Jeff Larche

Owner
Digital Solid
Milwaukee, WI

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Social Media Dev/Mgmnt

Garage Bands Startups

The title of this is a double twist.  The two sources are the well-known Christian rejoinder, abbreviated as WWJD?, but also, and especially, a riff on the book “What Would Google Do?” from earlier this year by Jeff Jarvis.

His book, my favorite business book so far this year, explores the New Economy principles that Google has applied to become such a media powerhouse.  It then applies these principles to other industries, imagining how they could re-engineer themselves to survive and even thrive.

I’m suggesting that Jarvis might have looked at how the home-grown music business of small-potatoes bands – the “garage bands” of today – could have been nearly as effective a model than Google.  The fundamentals of how most startup musical acts are doing business today were described in this blog post, suggesting that music is going back to the time of street-corner singing for handouts (also known as busking).

Garage bands (and yes, just about any other type of aspiring recording act) are taking the technologies that are familiar to their target market and using them in ways that are new and effective.  In an odd way, it is these seat-of-the pants performers who can serve as some of the best inspiration for businesses large and small.

A Chance to Go Backstage

Last summer I attended a performance by an appealing quasi-country band called Little Big Town.  This hardworking band has turned their blend of small town spunk, some country posturing, and an uncanny interpretation of Fleetwood Mac into a good living for its members.  I saw them when I joined some friends at a local county fair.

I was in for a surprise, just when I thought the concert – in a racetrack-turned-bandstand – was going to leave me a little to think about except how conspicuous I looked in a sea of Harley-Davidson leathers and pewter belt buckles.  The audience had just been treated to a set of crowd favorites and cuts from their latest CD when the female lead singer said, “Would y’all like a chance to come backstage after the show?  Just text ‘LBT’ to this number.”

What she then read off was a cell phone short code.  You text a message to one of these numbers, it texts back a request for confirmation and you’re subscribed. I looked around me and a full one-third of the audience was texting away.

At the end of the concert I walked away marveling at what this band had done to build their following.  And no, I didn’t win the honor of meeting the band, although the winner was announced to great fanfare just before the encore song.  In the many months since, I’ve received occasional texts with links to their mobile-friendly Web site.

The texts offered chances to hear yet-to-be-released songs and gave early-bird announcements of nearby live performances.  None of these things cost a lot of money, and they reach their core audience where they live – on their cell phones.

Revitalizing the Real Estate Industry

Few industries need this type of low-cost marketing alchemy more than real estate.  As home values fall, the last thing a home seller wants to do is “give away” 6 percent of sale proceeds on a realtor’s commission.

Whereas the traditional real estate industry would say they deliver solid value for this commission rate, the consumer is replying, “Sorry, I can do better.”  It’s an exchange that sounds uncannily like what traditional record labels have had with recording artists.

Donald Moore, with Houses100.com, is a typical real estate professional who has listened to the marketplace.  “When you do business the way it’s always been done, that standard commission makes sense, because the hard costs of selling a home are high.  The trick is to automate as much as possible,” Moore said.  “And also, to use technology to save clients time and headaches.”

An example of what he’s been trying with his business is virtual walk-throughs sent right from his iPhone to the smartphones of prospective buyers.  Another idea he’s experimented with is bar codes displayed on For Sale signs that consumers can capture using their cell phone’s camera and transform into a Web address with deep details about that property’s features and amenities.

It’s technology that adds value to his target market’s cell phones.  And it cuts down on the biggest investment a home buyer must make aside from purchase price: the hassle of touring hoes that wind up being “poor fits” – not nearly what they wanted to buy.

From a business perspective, these tactics are low-cost and “scalable.”  They allow for greater efficiency –reducing costs exactly when they are elevating perceived value.

Are you in an industry that sees costs rising and perceived value dropping through the floor? Maybe you should ask yourself, “What Would A Garage Band Do?”