Channel Surfing

Happy Monday!

So, I had a major revelation over the weekend. It was a stream of consciousness that I am going to try and articulate to you...hopefully it will make some sense!!

I have XM radio in my car and listen while I am at work as well. I have 10 stations programmed in and chronically switch between them depending on my mood and the task at hand. I recently switched to The Blend...It would not be unreasonable to call it the Michael Bolton/Billy Joel/Adult Contemporary station. I like it...most of the time! I am also a BIG James Taylor fan and he fits well into The Blend lineup. However, imagine my surprise when I heard a remake of "Fire and Rain" by Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds. Maybe I have been hiding under a rock, but I thought Babyface exited the scene with the introduction of the new millennium...guess not. But good for him for making an effort to rebrand...hopefully he has a bit more success than PuffDaddy/SeanPuffy/PDiddy/Diddy or whatever his name is now/Combs.

That's when I came to the conclusion that some things just shouldn't be duplicated, copied, remade or otherwise changed. My husband pointed out to me that for a few weeks I was listening to Christmas music and didn't seem to mind the fact that there are only 10 songs performed by 200 different people...rendering my opinion useless.

So is it true that some things shouldn't be duplicated? Maybe. But more importantly, I am recalling the ABA Marketing Conference in Baltimore where a speaker said, "I don't want to be first, but I certainly don't want to be third either."

I can ramble for days trying to make the point...so let's cut to the chase...No new product will be perfect. Some of the bigger banks in the market have more resources and can afford the occasional product failure. We don't have that luxury. That's why sometimes it is OK to be second...learn from someone else's mistakes (or successes). Being second also gives us the chance to take what THEY did and make it better...In my opinion, second is a great place to be. Third means you are prepared to give the best share of the market to the guys who came in first and second.

Be an innovator, be a leader, be content to be second to launch...But don't settle for third. Or to use my music analogy...Did you know that Otis Redding first released "Respect" in 1965 and it was remade by Aretha Franklin in 1967? That's a great example of why it is OK to go second!


Have a great week :)
Jenna