Insights and Exploits from "A CEO's GPS"

YES, Looks Do Matter

2008-05-23T15:35:00.003-05:00

Repeatedly, branding is a big topic here at Wendistry, but I'm always surprised by the fact that not everyone is aware of the power of creating a brand for oneself. Your personal brand is all-important, particularly when you run a business. Think Kate Spade, Martha Stewart, Oprah... these are all individuals who created entire businesses around their own successful self-branding. And they know that what they look like is key to conveying their company's success.

Yes, your business standards and ethics, your personality, and of course, your performance are all fundamental parts of your personal brand. You should have a clear understanding of who you are, what your values are and what you'd like to be known for to be able to develop a successful image. However, before you'll even have the chance to prove your outstanding performance and steadfast integrity, you have to make a first impression to get your foot in the door. And to do that, you're going to need to look the part (without trying too hard, of course).

With some knowledge that I've gained by working diligently with Ayo Fashola of Ice Cream Style to hone my own brand to accurately reflect everything that we're about here at Wendistry, here are her (and my) highest recommendations:

1. First impressions count. Clothes, hair, makeup, teeth......they're all a part of first impressions. Don't wait until you lose 20 pounds or land that next big client to start taking care of your image. Your client's first impression will be hard to shake if it's not a good one. If you are building a brand around yourself, keep in mind that whenever you leave the house, your brand goes with you. This doesn't mean that you can't run out for coffee in your sweatpants on occasion, but if there is an opportunity that you may meet a potential client, you'll want to present yourself accordingly.

2. Wear clothes that fit. If you remember only one thing from this article, please let it be these four words. Just remember the last woman you saw wearing a button-down shirt that was too tight or a skirt that was entirely too short for a professional environment and these images alone should be enough to convince you to wear clothes that fit.

3. Discover your signature look. Each one of us has unique features and style. What you perceive of as a flaw may in fact make you memorable. Think of someone like Jackie Kennedy: whether you liked her politics or not, she launched a thousand styles that were copied and are still considered classics... the pillbox hat, the big sunglasses. If you've been trying too hard to look a part, you'll end up looking like you're trying too hard. Instead, focus on those characteristics that make you unique and are truly you. Whether it's always wearing a particular accessory (think Bono with his sunglasses) or carrying off an unusual fashion choice (say, the ability to make mismatched clothes work well together), a unique signature to your style will make you memorable. Just be sure that the unique signature is authentically yours and represents what you want to say to the world.

4. Be consistent. Once you've established a style that works for you, stick with it. If you look like a carefree bohemian one day and a buttoned-up businessperson the next, potential clients may perceive you as inconsistent and therefore, unreliable. Because...

5. What you wear is a costume of sorts. What does your costume say about who you are? Since it can be hard to be objective about ourselves, ask for feedback from people who will tell you the truth. While you may think that your relaxed fit cotton casual pants say "approachable and low-key businessman," to someone else they may scream "hopelessly out-of-touch dork with pleats." I'm not saying that you won't be able to wear cotton, but you may have to shift to a pant style that is of this century.

6. Match your style to your business. (On a personal note, this is where I'm having the most difficulty adjusting... I just pulled 20 black suits from my closet. What am I? A professional funeral attender?? YIKES!) If you're a tax accountant, you'll probably find a suit and tie to be a more successful look than, say, grunge. There does need to be a certain correspondence between the nature of your look and your occupation. That's not to say that you can't be a flamboyant tax accountant, but chances are, you'll have more success in the entertainment industry than at a Fortune 500 company. (Again, I did spend 2.5 years in the financial services world, hence all the black, gray, navy suits. However, now I'm a marketing, strategy, and brand development consultant... creativity for clients is a key. So, creativity must be a part of my Brand Image and attire.)

7. Be authentic. Since every aspect of yourself contributes to your "brand," it helps to be authentic. If at heart you are a hillbilly, don't pretend to be part of the east coast elite. Though American society is relatively fluid compared to many other places in the world, pretending to be what you're not will not help you to achieve a personal brand. A personal brand is quintessential you. So, embrace those aspects of yourself that make you unique instead of denying them.

Finally, remember that no amount of branding on the outside will make up for a failure to deliver the goods. You'll need to know how to use your manners, collaborate and otherwise display the emotional intelligence and diplomacy that makes the world go 'round, while also delivering a quality product or service on time, no matter how good you look.

Strategic Planning: How-To

2008-05-22T10:11:00.002-05:00

A strategic planning meeting should be held at least once a year and should include all executive managers as well as any key supervisors with front-line knowledge and experience. Bring a copy of your company’s business plan to the meeting so it can be referred to when needed. Keep in mind the purpose of the meeting, which is to evaluate past projects and goals and to develop new strategies based on opportunities discovered through market research and analysis.

The following list can help create a more effective strategic planning meeting:

1. The meeting should be held off-site in a casual setting so participants will feel relaxed but away from distractions.

2. Make sure everyone knows that each person will be treated as an equal and everyone will have an equal voice in terms of suggestions and criticisms.

3. To promote a more comfortable atmosphere, have everyone dress in casual clothing.

4. Encourage discussion of subjects mentioned in the meeting. This will not only encourage more brainstorming as the meeting progresses, but it will also serve to fully define the subject and determine its merits.

5. Don’t let the meeting digress into endless criticism. Point out areas that merit praise, and when discussing areas of weakness, explain how certain suggestions may not fit into the overall scope of the company’s strategy.

6. Don’t try to prioritize items brought up in the meeting. The strategic planning meeting is mainly a brainstorming session where ideas are explored in relation to their strategic impact on the business.

7. Don’t assume that everyone will come with a notepad and pen. Make sure you provide both.

8. Make sure you cover each topic thoroughly before progressing to the next. Keep in mind that you are exploring strategic solutions. When discussing each subject, apply timelines for specific actions after the meeting has been adjourned.

9. Write a summary of the meeting and circulate it to everyone who is part of the strategic planning team. Then, make sure you have follow-up meetings to review each person’s progress.

10. Wrap up the meeting with allowing everyone to share their biggest success over the last year and how that knowledge and experience will be utilized moving forward into the next.

Don't Ignore Your Best Performers

2008-05-21T10:12:00.007-05:00

Sometimes CEOs are so busy trying to keep their business alive that they forget the people that got them there. Don't ignore your stars. If you ignore them and assume that they will just keep on giving above and beyond for too long, they will go elsewhere just to be appreciated. And, they'll even take less money for it.

Every business owner out there has experienced this scenario: an employee with key knowledge walks into your office and says, "I love you and I love working for you, but I have an offer I just can't refuse." Most of the time, the CEO finds extra money or whatever is necessary to keep the employee. My suggestion is to be proactive about keeping key people in the first place.

Pay increases and performance bonuses are more than extra money to an employee. It's your way of saying, "You are valuable around here and I appreciate you." Try giving that key employee 1/4th of the money you would have to give them in the "I'm quitting" scenario. See what kind of loyalty and morale you build then.

Doctor - Operation - Plan

2008-05-20T11:12:00.004-05:00

I just acquired a new client... a world-famous surgeon who has retired and is focusing all his energy on his foundation. I am so excited about this project because this guy "gets it." He has always understood the need for accurate strategy, careful planning, and skillful execution... no deviations from the blueprint, or someone could wind up in very bad shape on his operating table.

His foundation, however, is a completely different story. Yes, there are some plans, but very little passion, execution, or sense of urgency.

Well over 90% of small business don't have an operations plan. Why is this? All the good businesses do. However, the real reason is that writing an operations plan is a real pain. It requires hard work, sacrifice, and understanding your business extremely well.

Perhaps it is this understanding of the business that scares people away? If you don't have a full understanding of your business and its systems, you will be unable to write a roadmap. Don't let fear hold you back. the point of an operations plan is that you most likely do NOT understand your business systems at the beginning of the process. However, you WILL understand them by the time you are done.

This is the reason you do the plan. It's not the plan itself that is of value, it is the process of doing it forcing you to refine your procedures, tighten your strategies, and point out any "holes."

Remember Everything

2008-05-19T07:23:00.002-05:00

Cool new item I found over the weekend... courtesy of Cali Lewis and GeekBrief.TV.
With the tagline "Remember Everything," Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at anytime, from anywhere.

So, what’s the point of Evernote? We are all constantly bombarded by information, much more than our brains can handle. So, we end up forgetting all sorts of things. With Evernote, you can start capturing all of those experiences, ideas, and memories, from both your real and digital life that would otherwise slip away.

I see this as a great tool for photographers, artists, and other visually creative types who store images rather than documents. No more "senior moments."

The Beauty of the Beating

2008-05-16T07:03:00.005-05:00

"One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful." Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Austrian psychoanalyst

I found this gem of a post from Danny Evans, author of Dad Gone Mad who expressed his joy at realizing his dream of writing books. Excerpt:

One night, about a year ago, I decided to quit dreaming.

Every day, every night, for 20 years, the dream was exactly the same – same props, same characters, same outcome. I could picture all of it with vivid clarity, but the fantasy never survived the transition from sleep to the real here and now. It burned up on re-entry. It lived only in the ether of my mind.

In the dream, I was an author. I wrote books. I spent my days on safari in my own imagination. I was satisfied. I was doing what I loved for a living, and that contentment permeated every hard, dark corner of my existence. Then suddenly I was awake again, and the reality that I was NOT the person in my dream washed over me like rain cloud.

So one night, about a year ago, I decided to quit dreaming. I sat down at my keyboard and began to write. I began to create the trappings of my dream in real life.

It has been the hardest year of my writing life. Rejection has reigned. Every small victory has been countered by enormous disappointment and despair. I have neglected friendships, responsibilities, family obligations. Phone calls and emails have gone unreturned. I have opened my soul to criticism, and I have convinced myself that this is my last best chance to accomplish something for myself – to escape the rut of cubicle jobs, financial desperation and career aimlessness.

Thursday morning, my agent called from New York. “You have a book deal,” she said.
And, just like that, the dream became real.

Whether it's authoring books or founding the next big technology "thing," behold the beauty of your entrepreneurial dream. Weather the storm; Take the beating; STAND. Your vision is worth it and your journey will become a legend.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone...

How to Keep Your Brand Fresh

2008-05-15T08:29:00.002-05:00

Conduct a "brand audit" once a year. Look at how your product or service is marketed and branded (i.e. what messages you're sending), and analyze your brand position by asking your customers what they think of your company. Then, compare the two sets of data and see how well they connect.

A coffee-house owner, for example, might think she serves great coffee, while convenience or ambience may be a bigger selling point from the customer's perspective. Realize that it is the customers' perspective that is most important to your success. And, don't fight it. I watch so many entrepreneurs get wrapped up in the fact that they "built the best widget," yet their customers love them mainly for their speed of service, or their friendly staff, or their whatever it may be.

The point is: WHO CARES?!? If you have a loyal following for particular reasons, focus on those reasons and continuously reinforce those messages. However, realize that those reasons may (and probably will) change over time. Market forces shift. New competitors come into play. New products are invented that create new desires which shifts attention away from old habits. Make sure your company stays fresh and in the middle of the conversation.

SEO Like a Pro

2008-05-14T09:05:00.004-05:00

Spiders love links... search engine spiders, that is. So, don't just optimize your web site for keywords and rest on your laurels.

To climb to the top of search results- for free- get links. Not all links are created equal, though. To engage in ethical search engine optimization, think quality before quantity. Find quality blogs, magazines, and sites where your content will be relevant.

Next, submit a helpful comment or article. If it's accepted, you'll get a link (what I like to call "link love"). Here's the essential step: Link your most important keyword phrase to your site. You'll improve your rankings because spiders will follow the links from authority sites to yours... and so will future customers and clients.

Ayn Rand, Where Are You?

2008-05-13T07:56:00.002-05:00

On Monday, May 5, the Wall Street Journal's Erin White ranked the top most influential business thinkers: Gary Hamel, No. 1. This article follows up a recent story in USA Today talking about rich entrepreneurs.

Who's missing from both groups? Women.

Not a single one popped up in the Journal's Top 20 list. Rankings were based on Google hits, media mentions and academic citations. But, I say where there's weakness, there's opportunity.

I would love to hear about more female speakers. (Better still, I'd love to BECOME one!) Yet, most of today's wealthy women are still making their money through inheritance or divorce. So, why aren't there more influential women business thinkers on these lists? How can this change? If you're a man, would you be motivated to hear a female speaker? If no, why not? If yes, who?

Creative Marketing

2008-05-12T09:27:00.001-05:00

Education from the Blogosphere

2008-05-09T09:29:00.003-05:00

Some words found in the social media space lately... time to re-educate your-CEO-self!

Socialprise: social tools + enterprise; one of the biggest shifts in business today.

TLO (Twitter Liberation Organization): concept proposed by Techcrunch and others suggesting that Twitter is "too important" and must be open-sourced so that the platform won't crash when usage spikes.

Distributed Polling: we are better at solving problems collectively. Fred Wilson posted a poll on YHOO stock price which was picked up and published on a number of leading blogs.

ReadBurner: the socializing of Google Reader so that friends can see what you've saved.

TwitPitch: Stowe Boyd, suggests a new way of "pitching"... limited to 140 characters. Now THAT'S the future with no time wasted.

This last word, TwitPitch, is my favorite! 140 characters forces you to distill your business concept down to image words/ phrases that nail exactly what you're doing and where you're heading... Fantastic!!

Checklist for Selecting an Outsourced Marketing Consulting Firm

2008-05-08T09:35:00.003-05:00

- Can the firm's capabilities deliver on your actual expectation?
- Do you like and trust them?
- What is their turnover like?
- Have former clients ever sued them?
- How long have they been in business?
- Do they have established outside vendor relationships?
- Does a big customer dominate them? What happens if that client goes away?
- Do you understand how the firm makes money?
- Have you examined the systems that the firm has in place?
- Is it understood what other services you might need in the future or not this firm can provide those services?

