Okay, here’s a post launch update on Frank Kern’s “Mass Control” launch.
My email box is crammed with people saying… “Dude, I didn’t get in”, or… “I’m so pissed, I couldn’t get the page to load”, and a variety of other angry messages from those that didn’t get the chance to get Frank’s stuff.
It’s easy to understand their frustration when the order page was pulled down less then 15 minutes after noon. But when something is gone, it’s gone.
Yesterday, I made a few tongue in cheek jokes about Frank’s inability to do simple math and that he could of sold 5000 of these things easily if he just left the order page open a few more hours. I was puzzled why he did not. After a awesome celebration dinner at Nobu last night and some detailed grilling sessions, I now understand why.
Sure, Frank could of pulled in a few more thousand orders. However, that would inevitably SWAMP his staff. If his staff gets swamped, they can’t adequately take care of the first 2000 existing customers. Ever tried to take care of 2000 customers? Give it a try sometime.
Yes, he could hire more people, but that takes training, and a lot of work to get trustworthy and effective people in place. So, after discussing this with him, I think he made a good move. The last thing he would want is not being able to serve his customers in a timely fashion.
And, he did say the entire time that this was a “marketing test”.
John Reese made a great post on the Warrior Forum stating just this. He said…
I know this may come as a ‘shocker’…
But Frank was just doing exactly what he said he was doing. He was running a TEST. The reason why he didn’t pay a ton to print up 10,000+ of those packages is because this exact offer for him is UNPROVEN. It’s very risky. (Especially with the “you don’t even have to send it back” guarantee.)
It’s very possible that Frank could end up losing money on this whole thing. And if he had offered it to more people the losses could really add up. So I think he did the smart thing and offered it to a decent size to give it a test. I’m sure if the stick rate makes it profitable then he’ll do it again with a much higher limit.
But again, this is another one of those marketing events where people are looking for things that don’t even exist. Sometimes it’s not that complicated. As I said, in this case, it’s simply a test. There wasn’t some calculated evil scheme to quickly throw up a “SOLD OUT” sign so it would generate more money for some “Stage II” sneaky plan that’s being cooked up. He did a great job on the marketing, created a huge buzz and demand, and tons of people took him up on the great offer quickly. That’s the ONLY reason it had that result.
-John Reese
And I can testify, Frank was purely testing this offer. He had no idea how well it would do, and still has no clue. After the first round of billing the test results will become much more clearer.
From the periphery, it looks like a massive success. But there are a ton of things behind the scenes that many of you don’t see. So time will tell. Of course, Kern is going to be fine, rich, and surfing everyday regardless. And hopefully one day he will open this offer back up. I don’t know. And he wouldn’t give a definitive answer last night.
He’s a patient guy. He’s also a very fair guy. And despite me making fun of him for bad math skills, he’s a freaking wizard when it comes to making money. I guess many of the affiliates just wanted to keep on seeing the sales pile in.
Anyhow, awesome job Frank (as usual). And I’m sorry for any of you that missed the chance to get in yesterday.
I will be sure to update you on any possibility of Frank opening this back up. If he does, you’ll know right away.
Okay, gotta run and catch a cab. I left my car at the surfing headquarters last night after drinking too many Mojito’s at Nobu. And, it’s “Surf Time”.
Peace,
J-Mo
J-Mo,
Nice, well articulated article. My smile went ear to ear when I read “Ever tried to take care of 2000 customers? Give it a try sometime.”
HA!
Your thoughts call into question the whole idea of “Marketing Transparency”.
For example: How often should you say, or email, or tweet, or post “This is a limited offer”? Some experts say 8-12 exposures to a message is what it takes before it resonates with your customer.
Did Frank do that? Hear me out…
You know that I love video, and I really appreciated how Frank’s clever media executions during this campaign – the point being, I watched all of his videos…
And, every time he implied that there would be “Something to get”, he said that it was “Going to be Limited” and that it was “a test”.
And when we promoted it to our newsletter subscribers, we said the same thing – “Limited” (we were specific – “2000 units available”), and “Test”.
So at this point, I don’t think it’s a failure of the marketer. You pointed out that taking care of 2000 customers in a monthly membership program is pretty hard – and I ought to know.
Clearly, Frank made the right decision there.
And in this current “semi-hostile to product launches” market, i have to wonder just what pisses people off the most…
Is it the Scarcity?
