Small Business Solutions - John Moore Video

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Small Business Solutions - John Moore

Alex Fees: I'm Alex Fees on Small Business Television. We are coming to you from Cleveland Ohio at the 2008 COSE Small Business Conference. COSE, that’s the Council on Smaller Enterprises. And joining me here now is John Moore. John, I appreciate you being here. John Moore: Thank you Alex. Alex Fees: John is the man who is very familiar with very large enterprises. He is sort of a marketing mastermind who in the past has set influence on companies like Starbucks and Whole Foods. Currently John you're with Brand Autopsy John Moore: Yes sir. Alex Fees: That is company operating out of Texas I understand, what do you do? Are you a hired gun for marketing, is that fair? John Moore: I'm in a way sort of a hired gun. Basically, what happens is I give businesses second opinions on marketing activities they're considering doing. When I say second opinion, it’s much like you going to see a doctor for a second opinion for a procedure that you may be considering. I think more businesses should ask outside experience season marketing practitioners for second opinions for marketing activities they are considering doing or potentially currently doing. Alex Fees: Now, you come to this with some level of expertise. Tell me about Starbucks and Whole Foods. John Moore: I've been very lucky my life. I've been able to spend 10 years combined at two companies that are both endearing and enduring. When you say the word Starbucks people automatically know what the company is about. When you say Whole Foods people kind of know what that company is about. Alex Fees: And that’s what good marketing. John Moore: I think in a way, it’s good marketing but I think it's a good business. From a standpoint, one of the key—that I thought businesses today is that if you want to become the next Starbucks or the next Whole Foods forget about branding. That sounds odd, forget about branding but think about your being strategies. Not branding strategies but being strategies. What it mean by that is you need to build a business that A, makes money, B makes customers happy and, C makes employees happy. When a small business builds their business to make a profit, to make customers happy and make their employees happy, the by product is the creation of a brand that’s going inside out, that’s being more about a better business than being a better brand. Alex Fees: Well John, can we talk about some specifics here. What role did you play in making Starbucks and Whole Foods what they are today? John Moore: Back at Starbucks, I was a retail marketing manager. Those responsibilities there were basically designing marketing campaigns both in store and out of store that were geared to driving sales. And when I'm talking about the campaign, we’re talking about the launching of new products, we’re talking about activities which gets the customer or get the company involve with the local community as well as we’re talking about some very targeted regional advertising. Alex Fees: Okay and John, you're one of keynote speakers at COSE 2008, what are you going to tell these small business entrepreneurs? John Moore: My presentation today is about getting bigger by acting smaller. I'm going to share with them eight rules for what I think they can do to build their business so much so that they can get bigger by acting smaller. What I mean by that is there's a paradox out there and this paradox of growth that I talk about is the smaller you are, the bigger you must look. However, the bigger you are the smaller you must get. Small businesses today need to look bigger in customer’s eyes. But the funny thing happens when the small business becomes a big business. It needs to act small again. It needs to do some of the things it did when it was smaller business. So, I share with them eight rules on how they can get bigger by acting smaller. Alex Fees: Okay and for a small business to look bigger that’s a matter of legitimacy or is that what you're trying to create? John Moore: For small business in a way to me, I talk from standpoint of every small business should have a strong point of view. What I mean by that is they have a strong personality. A company’s personality is actually its best form of advertising. Their personality is what makes their company unique. I talked about there's no reason to be the best car company let’s say or the best restaurant because that is so subjective, be the most unique. Be so unique people might say “wait a minute that’s too something”. For instance Chipotle, Chipotle makes massive burritos. People say those burritos are too big but you know what happens now when people say that’s too big or Starbucks’ coffee is too bitter or Whole Food is too natural, too organic, too expensive? It earns an opinion from customers and so small businesses that have tight focus they can earn an opinion from a customer and that’s a good thing. Alex Fees: Well, that sort of goes back to the old outage that even negative attention is attention if you will. John Moore: In a way it is but my point is that if you're confident in what you do and you have such a strong point of view, you are going to attract brand evangelist as well as potentially some brand detractors. The goal is of course that you build something that’s going to attract more people that love you than dislike you. Take a company like we’ll say Crocs. Crocs makes those garish, plastic super comfortable shoes. They have a very strong point of view. They'd been around for a long time and they earn opinions from customers. Some people say those shoes look great and feel great but some folks say those shoes just look ugly and I could never see myself wearing that. If you got folks, customers that love you and don’t love you, I think you're doing something right because there you have a strong point of view. Alex Fees: Well, you know, your co-horde Michael Simon, the other keynote speaker from this morning he talked about the same thing. He talked about finding your passion and in the case of him being a chef in a restaurant too or in building up on that. So, what you don’t want to do is get stuck in the middle where you're just trying to make money. John Moore: I think most businesses that have the goal to make money are probably set up to fail. I think the businesses that are out there, wanting to make meaning, wanting to make a difference in people’s lives, wanting to find a way to attract a passionate workforce which in turn when you attract passionate employees they will in turn attract and retain passionate customers. Again, it’s this inside out approach to building a business and if you do it right you will create a brand after many, many years. Alex Fees: Well, John if people are interested in more of this type of information and picking your brand so to speak or accessing more of this success that you have with companies like Starbucks and Wholefood, where are they going to go to get that? John Moore: Go online, you could easily Google my name John Moore and I pop up pretty high or brandautopsy.com. Alex Fees: Brandautopsy.com. John Moore: Yes sir. Alex Fees: All right John Moore, thank you very much sir. John Moore: Thank you Alex. Alex Fees: I appreciate you being here. He’s John Moore. I'm Alex Fees. This is Small Business Television at COSE 2008 Council on Smaller Enterprises, small that is only by name.