Obviously, this is not a comprehensive or nearly complete list. However, one ingredient that often is overlooked in finding the right marketing consulting firm is corporate culture. Understanding the tremendous impact corporate culture has on the success or failure of outsourcing can help facility executives avoid the pitfalls associated with a bad arrangement.

We're really not that far removed from the sandbox of childhood... you play with those you like and who you mesh with. Like my grandmother used to say, "There's a sock for every ole' shoe."

Time + Practice = Expertise

2008-05-07T07:52:00.004-05:00

From http://headrush.typepad.com/about.html

Most of us want to practice the things we're already good at, and avoid the things we suck at. We stay average or intermediate amateurs forever. Jump in to new waters... what are you waiting for?

Dangerous Games Startups Play

2008-05-06T10:20:00.004-05:00

taken from "Leveraging Ideas", Feedblitz:

Do entrepreneurs now live in a new age where the lowered costs for development and marketing (theoretically) mean that a company can be launched without having to take traditional venture capital financing?!? Let's discuss...

For entrepreneurs this idea seems great because they can keep more of the company, rather than needing to sacrifice a big hunk of equity in exchange for a million bucks. However, this also means that many startups have begun to play dangerous games. In particular, many a young startup is seeking an angel(s) to provide a seed round, more akin to a bridge loan, that will see them to a Series A. The idea being that during a Series A, the valuation with have doubled or tripled and the amount of equity that will be given up will be at a considerably better valuation than if the same amount of money had been taken during at the seed round.

However, please consider a few things:
1. The Economy. This ability for startups to acquire a bridge loan getting them to a Series A is most effective during a strong economy. If you only raise $300,000 and the economy caters you’re in double trouble. You’re stuck with a minimal amount of money and the prospect of a) a tougher/longer lag time needed to close the next round and b) face prospect of having to accept a lower than expected valuation.

2. Competitive Landscape. A startup hoping to get ‘just enough’ money to bridge them to a Series A also runs the risk that the competitive landscape might change during that time. I’ve been told that the minimum amount of time need to close a Series A is 120 days. Three months. More likely thought it will take a company six months. If during that time a better funded, or higher profile competitor launches a similar product, what will that mean for the Series A? It means it’s going to take a lot longer, which means more money will be needed.

3. Whacky Valuation Principle. Although it is a dangerous game for the reasons suggested above (due to the economy and competitive landscape threats) risk-taking startups do stand to benefit from the "whacky valuation principle" (I’m making this term up). Whacky valuation principle is the idea that raising a small amount of money, or taking a small amount of money from ‘smart money’ will double or triple a startup’s valuation for really no good reason. Yes, raising even a small amount of capital is business model justification, but really it changes nothing intrinsically. Bottom line, why raise $1M on a valuation of $2M when by raising $250,000 your valuation is likely to jump to $5M overnight?

4. Level of Involvement. If a VC does decide to do the type of deal mentioned above, it’s important that entrepreneurs understand that the VC’s involvement will be limited. A VC can’t afford to spend time with a company that it has so little invested in. This is a good reason why taking money from an Angel (who might only have a couple of investments and to whom $300k likely means a lot more since it’s personal money) might in fact be better than a VC. In theory having the VC be hands-off is good, but in reality, the more time they spend with (or at least thinking of you), the better.

5. Credibility/Distribution. On the plus side for VC firms, getting in with the right high-profile company can be instant credibility in the eyes of the PR and Blogger Illuminati. How do you find them? Try TheFunded for starters. Such credibility goes a long way since possible the biggest concern for any new startup is in fact not funding, but distribution.

Conclusion: In my opinion, the best situation for a startup right now is to find at least one well-known angel and supplement him/her with either a convertible note loan, or money from dumb angels. Having at least one smart money person is key to making introductions and for the person’s experience hopefully in the space. Yes, dumb money supplemented by having a smart advisory board, but it’s not the same. You want your most influential supporters hugely incentivized to help you succeed. Also based on the concerns of folks I’ve talked to in the Valley and here in New York, looking for a minimum of $500k bridge money seems like the safe bet in these ominous economic times.

Abdicating

2008-05-05T12:16:00.002-05:00

I'm currently dealing with a prospect who wants to hire me. Problem is... (are you ready for this?) she has no clue where her startup stands financially. She is a 51% owner and has a 49% investor (she refers to him as a Partner). At the same time, she has no idea how much money has been spent so far and if she needs to invest in anything, she has to go to this guy with her hand out to get anything done.

Enormous CEO mistake: ABDICATING
When CEOs aren't adept at delegating to the proper people with the proper boundaries of responsibilities, or if they don't have the knowledge to communicate about those issues, they tend to abdicate. Abdication is washing your hands of the situation because you don't know how (or want) to deal with the subject. It's the "I've had it up to here; you do it" reaction. Abdication has no follow-up component and no feedback component.

Then, when the abdication fails, CEOs either fall into the trap of "They can't help. I have to do everything myself." or the quicksand of "I need to throw more money at this problem and hopefully save my business." Now, you're either stuck doing all the lower-level work that will never drive the business forward or you're out of business. Either case is a disaster that could have been avoided.

You must break free of your mental traps such as: "I don't want to know about the financial (technology / legal / sales /etc.) stuff." "It's too difficult." or "The work will not be as good." This is head trash. These are YOUR issues. Know your business, and start by knowing yourself and what your weaknesses are. Hire those with those skills as strengths and watch your business soar.

Randomness vs. Perfectionism

2008-05-01T09:01:00.004-05:00

PERFECTIONISM:
When you start a business, you want everything to be perfect. Perfect offices. Perfect people. Perfect processes. Perfect services.

As it turns out, having that perfectionist attitude only leads to one thing: procrastination. When you're trying to perfect everything, your mind stalls you from doing anything of substance. It's as if you're waiting for your "perfect time" to do your "perfect thing." This = bad.

Perfectionism is impossible to attain... and a waste of time to try. Instead, it's a guiding star for any CEO/entrepreneur to try to attain, but again, remember "ready, fire, aim" from two days ago. See faults and flaws as good things. They help you start things quicker knowing you'll be okay if/when you hit bumps along the road. Those bumps help you steer toward the right direction; they are your best guideposts.

RANDOMNESS:
Some of the most productive business minds rely on a periodic self-administered dose of randomness to stay stimulated. Stimulation is not only necessary when developing new ideas, but is also critical when refining solutions to a particular problem. Every brain benefits from new angles that often escape your traditional point of view.

Consider a few strategies for building randomness into everyday work and life:
1. Take advantage of mistakes. When you do make an error, allow yourself to briefly continue down the same path. If only for an alternative perspective (which is sometimes difficult to get), use every mistake as a lens to see things differently.

2. Travel without a map. When we venture beyond our comfort zone, we often over-compensate with extensive planning, maps, and itineraries. Instead, consider traveling somewhere without plans. Many prolific entrepreneurs cite that getting lost as the best way to find new solutions.

3. Explore projects in unfamiliar creative fields. I love the Behance Network. It purposely features a cross-section of work from different fields. The featured gallery always includes an eclectic set of striking projects from different industries and organizations. And if you’re brave, you can take a daily stroll through the most recent gallery that contains unfiltered brand new projects published by creatives around the world. Other sites that offer great random stimulation include NOTCOT and the great websites featured daily on designer site QBN.

So, what does the picture above have to do with this post? Looking at every day objects in a different way. Finding the creative and possible new angle in the ordinary. Realizing the nicks in the rocks, the flaws in the cork, the kookiness of the monkey (I want to pinch his butt). Embracing imperfection is a vital ingredient to your success.
(Some excerpts taken from Scott Belsky, Behance Team)

Benevolent Dictatorship

2008-04-30T21:22:00.004-05:00

Business is not a democracy. Buy-in is nice, but if you cannot get it easily, what do you do?

Even though I'm not one, managing employees is a lot like parenting. "The kids" may not like what you do, but you have to do it anyway. Why? Because it's in their best interest as employees (and salary-taking members) of the company. And, "because you said so!" (Okay, not really... I just had to throw that in there in honor of Mother's Day coming in less than 2 weeks!!) ;-)

Many CEOs are afraid to be authoritarian. If I were an employee, I would take authoritarian over democratic any day of the week. That way I'd always know exactly where I stand in the state of the union. Not knowing is the worst.

Now, just because you are authoritarian does not mena you cannot be nice. Remember, it's your name on the door. As CEO, your job is not to be like. It's great if you are, but you MUST command your business. And, business is not place for democracy.

Presentation Skills

2008-04-29T10:00:00.004-05:00

Presentations should inspire... not just deliver information and facts. Here's 10 quick tips:

1. Plan it on paper first: not the PowerPoint software

2. Set the theme: a catch headline, title

3. Show enthusiasm: inject your personality into the talk

4. Provide a roadmap: number items verbally to tell your audience where you're going

5. Make the numbers meaningful: a 12 GB chip has enough transitors that if each transitor was an ant laid end-to-end, they would circle the entire Earth twice.

6. Deliver a Spielberg moment: a visual "wow"... an emotional connection to the audience

7. Keep slides simple: highly visual, yet only 1 image per slide and very little text

8. Sell the benefit: answer the WIIFM question for the audience (What's In It For Me?)

9. Rehearse the presentation: practice, practice, practice... out loud, standing up

10. Don't sweat the small stuff: relax, have fun, and enjoy the attention

BREAKING NEWS!!!

2008-04-28T12:20:00.000-05:00

Reference back to my post last Thursday!

http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/04/28/story6.html?f=et148&b=1209355200^1625031&ana=e_vert

Field of Dreams

2008-04-28T08:28:00.003-05:00

"If you build it, they will come" works well for big business. Big business is not nimble enough to start small and adjust quickly. Plus, they already have a large following of loyal customers... hence, the reason why they are a big business. So, unless it's a major screw-up of a product, a large company can crank out anything new and almost be guaranteed to at least cover expenses and create a positive ROI.

Small business, however, should do the opposite: conceive it, create basic marketing materials, sell it, and THEN scramble to build it and tweak it to perfection. Example: A former technology executive, now small mobile business CEO, spends $5000 on a Gartner Research report on the growth predictions for the segment. He spends tens of thousands of dollars attending trade shows to learn more about the industry leaders. Most amazingly, he recruits a rising star from GE to head up the technical side of the business... even to the point of giving this guy 25% of the company stock.

I'm sure you can guess the rest. Sales never happened. The industry grew at 10% annually, not the 125% predicted. Not only was all this money spent on non-productive (i.e. non-bottom line enhancing) items, but I have a strong suspicion that it helped the CEO lose himself in the "busy-ness" of his business, rather than taking a hard look at reality.

Being well-prepared is important, but just remember my favorite quote from Tom Peters, "Ready, Fire, Aim."

Primal Branding... When Nobody Gives a Crap

2008-04-25T07:56:00.004-05:00

For decades marketing types have talked about how some brands have a soul, a voice, a personality. They rant long and hard about how Apple brand has a cult, Nike has a tribe, Coke has enthusiasts, and other beloved products and services have brand loyalists, advocates, zealots and vigilantes.

But how do you create your own posse? Looking at brands as belief systems is a long leap toward creating brand communities, tribes, and ardent evangelists. Why? B ecause when you design a belief system, you attract others who want to share your beliefs.

It's the bond created between Lego enthusiasts, iPod and Blackberry owners, MiniCooper drivers, Starbucks drinkers, Rolling Stones fans and Whole Foods and WalMart shoppers that creates the buzz, the vibe, the community. It's a primal connection that has a scientific basis. Makes you want to pay attention to who your demographic is, doesn't it?

I've discovered readings about seven components that go into the creation of a belief system called the pieces of primal code. The code itself is seven elements: creation story, creed, icons, ritual, sacred words, nonbelievers, and leader. Once all seven pieces of code are in place, people are attracted to your brand in ways never thought possible, but it takes all seven to create a relevant, vibrant community.

The creation STORY is the beginning of your brand saga. It's how (and probably why) you got started. Dell was started in a dorm room. EBay was started in a spare bedroom. Hawaiian Tropic started in the garage (as did Apple and Hewlett-Packard).

CREED. Once we know where you're from, we want to know what you're about. Are you a good guy, or a bad guy? If you believe in capitalism, world peace, free markets, life after death, or Just Do It®, the consumers' brain then compartmentalizes and categories you in a way where they know what to think about you. The creed is not your lengthy corporate mission statement. It's what you want people to take away and associate with you in an instant.

ICONS. The Sydney opera house. The Statue of Liberty. The Eiffel Tower. The Forbidden City. All of these icons identify the civic communities in which they stand. Brand communities have icons, too. The swoosh. The polo player. The Coke bottle silhouette. The iPod. The Rolex. The Hummer. Icons establish a visual tag that extends beyond the song catalog, and helps members of the community identify one another. Think memes ("Stand Up & Stand Out" ppt; Slide 4)

RITUAL. Communities have things they like to do together. Run marathons. Chat over coffee. Beer fests. Knitting circles. Spring rites. Rituals are the patterns of our lives; the web of daily activities that bind communities together.

SACRED WORDS. Every group has a specialized vocabulary that identifies those who belong within the community and those who do not. Whether you're a doctor, lawyer, computer geek, football fan, music freak, patriot, marketing director, or bricklayer, to belong to that community you have to know the words. In fact, how well you know the language establishes where you fit in the community hierarchy.

NONBELIEVERS. For every trend there is a countertrend. Hawks and doves. Guzzlers and Green. The sacred and the profane. Target marketing helps us narrowcast who our customers are, but there are always those people who do not want to be one of us; instead they'd rather be one of them... gotta love 'em. There is pain in realizing some people do not want to be just like us, but there is also great opportunity: if we can identify a group of people who do not want sugar in their diet, we can create sugar-free. If we single out a group who does not want caffeine, we can invent decaf.

