Aloysius Chan's Blog

If you are not a brand, you are a commodity. Phillip Kolter. If you don’t know what you are aiming for, metrics will tell you nothing. “What is in for me?” Chameleon brand. Test assumptions & adapts. Lean, willing to innovate. Agile, moving around is natural. Camouflage to survive. Dinosaur brand. Know-it-all. Bloated, big fan or tradition. Slow reactions, too heavy to move. Scare off everyone else to survive. Brand recipe Story Name Positioning statement Promise Personas Product experience Personality Pricing Symbols Logo Color palette Typography Imagery Stationery: the business card Collateral: one-sheet Slide deck Strategy Social media marketing Landing page Search engine optimisation Paid advertising Email list Marketing video Public relations Content marketing: blogging Point of purchase optimisation Review systems Partnerships Pricing Cost-based pricing Value-based pricing Competition-based pricing Penetration pricing Skimming or “creaming” price strategy Freemium Premium pri...

5-step process of strategic development External business environment, market assessment, growth and opportunities. Understand and evaluate the external market environment. Conduct a detailed market assessment. Thoroughly evaluate core versus adjacent markets. Value change and strategic control points. Map out the relevant value chains. Assess strategic control points within the value chain. Understand customer needs and competency gaps and advantages through the value chain. Segment based on customer needs Strategically prioritise segments. Create value propositions. Align incentives Align across all internal and external constituents. Use the concept of “asset specificity”. Utilise concept of “virtual vertical integration” where possible. Set 5 points of tactics. Points of positioning on the unique value propositions. Points of value on offering and entry timing. Points of value on principles in extracting value. Points of access on customer access. Points of touch on the embodiment ...

Desirability x customer = Wants & needs Values & beliefs How do customers describe or identify themselves? What values do your customers want to express through their product choices? What beliefs need to change for your offering to succeed? How will you do this? Goals What are your customers’ super objectives? What hidden goals or subtext does your customer have? How do you know if your customer has achieved their goals successfully? What are their success criteria? Barriers What equipment does your customer already have that you must work with? Does this make a barrier? What ways of working might your offering impact? Can you reduce the effort required to get customers started with your product or service? What financial barriers stand in your target customer’s way? Can you find a way to dismantle them? Operational barriers Installation Compatibility Competing technologies Functional risk Distribution and network effect Experiential barrier Trialability Training and expertise...

Risk levels Safety and security Brand Product Personal brand Murphy’s law: anything could go wrong will go wrong. Assume nothing, double-check everything. Collectively, the chances of failure in different parts of the project should be added together and that is the final failure rate. Web of command Prime decision makers Collaborative decisions Delegated decisions Chains of command Inverted pyramid [Experiential] Service > product > [Non-experiential] management > leadership Public information go wrong: Acknowledge the problem Act authoritatively Speak truthfully Accept responsibility for the response Decay theory: memory fades due to the mere passage of time

Accentuate the positive. Scare tactic doesn’t work, if you want something to quit smoking find him an ex-smoker, give him hope instead. Easier path. Removing obstacles or changing the environment that will encourage people to adopt. Elevator pitch. Simple yet intriguing 30 seconds message. Emotional connection. Learn to listen with your heart. Evolving vision. It is sometimes okay to reduce your vision but make it achievable. Future commitment. People are less pressured when there is a longer timeline, plan your work to avoid last minute. Go-to person. Don’t listen to everyone but only choose the one that can actually solve problems. Imagine that. To visualise a possible outcome. Know yourself. Do not overestimate your own ability and talent. Low-hanging fruit. Occasionally look for quick and easy wins that have visible impact. Myth buster. Create a two-column list of correct and incorrect information. Pick your battles. Do you have the resources to complete and should you win? To...

