The following  posts  detail the benefits of a marketing audit in an organisation’s marketing strategy:

Spring Clean Your Marketing Let’s Audit

More on Auditing – I Love A Good Audit

So if you haven’t audited your marketing activity in the last twelve months – now is the time to do so!

Happy Auditing!

Image Credit: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

They're not gone. We're still learning (and enjoying) them. 

(Had to choose this one - from a concert in Denmark)

The Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead is the new book, co-authored by David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan.

David is the best selling author of several titles including The New Rules of Marketing & PR.

Brian is founder of online service and software provider, HubSpot, and author of the super informative Inbound Marketing.

Both are self confessed Deadheads!

Why The Grateful Dead?

The Grateful Dead did things differently. Their approach included a business model based on live concerts not album sales. (They played over 2,300 live concerts from 1965 – 1995, becoming the most popular touring act in rock history). They built genuine relationships with their fans who formed a dedicated community with whom they collaborated to co-create the ‘Deadhead’ lifestyle. They gave away content – encouraging their fans to record their shows and trade tapes.

In so doing, The Grateful Dead applied many marketing techniques championed in business today.

Here are just three “take aways” :

Create your own landscape: Create a unique business model

“Products that are highly differentiated can still succeed today, but it’s much harder to win if your business model is the same as your competitors’. .. research your industry in order to build a killer business model. ..break free from the competitive landscape and create a cascade of unique benefits for your customers.”

Which model can you create that is different to your competitors’ and based on the unique ways that you solve your customers’ problems?

Free up your content

The Grateful Dead were pioneers of the ‘freemium’ model. They encouraged concert goers to record their live shows and even established ‘taper sections’ at the concert venues, where fans could set up their equipment for the best sound quality. A huge network traded tapes and built exposure leading to millions of new fans who purchased tickets to shows.

“The Grateful Dead teach us when we free our content, more people hear about our company and eventually do business with us”

What content would be useful to your customers? Think about blogs, videos, ebooks or white papers. Each piece of content is like a “mini magnet that attracts potential customers to your business”.

One of David’s e-books The New Rules of Viral Marketing has been downloaded more than one million times.

Give back

“When a company carefully chooses a particular charity or cause to support and makes it a part of their corporate culture, continuing the commitment over many years, the accrued benefits to both the brand and the recipient charity can be enormous”.

Read more about the band’s generosity and commitment to causes, and the Ronald McDonald House case study here:  Give back to your community

In which ways can you  give back to your community  that are consistent with your brand?

These are just three of the marketing lessons. There are many others – but hopefully we’ve whet your appetite to read more! How will you apply these marketing lessons? We’d love to hear.

Related Posts:

Feel like another The Grateful Dead hit?   See and listen to them here:
Deloitte Social Media Rock Stars

The new book of popular political commentator Annabel Crabb was launched just prior to Australia's recent Federal election.

During the week before our recent election here in Australia, I noticed the launch of several books written by either political journalists or authors with a political connection.  It got me thinking about about timing.

So much of business and marketing strategy success is about execution, and in this respect, timing is everything.

Never forget implementation, boys.  In our work, it’s what I call the  ”last 98 percent” of the client puzzle.” – Al McDonald, former Managing Director, McKinsey & Co, to a project team, reported by subsequent  McKinsey MD, Ron Daniel  (from Tom Peters)

In marketing strategy, timing is not only the planned sequence of activity, but is also the “when”: the precise time of execution to leverage and maximise opportunities which appear in the market place.
These opportunities can provide the perfect time  to launch a product (eg a book), distribute content related to your product and tailor that content to suit the opportunity.

They may also be perfect for a special  promotion.  Indeed Borders (more books) conducted some cheeky election related promotions  – such as offering discounts to customers with red hair or those presenting in their “budgies”!

The Nandos ambush promotion of the Bruno premiere last year is another example of well timed activity to seize an opportunity and promote their product.

So, how do you secure perfect timing?

1. Do your situation analysis – understand and anticipate the activities occurring in the market place  which are relevant to your customers. Keep up to date with current events, movies, books  which can provide opportunities that your brand could potentially leverage.
2. Consider your objectives What are you trying to achieve? Does seizing the opportunity help you achieve your overall marketing objectives? How does it complement other activities in your action plan? Will the activity add value to your brand?
3. Review your action plan. As the business environment is dynamic some opportunities can only be leveraged if an organisation is sufficiently agile  to seize them. Do you have the resources (time, finance, human) to seize the opportunity, and to track and measure the results?

Sometimes the thought and consideration required to seize an opportunity and implement a well timed activity,  needs to be done quickly if an opportunity  arises suddenly. As we noted in a previous post “Marketing Strategy: Just Try It”:

“If you hesitate when an opportunity presents itself to you, it may be the fear of failure that makes you procrastinate” – Donald Trump

However as Tom Peters says:

Try it! Try it! Try it! If a suggestion is made, your instinctive response should be ‘Try It’. In 40 plus years of study and practice, I sometimes think I’ve only learned one thing:  ”He or she who tries the most stuff wins”

Great timing can result from  a mix of planning, agility, commitment to seize an opportunity and a little bit of luck.  However,  well timed marketing activity will enable  more powerful results and a greater return on your marketing investment.

Have you an example of great timing?

I’ve been reading Mark Levy’s book Accidental Genius (recommended by David Meerman Scott) which promotes the technique of freewriting.  One method Mark describes is that of writing about a jargon word from your particular industry . The word which  immediately came to mind for me was “guru”,  a much used  expression in business today.

Formal definitions  of  ”guru” include: “Hindu or Sikh religious teacher” and “leader or adviser of a movement”.

For me,  a “guru” is a leader, an influential expert – someone with great knowledge.