THE LEADER. This is the individual who set out against all odds and the world at large to recreate the world according to their own point of view. These are the Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Richard Bransons, Oprah Winfreys and other front cover personalities at the macro level. They are the "Brand Setters."

Marketers everywhere want to number their consumers in the millions. The way to accomplish this effectively, and to keep them hanging around, is to design vibrant communities where they can live, play, and buy. For whatever reason, we are hard-wired as human beings to respond when all seven pieces of primal code exist. What brought us out of the caves thousands of years ago, also drags us into the shopping mall today.

Twittering and Tweeting... What's all the noise?

2008-04-24T08:52:00.003-05:00

Is Twitter actually useful for business owners? Can it be a successful platform for branding and marketing strategies? Do you even know what Twitter is? Some initial reactions on my part...

1. Twitter may be useful in understanding your clients or competitors. You could "follow" your customers' thoughts and actions. This benefit may be incredibly useful for the Technical Support, R&D, and Marketing departments.

2. Twitter may be a useful way to track the people who set trends that you may decide to follow in the future. These can be experts in their field, imaginative thinkers etc. People like Seth Godin, Jim Collins, or Tim Ferriss.

3. Twitter may generate more heat than light. Does receiving a thousand Twitter updates to your mobile device every hour constitute real "work" on your company or business development strategies?!? That's not effective OR cost-effective to grow an enterprise-- it's a time-waster and information overload.

So, in reality, I'm not completely convinced. Twitter could be useful in a business context as a way of understanding users. It is certainly something to investigate and watch.

P. S. I do have a Twitter account... just in case I finally figure out how to monetize the situation! ;-) Wendi

Quote-of-the-Day Wednesday

2008-04-23T08:58:00.002-05:00

"No one thinks it will work, do they?" asks Diane Court.
"You've just described every great success story." says Lloyd Dobler.

From Cameron Crowe's 1989 movie hit, SAY ANYTHING

Recession? Saving? Spending?

2008-04-22T08:14:00.002-05:00

If you have not analyzed your business expenses in the past quarter, there is a maximum of 10% savings in your expenditures. This is not bad money, but it's definitely not enough to make you rich. The REAL money is in the top line.

You'd think most CEOs would know this, but I'm constantly surprised by the variety of attempts made to "save your way to success." It doesn't happen, and it's the ultimate in laziness. Trimming expenses is step one in a two-step process and will only solve 1/2 the problem. Increasing the top line is the second, and most vital, step.

From Robert Scoble's blog, Scobleizer, January 26, 2008: "Most people here believe we’re in the midst of a recession, which technically is two quarters of negative growth. There’s certainly many here who are gloomy about the future, but there is definitely lots of positivity too. I spoke with Steve Forbes last night (yes, that Steve Forbes) and he thinks that the doom and gloomers shouldn’t be listened to. He sees one quarter of bad news and then sees the economy coming back in the second quarter.

That second quarter is NOW. Again, people, we haven't yet had one quarter of negative growth... let alone two. I think the only recession we’re heading into is a media contrived one. So, spend lavishly on strategic investments. Invest in sales and marketing. Be wise... spend on any/all business development activities now like picking up those excellent sales and marketing people that your competitor stupidly fired. Yes, monitor and keep tabs on your expenses, but profitable topline growth will always trump expense cutting.

How to Get a VC's Attention

2008-04-21T12:30:00.003-05:00

Trying to get money for your great idea can feel a lot like trying to penetrate the “popular crowd” in high school. The fawning, the preening, the right clothing labels, wittily delivering the just-so-perfect cutting remark at exactly the right time. It’s exhausting. How do you “become cool,” bridge the social/economic gap and actually get inside the inner circle where the money is? Here is shortlist of tips to get the venture capitalist’s attention via Guy Kawasaki:

1. Get an introduction by a partner-level lawyer: He/she should work at a firm that does a lot of VC financing work. Best-case email/voicemail says: “This is the most interesting company I’ve seen in my 20 years of legal work for startups.” VCs dream about calls like this. Side note: this is why you should pay top dollar and use a well-known corporate finance attorney instead of Uncle Joe the quicky divorce lawyer. You’re paying for connections, not just expertise.

2. If you’re in tech, get an introduction by a professor of engineering: Best-case email/voicemail: “This team is the smartest one I’ve seen in 20 years of teaching computer science. Larry and Sergie would have carried their backpacks for them.”

3. Get an introduction by the founder of a company in the VC’s portfolio: Best-case email/voicemail: “My buddies are starting a new company, and I think it’s really worth a look.” It helps if the person making the call is from a successful company in the VC’s portfolio. Tap into your LinkedIn network to find acquaintances in the VC’s portfolio. (Maybe it’s just me, but it bugs me when a connection of a connection of a connection wants me to connect them to someone who will look at a deal. LinkedIn enables you to just make direct contact, and that’s my advice… IF you can show success *see tip No. 4*. If you can’t show success, the connection of a connection of a connection is useless anyway.

4. Show success: If you can’t get any of the above types of introductions, the most compelling email/voicemail you can make is: “My buddy and I have been working in our garage, taking no pay,a nd we built a site that is doubling in traffic every month. Right now, we’re at 250,000 page view a day after 30 days.” With these two sentences you’ve proved to investors that you can make a little bit of money (none) go far, your architecture looks scalable so far, and—most important—the dogs are already eating the food.

5. Make sure your company is in the right space: No matter how you get to the venture capitalist, make sure he/she is the right one for you. After all, there’s no use pitching to someone who can’t help you. If have the cure for cancer, contacting a firm’s enterprise software guru isn’t much help, so do your homework.

6. Send a short email: The ideal length is three or paragraphs, and make sure it covers these points—
a. What the company does
b. What problem you are solving
c. What’s special about your technology/ marketing/ expertise/ connections
d. Who you are

These methods can help you become a part of the moneyed in-crowd with their exclusive entourage… what happens next is up to you.

Thought for the Day Friday

2008-04-18T13:44:00.003-05:00

"There is no difference between a pessimist who says,
'Oh, it's hopeless, so don't bother doing anything,' and an optimist who says,
'Don't bother doing anything, it's going to turn out fine anyway.'
Either way... nothing happens."

Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia

Go grab your weekend!

What's the Future of Marketing?

2008-04-17T07:55:00.002-05:00

The future of marketing will be based on building authentic customer relationships more than the development of new products. And, customers will continue to gain control of the relationship... molding it and driving it forward, or ceasing it altogether. Online chats, blogs, and Internet-based social communities increasingly put control of the brand image into the hands of customers. On the customer service side, one bad experience can have a huge impact on a company's reputation since customers share their stories.

Marketers have already begun to focus less on gaining short-term advantage and more on working to win and maintain customer trust. Historically, the goals of marketing was to promote sales. This shift in mindset suggests that marketers are more fully recognizing that a message can't influence customer behavior if the message isn't trusted. So, the future looks bright with significant improvement in the ability of organizations to capture and share information, understand customer needs, calculate customer lifetime value, improve the customer experience, and provide customers with relevant messaging in their preferred channel.

The future isn't completely bright, however. Most marketers agree that there are "clouds on the one-to-one horizon" such as governmental regulations that impact privacy, the deluge of solicitations and messaging across so many channels, and the fact that customers' attention spans are in short supply and under increasing pressure.

So, how do you do make a solid one-to-one strategy work? The first step is putting one-to-one marketing into the day-to-day operation of the organization to improve the customer experience. Even on the campaign level, a little customer focus goes a long way.

Sharpen the Saw

2008-04-16T07:43:00.002-05:00

Everyone knows that business is changing rapidly. Are you ramping up your skills just as quickly? I doubt it. Most CEOs are sucked into working on the tactical aspects of the business. All the big money is in the strategic. Big strategic progress comes from new knowledge, information, and the guts to work on applying it.

In small business, there are two aspects to sharpening the saw: knowledge acquisition and thought process challenge. Big business does a better job at both. Training is a staple in a large corporate environment, but establishing a sounding board, at least, can be a huge improvement in a small company. Without a sounding board, you are a boat without a sail.

How to sharpen your saw?
- Attend seminars and workshops
- Join an industry group
- Benchmark
- Read one business book per month
- Form a board of directors (this board must be paid or this process will fail)
- Join a CEO peer group

Buying the Help at Kmart

2008-04-15T07:43:00.004-05:00

Everyone knows you get what you pay for, but few operate that way. More often than not when I'm asked for a marketing strategy / business plan proposal from a new entrepreneur, I can almost hear the loss of breath for a moment once they get to the "fees" area.

Here's the reason why great people cost money. Great companies know that "the systems run the business, the people run the systems." Yet, without good systems (i.e. in a startup situation), even better people are required.

You cannot expect superstars to work for below average wages. However, because many CEOs have occasionally gotten a bargin on an excellent employee, they make their pay strategy a "lowest bidder" competition. You simply cannot recruit and retain good people for low-dough. I add the word retain because it costs even more to keep replacing people, retraining for the position, your lost time and energy, etc.

If you do not pay market rate for good people, you will only get the bad ones. If you fill your business up with mediocre performers, good performers will not want to work for you. Winners attract winners. Period.

Yabut

2008-04-14T18:58:00.004-05:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Scott's mother and stepfather this past weekend and his mother, Deb, was telling me all about her marketing and fund raising position at the LakeView RecPlex in Kenosha, WI. Now, Miss Deb comes from a corporate career and most of the rest of the staff is career civil servant. This makes for very interesting environments when she creates new strategies to market the facilities and garner more underwriting from both corporate sponsors and individual donors. Hence, the title of today's entry...

Yabut= "yeah, but..." It's so much easier to criticize someone else's work than to create something from scratch. Stop finding (or allowing others to find) all the reason an idea won't work and get busy making it happen. This is far more complex than just being positive vs. being negative. Yabut people always see why something cannot be done. Successful CEOs see the obstacles (YABUTs), and see the options to make an idea work, but they also see the options that will make it work in spite of these people.

In addition, it is extremely important not to allow your people to YABUT. If you allow your people to start this habit, you are allowing a culture of non-performance. Successful organizations perform... they perform well.

First, recognize that you, the CEO, are YABUTing. Once you see that you and your people are doing it, you have half the problem solved. Then, don't be afraid to take projects or items off your list. It is okay to say "no." Saying that your are not going to tackle a project or strategy at this time is much better than allowing it to fail because of YABUTs.

Business in the Fast Lane... Whoosh!

2008-04-10T08:42:00.003-05:00

Just picked up a new book, even though published in 2001, Whoosh, by Tom McGehee. Superior advice for new entrepreneurs because most business founders are control freaks (yours truly included).

Excerpt:
"We all know that new ideas are the lifeblood of any business. But in chasing that elusive 'new new thing' in an effort to dazzle customers and shareholders, many companies lose sight of the real essence of innovation-- achieving quantum results. These results are not accomplished through technology, overblown mission statements, or 'best practice' metrics based on past performance, but by unleasing the creative spirit of your people.

Any company can generate the excitement, energy, confidence, and audacity of the 'whoosh,' by subscribing to three fundamental principles:
- a leadership style that emphasizes freedom, not control
- understanding that success means creating the new, not replicating the old
- a corporate culture that values individual expression and collaborative work

Whoosh will help you ensure that the sound you hear is your own company racing headlong into the future-- and not your competition speeding past you."

Mobile Marketing Medium

2008-04-09T09:13:00.004-05:00

Marketers, industry pundits, media buyers, and vendors all agree that we are in the midst of great uncertainty and change across all media channels. Since the experts are trying to figure out how to leverage emerging forms of media (social networking, online video, viral marketing, blogging, and mobile), obviously spending on these various forms of new media advertising will continue to grow while traditional media (print, newspaper, TV commercial, radio ad) will diminish.

Consumers now want to interact with media when they want, where they want, and how they want. Marketers and advertisers will never be able to go back to the days of pushing messages to the consumer (with the exception of the SuperBowl annual commercial-fest).

With this in mind, I have a brand new company here in Dallas that offers mobile marketing solutions at incredibly affordable rates for companies of all sizes: Mobile Marketing Solutions, LLC. Yes, they are a client of mine... yes, this is blatant promotion. Don't care. They're a friendly and reliable team of professionals that can help you get your company directly in to the palm of your customers' hands.

Money, Management, and Ego

2008-04-08T07:28:00.003-05:00

OR: "Just because you gave me the $$$..."

I had a meeting yesterday with a VERY exciting prospect, Tanya Carpenter, founder of DStat, the first hair product ever created specifically to eliminate static electricity, instantly taming frizzy and flyaway hair. Brilliant!

However, Ms. Carpenter is in the process of forming her advisory board and management team and I'm concerned about what she might feel is an "obligation" to those who have made financial contributions to her dream. Here's my message to all budding entrepreneurs who have been fortunate enough to convince others to invest money in their vision... so what?!?!

You owe these people NOTHING more than to build a successful company and give them the largest return on their dollars. You don't owe them management roles, or Board seats, or any "say" whatsoever in your vision. As the founder/entrepreneur, it is your responsibility to guard your vision from outside distractions and alterations at all costs.

I cannot recommend highly enough that you get yourself involved in a CEO-network as quickly as possible. Let me know if I can guide you through this process or at least be a non-biased ear.

7 Keys to an Authentic Blog/ Web Site Relationship

2008-04-07T08:24:00.004-05:00

Courtesy of Liz Strauss:

1. Show up whole and human
2. Talk in your authentic voice
3. Tell your own truth
4. Have room for folks to tell theirs too
5. Don't tryto tie ideas up in a bow
6. Half the show is in the comments
7. Be helpful, not hypeful...

Let the conversations begin!

Hello? Is there anybody in there??

2008-03-25T12:18:00.003-06:00

"Nothing was ever created by two men. There are no good collaborations, whether in art, in music, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once the miracle of creation has taken place, the group can build and extend it, but the group never invents anything. The preciousness lies in the lonely mind of a man."
John Steinbeck, East of Eden

Entrepreneurs have often felt lonely – believing that no one else shares their vision or their passion for building a business. But, we are not alone (pun intended) in that feeling. With today's growing workforce of soloists, telecommuters, work-at-home parents, independent salespeople, and virtual teams, loneliness is a feeling that millions of business owners are fighting.

