I saw a report on my local news station that San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is in trouble. They may raise the already high prices. Over the past few years, Bart has been getting over-crowded and dirty. There are times where I don’t even get to sit during my commute both ways. I pay full price, yet I’m uncomfortable. One can spend 1-2 hours a day on Bart. I view my time as valuable. I want to either relax or work. I could probabaly bust out a blog post M-F if I could sit down both ways.

So what can Bart do to raise prices yet keep customers happy? Find out what your customers do using your product and make it better for them. It’s a simple idea. People who ride Bart do the following:

• Sleep

• Read books or newspapers

• Work on laptops

• Watch movies or listen to music on their portable device

• Some even sneak a bite to eat or drink

Everyone who gets on Bart pays the same amount if your either standing, sitting in a dirty seat, leaned on by some smelly guy, or sleeping comfortably. Unfair for those inconvenienced. Bart should take a bite out of web services. Provide a basic service for a base price and charge more for a premium service. Airlines do this, why can’t BART? What would these premium services?

1. A guaranteed seat – This is a given. Guarantee seats and people will pay extra without any issues.
2. Individual seats that lean back so that one can sleep – People are tired. Think of an airline 1st class seat in BART. ZZZZZZZZZZZZ
3. WiFi – BART has already toyed with it but they should do it on a bigger scale. The price I’ve seen were $10 a day. Too expensive.
4. Outlets for laptops and other electronics
5. Small screens for FREE or paid TV shows and movies – Strike a deal with Netflix where users can watch their library on the train or new users can rent ala carte
6. Touch-screen computers that come out of the seats
7. Free newspapers
8. An electronic library

Would all these premium services be worth a few extra dollars? I think so. If BART is going to go all the way down to San Jose, they have to be more work friendly.

Obama won the presidency not only because of his message but how it was marketed. There was a clear difference between the Obama brand and the McCain brand. Here are some business ideas we can use in our businesses.

1) Use technology the right way
When Obama launched my.BarackObama.com, it was an instant hit. It allowed people to be part of the campaign by phone banking, donating, blogging, and etc. Obama had an iPhone app, YouTube channel, Facebook, MySpace, TXT, Twitter, and the list goes on. While the BarackObama.com probably cost loads of $$$, the rest is pretty much free. McCain launched McCainSpace late in the game. Additionaly, the name is so dated and out of touch.

Spend what you need to get your main website going but also work as hard enhancing your MySpace page. If you check Obama’s MySpace, you will notice how it’s themed the same way his site is. Think of these other sites as an extension of your main one. Use them to drive traffic.

2) Be consistent
Obama’s message stayed consistent since he 1st gained attention from his 2004 speach. He was disipline enough to keep that message through the primaries and the presedential race. This gave the voters a sense of dedication know how. McCain had a different theme every week confusing voters and distracting his “customers” from the real prize.

If your business has a clear and consistent message, your brand has a better chance against the competition.

3) Stay positive
Once thing that turned me off with the McCain & Clinton teams was the negativity. I believe all the terrorist talk turned off many voters. Most people are not that stupid.

Be positive about your products, industry, and competitors. People generally want to be around happy people. If you have a blog for your business, talk about the highs and lows but always try to leave it at a high note. Depressions doesn’t sell products.

4) Crowdsource
Obama started grassroots and ended grassroots. Starting with little money, he was able to raise record breaking funds. The Obama team was able to people to work for him for free because they believed in him. People were making their own campaign videos, exposing the competition, creating banners, calling undecided voters, registering new voters…..you saw them in the streets and online.

Your business should be trying to create passionate customers. These folks will work for you for free and bring more benefits than any paid employee could.

5) Be transparent
Obama ran an honest campaign. It was great to hear him say that he didn’t know everything and would need help. That was a stark contrast to McCain wanted us to believe that he had all the answers due to his time in the senate. Sarah Palin pretending she knew wha tthe Bush doctrine was. If you don’t know, admit it.

If you have a product defect and it’s been called out in the comments or forum of your site, admit it and tell your customers what you will do about it.

The Obama campaign manager should write a book on his experience. Look out Seth Goodin!