What is clarity? Universal resource. Why is clarity essential? Self-discovery. How does clarity work, and how can you get it to work for you? An effortlessly clear mind. More time for what’s important. Improved decision making. Better performance where it counts. More of the results that matter to you. Why do we need clarity now, more than ever? Solving big issues. Clouded mind conditioning Superstitious thinking: the outside-in misunderstanding. The move from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge economy. Attempting to find clarity using outside-in methods. Essential question: I will be happy when I… Get the money - “there” of stuff. Find the right work - “there” of doing. Have the right partner - “there” of people. Write the book - “there” of accomplishment. Can travel the world - “there” of lifestyle. Achieve time freedom - “there” of freedom. Lose the weight - “there” of self-improvement. Change my thinking - “there” of mindset. Get enlightened - “there” of spirituality. Accept my...

Understand where your customers go. Every landing should have a hook, story and offer. Front-end funnels will usually just break even your investments, e.g. lead funnel, unboxing: book funnel, presentation: webinar funnel. Value ladder is the conversion, it is the follow-up funnels. Value email > ascend up value ladder > funnel stacking. Own your traffic: instead of sending 1m emails for $1k sales, if you send to your list you only need 10k emails. Dream 100: the 100 people of influence you would like to work with. Dream customers will overlap sections of multiple audiences. You are a producer of social media and not a consumer. Ads retargeting: (a) people see your ad > (b) engaged > (c) clicks > (d) leads > (e) brought, (b - e) = retargeting potential. To have been truly viral, you need to get past a referral point called “copulation rate”. Media steps Publish daily for at least a year. Document the journey. Testing your material. Introduction to your Dream 100. Fill...

Enterprise Thinking Strategising Developing plans Creating strategy Transforming with projects Managing your priorities Creating new products & services Establishing alliances Leveraging technology Learning Acquiring new knowledge Enhancing global awareness Watching competition Forecasting Forecasting the future Performing Leading the charge Empowering others Innovating everywhere Selling continuously Enterprise thinking: 5 stages Learning Applying Adopting Integrating becoming 7Crosses of Enterprise Thinking Cross functional (HR, engineering, logistics) Cross level (CEO, VP, manager, director superintendent, colonel) Cross industry (Nanotechnology, garbage removal, retail) Cross sector (profit, not for profit, military, education, government) Cross culture (Irish, Australian, Chilean, Asian, European, American, Latino) Cross time (Caesar, Napoleon, Ghengis Khan, Gandhi) Cross life (Work, home and play) Economics of timing Fast shooter: everything is yesterday, quick to act and pro...

 Converting content marketing to interactive ideas. “25 things to do during a rainy day.” Traditional sales funnel: browsing/vague notion > active interest > point of interest > loyalty Exponential growth effect in marketing: imagine filling a stadium with a drop of water that doubles up every minute. Avinash Kaushik’s See, Think, Do, Care framework for content mapping See: largest addressable qualified audience Think: see segment with some commercial intent Do: see segment with lots of commercial intent Care: existing customers with 2 or more transaction Targeting options Location Device and OS Carrier Demographic Category Content matched Behavioural Re-targeting Creative options Banners Native Expandable Interstitial Video

People are becoming less and less trusting of brands Invasive ads are interruption marketing and are not as effective as influencer marketing. Consumers are more receptive to influencers Word of Mouth 2.0 Celebrities as original influencers Decline of gatekeepers Advance of creator’s toolkit Influencer community Celebrity influencers Category influencers Category/micro-influencers Micro-influencers Influencer ABCC: Authenticity, Brand fit, Community (reach, resonance, relevance), Content Influencers must remain genuine and relatable. Influencer marketing is becoming a much more sophisticated discipline and IM content generates 2-4 times ROI with higher engagement. Collaboration methods Incentivise influencers to share brand content Co-create new content with influencers Cultivate brand-managed influencer communities Repurpose existing influencer content Hold in-person event Develop influencer-driven affiliate sales programs Run competitions and giveaways Experiment with influencer soci...