During the ups and downs of completing a project, or finding new customers, the feeling of loneliness can set in and limit our vision and our productivity. It can be discouraging and be a wallop to that old self-esteem. And, with the gadgets we tote around, we unknowingly make it worse. Technology that's supposed to connect us – email, voicemail, and PDAs – often fuels our loneliness, enabling us to do a better job of isolating ourselves. For some reason we don't treat every email or voicemail like a real person is behind it. Why acknowledge it?

We're also intentionally distracted. We're plugged into our new I-Pods, or tapping our PDA screen playing a game. How about using technology to interact with real people once in a while?

There's no need anymore to pretend that you're too busy dealing with important people and projects. I know the truth. As a small business owner, I am one of you, and it's vitally important that we connect and help each other's ventures grow.

Yes, it was your idea in the first place, as John Steinbeck says, but greatness was never created in a vacuum.

MOOFING Monday

2008-03-24T11:35:00.003-06:00

MOOFING v. Derived from the acronym for "Mobile, Out Of Office."
MOOFERS (n.) abandon the workplace between meetings, taking laptop and BlackBerry to the local Starbucks or anyplace else where they can escape interruption by talkative coworkers.

Okay... is it just me, or is it absolutely pathetic that you have to LEAVE the office to get work done?!?!! Is this the state that corporate america has sunk to? If your company has this kind of culture, maybe you should consider (I'd highly recommend!) changing the atmosphere.

Is the office of the future no office and just a headquarters in cyberspace? 42% of IBM's 350,000 employees rarely, if ever, come to an office. IBM says it save $100 million a year in real estate costs because it doesn't need the offices. The work force at Accenture management consulting firm is so mobile no even the CEO has an office with his name on the door.

In the future, more companies with scattered work forces and clients may do what the marketing firm Crayon is doing: making its headquarters in cyberspace. Especially, if yours is a "knowledge-based" asset company.

Crayon's workers rarely meet in the physical world — some are in Boston, others are in Nutley, N.J. — but their online alter egos in the virtual world gather once a week. "Our belief is if we bring like minds together no matter where they are in the world we can actually create that connectedness as if we're actually at the same place at the same time," said Joseph Jaffe, Crayon's CEO.

And, there it is... real productivity vs. time wasted.

"Thoughts for the Day" Friday

2008-03-21T05:29:00.002-06:00

Some things to ponder as we move into a holiday weekend...

"An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field." NIELS BOHR, Danish physicist and Nobel Prize winner

"Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life." JOHN F. KENNEDY, thirty-fifth President of the United States

"Named must your fear be before banish it you can." YODA, from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

"I can't give you a surefire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time." HERBERT BAYARD SWOPE, American editor and journalist; first recipient of the Pulitzer Prize

Happy Easter everyone!

The Buyer's Journey

2008-03-19T06:48:00.001-06:00

Together Sales and Marketing must find ways to move their buyers through their whole buying journey, end-to-end. This means choosing tactics for every stage. Forget about what you want to do to your buyers, and think instead about what decisions they face, and how you can help them make each small step.

1. Untroubled and unaware
2. Acknowledge pain
3. Define need
4. Receive offers
5. Rationalize options
6. Select first choice
7. Engage

If you hold Marketing accountable for brand awareness, you get a market that knows who you are (but doesn't necessarily buy). If you hold Marketing accountable for leads (only), you'll get leads (but not necessarily customers). If you hold Marketing accountable for setting meetings, you'll get leads that convert into "shoppers" (but, again, not necessarily decision-makers). However, if you hold Marketing accountable for creating buying decisions, you'll get leads that convert to sales.

TOTALLY UNRELATED... just to get us through the rest of the week, you REALLY should click the link below:
scott is my name: Free Hugs#links#links

Marketing Methodology

2008-03-18T12:28:00.001-06:00

Your business in 7 integrated and sequential phases... the process--

PHASE 1: Where is the opportunity?
Market data, competitive landscape, entry costs

PHASE 2: What is the market landscape?
Market size, customer needs, market trends, adoption incentives and barriers

PHASE 3: What solutions are required?
Features, tangibles/intangibles, implementation, training, support

PHASE 4: How do we position and differentiate?
Integrated messaging, value proposition, pricing, education

PHASE 5: How do we go to market?
Marketing plan, target accounts, market influencers, analysts, channels

PHASE 6: How and when do we launch?
The event, testimonials, press releases, articles, alpha customers, case histories

PHASE 7: How are we doing?
Customer satisfaction, new needs and problems, market growth/decline, re-positioning

FutureWorld and FutureMarketing at Disney

2008-03-17T07:32:00.005-06:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone, and I promise this is my last entry about Disney.

Last Friday, I was facinated by the pact that ties Disney World and the global technology company, Siemens AG, with the kind of multifaceted partnership that illustrates how Disney sells itself not just as a theme park, bus also as a marketing venue for all sorts of companies.

Siemens is a German company that generated about 68.6 billion euros (about $102 billion in today's U.S. currency) in sales last year making medical-device, power-grid, information-communication, transportation and automation and control systems, and has more than 6,000 employees in Florida, including those at the company's power headquarters on Alafaya Trail.

Though the company makes almost nothing that the average Disney World visitor might want to buy, Siemens' $100 million, 12-year agreement with Disney World in 2005 gives it naming sponsorship of Epcot's most iconic structure and ride, along with various other business arrangements. Under a new sign reading, "Spaceship Earth Presented by Siemens," the ride and its post-show gauntlet of games are a must-see attraction for kids of all ages.

On the Spaceship Earth ride, visitors might notice just a few new show scenes, lighting, costumes and set decorations and a new narrator, Academy Award-winning actress Judi Dench. The ride vehicle includes an interactive feature that quizzes visitors on such things as their hometown. (BRILLIANT market research forum! How many people come through this ride every single day?!?!? Unreal.) At the end of the ride, visitors are asked "What kind of future is most important to you" Your options are: Work, Play, Family, and something else that I can't remember.

After selecting "Work," Scott and I are asked if we'd rather work in an office, or from home. From home. Do we want to control our own time or have a set schedule? We go through and answer about 8 questions that give Siemens more and more intimate profile information on our work life preferences. At the end, Siemens shows us a 30 second "demo" of how the Scott-and-Wendi world would look... Jetsons-like cartoon characters complete with computer screen glasses that create virtual desktops on which we can wave and point commands and drive applications. Just like "Minority Report."

Once they get off the ride, visitors encounter Siemens' real show, which begins as they enter a high-ceilinged parlor and watch as their pictures (taken on the ride... Now, Siemens' has a visual picture to go with the demographic info which shows race, sex, and general age range) appear on a large globe in the center, then slide over the globe to their hometowns, where they shrink into pinpoints of light that tally who came from where on any given day. The post show also features several areas of educational high-tech games highlighting some of Siemens' technologies, including Inner Vision for medical technologies; Power City, for energy distribution; and Super Driver for transportation.

Along the way, visitors also encounter a few displays showing off some of Siemens' other programs, including its "Generation 21" science-education awards. Disney planners were impressed enough with the games that they took the unusual step of opening entrances directly into the post-show area, so that visitors can skip the ride and get right into the techno-games, if they prefer.

Disney Down-time

2008-03-11T16:22:00.004-06:00

I am leaving on a 6am flight tomorrow morning for sunny Florida and DisneyWorld. Which got me thinking about the Disney company.

This past year, Disney began taking out multi-page ads in magazines like Vanity Fair, Town & Country, and Vogue to promote its "Year of a Million Dreams." With all the photographs by Annie Leibovitz, the images are stunningly beautiful and star big name celebrities, sports figures, models, and actors. Disney is definitely encouraging all adults to take some down-time and become a kid again.

Here I come!

Risk vs. Reward

2008-03-10T06:24:00.003-06:00

A question posed to me this past weekend, "when you recommend or employ an innovative marketing solution for a client, how do you temper the risks of the unknown?"

Answer: Mindset... your's (the consultant) and the organization's (the client) is the critical factor. Readiness to change is a prerequisite for implementation. If you're in a company that is uncomfortable with you (the consultant) coming in and changing the way they (the client) do business, innovation will not happen. However, if change is the expectation, then there is an understanding that you will have to try a lot of things.

Ultimately, if you're ready for risk, set your expectations that 20% are going to be awful, 70% will be not as good as you hoped, and 10% will surprise you. That 10% is what you build a business around.

"Yes, I'm BACK IN BLACK!"

2008-03-07T20:52:00.004-06:00

Okay, forgive the harkening back to one of the most awesome AC/DC songs ever, but I just got my new Dell today and she is BEAUTIFUL!!! Solid black and faster than any computer I've ever had before... like a Jaguar. Hmmm... sexy.

Next week, the normal blogs and actual business thoughts will return with gusto!
Everyone have a great weekend ;-)

"Tune That Name" part 1

2008-03-06T08:14:00.000-06:00

Not only must your company name reflect your brand and be memorable, the right name can make your business the talk of the town and the wrong one can doom it to obscurity. Given all the considerations that go into a good company name, shouldn't you consult an expert, especially if you're in a field in which your company will be visible and may influence the success of your business? And, isn't it easier to enlist the help of a naming professional? Just a thought...

Thought-for-the-Day Wednesday

2008-03-05T19:36:00.005-06:00

Day 5, no computer: I feel eerily calm today after a fitfull night of sleep (or no sleep as the case was).

A colleague referred me to an article by Katsukok Shimizu and Michael A. Hitt, two distinguished professorst at Texas A&M University.

"Companies want to grow... so they implement A LOT of structure. But the extreme
structure causes us to be less smart, less creative, less flexible."

Use structure, step out and be flexible, then step back into some structure. Be able
to shift in and out easily. There is a definite sweet spot.

Perfectionists are Losers!

2008-03-04T11:27:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I'm getting my car washed at Park Place Lexus today, and that's how I'm blogging. (No computer, Day 4... STILL "jones-ing)

Read this yesterday, so I just had to pass it on.
From Pamela Slim at EscapeFromCubicleNation...

"So I asked Ramit Sethi a question that I have heard from many young people who want to work for themselves:
"What if people won't want to hire me because I am too young?"
"Give me a break," he said. "Perfectionists are losers."
I laughed out-loud at his bluntness, but immediately got what he was saying."

If you have a tendency to let perfectionism overrun your world, check out how to overcome it.

Computers: They Love Me... They Love Me Not

2008-03-02T12:20:00.004-06:00

I'm violating my "working on Sunday" rule and posting today because I've suffered a major loss in my life this weekend. Yes, I'm wearing all black and I'm prone to fits of crying because the screen (or the graphics chip... whatever, don't care) on my loyal laptop died on Saturday morning.

All of my files, data, emails... basically my life is trapped on this now worthless piece of metal and plastic. Ugh. The pain of it all. And yet, (sunshine emerges... birds singing) goody goody gumdrops, the joy of shopping for a new machine.

As a nod to my absolutely wonderful Creative Director, James, I seriously seriously seriously gave thought to and deeply investigated converting to a Mac. I really wanted to switch, but it doesn't support two of my "I've gotta have 'em" applications... OneNote and MindManager. (Actually, Mac does support MindManager, but I'd have to buy the software all over again.) Can't break the addiction.

So, ordered a Dell and it should be here Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, my posts will be hit or miss this next week, so please be patient with me as my access to PCs has now resorted to wandering around like a homeless person with a portable hard drive begging for a screen. "Buddy, can ya spare a display?"

Where Are We? Part 2...

2008-02-29T09:23:00.002-06:00

... OR, "Who Should I Talk To?"

The questions posted yesterday should be posed to:

- INSIDE THE COMPANY
Key influencers
Decision makers
Beyond the obvious C-level people
VP of Customer Service
Customer Service reps
IT People
R&D People

- SALESPEOPLE
Not just yours... Salespeopole in any business bridge the "inside" and the "outside" every day. They are the closest thing to interviewing real customers and prospects. In fact, they're sometimes better because people in sales make their livelihood by listening and responding to real customers' comments and complaints almost every day, and they have firsthand insight into potential solutions.

Salespeople also spend their time trying to outdo the competition which makes them knowledgeable about competitors' specialties. As a group, salespeople are often the most practical thinkers in the organization because results are the only thing they're compensated for. And, results come consistently from what works, not from what works in theory.

- OUTSIDE THE COMPANY
Current customers
Past customers (i.e. those who've left for greener pastures)
Prospects you've pitched to and lost
Your target audience (unpitched)
Competitors (job recruits, ex-employees, current employees)
Industry observers (analysts, press, newsletter writers, bloggers, government regulators, industry attorney, investors, venture capitalists)

Where Are We?

2008-02-28T09:03:00.003-06:00

Before your company can go anywhere, you've got to know exactly where you are today from both your own perspective, your employees' perspectives, your customers' perspectives, AND the general marketplace's perspective. So, as "A CEO's GPS," my first order of business is to encourage you to collect and catalog your company's reality by listening to the key stakeholders inside and outside the company in their own unscripted words.

You're listening for patterns, themes, and intelligence that tell an unvarnished truth about your business, its specialty, your competition, the market opportunity, and your unique capacities that can coalesce into a real selling brand.

- How does my company articulate its specialty now?
- Where does it rank in sales, product quality, and leadership status in its specialty?
- What's most important to customers when they buy? Removal of pain? Improvement of what aspect? What attributes? What end benefit?
- Where's the SWEET SPOT for the specialty's attributes... the dividing line between meaningful, measurable differentiation and ungraspable gobbledy-gook in the customer's mind?
- What sets your company apart? What does it do that nobody else does, and how important is that to the market?
- What are your company's values?
- What are its most serious weaknesses?
- Who's the competition? What are they famous for?
- What does the competition do better? Does the market know it?
- What's the biggest thing customers wish they had more of that they don't get now from any company?
- What will make your company #1 in its specialty?
- What will the industry look like in three years? Who will dominate and why?
- Where will your company be in three years?
- What should the market know about your company that it doesn't know today?

