What is Your Holy S#!t Number?
It may be because I am more attuned to these kinds of people now. It may be because one tends to hang around people that share similar thoughts and experiences. Or, it may just be that there is something fundamental going on. Irrespective of the reason I have met yet another person this week that has taken time off of work. I don't mean a two or three week vacation. I mean months.
This week I also came across an article on the Harvard Business Review website. The article is about an advertising agency that asks their clients what their "Holy S#!t" number is. By that they mean a number that truly has an impact on their world, their customers and ultimately their bottom line. Ultimately their bottom line. This is an important distinction. Not directly - ultimately.
Numbers that directly measure revenue are boring. % of sales increase. Cost of goods sold. Profit margins. Market penetration %. B_O_R_I_N_G!!! The point is that if these are the numbers directly driving a company's advertising campaign it will be boring and unlikely to convince customers to purchase the good or service. The result is that the impact on revenue will be, well, boring.
Rather they ask that companies find their "Holy S#!t" number. Some number that describes the societal grouping they are trying to sell to. A number that will generate exciting revenue growth. For example, if your target market is people in their forties figure out what is happening to them in society and include that fact in your advertising.
Here is a fact: 80% of people aged 45+ consider changing careers. Only 6% actually do.
Back to the interactions I have had with people over the last few years. It seems many people are unhappy in their jobs and careers. Countless are tired and need a break. The urge to stop and breathe is very strong within all of them. Having said that most (well, 93%) of those that want a change will not act. Why might that be?
Maybe we tend to use numbers like annual income, mortgage payment, loan interest rate, and cost of vacation to take our decision. Short-term, direct views of our reality. Boring numbers that don't generate behavioural change. Why not use the stat regarding the number of people that actually make a change? Better yet find out the stats regarding the positive impact of spending more time with your children. Or the impact of free time on mental health. How about the confidence that comes from following your dreams and your gut feelings? Numbers that cause an emotion.
I would recommend that you find the number that will cause that small voice in your head to make you act. Afterall the voice is an advertising campaign. You create it and play it in your mind constantly and it shapes you - directly. Find the Holy S#!t number that will get you to act.
Priceless.
Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!
This week I also came across an article on the Harvard Business Review website. The article is about an advertising agency that asks their clients what their "Holy S#!t" number is. By that they mean a number that truly has an impact on their world, their customers and ultimately their bottom line. Ultimately their bottom line. This is an important distinction. Not directly - ultimately.
Numbers that directly measure revenue are boring. % of sales increase. Cost of goods sold. Profit margins. Market penetration %. B_O_R_I_N_G!!! The point is that if these are the numbers directly driving a company's advertising campaign it will be boring and unlikely to convince customers to purchase the good or service. The result is that the impact on revenue will be, well, boring.
Rather they ask that companies find their "Holy S#!t" number. Some number that describes the societal grouping they are trying to sell to. A number that will generate exciting revenue growth. For example, if your target market is people in their forties figure out what is happening to them in society and include that fact in your advertising.
Here is a fact: 80% of people aged 45+ consider changing careers. Only 6% actually do.
Back to the interactions I have had with people over the last few years. It seems many people are unhappy in their jobs and careers. Countless are tired and need a break. The urge to stop and breathe is very strong within all of them. Having said that most (well, 93%) of those that want a change will not act. Why might that be?
Maybe we tend to use numbers like annual income, mortgage payment, loan interest rate, and cost of vacation to take our decision. Short-term, direct views of our reality. Boring numbers that don't generate behavioural change. Why not use the stat regarding the number of people that actually make a change? Better yet find out the stats regarding the positive impact of spending more time with your children. Or the impact of free time on mental health. How about the confidence that comes from following your dreams and your gut feelings? Numbers that cause an emotion.
I would recommend that you find the number that will cause that small voice in your head to make you act. Afterall the voice is an advertising campaign. You create it and play it in your mind constantly and it shapes you - directly. Find the Holy S#!t number that will get you to act.
Priceless.
Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!
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