One of my favourite management  experts, Tom Peters, is frequently referred to as  a “guru”, yet despite his massive contributions to the world of management thought and practice,  he resists the name.  See Tom’s tweets here.

Some people believe that it is up to others to assign such labels – that professionals should not  tag themselves. I think live and let live.  Isn’t it more  important  that  business owners  searching for a “guru” find the assistance they seek – a professional from whom they can learn and be guided?

Five Tips to Vet Your Guru

If you are searching for a “guru”– whether it be management, finance, marketing or other – here are my five tips to help you vet your quest:

1. Assess qualifications. Are there real credentials to support the proposed wisdom? Credentials are just a start but they provide the tools in the particular professional tool box.

2. Assess experience. What is the experience?  How many years? In what  industries?  Is the experience  relevant to your business? What are the transferrable outcomes of that experience that can be applied to your business?

3. Client testimonials. What has been previously  achieved in real terms?  What have other people said?

4. Price. “Gurus” or industry professionals don’t come cheap. Nor should they.   In his book ‘Outliers’ ,Malcolm Gladwell spoke of  10,000 hours as the minimum investment of time required to acquire true world class expertise. Whether  an artist or a humble marketer (like myself),  fees charged should reflect the customer value created from the previous and ongoing investment in education and practical experience.  Fees can be flexibly packaged. So ask for this.

5.  Do you get on  with them? Is there a personal connection? Let’s face it life is short and sometimes business is challenging. Shouldn’t we enjoy the journey and have some fun along the way?  Working with people with whom you can mutually learn and enjoy enriches the business experience.    If you are choosing from a range of service providers  equal on  other factors, go with the one with whom you connect. Business can be fun.

So  if you are seeking a “guru” or just professional assistance – I hope these thoughts assist!

In the end though, it is the value created for you the customer – not the label – that matters.

What do you think?

History Never Repeats? Not True.

My favourite interview this week was with actor,  writer, documentary maker (and from his twitter list – a cricket fan), Stephen Fry who is currently visiting Australia.  The question about Oscar Wilde  arose  in a discussion of the modern digital world .  I’d previously wondered about Shakespeare and blogging – so was keen to hear more.

Stephen believes that it’s impossible to understand digital technology without a grasp of history. He uses the development of print media as an example of how old ways are replaced and eventually accepted as the new.  In the 18^th century Stephen says there was a new kind of technology as hand presses and printing became increasingly cheaper. The hand presses led to magazines, journalism and political pamphlets with names like “The Rambler”, “The Idler” and “The Tattler” – considered by many people  as trivial and  not “earnest debate”  – similar to the way Twitter is regarded by some today.

So what are the implications of remembering history for those of us currently exploring digital in business and marketing?

Whilst history reflects patterns in  acceptance of innovation: the old eventually replaced by the new which in turn  is superceded; for businesses it is simple.  We just need to focus on our customers, identify what they are doing and respond accordingly.

The statistics show that increasingly people are moving online – using the web to search, purchase or communicate socially. Facebook has just hit 500 million users world wide, Twitter has more than 100 million users.

Businesses should identify where their customers are, and  ensure they have a presence there.   They need to be easily found when their customers search online and if  customers are using social media platforms, engage them by building relationships – not selling.

If you are a business unsure about these platforms – look to your customer first and foremost.

And in respect to  innovation –  as Stephen says –  history shows that frequently the new ways spread, are eventually accepted as the norm and later replaced as “old”.

History it seems, does repeat itself.

Related Links:

Stephen Fry: In Defence of the Modern Digital World (Interview with Mark Colvin from ABC Radio)

Stephen Fry’s Website

Stephen Fry on Twitter

David Hockney’s iPhone passion: In the interview Stephen mentions David Hockney’s iPhone passion.  See more  here – by Lawrence Weschler of The New York Review of Books

David Hockney’s Website

Facebook hits 500m social media by numbers

Related Posts:

Marketing 2.0 impacts and opportunities in a tech savvy world

The Beautiful Benefits of Business Blogging

What is Your Online Marketing Strategy?

The 1-2-3 of Managing Your Social Media – A Beginner’s Guide

In Memory of Netscape – The Transformation of Business Marketing

Some Linkedin Lovin’

Social Media For Good – Businesses Making A Difference Using Social Media 12for12K

Small business owners tend to be passionate. With our businesses forming such a significant part of our lives, it wasn’t surprising that passion was a recurring theme at last week’s National Small Business Summit held in Brisbane.

Opened by the passionate Minister of Small Business, The Hon Dr Craig Emerson MP, the Summit was a jammed packed day and evening of learning, inspiration and networking.

In addition to the pollies  (the Hon Leader of the Opposition presented an energetic address  which aimed to be ‘non political, non partisan!’),  the morning commenced with a conversation with Australia’s top public servants about the regulations that affect small business.  Included on the panel was ASIC Chairman, Tony D’Aloisio and the Australian Tax Commissioner, Michael D’Ascenzo. This was the second time I’d heard Michael  speak – and he continues to strike me as a very marketing oriented Commissioner – with his focus upon putting the “taxpayers and the community at the heart of the ATO’s thinking. “

Ben White, Director Optus Strategy and Corporate Development highlighted the real value of the national broadband network. However, for me the morning’s highlight was  the Kochie’s Business Builders’ (KBB) Panel Session: “Red Hot Sales, Marketing and Social Media Strategies”.  Passion abounded.

Some of the great insights from the panelists included those from Dell’s US social media executive, Richard Binhammer who said:

“Share the passion for your business and connect,” he said. “The reddest, hottest thing about social media is that in fact it allows you to connect more strongly, in a real way.”

Richard encouraged businesses to share the good news stories.