Coming tomorrow.... WHO to ask these questions!!!

Pharmer's Market-ing

2008-02-27T10:21:00.007-06:00

DZX Medical is my first client in the healthcare/medical technology industry. And, as I begin working on the content they need for their marketing slicks/pdfs and media strategy, I'm realizing that my verbage is beginning to sound like every other bad drug commercial.

So, a resource I've found for you if your company is in this space... GREAT blog to follow: Pharma Marketing Blog

On a somewhat related note, if you're in the Dallas Area and would like to join Scott and me, we'll be at WordCamp Dallas 2008 the weekend of 3/29. Drop me a note and let me know to look out for you. The founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg, will be just one of the great speakers "prescribed."

Another Product RAVE!!!

2008-02-26T07:18:00.002-06:00

FreshBooks -- "The fastest way to track time and invoice your clients. Send, track, and collect payments quickly"

FreshBooks is an online invoicing and time tracking service that saves you time and makes you look professional... Fortune 500 professional. Easily create, send, and manage invoices; Track time (yours and your staff); Send invoices by snail mail or email; Accept payment with PayPal, Authorize.Net, and more; Automatically send invoices and late payment notices; Create robust reports and import/export your data; Free account or 30-day money back guarantee.

What else could you ask for?!?

Moving Stage NEXT

2008-02-25T08:00:00.003-06:00

Resources for startups are all over the place, but small companies need help stabilizing and managing their expansion, too. What should be No. 1 and 2 on their priority list? Make a "stop doing" list and a "process" list.

"CEOs in growing companies have to think about creating innovative systems that allow them to have control, but they don't have to be the one looking over the shoulder" of employees, says Dino Signore, who runs leadership programs at the Edward Lowe Foundation, a Michigan nonprofit dedicated to helping second-stage entrepreneurs, which it defines as those who head up companies with about $1 million in annual revenue that are beyond startup stage but not fully mature.

Business owners must understand that they have to start working ON their business instead of IN their business. That means both a "stop doing" list (i.e. doing some of their employees' jobs for them) and a "process" list (ex: repeatable and duplicatable procedures for every aspect of the organization to maximize productivity no matter who is performing the job).

The stakes are high. Companies beyond the startup stage thrive or fail based on their organization, according to Eric Flamholtz, a management consultant and co-author of Growing Pains: Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally Managed Firm.
"You ultimately win with infrastructure," says Flamholtz. "Most people think you win with markets and products. You're looking in the wrong place." He says there are some key signals that should tell companies they need to change: when many workers don't know what others are doing, for example, or when sales rise but profits stay flat.

Of course, business owners seeking organization can overdose on new systems and lose the agility that made their startup successful. You need the right balance of internal processes. On that note, be watching for new products and systems in the Ideas to Go section here... we have LOTS of tools-you-can-use coming soon!

The core lesson is that CEOs should create entities that don't depend on them. You want your business to be a legacy... to thrive and grow far past your day-to-day involvement. After all, that's why you went into business on your own in the first place.

Success = Power + Responsibility

2008-02-22T07:33:00.004-06:00

From Indexed...

Why do we have "C-level" executives in companies? Why are we so enamored with the word "Chief?" The Chief has greater work to do, yet the Chief only has two hands just like all of us. Similarly, he/she is limited to 24 hours in the day... as is every human on the planet.

With greater power comes greater responsibility and the key to a successful business is delegation. When employees feel they're being given an opportunity to learn new skills, they gain more knowledge and feel more connected to the organization. If you manage your people well, your people will manage the rest well and your company will prosper with both financial rewards and productivity increases.

According to John Adams, society's demand for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases. A similar tenet holds that the more you are willing to accept responsibility for your actions, the more credibility you will have with others.

You are always responsible for what you do, what you don't do, what you say, and how you say it. In the end, power is about the ability to make choices, and that reponsibility requires a benevolent "Chief" to consider the impact of decisions on all those involved.

The Glass is Half FULL!!!

2008-02-21T07:36:00.002-06:00

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." Helen Keller (1880-1968) American humanitarian and advocate for the deaf and blind

The business will grow. Clients will come. Customers will buy. And, if you think I'm wrong, maybe you should think differently.

Optimism's relationship with entrepreneurship is deep and personal. It's what goads the initial concept out of your brain and launches it into reality. Now, there's loads of research proving optimism contributes significantly to business success along with the revelation that such tendencies can be learned... a blessing for those of you whose dreams are threatened by a skeptical nature.

"Optimism is solely a habit," explains Michael Mercer, a business psychologist and co-author of Spontaneous Optimism. "It's not genetic and it's not something you breathe in the air."

How does optimism play into the life of an entrepreneur and CEO? "If you think something won't work for your business, you need to automatically focus on the solution," Mercer says. "Optimistic business owners lay out clear goals for how they want their businesses to succeed, make realistic timetables and spend 50% or more of their time focused on achieving those goals."

Keep in mind, however, that a touch of REALISM must be tempered with all this OPTIMISM. The true goal? To be realistic... to be optimistic to an extent, but to face the facts about your business and your products/services.

Then again, it's hard to tell which comes first: the attitude or the reality. If you think you can, you can. And, if you think you can't, you're right, too.

Target Practice

2008-02-20T14:50:00.004-06:00

Being a Texas girl (Dallas native born and raised), I've spent a good share of time around guns and firing ranges. The key to hitting a good clean shot in the "heart" of the silhouette is to get calm and steady and just gently, but firmly squeeze the trigger (in other words, focus then commit).

The process of finding and studying potential customers for your venture doesn’t have to be complex or expensive, but it is extremely important. In a nutshell, it requires you to find out everything you can about the customers whom you intend to pursue. Once you have that information, you’ll have a much better chance of capturing those customers for your business.

The facts you need to know about your target market fall into these three categories:

1. DEMOGRAPHICS:
Begin your research by checking the demographics of the region that you plan to target. You’ll want to know the population’s make-up in terms of age, gender, income level, occupation, education, and family circumstances — married, single, retired, and so on. But to be truly effective, dive deeper.

Yes, I'm a 35-40 year old, single, white female living in Dallas who graduated from UT Austin and works full-time, but so are probably 200,000 other women. Is your messaging REALLY talking to me? I'm allergic to cats; I love music from country to rap to symphony; I'll gladly pay $1200 for a designer handbag, but won't spend more than $50 on a belt. I drive a 2008 Lexus IS350, but I cringe when I spend $4.50 at Starbuck's for a Chai Tea Latte. I love Neiman Marcus... I also love Target. What do these things say about me? Does your company know me?

2. GEOGRAPHIC / LIFESTYLE FACTORS:
Give some thought to where and how your target customers live. Are they Southerners or Yankees; urbanites, suburban soccer moms, or country folk? Are they risk-takers or conservative, athletes or couch potatoes, spenders or savers? The answers will help determine what you can sell to them, how you should sell it, and at what price.

Again, I live in Uptown and rent my apartment. However, I could afford a $400,000 home. Why don't I choose to own? I spend almost $150 a week on groceries, yet I live alone. Whole Foods organic products all the way, baby. What does this say about me? How do these facts relate to your company?

3. CUSTOMER NEEDS:
Consider all of the reasons why people might purchase your product or service. For example, if you’re opening a string of health clubs, will your customers come to meet other people, to take exercise classes, or to play racquet sports with their friends? Find out by talking to people in the local fitness industry and by quizzing friends or acquaintances who go to health clubs. Then you can design and market your club accordingly.

I work between 30 and 60 hours a week depending on the state of current clients' projects and how well I've scheduled my time and my team's time. Some weeks, I can take all of Friday off. Some weeks, I'm lucky to get the dishes out of the sink and into the dishwasher. It's chaotic. I really need a personal assistant / concierge service. I need a maid. I need a personal shopper. I want people who organize interesting lectures and organizations to reach out to me so I'll get out from behind this stinking computer. Is your company aiming for me?

When the Brand Specialist Can't Stay "On Brand"

2008-02-19T14:41:00.003-06:00

So, I get a phone call yesterday from a woman who has been referred to me by a very close friend, confidante, and advisor. She proceeds to tell me that she's heard that I have a wonderful personality, that I'm easy to work with, that I have lots of influence in Dallas, etc., and that she has been told that I am the perfect person that she needs to have on her team to expand her company.

"Great!," I say, "When would you have time to meet next week so that I can learn what your marketing needs are?" "Oh...," she says. "I have marketing covered... I need a sales executive to close deals on online banner advertising for my firm." HUH?!?

Okay, I ask you, dear reader, am I not doing my job in correctly communicating EXACTLY what it is that I do and how I can help startup and small companies move to the next level? Even as the years go by, I still find myself having to "fight" to maintain a strict focus on my mission statement and set of solutions... without deviating or wandering over into the sales arena (there's good money to be made there!)... or the finance arena (I have a degree in Economics, though)... or HR-land (but, I have great people skills!).

No! Stay on task with your core competency. Yes, smart marketers evolve their brands over time to keep them relevant (no more buggy whips!), so if you are determined to make a change, I offer the following 10 all-too-common mistakes to avoid:

1. Navigating without a plan.
2. Not trying on your customer's shoes.
3. Not planning ahead for implementation and adaptation time.
4. Not calling the call center.
5. Forgetting that people don't do what they say... they do what they do.
6. Basing a rebrand on advertising.
7. Strategy by committee.
8. Believing you're too small to rebrand.
9. Not leveraging existing brand equity and goodwill.
10. Refusing to hire a branding consultant without industry experience.

The Business of Blogging

2008-02-18T10:29:00.002-06:00

Blogging offers some compelling advantages for business. Every day more and more companies have blogs and here are some of the benefits:

1. Attracts new customers from new demographics. People who read blogs generally spend more money online than people who don't. Helps you answer the question: "Where are my next generation of customer coming from?"

2. Provides your existing customers with a new window through which to see you... and through which you can see them, via visitor statistics and/or comments.

3. Lets you bypass traditional news media. Alongside more traditional marketing methods, like press releases, you can speak in your own voice directly to your audience.

4. Increases your company's presence and placement in search results. Blogs constantly churn out new content full of keywords your potential customers will use to search online for products and services related to your company.

5. Puts a human face on an abstract entity such as your company.

6. Your blog is your company's best crisis communication channel available.

7. It's less expensive. And it's more effective than traditional methods of marketing and public relations.

By this time, the benefits of having a website are undeniable. As a supplement to websites, blogs magnify those benefits tremendously and deliver on them better than a non-blog website can.

Decisions... Decisions... oh, What to Do

2008-02-15T08:47:00.002-06:00

In light of a major decision I made (and acted upon!) yesterday, I offer the following FRIDAY FUNNY:

Recession-Proof Your Business

2008-02-14T08:43:00.003-06:00

1. Don't be caught off guard if the slowdown hits your company. Prepare a worst-case, 12-month cash flow scenario and identify what changes you would make the when. Improve your management reporting to identify the leading indicators for your business.

2. Set and measure inventory targets and keep in daily communication with your sales and operations staffs. Contrary to what you would think, this is now the time to weed out unprofitable customers. Every company has them... they cost more than they add to your bottom line. Either evaluate how to make them more profitable or politely refer them to your competition.

3. To prevent attrition, keep in close touch with your customers. Show them that you care about them. Think about how their business is being affected because lasting relationships are built in hard times. Recognize that when the business climate changes, customer needs will change as well. That means that new markets may open up for you.

4. Develop strategies to land more customers. That means spending MORE on marketing... not slashing it to pieces. The successful small business is going to have to win a bigger share of the shrinking pie. The way to do that, especially for retailers, is to create a positive experience. Another strategy is to reach out to new residents in your community. They're going to choose someplace to buy their pizza, gym membership, and shoes. You want an active campaign that greets them and bonds with them.

5. Spend on hiring. Again, contrary to first glance, most economic downturns are short-lived and it's easier to invest in training time for new hires during slower growth periods. Employees that are fired during recession will have to be re-hired... which costs companies a lot more in the long run. Another strategy is to look around for people who have been laid off from competitors and pick up some valuable talent. This is a great time to find top performers (possibly for less!) who will help bring your company to the next level.

Fun & NAMES

2008-02-13T07:21:00.004-06:00

A great, descriptive, memorable name for your company is the AH-HA moment worthy of champagne toast and rounds of slaps on backs. The name is a work of art... give your brand the gift that leads to immortality.

Great names are:
1. descriptive, evocative, or colorful in some way
2. ownable by you
3. easy or pleasing to say

Some of my favorite brands have their distinct selling idea built right in! Like: DieHard Batteries, EZ Pass, Egg Beaters, Rainex, Honey Baked Ham, SuperBowl, Chain Link Fence, Head & Shoulders Shampoo, Hefty Trash Bags, Ziploc Sandwich Bags... you get the picture.

Even made-up or tech-y names can be inspirational when they "sound" right. Example: Compaq starts with computer but implies the friendliness of a pact between you and your machine. Drug companies make up amazing names that always hint at their descriptive purpose. Example: Viagra has virile and aggressive in it.

Rule of thumb: name only what is truly proprietary and pivotal to your overall brand. That usually means your company itself, a key product or service, and one or two specialty attributes, properties, or ingredients.

Lastly, watch out for the nicknames that your company brand can turn in to. After a while, no one wanted to say International Business Machines any more and IBM was born. This isn't a bad thing, once your brand is firmly established after years of dominance. Don't name your company Richard if you prefer not to be called Dick. And don't name your insurance division "P"remier "I"nsurance "G"roup, either.

Marketing Road Map

2008-02-12T07:27:00.000-06:00

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." says Dr. Seuss in Oh, the Places You'll Go! An effective marketing road map will help your company find it's way and stand out in the crowd.

