As 2012 comes to a close I have been looking back at the year’s events and reflecting on things that I have done. From a new experience standpoint, it was chocked full of interesting things, but I want to highlight one here and help you the reader draw some corollaries, to business.
In July I had a once in a lifetime chance to do something that I have only seen on YouTube highlight videos of brave/stupid people with a penchant for livestock. I got a call from my friend Tom who said that the rodeo was in the city I live in and that he and some friends were going to play “Cowboy Poker” and that the promoter of the rodeo had requested that I play as I serve as the Mayor of our city.
The promoter said that if I agreed, it would guarantee good attendance and that I would have a good time, and that given it was campaign season, I would have an audience that would see that I was willing to face off against any competitor. After a few moments of silence, I heard myself say yes despite my brain telling it to say NO!
Now if you are unaware of the details on the game of Cowboy Poker, here is a quick primer. A handful of people get into the middle of a rodeo ring with a table, chairs, a deck of cards, bravado, and a giant freaking bull. The bull is prodded by the rodeo clowns to charge the table of people, who being mostly sane, bail out and run away from the bull at the last minute before being tossed around like a rag doll. Whoever is the last player to have their hand on the table wins. Simple game you say, right? Read on.
The next night, we arrived in our cowboy hats, and boots, and were talking smack to each other as to who would be the first out of the game, and who would win. Then we saw a bull rider get the stuffing knocked out of him by the bull he was riding…that changed things as we were told that his bull was way smaller than the one we were supposed to get into the ring with. Great, I am now fodder for a bull’s anger management program. We enter the ring, and the following ensues….enjoy.
Did you notice that the tall Norwegian guy won? Yep, that was me….what did I learn from this experience you ask? Well other than I am an easy mark for a cheap adrenaline fix, I learned the importance of having a “NO BULL” mentality. I did not want the bull to touch me, and ultimately, unlike my friend John, I was successful in my “NO BULL” quest.
At DCIG, we also have a “NO BULL” approach to content. We create a wide array of content for clients that is followed and consumed by thousands of readers every month. Those readers, most of them end users, are looking for the unvarnished truth on products, and turn to us to help them get answers that other analyst firms are afraid to give. In our ground breaking Buyer’s Guides, we actually point out that products are better than others and have a leg up on competitors. We are unafraid to say what the market actually bears out, and we are really quite proud of that.
Our clients tell us that our content actually creates opportunity for discussions with clients that are meaningful. The reason our content is able to do that is the NO BULL approach, we don’t write in broad generalities, layer in obscure waffle words, and are willing to really say it like it is. We find that it is a refreshing approach that is seen in the market as a breath of fresh air.
As you head into 2013, think of the different pieces of content that you are going to contract from analyst firms, and realize that readers in the market place are wise to the often fertilizer laden content that is out in the market, and really just want a frank piece of content articulating why a product is better than others being shown to them. DCIG is able to take the bull by the horns for you and point your prospects in the right direction on your offering.
And that’s NO BULL.