Telstra Business Award winning entrepreneur Valerie Khoo, founder of the Sydney Writers’ Centre, is passionate about leveraging technology to build business.  She urged businesses to collect contact information via their websites, then communicate with customers in the way promised.  Valerie also encouraged businesses to consider social media – particularly blogs and Facebook – to engage with customers.  She advised businesses to not be deterred by the time required for this medium.

“You’re in total control of how much time you spend,” she said.

The afternoon featured some streamed workshops.

In the ‘Small is Beautiful session’, Robert Gerrish, founder of Flying Solo, Australia’s micro business community with more than 25,000 members, discussed the findings of ‘Understanding Micro Business’, a comprehensive survey of over 1,300 business owners and stated:

“The more we work the happier we are.”

In the same session, small business consultant and KBB marketing guru, Linda Hailey reminded:

“Passion is what makes you beautiful.”

The “Truly Tech Savvy’ was one of the most popular sessions, highlighting the increased consciousness amongst business owners of the opportunities created by technology.

The workshop ‘Cash is still king’ explored cash flow management techniques small business can use to drive revenue and improve debtor management and provided some invaluable advice.  Angela McDonald, Director of  Optimum Recoveries spoke of the value of obtaining credit checks for clients and your own business, whilst Chartered Accountant, Susan Milicevic of Aspire Consulting emphasized  the importance of having a Cash Flow plan.

The program’s other significant recurring theme was price.

Julia Bickerstaff, Owner of The Business Bakery and KBB finance expert urged to price strongly and confidently.

‘You can’t win by being cheap” she said. “Talk price early and talk price often.”

Julia suggested:

“Position away from price – be different, special, unique.  Make yourself different.”

Linda Hailey agreed:

“Think positive. Don’t chase the volume,  chase the value.  Don’t discount – value add.” Linda said.

Michael Derin, Managing Director of Azure Group summed up:

“Small business is about the customer. Surround yourself with clients who appreciate and will pay you for what you do. Value yourself as a small business owner,” he said.

According to Mike O’Hagen, Founder and Owner of Mini Movers, a company with more than 500 employees and $30 million annual turnover, the outlook for small business looks good.

“In 30 years of business there have never been so many opportunities,” Mike said.

The Summit concluded with a dinner which featured several inspirational small business success stories. My favourites  included Leanne Faulkner, Founder of Billie Goat Soap which after only  five years  has been named as Supplier of the Year to Myer.  A beautifully produced  and packaged product – you can feel the passion in its making.

Also inspiring was John Sharpe, Managing Director of Riverlife, an innovative company based in Brisbane, dedicated to providing “dynamic, fun and heart pumping adventure experiences”  which embrace Brisbane’s culture and history.

Roseanne Anderson, Founder of another success story, Cyber Hair,  reiterated the now familiar theme:

“My business is my passion.”  she said.

We departed with new contacts, knowledge, inspiration and renewed passion – matched only perhaps by David Koch’s amazing energy still evident at 11pm after his 3 am start!

Thanks COSBOA, PinStripe Media and all sponsors and supporters for a great event.

Related References:

The Sydney Writers’ Centre

Flying Solo

From the MyCharity:Water website: "This is Caroline. Beautiful smile, right? She's smiling because she's drinking clean water for the first time. .." Read more by clicking on the picture.

Regular readers of this blog will know I am a huge Seth fan.  And it’s his birthday .. (a special one!). However Seth doesn’t really want to engage in the regular ‘birthday hoopla’ ..  Rather (and in typical Seth fashion) he has given his birthday to MyCharity:Water.

We can make a difference.

Happy Birthday Seth!

Read Seth’s post ‘It’s Not My Birthday‘ here.

Our response to a recent article ‘The Emperor’s New Tweets‘ was published this week in BRW and judged ‘Letter of the Week’.

Download it here:  Remember-the-Customer

What do you think?

Updated:
Further response: Mark Cameron: Twitter ain’t Twaddle in BRW 15 July 2010

Related Posts:
Deloitte. Social Media Rock Stars
Social Media at Deloitte Australia (Webinknow Blog)

Image: Salvatore Vuono, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For businesses, blogs engage  customers, share information, feedback and most importantly, build relationships.  The following provide more information:

The Beautiful Business Benefits of Blogging and The Best Damn Marketing Tool

Blogs are  also a great source of information  to your business.

I recently asked several esteemed colleagues to name their favourite blogs. Their responses with my own favourites are listed below.

Valeria Maltoni, Brand Strategist – Conversation Agent

Valeria Maltoni built one of the first online communities associated with Fast Company magazine.  A brand strategist with 20 years of real world corporate experience, 10 of which online, she’s worked with Fortune 500 and small start up companies in 5 industries. She specializes in taking companies to what’s next in their business cycle through marketing communciations, customer dialogue and brand advocacy.

Valeria’s blog Conversation Agent is ranked among the top 25 marketing blogs in the world on AdAgePower 150 (and is one of our favourites!).

Read more about Valeria Maltoni here.

Valeria Maltoni’s favourite blogs (for SME’s):

Jennifer Frahm, Jennifer Frahm Collaborations

Deloitte Australia. More Grateful Dead than Barry Manilow.

In a connected world, power shifts to those best able to connect.”

Dov Seidman, Ethicist

If likened to musical styles,  some may think of accounting firms more as Barry Manilow than the Grateful Dead!

However I recently heard about the social media activity of Deloitte Australia, a member of the global Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu network and one of the big four accounting firms.  Their activity includes Facebook, Yammer (a type of in-house Twitter), Twitter and YouTube. They’ve achieved  significant results.

It is a remarkable story – and if you’re a larger organisation, it may just get you rockin’ toward social media!

Recognising Opportunity

After a decade of particular turbulence with fairly rapid, consecutive changes in leadership (CEO’s), Deloitte Australia was seeking new strategies.

The firm had identified the consumer shift towards accessing information when, where and how they want, and consumers’  increased use of social media.