1. Helps You Sell: An effective map accomplishes the sole purpose of marketing... to generate leads and assist the salesforce in closing a deal faster and more accurately.

2. Keeps Your Prospect Pipeline at a Consistent Level: Unless you market continuously, leads can vanish forcing you to scramble at cyclical times of the year. When an effective road map is an integral part of your business, you'll always know the status of your marketing efforts and you will always be pushed to be proactive and consistently.

3. Uses the Power of Focus: Great road maps aim squarely at targeted clients. Targeting your potentials with frequent and compelling content grabs their attention, and if your message is on point, you will get through.

4. Creates Confidence: Using an assortment of marketing tactics in a continuous pattern helps prospects develop confidence that your business is successful, profitable, has a compelling brand, and can meet their wants and needs.

5. Builds Your Brand: Although the first objective of marketing is to use your activities to generate leads, building your corporate reputation and image will also draw new customers to your business. Outstanding client service, effective marketing strategies, consistent identity, and compelling messages will elevate your brand recognition several levels.

Enjoy the journey... and drop me a line and let me know how the trail looks!

Basic Business Blogging

2008-02-11T07:59:00.000-06:00

Lots of people have jumped on the blogging bandwagon, and although there is a danger of your new blog getting lost in the masses, this tactic can be a key factor in marketing and business success. The following includes some basic tips aimed squarely at people who know there is value to be found in having a strong web presence, but need to cut through all the buzzwords and hype to get the straight info on the what, why and how of business blogging.

1. Blogging takes commitment and time: You'll be dedicating time to providing customers and prospects with new information and/or commentary about your company's purpose and industry. This doesn't mean you have to type forever... some of the best blogs are short, pithy entries that the reader can view and understand easily.

2. The content must be relevant: Blogs can help to position you as an expert in your field if they're written the right way. They also enable you to promote your products and services with a personal touch as you can link to appropriate news articles, pictures, and web sites to support your positioning.

3. Links are important: It's easy to forget the business behind the blog and get lost in the content itself. Build links to the site from other web sites related to your business and expertise. More links generally mean more traffic and a better search engine position.

4. Blogs are interactive: Readers can normally post their own comments to your entries. This allows existing and potential customers to comment on your product or service. Install Google analytics to check the statisics on how many people are viewing your blog... and other pages of your web site.

5. Is there a call to action?: Does the blog link through to a special offer or service you're currently running? Or, even an invitation for an initial consultation? Calls to action will help you win new customers or encourage existing ones to try out new products or services.

This Week, The "G" in GPS Stands for "Giving Back"

2008-02-06T11:09:00.000-06:00

You don't have to bother looking here for a new posting tomorrow or Friday. I'll be in Austin at my annual speaking engagement to the women MBA students at The University of Texas, the Women in Business Leadership Conference.

It is my annual opportunity to give back to my alma mater. It's also the annual "girl-y getaway" roadtrip with my Mother for her to purchase all things that are BURNT ORANGE (she is an alum, too) and for me to hopefully mentor someone in a meaningful way. (Aw, hell, let's be honest... it's an awesome two-day escape from Dallas to a great town and they treat me to a fantastic hotel for a night.)

My talk will be "Stand UP and Stand OUT: Personal Branding Strategies for Business Professionals." Look for the Powerpoint slides to be loaded to this site next week in the "Ideas To Go" section. That area is morphing into a repository of all my presentations, articles, and thought leadership in addition to the case studies that are still there.

Spitting and Sucking... Yeah, that sounds about like the Super Bowl

2008-02-05T10:19:00.000-06:00

Okay, I had to wait an extra day before I commented on some of the Super Bowl ads... just to let my brain wrap around the stupidity of it all.

To explain my title this morning:
1. Spitting-- The ETrade baby sitting in front of the computer screen talking to you in a grown up voice, then promptly hurling baby food after telling you about his brilliant and instantaneous stock trade.
2. Sucking-- Justin Timberlake being "slurped" across town through the straw of a fabulously tasty Pepsi (cue the Tony Romo cameo).

Now, the point:
After seeing over $160 million worth of advertising in one afternoon, I know that viewers must pay attention to the ENTIRE commercial because they will only figure out what the hell company the commercial is for in the 2.5 seconds at the end.

Entertainment-wise-- A+, you brilliant advertisting agencies, you. ROI-wise-- F-, way too many who-the-hell-cares moments. But, maybe that has become the point. Maybe, the Super Bowl is the one day a year where we expect every single moment of the TV to entertain us, not inform us. And, certainly not contribute to these companies' brand value.

Geesh... but, what do I know. I've got a gigantic pizza hangover.

CLOVERFIELD and Viral Marketing Genius

2008-02-04T08:27:00.000-06:00

It all began last summer. The trailer for a mysterious new film took audiences by surprise when it played before screenings of Transformers. A party scene, shot in camcorder style, gives way to complete chaos when a massive explosion is witnessed by partygoers from the rooftop of their building in Manhattan. Crowds flood the streets as debris, including the disembodied head of the Statue of Liberty, rains down on them. "It's alive! It's huge," someone screams, and soon the screen goes black. There's no hint of a title. Just a release date of 1-18-08. And the mania was born.

The Cloverfield viral campaign has taken the fake-media "Blair Witch Project" techniques to huge, new levels. To make it all more encompassing, now there are foreign news bites to check out. You can check out Spanish, Italian, and German news clips about the collapse of Chaui Station -- a drilling behemoth* in the Atlantic Ocean owned by the company who also owns Slusho. Each news clip has the same recorded video, with different news spins on the piece.

The movie's nondescript teaser site at http://www.1-18-08.com/ was the first to be discovered by fans. Initially, the site displayed a single still image of two young women staring up in shock at something unknown... the monster, or its path of destruction, perhaps. The image was timestamped "01/18/2008 12:36A." New photos have been added to the site over time with more captured moments from the party and post-attack events in the city. The most recent pics, however, appear to depict an air-sea battle of some kind and its fiery aftermath. How does this relate to the Cloverfield monster? Did the military know about its existence before the attack? Answer unknown.

The next viral website to emerge from the ether was http://www.slusho.jp/, the off-the-wall "official" site for a fictional Japanese drink that has a strange link to the events of the film. The first hint: Mike Vogel's character can be seen wearing a Slusho t-shirt in the movie's trailer. So, what's the connection? It seems that Rob Hawkins, the guy who's going away party is featured in the trailer, has been hired by Slusho for a marketing job -- more on how we know this later. Rob presumably scored the t-shirt and gave it to his brother, Hawk, played by Mike Vogel.

In the history section of the Slusho website, you can read the outlandish story of renown beverage-maker Noriko "Smallest Whale" Yoshida, who perished on a deep-sea search for a secret drink ingredient. Noriko's beverage-making enterprise was later revived by her son, Ganu, a scientist who was inspired to return to the family business after discovering an incredible "deep sea ingredient" that is the key to Slusho's flavor and lauded health benefits. Might this secret ingredient, as silly as it sounds, have some connection to the origins of the Cloverfield monster? After all, we learn that it was "discovered on the deep ocean floor, under amazing pressure and in the most extreme cold." Hmmm.

We don't expect the movie to answer any of these "expanded universe" questions about vast corporate conspiracies, eco-terror plots, or yummy frozen beverages. You'll have to look online for those answers. Cloverfield, instead, will tell the more human story of a small group of people caught up in the monster's attack. Want to get to know more about the movie's main characters? The film's intricate viral website also includes "official" MySpace pages for Rob and his crew.

A recent blog entry on Rob Hawkins' page reveals that he's just been offered a job with Slusho. You'll also find links to pages for Rob's brother Jason "Hawk" Hawkins, and his possible love interest Beth McIntyre. Then there's the rest of the gang: Hud, Lily, Marlena, and Jamie. The pages don't contain any juicy secrets, but it's an interesting way to see how the movie's characters are connected. One of the characters does have a secret, however. And it's one that may link her to the story's deeper mysteries.

The director explained, "It's almost like tentacles that grow out of the film and lead, also, to the ideas in the film. And there's this weird way where you can go see the movie and it's one experience… But there's also this other place where you can get engaged where there's this other sort of aspect for all those people who are into that... All the stories kind of bounce off one another and inform each other. But, at the end of the day, this movie stands on its own to be a movie. The Internet stories and connections and clues are, in a way, a prism and they're another way of looking at the same thing. To us, it's just another exciting aspect of the storytelling."

Brilliance...

Mandatory Marketing for 2008, Part 2

2008-02-01T09:26:00.000-06:00

On to...

6. Get Social-- Involve your company in some form of social marketing whether it's on forums, social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace or even bookmarking destinations such as http://www.digg.com/, http://www.travelbookmarking.com/, and http://www.de.li.cious/
(MORE ON MONDAY about how the movie Cloverfield implemented the most amazing viral, social marketing campaign to date!)

7. Start Making Movies-- In two years time, experts predict that 80% of the U.S. online community will be viewing online videos... that's around 157 million people. Optimize your video files with keywords and ensure they are submitted to video search engines.

8. Smarten Up Your Email Marketing-- With the huge amount of spam floating around it has never been more important for marketers to get the message, the timing and the relevancy on track. Clean up your lists, segment and target your campaigns, keep rich media files small, track your ROI, and keep your content and subject headers targeted and personalized.

9. Article Marketing-- As a part of your SEO, distribute articles to relevant directories. Remember to maximize the article for search engines and place the same article on your corporate web site.

And, lastly...
10. Go Viral-- Again, more on this on Monday, but for now, the huge success of viral marketing, including the most recent "Elf Yourself" program and Cadbury's drumming Gorilla video, has show just how consumer action can promote your brand.

Interrrupting Your Currently Scheduled Programming...

2008-01-31T08:04:00.000-06:00

I know I said yesterday that I would bring "Mandatory Marketing for 2008, Part 2" today, but there's been a change of schedule. I took my own Content Strategy advice and updated some of my web site's language last night. Check it out!

http://www.wendistry.com/Services_Services.aspx
http://www.wendistry.com/Services_MarketPlan.aspx

And, there's more to come! Notice the next to the last bullet point...
I'm putting the final touches on my newest service, "GPA: Geek Personal Agent." Next Monday, look for a hyperlink to the pdf that fully explains this latest offering.

Okay, back to the promised programming tomorrow... Part 2

Mandatory Marketing for 2008, Part 1

2008-01-30T07:47:00.000-06:00

So, here we are... It's almost February. Do you know where your Marketing is?

My industry has spent the last 4 weeks in analysis of 2007 and predicting 2008 "mandatory" marketing strategies: Social Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Online Video, etc. These and other topics have hit the headlines and have marketers scratching their heads as to which technology or fad to turn to next.

Let's cut the clutter:
1. SEO, Search Engine Optimization-- If you haven't gotten around to optimizing your web site, please join this year. Paid ads are okay, but 4 out of 5 searchers utilize natural search and your goal is to appear on the first page of search results.

2. Develop a Content Strategy-- Pay attention to any niche areas to ensure that your content is relevant and focused. Text length should be short and bullet points are more likely to attractive and read since longer articles tend to be overwhelming and overlooked.

3. PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Advertising-- Continually track and analyze conversions. Hone keywords to ensure that you are staying ahead of your competitors.

4. Build a Blog-- More and more Internet media researchers, journalists, and potential customers are turning to blogs for up-to-the-minute information and personal perspectives on you and your company.

5. Develop a mobile compatible web site-- Mobile devices are increasingly being used to access the Internet... whether it be comparison shopping on-the-go or for up-to-the-minute information, directions, or buying tickets to events. Is your site "mobile ready?"

Tomorrow... Part 2

So What's the Big Idea?

2008-01-29T09:05:00.000-06:00

Stumbled across in my reading last night:
"Clients and prospects have zero tolerance for marketing fluff, but a deep thirst for ideas that can help them. Selling services is not just about price, qualifications, or your firm's long string of success stories (as thrilling as those are). It's about the insights and ideas you bring to clients... if you can't provide great ideas, you might as well stay home."

Now, while this perspective applies to me and my work, it also applies to anyone who is in business to make a profit and make a difference. So, what's YOUR big idea? What problems are you solving? What solutions are you providing to your customers? How are you making them happy and coming back for more?

If you don't know... let me know

PR: In-House or Outsource?

2008-01-28T10:21:00.000-06:00

In? Out? Geesh, when it comes to Public Relations and Media Management, most companies (especially start-ups) have to face either hiring full-time in-house personnel or outsourcing the function to a firm. Here are my thoughts on the pros and cons of either scenario:

1. The PROS of an in-house person/staff:
- Lower cost-- decent PR firm will run you $10K to $18K monthly
- You retain the knowledge and control of your industry secrets/advantages
- You own the press/analyst relationships more directly
- Your team is able to respond quicker in case of crisis management or breaking news

2. The PROS of a PR firm:
- Compounded network of their access to industry journalists/analysts
- Their client roster/peer as potential network for your company
- Valuable outside sounding board
- Additional source of new ideas

3. The CONS of an in-house person/staff:
- PR is usually just a sub-set of overall marketing responsibilities
- Less frequent correspondence with journalists than a PR firm will have may lead to missed coverage opportunities
- Being too close to subject matter may limit scope of new ideas

4. The CONS of a PR firm:
- Exhorbitant cost
- Typically most of work delivered by junior-level firm staffers
- Time spent keeping your PR firm updated
- They own the journalist/analyst relationships
- Possible conflicts of interest with their other clients
- Weekly/monthly status reports and other posturing and continuing "sales" activities

Whichever option you decide is best for your business, just make sure your PR professional keeps track of published articles, editorials, press announcements, TV appearances, all coverage your company garners each month. Your person should list these items attached to the monthly invoice along with the time spend making call to try and get speaking engagements and the community relations work performed so that you, as the business owner, can see how much time and relationship building goes into the whole PR and media process.

