Podcast

SHOW NOTES

In this episode of The No Bullshit Marketing Show, Dave is back after releasing his Amazon bestselling book, No Bullshit Marketing. He shares insights on streaming versus traditional cable, focusing on the “zap factor”—the ease of channel surfing that’s often lost in streaming services.

Reflecting on his recent experience trying to watch an NFL game on Amazon Prime, Dave discusses the frustrations of buffering and the lack of quick channel flipping. This inspires him to consider a new marketing angle: what if cable companies highlighted their unique “zap factor” to attract viewers who miss the ease of surfing between channels?

Key takeaways include:

• Know Your Audience: Identify viewers who value simplicity and a seamless viewing experience.
• Enhance the Experience: Cable already has the zap factor but could refine and promote it more.
• Consistent Messaging: Emphasize the benefits of zapping for a familiar, convenient alternative to streaming.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Hey, the No Bullshit Marketing Show took a bit of a hiatus while I worked on my new number one Amazon bestselling book, No Bullshit Marketing. But I’m back and ready to dive into something fresh, fun, and timely. Let’s talk about streaming. Let’s talk about watching sports. Let’s talk about the NFL.

Recently, I was ready to catch a game on Amazon Prime, excited to kick back and watch some football. But here’s what I’ve experienced again and again, watching the NFL on Amazon Prime. This isn’t quite the seamless experience I grew up with. For one, just getting the game to start was its own effort. You know, finding the app, loading it up, watching the little loading circles, spin around, and then.

Maybe it starts. Or maybe it’s choppy. Freezing up right as a play’s about to start. And maybe, just maybe, the stream drops out and we all scramble to reboot the game. You’ve been there. You know what I’m talking about. I’ve heard about it from friends, family, others. But here’s where I really started thinking about the difference.

You can’t zap. Well, you can, but it’s pretty hard. No channel surfing. No quick flip between the game and something else. Checking out something else that’s out there. That’s how we watched TV for years, and it was fantastic. With streaming, yes, you’re locked in, which can be great. But you’re tethered to that one game, for the most part.

Because of the hassle. This got me thinking about the zap factor. If you’re like me A classic cable zapper, you know what I mean. You want to flip channels, catch a few moments here, a few moments there. Keep the action going, on your terms. With cable, zapping is just a reflex, something you barely think about.

It’s fast, it’s easy. But on streaming, you’re lucky if you can get back to the main menu without losing your spot entirely. So here’s a thought. And stick with me on this. What if cable companies actually promoted the zap factor? Just came out and said it. Cable. Because we make surfing easy. Sure, it’ll probably ruffle the feathers of advertisers who want your eyes glued to their content.

But think about the appeal to people who miss out on that freedom. If cable companies leaned into this advantage, they’d have something unique. to shout about. And best of all, it’s something their audience truly wants. Now let’s take this back to the core of marketing. My favorite part. This whole idea, the zap factor gets right into the foundation of marketing.

How I define marketing. You first define your right fit customers, your right fit target markets. You then go out and find out what they think, what they feel, what they want. If you don’t already have it, you develop it, you tweak it, enhance it so you can give it to them when and where they want it at a price they’re willing to pay.

And then you tell them about it again and again. So who’s the right fit customer for Cable’s Zap Factor feature? Simple. People who grew up on flipping channels and who still see it as a part of how they watch sports, or for that matter, how they watch anything. These are people who value ease, simplicity, and efficiency.

They want an experience that lets them surf around without buffering, without menus, without the risk of missing anything major. Now let’s go further. We’ve defined the right fit customer. So what do we do next? We listen. to what they want. In this case, it’s flexibility, speed, simplicity. Cable can give them that with ease, but it’s not enough to just have it.

You need to continually develop it, polish it, and make it accessible in every interaction with your customer. And then you shout it from the rooftops. And that last part, that’s critical. Tell them about it and don’t stop telling them. Repeat it until they can’t forget it. Because one message, one time, won’t cut it.

With all the noise and options out there, people need to hear something again and again before it clicks. So imagine the story cable companies could tell if they embraced the zap factor. They’d tap into a nostalgia for the days when watching something was simple. One remote, one button, a hundred options.

They could create a campaign that says, sure, streaming has its perks, but if you want control, If you want fast, if you want true ease, cable has you covered. You bring in the sense of familiarity, that ease of flipping between channels, and tie it to the brand. It’s creative storytelling at its best. The zap factor highlights a big lesson for brands, any company out there.

New doesn’t always mean better for every target audience. Sometimes some customers want what is right in front of us, us being the sellers, us being the companies offering a product to a target audience. We call it the Seinfeld storytelling approach, where something that we think is nothing is actually something to a key target audience.

And in this case, it’s about making the customer’s life easier, more enjoyable, more convenient. And when you figure out what That target audience values most and you give it to them again and again, that’s how you build trust. That’s how you build loyalty. That’s how you build a brand that resonates. As we navigate this world where streaming is all the rage, maybe it’s time for cable to take a step back.

Find what one of their target audience sees as something far from nothing. And make that part of their story. The zap factor could be Cable’s way to remind everyone that sometimes the best innovations are the ones that make life simpler. It doesn’t mean that the very customer they’re targeting, people who love to zap, aren’t going to use streaming.

They are. Streaming is here to stay and will be part of the viewing experience. But so can zapping and cable if the story is told in a way that resonates for a specific target audience that’s still significant enough to bring cable subscribers. And who knows, other audiences might find that zapping is something they love and want too.

Remember, true marketing is about finding out what your right fit customer segments want, developing it, and giving it to them when and where they want it, at a price they’re willing to pay, and then telling them about it again and again in a creative, memorable fashion. As for me, I’ll keep streaming, and I’ll also keep zapping, and I’ll keep exploring and keep finding these stories.

To share with you. It’s good to be back on the no bullshit marketing show. Thank you for being a loyal, no bullshit marketer.

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