Deloitte regard social media as :

… about socialising in communities online – sometimes leading, sometimes connecting and sometimes following … to be where people are and to participate in a way that speaks to them directly.”

Cognisant that many of their stakeholders use social media, they recognised the opportunity:

Companies are ignoring a valuable media communication outlet that targets a generation that has time and money to spend on technology”.

As innovation, relevance and connection are hallmarks of the Deloitte brand, it was a good fit to embrace social media.

Objectives

Increasing brand awareness and engaging their staff to present “an authentic, user generated impression of Deloitte for prospective candidates and clients” are key for the firm.

The Strategy: An Inside Out Approach

To achieve this, Deloitte’s social media strategy implementation was aligned to their ‘inside out ‘ approach to new ideas and innovation.

At the end of 2008, they launched Yammer ( ‘the best inhouse sandpit available’) to shape value and develop a way of being relevant to the firm as a whole.

Initially an in-house social chat room, it soon became the platform upon which problems are posed and solved.  Deloitte has found Yammer a great way to seek input, test ideas and gather feedback quickly. They also state it has been powerful in disseminating information, collaborating on a large scale globally and connecting with undiscovered communities.

More than 50% of Deloitte Australia’s 5000 people have now  signed up and recent statistics show a correlation between retention of staff and the Yammer leader board.

Deloitte says that the tipping point though for Yammer was when their Digital CEO, Peter Williams, called for videos and tag lines for a new advertising campaign, known as the “Green Dot Campaign”.  His call triggered 1000+ new members of Deloitte Australia to join Yammer, the formation of 38 groups and  creation of  1184 original concepts.

Other Initiatives

• Recruitment : “JoinMe@Deloitte”

Deloitte has established a JoinMe@Deloitte Facebook application, which links  the firm’s employee referral program to their employees’ Facebook network.

The idea came through their innovation (ideas) program.

To date more than 25% of Deloitte’s 4,000 employees have added the application to their Facebook profile and almost 3000 (2793) potential referees have viewed the application, generating 150 requests to be referred for hire.

Leveraging employees’ existing networks and mobilising them to act as recruiters makes financial sense for the firm and necessitates a committed, trusting and respectful environment.

• You Tube

At the end of 2008, Deloitte established a dedicated  YouTube channel ,  which to date has generated more than 40,000 video views. (Click on the link to go directly to the channel).

The Results – Harnessing Collective Wisdom

The results have been impressive.  As a firm focussed on innovation, David Redhill, Chief Marketing Officer of Deloitte cites several positive outcomes of their social media activity including:

• Revenue driving new products developed from using the media
• Tangible business improvements resulting from harnessing the collective of wisdom of their people
• Engaging 4500 people in the process of building a marketing strategy;
• They’re now the largest Yammer network in the world
• The blitzing of the competition and grabbing share of media and government mind with their innovative use of Twitter during the last Federal Budget.

Managing Risk

Many businesses contemplating social media activity are nervous about potential risks to their business.  Deloitte has addressed this.

Like  marketing strategist and best selling author David Meerman Scott, who  talks of the need for organisations to ‘lose control’ when spreading ideas and creating world raves,   Deloitte believes in   ‘unleashing energy and not trying to control it’.

The firm has  developed a framework around how it manages social media risk. They’ve defined acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, monitor use and deal with any inappropriate use. Their focus is upon education:

‘The central idea is for people to understand how social media works. Their national social media council has developed guidelines that put focus on education.”

Deloitte’s social media activity internally is supported by two of the firm’s key values – empower and trust.  Employees are counselled about personal and professional responsiblity for both their own and the company’s reputation.

Social Media Rock Stars

Social media as a communications channel is relevant for business if their  stakeholders are online and participating. With 400 million active users on Facebook,  24 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute and an estimated 5-10 thousand Twitter accounts opened per day, it is likely that for  businesses,  many stakeholders are active in this realm.

In addition to being described as ‘rock stars’, Deloitte has established themselves as Web 2.0 thought leaders and as a top employment brand in technology and business.  As they say “not bad for a firm of accountants’!

Rock on Deloitte!

This content is drawn from a presentation by David Redhill, Chief Marketing Officer of Deloitte Australia, provided in May 2010  and their publication: Social Media at Deloitte. Participation, communication, transformation

Update:

Just posted: Read David Meerman Scott’s post from the WebInkNow blog here.

Follow Deloitte on Twitter: @green_dot

Linchpin - Raise The Flag!

Following the great success of Seth Godin’s book Linchpin, more than 5,600 people in 90 countries will attend one of 791 meet ups today. It’s a way of Seth fans to meet and connect in person and to ‘talk, challenge and inspire’.

In honour of today, we feature five of our favourite Seth Godin blog posts. It was hard to choose!

(To  sign up to Seth’s blog click on the link above or on his head below!).

Hope you find the posts as inspiring and informative as we did! Thanks Seth!

Five Favourite  Seth Posts

Breakthroughs and Drips - about delivering consistent benefits over time
Hope & The Magic Lottery - looking after your customers and walking your own path, one step at a time
Cheating The Clock – rethinking the productivity of our work hours

How Big Is Your World? – about Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen – a non profit global fund which uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve global poverty, and her book - The Blue Sweater.

You Matter - some beautiful words of inspiration.

Which is your favourite Seth Godin post?   (Can you choose? )

Related Posts

• Linchpin Raise the Flag Day here.
• Quiet the Lizard Brain – Courage, Creativity & Creating Value – Seth Godin’s Linchpin (Apologies for the ’scrunched’ title on this post .. we’ve had a couple of technical issues due to exploration of the technology which went awry! It is being fixed currently! )
• Preview Seth’s New Book & Assist a Good Cause
• Linchpin is available for purchase here

Here are five marketing questions we’re frequently asked. We hope you find the responses useful!