Agile management is about working smarter rather than harder. It’s not about doing more work in less time; it’s about generating more value for less work Bureaucratic team Top down Individual responsibilities Little interaction Internally focused Fixed mindset Defend existing advantages Make money for shareholders Agile core characteristic Law of the small agile team Autonomous Small cross-functional team Much interaction Externally focused Growth mindset Create new advantages Deliver value to customers Daily standups Radical transparency Customer feedback each cycle Law of the customer Target Constantly experiment Partner with startups Increase product malleability Focus Innovate in short stages Evaluate Be willing to disappoint Deliver value faster Customise Law of the network The network has a compelling goal The network comprises of small groups The groups have an action orientation The network is the sum of the small groups The network’s legal framework stays in the background Agi...

Effective decision-making process Focus on what’s important Logical & consistent Acknowledge subject and objective, blends analytical with intuitive thinking Requires only as much information and analysis as it necessary Encourages and guides the gathering of relevant information and informed opinion Straightforward, reliable, easy to use and flexible Proact: PRoblem, Objectives, Alternatives, Consequences, Trade offs What triggered this decision Assumption of what the decision problem is The triggering occasion The connection between the trigger and the problem Identify objectives Write down all the concerns to be addressed A wish list Possible outcome and avoidance Impact on others Ask people who experienced it before Great alternatives Explain your decision Convert concerns into succinct objectives Separate ends from means to establish your fundamental objectives Clarify what you mean by each objective Test your objectives to see if they capture your interests Generating better ...

  What you love + what the world needs = Mission What you love + what you good at = Passion What you can be paid for + what the world needs = Vocation What you can be paid for + what you good at = Profession What you love + what the world needs + what you can be paid for = Excitement and complacency, but sense of uncertainty. What you love + what the world needs + what you are good at = Delight and fullness, but no wealth What you love + what you are good at + what you can be paid for = Satisfaction, but feeling of uselessness What the world needs + what you are good at + what you can be paid for = Comfortable but feeling of emptiness What you love + what the world needs + what you can be paid for + what you are good at = Ikigai

In your bank account there is $86,400 everyday and if it is not invested, it is gone at the end of the day. These are the time you have. Uncertainty classification Risk: statistically measurable Ambiguity: difficult to measure True uncertainty: impossible to estimate or predict statistically Activation = Innovation. Desire. Effort. Ability (IDEA) + Situation + Opportunity Risk hindrance walls: Possessions Position Age Health Startup pitfalls Inadequate education and training Poor preparation and planning Inadequate management skill Imbalances in personal and professional priorities Personal relationship tips Get their buy-in and support Set personal life goals and a time table Incorporate your personal life goals into the written business plan Startup elements Mission statement Purpose Goals Why it exist Addressable pain points SWOT Business plan General description Explanation of problem Description of product Why it is the right time Market segmentation and engagement plan Existing a...

Predictions America lose its democracy China grow out of proportion Disruption from technology Future generations will have lesser growth Rich-poor gap will continue to widen Skills will be highly segmented A health revolution More vibrant globalisation More peace, less war More influence from religion in politics Much more pollution More usage and higher efficiency when tapping on solar power Capital cannot substitute for labour that easily Changes in nature of new technology Changes of industry compositions Changes in the amount and distribution of monopoly Decay of unionism The balance of political power If you owe the bank 1 trillion, you are in the bank’s power, but if you owe the bank 1 quintillion, the bank is in your power The basic economics of self-protection suggests that individuals will find it desirable to spend more on protection when they have more to lose Baumol-Bowen effect: the rise of salaries in jobs that have experienced no or low increase of labor productivity, i...

Key pointers: Importance of energy from 1500-2000 Fracking fracas: he process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside Globalisation: 1820-1914 Prosperity after world war 2: 1945-1979 1st central bank set up in 1668 Sveriges Riksbank in Sweden Napoleon: Let China sleep. When she wakes, she will shake the world 1st mortgages-backed security by Ginnie Mae Total potential connections is 28 quintillions therefore trading industry is good