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Alex Fees: I'm Alex Fees on Small Business Television. We are coming to you from Cleveland Ohio at the 2008 COSE Small Business Conference. COSE, that’s the Council on Smaller Enterprises. And joining me here now is John Moore. John, I appreciate you being here.

John Moore: Thank you Alex.

Alex Fees: John is the man who is very familiar with very large enterprises. He is sort of a marketing mastermind who in the past has set influence on companies like Starbucks and Whole Foods. Currently John you're with Brand Autopsy

John Moore: Yes sir.

Alex Fees: That is company operating out of Texas I understand, what do you do? Are you a hired gun for marketing, is that fair?

John Moore: I'm in a way sort of a hired gun. Basically, what happens is I give businesses second opinions on marketing activities they're considering doing. When I say second opinion, it’s much like you going to see a doctor for a second opinion for a procedure that you may be considering. I think more businesses should ask outside experience season marketing practitioners for second opinions for marketing activities they are considering doing or potentially currently doing.

Alex Fees: Now, you come to this with some level of expertise. Tell me about Starbucks and Whole Foods.

John Moore: I've been very lucky my life. I've been able to spend 10 years combined at two companies that are both endearing and enduring. When you say the word Starbucks people automatically know what the company is about. When you say Whole Foods people kind of know what that company is about.

Alex Fees: And that’s what good marketing.

John Moore: I think in a way, it’s good marketing but I think it's a good business. From a standpoint, one of the key—that I thought businesses today is that if you want to become the next Starbucks or the next Whole Foods forget about branding. That sounds odd, forget about branding but think about your being strategies. Not branding strategies but being strategies. What it mean by that is you need to build a business that A, makes money, B makes customers happy and, C makes employees happy.

When a small business builds their business to make a profit, to make customers happy and make their employees happy, the by product is the creation of a brand that’s going inside out, that’s being more about a better business than being a better brand.

Alex Fees: Well John, can we talk about some specifics here. What role did you play in making Starbucks and Whole Foods what they are today?

John Moore: Back at Starbucks, I was a retail marketing manager. Those responsibilities there were basically designing marketing campaigns both in store and out of store that were geared to driving sales. And when I'm talking about the campaign, we’re talking about the launching of new products, we’re talking about activities which gets the customer or get the company involve with the local community as well as we’re talking about some very targeted regional advertising.

Alex Fees: Okay and John, you're one of keynote speakers at COSE 2008, what are you going to tell these small business entrepreneurs?

John Moore: My presentation today is about getting bigger by acting smaller. I'm going to share with them eight rules for what I think they can do to build their business so much so that they can get bigger by acting smaller. What I mean by that is there's a paradox out there and this paradox of growth that I talk about is the smaller you are, the bigger you must look. However, the bigger you are the smaller you must get.

Small businesses today need to look bigger in customer’s eyes. But the funny thing happens when the small business becomes a big business. It needs to act small again. It needs to do some of the things it did when it was smaller business. So, I share with them eight rules on how they can get bigger by acting smaller.

Alex Fees: Okay and for a small business to look bigger that’s a matter of legitimacy or is that what you're trying to create?

John Moore: For small business in a way to me, I talk from standpoint of every small business should have a strong point of view. What I mean by that is they have a strong personality. A company’s personality is actually its best form of advertising. Their personality is what makes their company unique.

I talked about there's no reason to be the best car company let’s say or the best restaurant because that is so subjective, be the most unique. Be so unique people might say “wait a minute that’s too something”. For instance Chipotle, Chipotle makes massive burritos. People say those burritos are too big but you know what happens now when people say that’s too big or Starbucks’ coffee is too bitter or Whole Food is too natural, too organic, too expensive? It earns an opinion from customers and so small businesses that have tight focus they can earn an opinion from a customer and that’s a good thing.

Alex Fees: Well, that sort of goes back to the old outage that even negative attention is attention if you will.

John Moore: In a way it is but my point is that if you're confident in what you do and you have such a strong point of view, you are going to attract brand evangelist as well as potentially some brand detractors. The goal is of course that you build something that’s going to attract more people that love you than dislike you.

Take a company like we’ll say Crocs. Crocs makes those garish, plastic super comfortable shoes. They have a very strong point of view. They'd been around for a long time and they earn opinions from customers. Some people say those shoes look great and feel great but some folks say those shoes just look ugly and I could never see myself wearing that. If you got folks, customers that love you and don’t love you, I think you're doing something right because there you have a strong point of view.

Alex Fees: Well, you know, your co-horde Michael Simon, the other keynote speaker from this morning he talked about the same thing. He talked about finding your passion and in the case of him being a chef in a restaurant too or in building up on that. So, what you don’t want to do is get stuck in the middle where you're just trying to make money.

John Moore: I think most businesses that have the goal to make money are probably set up to fail. I think the businesses that are out there, wanting to make meaning, wanting to make a difference in people’s lives, wanting to find a way to attract a passionate workforce which in turn when you attract passionate employees they will in turn attract and retain passionate customers.

Again, it’s this inside out approach to building a business and if you do it right you will create a brand after many, many years.

Alex Fees: Well, John if people are interested in more of this type of information and picking your brand so to speak or accessing more of this success that you have with companies like Starbucks and Wholefood, where are they going to go to get that?

John Moore: Go online, you could easily Google my name John Moore and I pop up pretty high or brandautopsy.com.

Alex Fees: Brandautopsy.com.

John Moore: Yes sir.

Alex Fees: All right John Moore, thank you very much sir.

John Moore: Thank you Alex.

Alex Fees: I appreciate you being here. He’s John Moore. I'm Alex Fees. This is Small Business Television at COSE 2008 Council on Smaller Enterprises, small that is only by name.

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