1. How Can We Market Our Products With Limited Resources?

Resources are always limited for businesses regardless of size, necessitating careful allocation of expenditure for the best possible return. How to market with limited resources?

Read: Clever Cost Effective Marketing Strategy

Why is implementation so important? Picasso said:  Action is the key to foundational success‘. Plans must be implemented or they remain just plans.

Read more in: Marketing Strategy – Just Try It

2. Why Blog?

Web 2.0 has facilitated interactivity never before possible. Blogs (or weblogs) have several benefits for business. Read more here:

The Beautiful Business Benefits of Blogging

To Blog or Not to Blog

3.  Why Social Media?

90% of your sales will come from word of mouth or digital promotion by 2011. How do you change whatyou’re doing today to be ready for that? - Seth Godin, April 20, 2009

Social media has become a powerful additional communications channel for building relationships with customers. Managing Social Media is as easy as 1-2-3!

Read more:   The 1-2-3 of Managing Your Social Media

4. What’s Branding?

A brand is often thought of as a mark or distinguishing element – the company identifier, almost like a personal signature. However this is just one aspect.

A brand represents everything your organization offers.

Read more about branding here:

Your Brand So Much More than Your Logo

Branding Values Vibe & Synchronicity

Romancing The Brand (A discussion of Lovemarks – much loved and respected brands)

5. Can you recommend a great marketing book?

Of course!

Rework by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson

I highly recommend this book written by the two founders of 37 Signals – a trailblazing software company. Rework so nicely complements Seth Godin’s Linchpin and contains the same no nonsense ‘just do it!’ attitude of Tom Peter’s. You can read it in one afternoon and will be inspired afterwards to tackle your best work!

More about Rework here. Rework is available for purchase  here

What is your most important marketing question?

So many books …  so little time!

With 2010 nearly half way over, this week we feature some of our favourite books read so far this year.They provide a great mix of management, marketing and inspiration to apply in your business, and are all highly recommended!

Hope you find them as useful as I did.

Happy reading!

The Little BIG Things by Tom Peters

Tom Peters has been described as the “uber-guru” of management and “the father of the post-modern corporation.”

As a consultant, writer, columnist, seminar lecturer and stage performer—Tom Peters’ energy, style, influence and ideas have shaped new management thinking. Read more about The Little BIG Things here .   (Our post- Business Communication It’s a little BIG thing is included in the ‘Media Sightings’ of The Little BIG Things – page down on the link here )

Linchpin by Seth Godin

Seth Godin’s books brim with inspirational marketing ideas and motivation – and Linchpin is significant in both.

Amongst the themes that Seth explores are the ‘lizard brain’ – that which holds us back from realizing our potential; and the plea for individuals to be true to themselves: work hard, avoid compliance, go above and beyond.

We’ve blogged previously about Linchpin.  You can read our thoughts here: Quiet the Lizard Brain, Linchpin Reflections and Linchpins You Can’t Get Far Without One

The New Rules of Marketing & PR  and World Wide Rave  by David Meerman Scott

OK .. I actually read these last year but refer to them often.

The New Rules of Marketing & PR -How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases,Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, is now in its second edition.

For practical P.R. in the age of Twitter, see…The New Rules of Marketing and PR-The New York Times

Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel

Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business To Everyone.

Six Pixels of Separation integrates digital marketing, social media, personal branding and entrepreneurship with case studies and practical tips for application. Read the Huffington Post Review

Connection Generation by Iggy Pintado

Iggy Pintado is a master of connection. We’re all connected!

Connection Generation reveals how individuals, groups and networks have progressed beyond their intent to communicate to a tangible connection between people, information, experiences and ideas. It proposes that anyone who had access to a computer or mobile device since 1995 – regardless of age – is part of the Connection Generation.

Iggy Pintado is CEO and CNO (Chief Networking Officer) of ConnectGen. Prior to establishing ConnectGen Iggy held executive marketing roles at IBM and Telstra. He is an internationally recognized connection technology practitioner and a dedicated observer of societal and business models and patterns.

Why People Fail by Siimon Reynolds

This book by renowned Australian advertising entrepreneur, Siimon Reynolds, is full of tips and rituals to help confirm and enact your life and work purpose, be more organised, productive and creative .. to name just a few.

.. and next … on the pile!

So what are you reading?

Related Posts:

You Are What You Read

An Escape Velocity Bookshelf – Chris Brogan ( a great list!)

Most books featured here are available at our E Store

Established as a site where anyone can upload and share their videos with the world,YouTube today is a thriving community, attracting more than two billion views daily – nearly double the prime-time audience of all three major U.S. television networks combined.

YouTube has become an increasingly important marketing tool to build customer relationships. It’s also a great resource for businesses.

Here are five of our favourite YouTube videos which we hope you find both interesting and useful.

Tom Peters: On Reading For Success

Tom reminds us that a key to success is reading. Staying informed and developing analytical skills are essential in business today.

“Read wide, read long, read deep” Tom says.

David Meerman Scott: Five Questions

Best selling author, David Meerman Scott, asks five questions at workshops across the world and finds the responses to be remarkably similar, highlighting The New Rules of Marketing & PR

Seth Godin & Tom Peters: On Blogging

Seth and Tom provide their thoughts about the value of blogging. Blogging since 2004, Tom concludes: “It’s the best damn marketing tool I’ve ever had … and it’s free.”

Elizabeth Gilbert: Creativity

Best selling author of ‘Eat Pray Love’, Elizabeth Gilbert, provides inspirational insights into creativity.

The Real Meaning of Success: Deepak Chopra

Providing a service that is needed .. having fun along the way ..these are just a couple of Deepak Chopra’s thoughts about the real meaning of success.  The Real Meaning of Success

Harnessing You Tube

This article provides some great tips to get the most from YouTube.