Review: Targeted mainly on SEO and tools to optimise on-site elements, would be better to include ways to be listed in reputable off-site pages. Many links in this book is no longer working, maybe sharing more on the fundamentals on what to improve and users can always search for it themselves. Rated: 8.5/10 Optimising website Target market business analysis Website analysis Competitive analysis Initial keyword nomination Keyword research and development Keyword analysis Baseline ranking assessment Goals and objectives Content optimisation & submission Page titles Meta tags Place strategic search phrases on pages Develop new sitemaps for Google & Bing Submit website to directories Continuous testing & measuring Test & measure Maintenance Paid advertising Ad click Click-through rate (CTR) Click fraud Conversion Pay-per-click (PPC) Pay-per-action (PPA) Pay-per-call  Types of website Affiliate sites Archive sites Auction sites Blogs Business or brochure sites Community...

Review: Clearly segregated on leads generation and closing techniques, not too updated but maybe it was sufficient at the time of publication. Concise fundamental to kickstart beginners. Rated: 8.5/10 Enthus[iasm]: I am sold myself Communication: 55% body language, 38% tone of voice, 7% words Trustworthy website One column Social proof More contrast Fewer form fields Keep focus Larger targets Design for edge cases: be found Leads capture “Alert” box Live chat Full-screen pop-up Contact information on header & footer Dedicated contact page Alternative call to action Speed + tenacity + script = highest conversion rate possible Phone contact within 5 mins yields more response than 30 mins 6 attempts of call before initial contact Best time to qualify leads: 0800-1000, 1600-1800 Best days to qualify leads: Wed & Thur 3 simple bucket: educational, entertaining, conversational ARP: acknowledge, respond, pivot Building trust Co-branding: align with familiar & trusted brand Statist...

Review: Widely covers every popular media in the published time, could have included more digital marketing fundamentals as the marketing tools are always changing. Looking forward to a newer edition of it. Rated: 8.5/10 Rules of the rave Nobody cares about your products except you No coercion: e.g. free shipping Lose control: content totally free & shareable Put down roots: involve related communities Create triggers that encourage people to share Point the world to your virtual doorstep Speed and agility win size on real-time business decision Marketing and PR template Who is the buyer persona? What problems you are solving & what actions they should take? Why are you remarkable and proof? Where are they? (Google, FB, Twitter) How is your company personality, creative, tone, keyword When to do what today, week, months? Optimising social networking page Target a specific audience Be a thought leader Be authentic and transparent Create lots of links Encourage people to contact ...

Review: Followers can be from many platforms and this book covers the majority of the big social networks, it would be better to include ways to cross market the networks for followers efficiency. Rated: 8/10 Follower process: Hypothesise with an engaging format, story or theme Test the proof of concept Pivot to invest further or repeat step 1 Jeff King’s process communication model (PCM) Logic Humour Emotions Content question Why am I here? How can I provide service and value? What content if this is my last video? How to make it the best video ever? How to best present the content? Why do I share the content I share? What do I like about the content I see? How can I have a meaningful impact on  the world? Growing Instagram Influencing the influencer: something they want to post too Target smaller influencer first and work your way up Tagging and privacy settings: content’s availability Posting time: reaching different crowd Good content yields lasting growth: make it an end goal ...

Review: Marketing is not something that can be done with hard and fast rules, it is important to focus and once you are in the zone - do the right thing. This book greatly explained the steps to fulfil each task zone. Rated: 8.5/10 BANT criteria: Budget, Authority, Need, and Time Click-through rate (CTR) Remarketing: previous interactions 6 core elements Marketing programs Strategy & planning Team & process Data & technology Content Website Zone marketing checkup Clear marketing strategy in sync with org mission and vision Specific documented marketing goal aligned with org sales goal Executive understands and support Weekly scorecard for clear process Marketing plan with investment returns Strong understanding of customers & channels partners Strong understanding & update of competitors Clearly defined marketing personas Clear understanding of marketing plan Understands work impact & weekly metrics Weekly & quarterly meetings Regular quality access of marke...

