Why? Because they’re popular and they are in the “limelight”. Who cares if they are really good or not? As long as they don’t sux too much, people will still buy….provided they are “popular”.

So the next time you come out with a product, one of the main things which you need to do is to be able to sell it and sell it well. Make it popular. And from there, everything will start to fall in place. People will help you to spread words about your products – free marketing. And indecisive people will refer to the top list which your product is part of…and there is a very high possibility that some of them will buy your product.

So always try to make your products popular in your industry/field. It’s not enough to be the BEST. It also needs to be the MOST POPULAR.