Gene Simmons got fired from The Apprentice tonight. (Ah, will I ever get tired of seeing those lovely words?) In addition to the deep personal satisfaction it gives me to watch Gene Simmons get fired, there are some things to learn.
Gene Simmons Got Fired Because He Didn’t Know His Customer
(My sincere apologies to those who don’t watch the show, I know there is nothing more tedious than listening to someone talking about some asinine TV program you don’t watch. I solemnly promise that television references will remain very, very rare on this blog.)
Winning and losing on The Apprentice always boils down to three things, either singly or in combination. To win, you have to 1) know what your real product is, 2) know who your real customer is, and 3) not overcomplicate your story.
The customer tonight was Kodak’s executive team. They were the ones who gave the thumbs up or thumbs down, so that’s who the winning team needed to listen to.
But since Kodak is not run by dummies, the real customer is a consumer who gets pissed off every time he calculates how much a gallon of printer ink would cost.
I was not at all surprised that Simmons considered himself too important to go to the client meeting and find out what they needed. I was a little surprised that Simmons, who is unquestionably an effective marketer, would make the rookie error of falling in love with a bland, meaningless tag line ("It’s a Kodak World. Welcome.") instead of a message that conveyed a tangible benefit to the consumer (our ink is half the price).
If you don’t get into the head of your customer, you lose
Simmons had a big win in the season’s first episode, where the teams were vying to sell hot dogs for charity.
You won’t raise much selling hot dogs for anything like what they’re worth. Simmons uncovered the real product underneath the distraction, and if the editing can be trusted, he did it admirably quickly.
The real product in that competition was feeling like a bigshot. (The product was not celebrity, and celebrity in itself isn’t a product. Yes, many people like to identify with celebrities or have their photo taken with one, but that’s because they want to feel like bigshots.)
Simmons understood this instantly and he took it to a higher level. He knew exactly what to say to the consumers of that product. And he knew where to find his customers–people who would spend, say, $50,000 on a hot dog.
(The fact that the hot dog buyers didn’t know which charity the money would go to is telling. It’s not about the charity, it’s about the feeling of glorious excess in your bigshotedness.)
Where to find your customers and what to say once you find them are the name of the game, no matter what (tangible or otherwise) you’re selling. And Simmons nailed it for that particular customer.
Did I mention Gene Simmons got fired?
I know it’s wrong of me to gloat, but I just can’t help myself.
While you may not take the personal glee that I do, you can still take something good out of the outcome. Simmons has a lot of marketing expertise. He runs a large, complex and highly profitable brand. (Apparently all by himself, since he doesn’t seem to be able to hear.) He’s energetic and driven. And he is certainly smart and well-connected.
But he didn’t speak to the heart of the customer, in the language of the customer about what matters to the customer. The team with crappy signs printed by Kinko’s did, and they handed his ass to him.
There, doesn’t that feel nice?
(P.S., one more lesson from last night. Never, ever go without a remote backup of your work. Get a cheap/free service like Backpack, or just email files to your gmail account, but back up your hard work like you expect the building to burst into flames at any moment. Sometimes it does.)
Related reading:
And did you see his insistence on taking Omarosa and Jenny into the boardroom? An attempt at upsetting Trump’s own marketing plan, that wily Gene! I share your glee, but will miss his surprisingly astute moments. Great post!
I know, despite my personal distaste, he did earn my grudging respect for some very smart moments. One hears that his jerk thing is a big act, but that doesn’t make it any more pleasant to witness.
My take on the boardroom thing was that he knew he would be fired, and he certainly picked up on DT’s signals about who to bring back with him, so he preferred to “fire himself” by leaving DT no choice. That he wanted to exert control over the outcome, in other words. I suppose it’s also possible that he just didn’t think Nely should be fired.
This is why I don’t usually watch TV, I get way too into things. (I was also UNSEEMLY in my glee at guessing correctly who would win. I really can be very annoying.)
Sonia: Spot on!
Too many times, I think marketers lose sight of customer and focus on themselves. Maybe it’s the reason for press releases with 43-word leads. It seems the ones who do have this focus are mostly the hungry and the agile. A big company that comes to mind that’s gotten into the head of their customer is Burger King.
Though I haven’t seen the show, I totally believe when you say Gene treated the target like “slackjawed rubes.” He does that with his band – there’s no Ace or Peter anymore, but that’s beside the point.
Yeah, the guy’s a pig in public, though I do appreciate, to a certain degree, his melding of Halloween, July 4 and power chords. I was thoroughly disappointed in the Fresh Air interview – he had a cool story to tell but decided to be, well… himself. His A&E show is worth watching – just to see his kids kick his ass.
I have to admit, I am pretty curious about the A&E show.
Very good post Simone. I join you in your celebration of Gene’s demise. I was way too happy about it.
Without saying too much, I will say, Gene wanted to be fired. He was weary of the game in my estimation and he didn’t want any of the ladies to go down in the midst of his arrogance. Simply, Empresario lost because of his shinnanigans and he knew it. So, the benevolent dictator died on his sword to save the damsels in distress!!
Darlene
Interview Guru
http://www.interviewchatter.com/season-7-the-apprentice-week-3/
Sonia: So, I hear Gene Simmons was fired.
Gypsy, 😀