I figure when my clients see how all these activities add up, they can choose either to handle it themselves in-house (plus run their business which already keeps them overwhelmed), or let me do what I feel I do best.

A Friday Funny

2008-01-25T15:14:00.000-06:00

It's been a long, hard week for me, so here are my final thoughts this Friday...

Everyone get outside, enjoy your winter weather, and have a great weekend... with no complaints! ;-)

The Silent Symphony

2008-01-24T12:00:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while I like to pop in and check out Mark Stevens' "Unconventional Thinking Blog." Today he sent out an email that has a very specific message about life, but I also think it applies to marketing and your company's brand message.

Mark says, "The Music Of The Silences... it is so much more powerful than the music of the orchestra. Of the exclamations. Of the boisterous proclamations. When nothing has to be said, and yet everything is as clear as can be, it is a masterpiece.This is the art of the subtle.

"Every great business person lets their accomplishments talk for themselves. Every great company delivers something exceptional and allows the silent referrals to build its base. People go to business school for years to learn how to make noise. To beat drums. To spend zillions on advertising. Caught up in the machine of conventional wisdom, they forget that yes, life imitates art, but business imitates life as well."

With those thoughts, I pose the question... look closely at your company, it's mission, it's Unique Value Proposition and selling point. Is your message distilled, refined, defined not only by what it says, but also by the whitespace... the void that's left... the echoing silence? Most-times it's not what you're saying; it's what you're not that speaking most loudly.

Davos 2008-- Why You Should Care

2008-01-23T08:18:00.000-06:00

Over the next 5 days, the tiny Swiss ski resort of Davos will host its annual invasion of the powerful, rich, and famous... filling the high altitude atmosphere with opinion, policy, and a little more hot air. The annual World Economic Forum.

The Forum typically champions a capitalistic and free-market world view where some 1,000 of the world's largest businesses pay $38,700 a piece for annual membership into this exclusive club. Not counting the extra $15,990 per person to attend the actual meetings in Davos that opened today.

Just what the hell are all these inflated egos discussing? The Meeting has opened with calls from the Co-Chairs to exercise "The Power of Collaborative Innovation" to meet the top challenges of economic instability, climate change and environmentalism, and equitable growth. Reporters and journalists from around the globe will record debates on subjects ranging from the state of Pakistan to cancer. But one topic, the state of the world's economy, will certainly garner the most talk.

So, how does this affect your business? As in all things in life, the "trickle-down theory" is why Davos should be important to you. CEO watching is a past-time of mine and I've realized that the discussions at Davos this year are the product launches in five.

I am currently working with a client who's entire business platform is based on leveraging technology for corporate information collaboration (i.e. no more paper). They are in front of the wave that addresses all 3 of the challenges listed above and I am very excited about their launch and subsequent growth (more info to come!!)

Brand Plan

2008-01-22T08:54:00.000-06:00

People only remember one thing about your brand, so say the most by speaking the least... the simplest message wins.

Money for Marketing... (or Money OR Marketing?)

2008-01-21T08:48:00.000-06:00

As financial commentary continues to suggest an economic recession ahead (SOMETHING'S got to sell business newspapers, mags, and talking heads), most companies' first reactions are to cut costs... and they usually start with marketing, also viewed as the "fluff" department, right when they need to get their message out and stay in front of customers the most. If you don't continue to attract customers then downturn survival is impossible.

It isn't just about cutting costs... it's about spending wisely, so I'm outlining some ways small businesses can leverage the power of search engine and online marketing to weather the recession storm. Online marketing provides the most accountable way to acquire new customers. When times get tougher, you need to make sure every marketing dollar you spend counts and is providing return.

1. Organic listing (search engine results)-- getting your company into the web results of top search engines is vital for generating free traffic to your site.

2. Sponsored listing (search advertising)-- Search engine advertising involves promoting your business on the search engines in their sponsored listings area. This is the surest way to gain exposure to vital prospects in tough times. Not only is listing possible in a short time frame (your search engine ads can be live in hours), but the sponsored results are keyword specific providing rapid targeting opportunities.

3. Local search listing (bricks and mortar business listings)-- Offering businesses the opportunity to tap into the growing number of customers using search to find bricks and mortar retailers and service providers in their area.

Taking Chances

2008-01-17T08:31:00.000-06:00

Met with a new client yesterday (one who has never gone into business for himself before). As we were discussing all the concerns this gentleman had... leaving his secure job (that he hates), leaving the status of his title (that really means nothing to him), leaving 5 weeks of paid vacation (to which he always takes his laptop and Blackberry), it got me thinking about myself and all the changes that have come from taking the chance... taking the leap to officially be in business for myself.

1. I've Lost My Fear of Failure: With less at stake, just my own ego, I'm more open to taking chances and risking potential failure. No longer wedded to constant success, I relish the learning curve of a new experience, if not always the result.

2. I say Yes Instead of No: Thriving on your own delivers a knock-out punch to that portion of your brain that's always muttering, "You can't do that." Yes, actually, you can. A lot has been written about the courage to say no... the tremendous freedom in turning down unwanted requests and invitations or turning aside nosy queries. Let's take back the courage in saying yes.

3. I'm Less of a Control Freak: Okay, notice I say "less," not "not." I used to think that if I wanted something to happen, I had to micromanage every detail. Now, I understand that I can also surf the waves of life, working toward a goal rather than attacking it like Normandy Beach. It's amazing the serendipities and financial rewards that will just flow to you if you'll get out of their way.

4. I'm Nicer: My friends and family know that I am always open for coffee, a ride to the airport, a shoulder to lean on and cry on. I genuinely pay attention to the name tag on the checkout person at my Whole Foods, and I look for opportunities to say "good morning" to others.

5. I'm Smarter: No longer tied to one particular industry of business, my consulting takes me into the intricacies of wine fermentation, the complexities of IP telephony, the orchestra of running a successful restaurant, and the twists and turns of all kinds of businesses. I get to meet facinating people every week and it's amazing to feel my own creativity humming.

6. I'm More Fun: If we wisely write our plan as we launch into a career of our own, the new life will make us happier. We will become a delightful person reminiscent of who we were as a child. On Monday this week, Scott Ellis http://www.vsellis.com/ and I were working on his DZX Medical company http://www.dzxmedical.com/ together in our sweats and ball caps. Around 11:30am after having been hard at it for 4 good hours, I said, "Let's go for a walk."

Across the street from my condo is a private park nestled between three office buildings. It is beautiful... landscaped shrubbery, manicured grassy lawns, small pools with fountains, and tons of benches under large shady trees. To make this oasis complete, the park has installed a 8 foot by 8 foot concrete checkers board with large, 1 foot diameter round checkers.

As attorneys and bankers and finances players ventured down from their offices, ran quickly to the diner across the park, and hurried back to their desks all in 10 minutes flat, Scott and I played checkers for an hour.

Twelve Amateur Mistakes

2008-01-16T14:24:00.000-06:00

I'm reading an absolutely phenomenal book right now, "Why Johnny Can't Brand" by Bill Schley and Carl Nichols, Jr. I bring you, distilled thought from these two fine gentlemen, The Twelve Amateur Mistakes:

1. Spraying and praying... saying nothing by saying everything.
2. Failing to choose... a unique value proposition out of misplaced fear.
3. Creating a better mousetrap... and thinking you've created desire.
4. Entertaining, joking, singing, and dancing... without a selling idea.
5. Knowing all the answers... but never testing.
6. Breathing your own fumes... forgetting no one cares how great you are, they care how great you'll make them.
7. Playing inside when the sun's out... closing your eyes to the competition.
8. Forgetting that marketing is about sales... not marketing.
9. Being original instead of effective... it's not art appreciation, it's sales appreciation.
10. Chopping down your trees before they grow... changing your message too often.
11. Failing to simplify... being hard to understand, therefore, difficult to buy.
12. Forgetting the mantra, "It's trust, trust, trust" in the mind of the customer.

Why Consistency is Critical

2008-01-15T09:38:00.000-06:00

Consistency is the concrete, the superglue, the foundation of every brand that works. Consistency of message over time delivers the impact you need... over time. Consider the "Little Brother Poking Torture."

When your big brother pokes you lightly over and over in the exact same spot and won't stop. At first, it doesn't hurt. Then, it's annoying. But soon, it's excruciating and you've actually got a bruise. The key is the exact same spot. If he'd poked you lightly all over, it'd eventually be annoying but not effective.

Unfortunately, most companies, even the big ones who should know better, usually want to tell customers about all their features, all their potential service options, on and on, ad naseum. The more details you provide, the more vaguely you communicate. The more directions you give, the harder it is to be located. The higher the number, the lower the value. KNOW (specifically) who you are... Own it. Claim it. Put a stake in it, stay consistent with it, and watch what happens. The narrower you focus, the wider your message goes.

Along the same lines, a business partner of mine met with an associate of his yesterday, Paul Nichols... a former VC and all-around smart guy who's seen a lot of business plans and business owners. They were talking about entreprenuers and how they sometimes benefit from not knowing what (i.e. how much work) they are getting themselves into. Toward the end of that conversation, Paul made the following quote--
"It's frightening how much of our economy is dependent on people not knowing what they're doing."

Monday Marketing Moves Mislead

2008-01-14T09:02:00.000-06:00

So, I receive an email last Friday from Skinstore.com (where I buy all my face soaps and creams) informing me that Monday, January 14th, will be the last day to take advantage of their $20.08 discount on all orders. This morning I gleefully go shopping and hit the payment cart area where I am to enter discount code "NEWYOU" only to be informed that I have not reached the minimum purchase requirement. HUH?!?!??

I go back and read every single word of the email promotion... not one letter about a minimum purchase amount. I now take precious time out of my morning and call Customer Service. The associated reads her copy of the email with me over the phone and doesn't find a thing about a minimum amount either. OH.... THERE it is. I'm supposed to go to the Home Page http://www.skinstore.com/ of the web site and click a "Details" link in Times New Roman 7pt. font embedded inside the huge purple graphic to know that I have to order a minimum $100 pre-tax / pre-shipping to qualify for the $20.08 off my order. Now, I'm pissed.

Note to all marketers, salespeople, and senior management of companies big and small: This move is misleading... It's LYING... but, most of all, it will make your loyal customers angry. And, they'll think twice about doing business with you again.

Thoughts for the Day Friday

2008-01-11T21:27:00.000-06:00

Actually... questions:
1. What do I need more of in my business?
2. What's not working?
3. What personal barriers are standing in my way?
4. What do I need to succeed?
5. What do I want to change?

Plan your work then work your plan.
from http://the-elc.com/

Two Tech Trends to Track

2008-01-09T09:34:00.000-06:00

Technology alone hardly ever is the key to unlocking economic value: companies only create real wealth when they combine tech with new ways of doing business. With that said, I offer two trends to keep an eye on to shape your company in the coming years.

1. Using consumers as innovators: And, allowing your customers to cocreate with your business. As the Internet has evolved, it has become more of a widespread platform for interaction, communication, and activism. Consumers increasingly want to engage online with one another and with organizations of all sizes. Companies can tap this new mood of customer engagement for their economic benefit... new product innovation (design), constructive feedback to avoid wasted R&D funds (testing), and brand tweaking (marketing / viral marketing) are just a few ideas that will dramatically hit the bottom line, engender greater loyalty, and speed up development cycles.

2. Making businesses from information: The pools of data captured from the aforementioned trend are now raw material for new information-based business opportunities. Frequent contributors to "market imperfections" reveal relevant data about new market opportunities, potential acquisitions, pricing differences among suppliers, and other business situations. These imperfections allow astute middlemen with more and better information to extract premiums for aggregating and creating new companies around it. The Internet has brought greater transparency to markets such as airline tickets, hotel rooms, and stocks, but many other sectors are wide open for similar illumination.

"I'm a Slasher"

2008-01-08T10:11:00.000-06:00

A topic that came up in quite a few holiday cocktail conversations-- the lack of desire for a stair-stepped "career path" in almost everyone my age. Used to be sensible young people learned to aspire for the high GPA, private (preferably Ivy League) college, then advanced degrees to become doctors, lawyers, bankers, etc. Now... you've "made it."

Not so anymore. Lifestyle, strategy, and innovation matter more than ever. Gen X (of which my friends and I are a part) and Gen Y have the tools to monetize their unique skills and passions to take advantage of a new long tail of jobs. Entrepreneurs, the Internet, and mobile computing empower the intellectual worker in new ways.

Our culture idolizes risk, reward, and the story of the common-man-making-it-big. Today, we have broader definitions of sucess, and especially among younger workers, professional status is now linked to ideas of flexibility, creativity, and uniqueness... work self and home self are now ONE self.

Hence, my new answer to the standard cocktail question, "So, what do you do?"
Me: "I'm a Slasher... entrepreneur slash consultant slash mentor slash CEO's GPS."
Slashing my way through a multi-faceted professional life with numerous industries of experience under my belt, this answer seems the most appropriate. And, increasingly, it's the right answer for many.

One Person/Multiple Careers by Marci Alboher http://www.amazon.com/One-Person-Multiple-Careers-Success/dp/0446696978/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199809645&sr=1-1

Welcome 2008!

2008-01-07T12:11:00.000-06:00

Now that everyone is back to work, how about some...

Basic Business Strategy Options

2008-01-04T15:51:00.000-06:00

1. Grow fast... and ahead of most competitors.
2. Grow in line with the industry
3. Defend your existing status... assumes that you've got a strong starting position in the first place.
4. Catch up... might necessitate new leadership.
5. Turn around... mandates a radical new approach.
6. Hang in... go with the flow and don't expend much effort.
7. Harvest time... milk the opportunity with an eye on withdrawal.

Marketing vs. Sales

2008-01-03T11:01:00.001-06:00

We all know that Marketing creates the pretty brochures and Sales uses the brochures to close a deal, but what about the gray areas... the brand representation, the product definitions, the RFP requirements?