Top 10 You Tube Tips for Small Businesses

What’s your favourite YouTube?

Update:

Just posted – read (and see) David Meerman Scott in his post: Online Video Rocks As A Global Marketing Channel.

‘The linchpin is an individual who can walk into chaos and create order, someone who can invent, connect, create and make things happen” Seth Godin

We blogged a little while ago about Seth Godin’s Linchpin. (You can read the posts here and here)

Everyone who knows me, knows I am a huge Seth fan. (It’s also probably  fairly evident if you are perusing our blog for the first time!)

I loved this book.

Recently Seth asked those of us who have read Linchpin, to continue to spread the word, and pass our copy to someone who hasn’t yet read it.

I must admit – I can’t do that!! I have a strong attachment to my books (particularly the ones I love) and this is one that I will re-read. However I will happily purchase copies as gifts – so hopefully that will make up for my attachment.

Marketing Linchpin

The marketing of Linchpin was fantastic. It became a NY Times bestseller in less than a week following release – without any paid advertising.

The buzz was caused not only by Seth’s existing fans (like myself) who eagerly pre-ordered their copies but by the enormous amount of blogging and interviews that occurred surrounding the release. Here is a list (which doubles as a brilliant blog list) and Seth’s post.

Strategically, Seth’s existing fans (brand advocates) spread the word to other fans and new customers. This week, Seth wrote about the value of fans compared with the costs of marketing to strangers  in The Circles (No More Strangers).

Cause Related Marketing

Our appetite was also whet when Seth distributed a copy (or chapter if residing out of the US) one month pre release in return for a donation to Acumen – a non profit global venture fund which uses entreprenurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty.  The limited pre release raised US$108,000 for Acumen, which focuses on delivering affordable, critical goods and services – like health, water, housing and energy – through innovative, market-oriented approaches.  We got a taste and helped a good cause in the process.

Click here here to see an interview with Jacqueline Novogratz, Acumen CEO and Linchpin.

Inside cover of Linchpin 1st edition.

Calling All Linchpins!

The buzz continues.

One of three ideas detailed in a new call for linchpins is The Linchpin Vook , a Facebook page  where  people can post videos and stories of their own linchpins.

Linchpin Marketing Lessons for Business

• Harness your existing customers’ passion and advocacy for your brand. These customers will do your marketing for you and spread the word.
• Give something (many things)  of value away. (Seth not only provided the book/chapter early on but has since given other e-books and downloads)
• Tie in with a cause for which you’re passionate. Our businesses are just one aspect of a bigger community.
• Say thank you sincerely and often.

Linchpin Extras

Linchpin was published without an index.  Josh Bernoff, another fan, kindly organised one!  Here it is!

Another great discovery from reading Linchpin was the art of Hugh Macleod - Gaping Void . Here is an interview Hugh did with Seth.

So .. if you haven’t read Linchpin yet .. go do it!   It could be the difference in creating and realizing your dreams in 2010!

Thanks to Robin Dickinson who asked if I read the book and inspired this post!

You can purchase Linchpin at our E Store.


Related Posts

Preview Seth’s New Book & Assist A Good Cause
Quiet The Lizard Brain – Courage, Creativity & Creating Value – Seth Godin’s Linchpin
Linchpin Reflections
You Are What You Read
Developing Talent Through Personal Branding

* Title from Linchpin – p49

Lovemarks. ‘We will always LOVE you.’

Trademarks were products that learned to crawl; brands are trademarks that learnt to walk upright. What’s next in the evolutionary chain? Lovemarks: brands that soar. How to give them wings?  There’s nothing as elevating as love.” - Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi

I’ve recently become romantically involved!  Not with a person (I’m very happily married) but with an idea. It’s called Lovemarks, and it’s the the work of Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi.

Much is  written about branding.   It’s everything a company does, represented  by the ‘name, term, sign, symbol or combination thereof ‘,  identifying and differentiating  products and services.  Lovemarks takes this concept so much further.

What are Lovemarks?

According to Roberts: “Lovemarks are those brands built on respect which make emotional connections and suffused with the most powerful emotion of all – love.”

Connecting with customers emotionally and forging long term relationships with them will amount to increased business.

As Kevin says: “ It’s the ultimate premium profit generator . … it’s about selling more at higher prices more frequently to more people because you have exclusive relationships with them based not only on trust and respect, but on that most powerful of emotions – Love.”

The Love/Respect Quadrant

Since 2000, Kevin has been using the ‘Love Respect’ quadrant , a perceptual map positioning  Fads, Products, Brands and Lovemarks according to their levels of Love and Respect.

Fads are depicted as high love and low respect; Products – low love, low respect; whilst Brands fall into the ‘low love, high respect’ quadrant and Lovemarks: ‘ high love, high respect’ .

What Makes a Lovemark?

The characteristics of  a Lovemark can be correlated to those of  an enduring personal love. The relationship is between the brand and the customer.

For me, great personal love is underpinned not only by respect, but also care, commitment, interest to the success of the other person and trust.

A Lovemark brand shares these qualities in its customer relationships.   Our brands become Lovemarks when we inject this type of love into what we do.

The Transition to Lovemarks

Commitment to customer satisfaction, constantly striving to innovate and shape our services to our customer needs and communicating in a way which resonates with customers,  combine to demonstrate a brand’s love for its customers.

The vigour with which this is done could be called passion –  described by Tom Peters as  ‘enthusiastic fixation’ (or ‘obsession’). Perhaps Lovemark brands are enthusiastically fixated upon the care and satisfaction of customers. The passion and care of our brands is matched only by the passion and care of our customers. Perhaps it is passion reflected by a brand’s energy  and commitment to consistency which keeps the customer love light burning.