Review: It is important to measure the effect of marketing so you know how to improve on it, this book have some key measurement indicators but would be better with more. Rated: 8.5/10 If you’re not paying for something, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold. Reach vs. intention (conversion) Give any reason to get what you want easier, the word ‘because’ triggers a reflex to treat the request as valid Customer 2.0: community answering question and felt happy as a power user Social media class: Earned Paid Owned Recommendation system: User ratings Context Popularity Interest Freshness Friend’s recommendations via Facebook Campaign difficulty measurement: Public relations (32%) Print (26%) Online advertisement (15%) Trade shows (9%) Email marketing (6%) SEO/PPC (5%) Direct mail (5%) 6 principles of influence Reciprocity Social proof Authority Commitment and consistency Liking Scarcity Influence measurement Causation Error Cost Network size Network centrality Network prox...

Review: summarised how was Paychex being built up with all the essential pointers. Rated: 8.5/10. Business plan essentials Executive summary Profit and loss statement Human resources Product or service Financials Industry and market sector Customers Market research Competition Price Marketing Sales Production Distribution Administration Buying a business The benefits Due diligence Advancing technology The financials The inventory minefield Source of financing Self-financing (put your money where your mouth is) Sweat equity Banks Venture capital Would you buy what you sell? It’s not a cash flow problem, it’s a sales problem Elephant client: sizeable percentage of your overall sales Hire for attitude, train for skill, fire when necessary Lead, follow or get out of the way Never negotiate from an ultimatum Basic sales Prospect Handling objections Recognising buying signal Trial closes Close early and close often

Review:  It includes both technical explanation and examples to let your brain work in many different ways even when you are interacting with people. Rated: 8/10 Stanford Marshmallow experience didact children with delayed gratification achieve more in later part of their lives. Office distraction: 11 minutes on project, 25 minutes on break, switch task every 3 minutes and waste 2.1 hours long a day Ambient neural activity: your brain is constantly processing Distraction deplete your limited prefrontal cortex resources Distraction management tips Clear your mind first: write things down to empty it Remove external distractions: anchoring Prioritise only when you are switched on Keep a tidy or integrity-filled life Practise mental braking Sawyer effect: practices that can either turn play into work or work into play Somatosensory cortex: where the pain is coming from Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC): how much of a problem the pain is Insula: tells the brain overall state of t...

The space between your eyebrows is called a glabella. The way it smells after it rains is called petrichor.  The plastic or metallic coating at the end of your shoelaces is called an aglet. When your stomach rumbles, that's a wamble.  The cry of a new born baby is called a vagitus.  The prongs of a fork are called tines.  The sheen of light that you see when you close your eyes and press your hands on them is called phosphenes.  The tiny plastic thing placed in the middle of a pizza box is called a box tent.  The day after tomorrow is called overmorrow.  Your little toe or finger is called the minimus.  The wired cage that holds the cork on a bottle of champagne is called an agraffe.  The ',la na na. and la la la', which don't really have any meaning in the lyrics of any song, are called vocables.  When you combine a question mark with an exclamation mark (?!), it is referred to as an interrobang.  The space between your nostrils is...

Review: Interesting point of view on the multitude of marketing. Covers hacking essentials to make a difference. Rated: 9/10  Power map (like mindmap): Who is going to directly benefit from my product or service? Who is going to use it? Who is my customer going to be? Who influences those users and customers? Who is currently making money from my complex market? Who are the layers within my complex market? How can I segment my complex market? What are each player’s relationships to other players? What are each player’s interest and motivation? What are their capabilities to block or unblock? What laws, regulations, or norms are they subject to? Keep your aperture wide All players are either attackers or defenders Skepticism and empathy Business models Direct: B2B, B2C Indirect: B2B2C Multi Sided business models: marketplaces, ad-supported Telling Story: Start with why Tell a story and keep it simple Know your audience Be authentic Marketing measurement: Total addressable market (TA...