Marketing's purpose is to generate the leads. Sales' purpose is to close the deals. However, it happens all the time... these guys butt heads. Picture it: the sales rep and the marketing manager go together to a visit a prospect and close the sale. The marketing manager watches in horror as the product/service/widget/whatever doesn't perform up to "brand specifications" rendering the entire Marketing department essentially LFC, Liars First Class. Now watch the horror to the nth degree that flashes across the sales guy's face when he hears marketing blurt out, "We'll give you another upgrade... this time for free."

The old line goes, “You can pay me now or you can pay me later." When a company understands the true essence of both sales and marketing, and applies them in the right blend, the question isn’t being paid now or later. It’s being paid now and later.

Simply stated, marketing takes the long-term view of customer relationships, paving the way for sales to occur in the short-term. One feeds the other. Companies get into trouble when their appetite for short-term sales neglects the key role of long-term marketing.

Putting sales and marketing together in the same group is the single biggest mistake... actually, it's mistake number 2. The Biggest Mistake is hiring a guy with the title "VP of Sales & Marketing" expecting her to actually do either one worth a crap. These two groups have different goals, and when a wheel falls off, sales always wins because squeaky-wheel problems win against the need for long-term results.

A Productivity Product RAVE!

2008-01-02T17:01:00.000-06:00

I know that productivity is always a topic high on everyone's New Year's Resolutions' lists, so here's my 2 cents.

As a Happy New Year present, I received MindJet's MindManager software, "Software for Visualizing and Using Information." I can't stop raving about this product and I know it's going to impact my business this year. www.mindjet.com/us

The website states, "inspires people and businesses to align individuals and teams, engage and excites employees, accelerate business processes and win new business faster," but I also see planning, brainstorming, and product development applications. It's only day 2 in the year and I've already positioned myself as "genius" in front of one of my clients with an in-dept SWOT analysis of their startup.

Happy New Year's Eve!!!

2007-12-31T17:31:00.001-06:00

While the rest of the business world is writing "serious" blogs about 2008 predictions and such...

Here's to wishing you and your company the most prosperous year ever!!! (and all the pencils you could possibly want)

Merry Christmas Eve!

2007-12-24T13:41:00.000-06:00

Yes, we know from the media and retail reporters that this has been a "ho-hum" Christmas as far as spending goes. However, I just didn't see it.

All of my shopping experiences this year were friendly, helpful, quick, and pretty darn painless. And, with the three days prior to Christmas accounting for as much as 15 percent of holiday sales, there's a lot of business left on the table. While the day after Black Friday starts off the season, the most intense sales volume comes in the few days before Christmas.

Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas and a toast to all the shopping days AFTER the 25th!

Online Alignment Enlightenment

2007-12-19T11:23:00.000-06:00

Positioning is not what you do to a product... it's what you do in the mind of a prospect. A McKinsey global survey of marketers shows that companies are using digital tools- from Web sites to wikis- most extensively for customer service, but also for online advertising, pricing, and product development.

Marketers have begun to turn to social networks for insights into what consumers want, yet is this information accurate? Whether the customer researches through their social channels or whether they use a search engine may depend on the number of friends they have. The information present in those real or virtual connections is becoming a part of a customer's purchase-related activity. But, is harnessing the collective consciousness relevant to your company's bottom line? Is this information affecting everyday transactions?

Aligning your business to maximize connections employing reputation, identity, and trust are increasingly like to produce hard sales. Take the time to participate in and explore social networks that are relevant to your customer base.

Out of the Mouth of...

2007-12-18T08:59:00.000-06:00

... my partner, James Ballard, http://www.ballardcreative.com/

"I've realized that I've become a big dude in a small space. I need to push myself into a bigger fish tank and swim like a Mother-F#(-%*r!"

Hmmm... not very eloquent, James, yet you're right on the money, honey.

Such an "Arrogant Bastard"

2007-12-17T10:58:00.000-06:00

Having drinks with friends last night at the W and one of them ordered "Arrogant Bastard Ale" http://www.arrogantbastard.com/ I immediately proceeded to fall in love with this product. Not because of the liquid contents (I can't stand beer... hard liquor gal), but because of the irreverent-ness of the branding. To quote the label:

Tagline-- "You're Not Worthy"
Story-- "This is an aggressive beer. You probably won't like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or the sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory... maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it's made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beer will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this."
Ingredients-- "Nothing but the finest Barley, most aggressive Hops, clearest Water, our proprietary Yeast strain, and abundant Arrogance."

This company GETS IT! Stand up, stand out, shoot your mouth off, be different, be daring, anything... just please don't be safe.

Frustrated Friday

2007-12-14T15:08:00.001-06:00

Catching a little bit of FoxNews this morning just frustrated me with politicians...

The next time you hear a politician use the word 'BILLION' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take a look at New Orleans. It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division. Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans. Interesting number, what does it mean?

Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, child), you each get $516,528. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787. Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington, D.C .. HELLO!!! ... Are all your calculators broken??
Tax his land; Tax his wage; Tax his bed in which he lays. Tax his tractor; Tax his mule; Teach him taxes is the rule. Tax his cow; Tax his goat; Tax his pants; Tax his coat. Tax his ties;Tax his shirts; Tax his work; Tax his dirt. Tax his smoke; Tax his drink; Tax him if he tries to think. Tax his booze; Tax his beers; If he cries, tax his tears. Tax his bills; Tax his gas; Tax his notes; Tax his cash. Tax him good and let him know, that after taxes, he has no dough. If he hollers, tax him more. Tax him until he's good and sore. Tax his coffin; Tax his grave; Tax the sod in which he lays. Put these words upon his tomb, 'Taxes drove me to my doom!' And when he's gone, we won't relax, we'll still be after the inheritance TAX!!

Then, there's: Accounts Receivable Tax / Building Permit Tax / CDL License Tax / Cigarette Tax / Corporate Income Tax / Dog License Tax / Federal Income Tax / Federal Unemployment Tax / Fishing License Tax / Food License Tax / Fuel Permit Tax / Gasoline Tax / Hunting License Tax / Inheritance Tax / Inventory Tax / IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax) / IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax) / Liquor Tax / Luxury Tax / Marriage License Tax / Medicare Tax / Property Tax / Real Estate Tax / Service charge taxes / Social Security Tax / Road Usage Tax (Truckers) / Sales Taxes / Recreational VehicleTax / School Tax / State Income Tax / State Unemployment Tax / Telephone Federal Excise Tax / Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax / Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax / Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax / Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax / Telephone State and Local Tax / Telephone Usage Charge Tax / Utility Tax / Vehicle License Registration Tax / Vehicle Sales Tax / Watercraft Registration Tax / Well Permit Tax / Workers Compensation Tax.

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What happened? Can you spell 'politicians!' And, I still have to 'press1' for English.

Uneasy Does It, Part 2

2007-12-13T11:47:00.000-06:00

"The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore."
Vincent Van Gogh (1853--1890), Dutch painter

Uneasy Does It

2007-12-12T08:28:00.000-06:00

"I do everything I can to disrupt my comfort zone." Brian Grazer, film producer

My first entrepreneurial venture started in the fall of 1983. I was 14 years old, had just made my high school's freshman cheer squad, and I was asked by a "cheerleader mom" to coach her daughter for the following Spring's tryouts. I had never considered cheering as a job opportunity before, and at the time, I was thinking about trying to hostess at the local Bennigan's.

Was I good enough? Could I promise this woman's 10-year old that she would have a real shot at making her elementary school squad? Could I put my own personal reputation on the line? My father said, "I know how you're feeling. But if you want to be successful in life, you'll have to get used to this feeling. This is risk. And if you ever want to take big steps in your career, you'll have to get used to risk."

Some things to consider before you decide to leave corporate life:
1. You feel a need to fulfill an ambition to create and develop something of your own.
2. You've been frustrated and limited over the years, feeling forced into a hierarchical structure.
3. You want to grow into a new area.
4. You can subsist without a steady income.
5. You have a sugar-daddy client.
6. You have a sturdy stomach and can take the terror of an un-ringing phone.
7. You can leave your current situation without burning bridges.

Little did I know at 14 that earning $50 bucks an hour for the private coaching of one little girl would turn into almost a hundred girls by the time I left for college. All of their mothers happily paying me upwards of $80 an hour and all of the daughters making their squads. I guess that leads me to end with...

8. You can handle controlling your own destiny and all the money that flows to those who take the risk.

Database Dilemmas

2007-12-11T09:48:00.000-06:00

Building databases are easy... especially in these times of viral marketing and incentives to share contact info; making money with your database can be challenging. What are some common mistakes that cause databases to fail?

1. Diving in without a marketing strategy: A successful strategy involves collecting data on your customer's purchases, building a database that permits analysis, and determining what motivates your customers

2. Focusing on price instead of service: Database marketing builds loyalty, discounts do not. Database marketing strategies provide dialogue, recognition, and service that overrides price points.

3. Failing to link the database to the Web: Personalization requires information such as purchase history, preferences, and contact information that your sales reps need when they work directly with your customers.

Christmas Coupon Concepts

2007-12-10T12:34:00.000-06:00

Being the holiday season and with all the enticements to spend more than the wallet allows, just what exactly prompts a customer to redeem coupons? And, should your company even bother with this type of promotion?

Time and value are the two most imporant variables to consider when looking to predict coupon redemption. Value has been relatively stable in recent years with low inflation rates while the trend has been to cut expiration lengths creating a greater sense of urgency (always a good thing).

However, many false notions about a couponing strategy faily to acknowledge that the redemption is less immediate, due to people's busier lifestyles, more dual incomes, and expanded home inventories (due to more closet/garage/pantry space). The following are a few myths:

1. MYTH: Targeting the most loyal users of a competitor's product yields the best return on a coupon program. FACT: Light to moderately loyal competitive users are more likely to try a new product.

2. MYTH: The presence of a sample is a requisite for driving high redemption rates. FACT: Other factors are much more likely to drive redemptions like expiration date, value, current versus competitive user, and frequent versus infrequent coupon user.

3. MYTH: Current and competitive product users need the same coupon value to be motivated. FACT: In any product sector, current users typically require a much less offer value to drive them to purchase.

Almost Famous

2007-12-07T10:25:00.000-06:00

So, last night, I'm at the launch party for a new restaurant, Scene http://www.scenedallas.com/ , in a just opened residential high-rise... an intimate gathering of 3,000 of Dallas' finest. Which got me to thinking (as a friend and I are having our behinds felt up as the crowds brush by), do you have to "engage" the poser masses to find the niche you really want?

And then here's another thought... In this age of microcelebrity, are ALL these people necessary to make Scene be the place to be seen on the scene? (geesh... mouthful) Seriously, you can't feed 3,000 people anything. Tiny plates with 10 appetizers on it were devoured by one guy. Most of the alcohol was gone by 9pm, and then, in true $30,000-Millionaire form, the crowds disperse. Off into the night to find the next scene.

So, would the owners have been better off inviting a select 400 movers-and-shakers to really get a tour of the restaurant, hear the Executive Chef speak about what inspires his creations, have the wine steward share his most special selections? With a truly grand and unique experience (where you can actually SEE how the restaurant is designed), these 400 become advocates.

Who's the Boss???

2007-12-06T11:46:00.000-06:00

So, yeah, you're the Idea Ingenue, the Wheeler Dealer, the Startup Czar. Now what? What do you do when you're no longer a startup, you have a couple dozen employees and things aren't as nimble (or easy) as they used to be? What happens when the collective lack of experience but oodles of enthusiasm starts to be a detriment rather than an asset?

Doug Tatum, a management consultant and author of No Man's Land: What to Do When Your Company Is Too Big to Be Small but Too Small to Be Big (BusinessWeek.com, 8/1/07) says many companies encounter similar problems when they grow to around 20 employees. That's when companies typically are forced to make the transition from the high-performance/cheap-labor model that worked in the startup phase of the business and start paying the real costs of labor and productivity.

Facing the reality that the Founder is probably not the "big-time" leader to take a company to $50 / $100 / $200 million is a real gut-check.
Bottom line question: What's more important to you, Top-Dog, your ego or your income?

Smart Start-Ups Know...

2007-12-04T09:13:00.000-06:00

1. Failure IS an option-- without experimentation there is no growth.

2. Bravery is contagious-- the only way to find real success is for the entire team to challenge the status quo.

3. Rule books are dispensable-- throw out "the rules" you've lived with at large firms... what's the worst that could happen?

4. Lose the slackers-- you've got to have hypersmart, motivated people in this cutthroat environment.

5. Test for "too many of us are drinking our own Kool-Aid"-- if you start believing your own hype, it's all over very quickly. Keep it real.

It's in the Cards...

2007-12-03T08:09:00.000-06:00

'Tis the season of the ubiquitous Christmas card so I must comment this morning on the lack of creativity and the utter lack of memorable-ness of most business cards. Note to small business owners-- this one tiny part of your company is the most important investment you can make... especially in the beginning.

Your business card represents your company; its brand, its voice, its quality, its character. Don't blow your one chance to make an amazing first impression with cheap card stock, uninteresting colors, text logos (unless you're a legal firm), and an overall lack of design with your total company brand in mind.

Or, you can try something completely different like Jeffrey Gitomer http://www.gitomer.com/
"In 1988, I had only two employees. One day, I decide to give my pet cat, Lito, a business card. I gave her a title, "Corporate Mascot." She played a vital role in my office productivity. Whever I needed an important paper, Lito was lying on it.

"The minute I started to give Lito's card out, word in the Charlotte business community spread like wildfire. Everywhere I went, people would ask if I had one of my cat's business cards with me. I always did. I wrote an article about it. Hundreds of requests came in for one of Lito's cards.

"I was at a networking event in Charlotte when a Fast 50 corporate president ran over ot me saying, 'Hey, Gitomer, show this guy your cat's card.' 'Have one,' I said, 'and have one of mine in case the cat isn't in. I usually handle her calls.'"

Be different... be memorable... the card pays you back.