And like any great love, perhaps this feeling cannot be forced. To be true, love must be mutual – only shared if both parties are interested in partaking.

7 Questions: How to Romance Your Brand & Transform to a Lovemark

Assess the following. Ask your customers their perceptions – as it will be their perceptions which ultimately transforms your brand into a Lovemark.

• How much love goes into your brand? Are you nurturing it, committed to it’s growth and success?
• How much do you care about satisfying your customers?
• Are you passionate about shaping your products/services to  your customers needs?
• Are you looking for new ways to satisfy your customers’ needs – enhancing your customer relationships?
• Do you care as much about your brand as you do of our customers?
• Are you committed to the long term welfare of your customers?
• If you answered yes, to all of the above – do you communicate this passion and commitment to your customers in a way that connects with them?

Lovemarks are Linchpins?

In Seth Godin’s terminology, perhaps Lovemarks are Linchpins – indispensable brands that delight and challenge; that are passionate, believe in themselves, are honest, trustworthy and most importantly, connect with their customers.

Favourite Lovemarks

Here are the Top 200 Lovemarks. (Vegemite is #26!)

Amongst my favourites, is anything by Baz Lurhmann for the consistency, passion and care in creation and nurture.

As Nicole Kidman sings “How wonderful life is with you in the world”. Perhaps, that’s how we feel about Lovemarks.

What do you think?

Further Information & Official Websites:

The Story Behind Lovemarks
Lovemarks The Future Beyond Brands

Related Posts

Your Brand: So Much More Than Your Logo

Branding Values Vibe & Synchronicity

Branding Innovate don’t Imitate

The problem with communication … is the illusion that it has been accomplished. – George Bernard Shaw

From Metroactive.com - 'A Talking Heads album cover that never was' by Anita Kunz

In our recent post Business Communication. It’s A Little BIG Thing. It’s Everything. we talked of  David Meerman Scott’s research into ‘gobbledygook’ – those frequently used but meaningless, nonsensical words.

In conjunction with Hubspot, David has created a Gobbledygook Grader, which evaluates written content (press release, brochure copy, etc.) checking for use of gobbledygook, jargon, cliches and over-used, hype-filled words. Run your content through the grader and you will receive a grade together with a full report. (Click on the link to connect to the site).

It’s a great tool to check and eliminate  those words and phrases which have crept into our communication .. the Gobbledygook which holds little meaning for our intended audience.   The site also provides some handy links to other useful resources.

As we’ve said before (but it’s worth repeating): simple and clear business communication – it’s a little BIG thing – it’s everything. (Thanks Tom Peters!)

Resources

David Meerman’s Scott Gobbledyook Manifesto is available for download here and here.

The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott and

The Little BIG Things by Tom Peters are available here.

Related Posts (retaining a customer focus)

Business Marketing Insight: Peter Drucker 100 years On

5 Benefits of Being Design (Customer) Focused

This post really started out as a re-post of the snippet we featured nearly a year ago.  In it,  Seth Godin and Tom Peters talk of the personal and business benefits of blogging;   the formulation and expression of thoughts enabling conversations.  If you missed it –  here it is again:

Why Blog?

If you are contemplating a blog for your business – the following post details some other benefits.

It is likely your customers are reading and participating in  blogs. For business, blogging is  a means of engaging your customers, sharing information and feedback, and most importantly, building relationships.

In his best selling book ,  The New Rules of Marketing & PR, marketing strategist, author and conference speaker, David Meerman Scott describes blogging as ‘his front door’ and ‘his most important marketing and PR tool’.

Debbie Weil, corporate blogging expert, and author of the bestselling The Corporate Blogging Book says blogging, as part of social media marketing:

‘…creates long-term value  for your customers that ultimately drives sales.’

Great Corporate Blogs

The following are just a few examples of engaging corporate blogs:

McDonalds (Open Discussion Blog)

Richard Edelman (Edelman PR)

Alan Meckler (Web Media Brands) (A summary of his microblogs)

Bob Parsons (Go Daddy) (A video blog)

How to Blog?

Blogging can be integrated into your business’s marketing communication strategy. Establish objectives, confirm your target audience then put together a blogging plan setting out potential topics, information to share and frequency of posts. The tone of your blog should reflect the personality of your company/brand.

To assist, Debbie  shares two excellent e-books which you can download here: 7 Blog Tips and  Beginner’s_Guide_To Business_Blogging

If you are looking for tips and information about any aspect of blogging Problogger provides an absolute wealth of information. Problogger is fellow Aussie Darren Rowse who has been blogging since 2001. His site is dedicated to helping other bloggers learn the skills of blogging, share their own experiences and promote the blogging medium and contains more than 3500 articles, tips, tutorials and case studies.

And if you need help in your writing (don’t we all!) Copyblogger provides a wealth of online copy and content resources.

If Shakespeare had blogged ..

So imagine if Shakespeare had blogged.  Think of  the writing – the sneak previews to poems, plays and sonnets. In spreading his ideas  -  am sure he’d agree with Tom Peters and believe blogging is:  ‘ the best damn marketing tool’ he’s ever had.  What do you think?

The Little BIG Things by Tom Peters, Linchpin by Seth Godin, The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott and  The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil are  available  here .

Related Posts:

The Beautiful Benefits of Business Blogging

What is Your Online Marketing Strategy?

The 1-2-3 of Managing Your Social Media – A Beginner’s Guide

In Memory of Netscape – The Transformation of Business Marketing

Some Linkedin Lovin’

Social Media For Good – Businesses Making A Difference Using Social Media 12for12K

(‘Words are all we have ..’)

It might seem odd to talk of the Bee Gees and  Tom Peters in the same sentence.   You see, I’m  currently reading (and loving) Tom’s new book  The Little BIG Things! and he has me reflecting upon communication.