Is it the Joint Venture and Affiliate Support along with all the emails?
Is is that some JV’s just promote without first hand knowledge of the product?
Is it that they don’t like to be sold to?
Is it that they don’t play enough Rock Band?
I’m not trying to hi-jack your post bro, but damn, not a launch goes by with out some Gnashing of Teeth, Jealousy, Cries of “Foul”, or Anti-Guru sentiment.
Ya know, the market anger of post launch is becoming as predictable as some of the launches themselves. How’s that for Irony?
Be well Mo-Fo.
AJ
J-mo,
I was one of the lucky ones to get in on this deal. I don’t remember who’s link I used on this so I won’t be getting any of the extras offered, but any which way, the amount of information that Frank (Chuck Norris) Kern offered her was just amazing, another great way of moving the free line.
The presale videos were awesome, and I’m sure that the package itself will be too and I can’t wait to get it. You and Andy and Frank and Ed are all great people and the rest of us can never thank you enough for everything you all do!
Excellent post Jason…and I really enjoyed reading Andy’s comment.
I think that it’s inevitable that a promotion this widespread is going to leave some people angry…and I think that it’s a variety of reasons. All of them beyond the marketer’s control.
The buzz for this thing was built up masterfully by Frank and I do believe there is a perception by many that everything the guy does is some evil scheme. He was completely transparent with the marketing, yet I’d bet my bottom dollar that many people didn’t believe it was a test at all.
So in the end, the true scarcity of the offer left some out in the cold. If you tried to access the page during the launch, I think it’s pretty clear that it was slammed. I don’t know if I’ve ever had that much trouble having a page load….a true testament to the success of the offer.
In the end, this only adds more credibility to Frank’s offers….and next time he says it will be limited, maybe everyone will believe him….or maybe not! But I’ll bet you one thing, they’ll be clamoring again and some people will still be angry. I say if you don’t piss at least a few people off, you’re not working hard enough.
JMO,
Even though I lost out due to tech issues I am not upset. The whole launch was amazing and I know that, there will be other offers.
Everyone who followed the pre-launch knew it was
a test and limited.
So the real question that needs to be answered by
YOU.
IS.
What did you guys eat at Naboo last night?
🙂
Kind Regards,
Blair
Thanks for the post launch update – a great post. This entire test has been magic to watch unfolding and I can’t wait to see how it progresses.
Congrats on surviving your 24 hour live broadcast! It was an interesting experience to participate in ;-
Great post J-mo. Definitely this was a test, it was said like 1 billion times. But definitely a test that I think generated a lot of buzz and it’s something that as future internet marketers and current ones we can learn from and see if this is something that could be generated in another niche market.
Thanks for the 24 hour show you put on, whether people notice it or not having over 100 viewers talking , chatting and asking all sorts of questions, some stupid ones if I may so at times, it’s great that you went the extra mile in providing your fan base with a chance to hang out with a future legend in this marketing game.
When you get the headset I sent ya for the Xbox we can play some madden, sometime soon.
Your blog post is right on the money. Frank did exactly what he told us he was going to do. Hell
he even used his sight in one of his video demonstrations.
Either the people who got mad were’nt watching or just were’nt paying attention to the master.
Thanks for not drinking and driving
Gary McElwain
Great post J Mo
Everyone had a chance well (nearly every one.)
As you say it is only a test…People arnt happy only 2000 were able to get in… They should f.. get a life..The internet is not going any where.
Its his launch he can do what he wants with it.
The real test is how many will stay the distance.
I took Mass Control. but couldnt stay with the membership, (thats not Franks fault) its me not being able get my own shit together (put the info together properly and acting on it).
Your stuff is great all so.
Bruce Stewart
from ed dale country
Personally I wasn’t unhappy that the number was limited – I was unhappy that the server couldn’t handle the volume. I tried multiple times before it was sold out to send my information and the server choked every time.
You mean to tell me that a guy like Frank who does product launches professionally didn’t have any idea that his server needed to be able to handle the load?
Good stuff Jmo! This launch was amazing, there was no way I could pass on trying to get that much Kern Mojo just for the shipping!
I know the end result is to get folks to stay in the membership, but man…giving away that much stuff is crazy!
It sucks there were some issues, but these things happen.
What’s the word on your book club? Did you get quite a few in there?