Review: This book has clearly identified the factors that are required to push for performance, focused mainly on human factors and not the methods. Rated: 8.5/10 Source of motivations on the motive spectrum Play (passion) Purpose Potential Emotional pressure Economic pressure Inertia Maladaptive performance: when the motivation is low enough, a person would find the shortest possible path to alleviate the pressure they are feeling, even if that path is contrary to the intent of the plan Cobra effect: attempted solution to a problem makes the problem worse, as a type of unintended consequence. Primed to perform theory Total motivation (ToMo) requires people to feel the direct motives and not the indirect motives The highest levels of organisational or team performance require a balance between the opposing forces of tactical and adaptive performance The many keys to culture must be used together to unlock performance Blame bias: the more removed we are from someone, the more likely we ...

Review: How to be everything doesn’t teach you to be everything but understanding why someone does everything. Very insightful book to learn different way someone can be multi-talent and how to maximise their potential. Rated: 9/10 Classifications: Multipotentialite: someone with many interests and creative pursuits Polymath: someone who knows alot about many different things or a person of encyclopedic learning Renaissance person: a person who is interested in and knows a lot about everything Jack-of-all-trades: a person who can do passable work at various tasks; a handy, versatile person Generalist: one whose skills, interests, or habits are varied or unspecialised Scanner: someone with intense curiosity about numerous unrelated subjects Puttylike: able to embody different identities and perform a variety of tasks gracefully Multipotentiaialite superpowers: Idea synthesis Rapid learning Adaptability Big-picture thinking Relating and translating Work model: The group hug approach: hav...

Why does a fish bite on an inedible spinner? Fish: “The last thing I ate was moving. It was good. This thing is moving. It must be good.” You: “The last stock I bought was rising. It was good. This stock is rising. It must be good.” Even if 10,000 investors have heard the news ahead of you, it may still prove profitable to you if 10 million investors are going to hear it and act on it after you Wildcatting: a practice instituted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that calls for the review of an entire industry whenever critical problems are found within one or two companies in that industry Interest rates can go down because of: Over discounts and the advantage of buying now rather than later The above advantage reduced by the rate of inflation of deterioration in the outlook for profits A stock will grow when: Reinvesting earnings Investing borrowed money Acquiring other company Increasing sales without having to increase invested capital Discoveries of natural resources ...

This book focuses more on mass customers instead of high-value customers, it consists of many examples on how game companies made their name. I find it has lack of actual methods to seek and induce high-value customers. Rated: 7/10 Important success factors: The Internet, presentation like Apple, algorithm like Amazon We moved from “is it available” to “how much does it cost?” Jeff Bezos: “if you can’t feed a team of people with two pizzas, it’s too large.”

Review: This is very suitable for people who intend to lead a normal life, work a normal job and want to retire normally - the virtue of saving is more important than you ever know. Rated: 8/10 Casino mentality Mental accounting: token become less of money The price of free: free parking and drinks in casino The pain of paying: not spending money but like a game Relativity: tips become small as compared to piles of chips Expectations: looks like James Bond Self-control: influenced by stress Emotional accounting: something already paid so you don’t feel the pain Couples are frustrated because they have overpaid their honeymoon and come back stingy and sour Prepaid stuff made us guilt-free to spend Self-herding: we assume the cost and be willing to pay for something above its value Successful advertising copywriters are like magicians: they let us feel like we already own client’s product Can we live up to 80% of our income vs. can we give away 20% of our income Bidding...

Review: You won't go wrong reading this book regardless how long ago was it, the habits basically apply to anyone at any era at at continent. Rated: 9.5/10 Common human challenges Fear and insecurity “I want it now” Blame and victimism Hopelessness Lack of life balance “What’s in it for me?” The hunger to be understood Conflict and differences Personal stagnation Body Mind Heart Spirit Effective habits = knowledge (what to, why to) + skills (how to) + desire (want to) Emotional bank deposit Understanding the individual Attending to the little things Keeping commitments Clarifying expectations Showing personal integrity Apologising sincerely when you make a withdrawal The law of love and the law of life Habit 1: be proactive Highly proactive people recognise responsibility and they do not blame circumstances, conditions or conditioning for their behaviour Reactive (I can’t) vs. proactive (I choose) Circle of concern circling Circle of influence, ...