Tom’s communication style is straightforward. He uses simple language and presents his thoughts in different typefaces, font sizes and  with lots of exclamation points. (!!!) You feel his passion.

His  communication style not only makes for pleasurable reading but enhances the uptake of his messages. He is adept at the essence of communication – able to share meaning and establish ‘a commonness or oneness of thought’ between himself as the sender and his reader.

As a marketer whose business relies on ensuring shared meaning with my customers and between my customers’ customers, I’ve  become even more conscious recently of avoiding jargon in my communication.  It’s an ongoing process. After all,  what is the point  if we cannot convey what we do, and the benefits of our products/services to our customers? Understanding our buyers’ problems and then communicating how we can solve them in language that is understood is sound marketing strategy.

I was reminded again of this in reading The Little Big Things. In a ‘Special Section’, Tom lists Guru Gaffes (GF) and  Real World (RW) responses. The following is the GF/RW relating to communication:

‘GF:  Imposing words-phrases such as ‘business models’, ’scalable’, ’strategic talent management’, ‘customer retention management’ and ‘knowledge management paradigm’.

RW: Most of us try to use everyday language such as ‘the way we make a buck’ (instead of ‘business model’, ‘let’s grow this sucker’ (not ‘is it scalable?’), ‘hire good people and treat ‘em well and give ‘em a chance to shine and thank ‘em for the stuff they do’ (rather than ’strategic talent management’), ‘bust our asses to keep our customers happy and keep ‘em coming back’ (instead of ‘customer retention management’) and ’share the stuff you learn with everybody ASAP, don’t hoard it’ (rather than ‘executing a knowledge management paradigm’).

Are you using ‘gobbledygook’?

Another favourite author,  David Meerman Scott , is also passionate about clear communication. David calls it  communication without the ‘gobbledygook’ – those words and phrases which are meaningless and nonsensical.

In 2006,  David  undertook an analysis to see how many of these words are being used. At least one in five of the 388,000 news releases collected over a nine month period contained one of the gobbledygook phrases. Whilst the phrase ‘next generation’ won out as the most frequently used ‘gobbledygook’phrase with 9895 uses, others which were popularly overused included flexible, scalable, cutting edge and groundbreaking.

David updated the research in 2007, and despite a marked increase in the number of releases studied (13%), there was only a slight decline in gobbledygook free items.

You can read David’s posts here and here.   To download ‘The Gobbledygook Manifesto‘ just click on the image above. (It’s also available here).

A Gobbledygook Free Zone

In transcending gobbledygook, David advocates ‘communication to convince’: simple language with proof, telling our buyers how we can solve a particular problem.

Conversation Agent, Valeria Maltoni reiterated these thoughts in her recent post Put it Into Plain Words. She includes the TED talk of branding expert Alan Siegel, who urges clear communication via simplicity, transparency and empathy. This he says will  build humanity into our communication. Clarity he concludes should become a national priority.

Not Just Words

Although the Bee Gees claimed that words were all they had – in marketing we have much more. Everything we do provides a message to our buyers –  whether it is the way we present our products, the price we set or where we decide to place our products for sale. The communication extends beyond the  the words we use in promotion.

To design, price and place products/services which solve buyers’ problems and then to convey in simple language how these assist them, is surely effective marketing and good for sales.  To do this though we need to really know and understand our customers and their needs, the media to which they are exposed and the language they use.

Simple is best. In business communication – it’s  a little BIG Thing. Perhaps in business and in life – it’s everything.

What do you think?

5 Steps to RW (GG Free) Business Communication

1. Audit all communications

2. Ask your customers if they understand what you are trying to say

3. Seek to establish meaning

4. Delete all gobbledygook words

5. Replace using the language of your customers

The Little Big Things is available for purchase here.

UPDATE:

WOW!!!! Judging from the fantastic feedback and comments (thank you!) this post has proved topical. Sure enough the following appeared today from Nigel Marsh, Group CEO, Y&R Brands and wonderful, best selling author. (Loved ‘Fat, Forty & Fired!’)  Read Nigel’s post ‘The Nightmare of Complexity’ here.

Here is a link to Nigel’s website to purchase his books.

“Speak to be understood” - Love’s Labour’s Lost (V.ii)

Related posts

I Love A Good Audit

Spring Clean Your Marketing – Let’s Audit

Shaping Products to Suit Customer Needs

The Perils of Ignoring Your Customers

Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.  Henry Clay  in Tom Peters – The Little Big Things

I received a nice surprise the other day. A lovely thank you letter and Certificate of Appreciation arrived  from  The Australian Businesswomen’s Network (ABN). It was unexpected. I’d recently provided  a marketing presentation for the Network and  was grateful for the opportunity to talk with  my ABN colleagues. Appreciative of  the significant support the ABN provides women business owners, I really felt no thank yous were necessary. However I was touched by the gesture; and reminded how powerful is this simple action in customer relationship management..

In strategy marketing terms, a  ’thank you’ not only expresses an organisation’s gratitude to  customers for their business, it  is also helpful  in managing customers’ post purchase behaviour .  Thanking customers and  inviting feedback creates a dialogue  and an opportunity for the organization to  learn of and fix any problems that might have arisen after purchase.

Saying ‘thank you’ can also help  allay  ’cognitive dissonance’ : a customer’s state of wondering about the correctness of their purchase decision.  Typically, dissonance increases with purchase price and risk, and can be minimised by reassuring customers post purchase,  that they have made a good choice. This can be done via a personal call or in writing and begins by thanking the customer.

Managing customer post purchase behaviour is a significant opportunity for marketers seeking satisfied customers and ultimately customer retention.  Commitment to customer satisfaction and value creation by implementing processes such as post purchase behaviour management, will result in customer retention, repeat business and referrals to new business.

It is also prudent, cost effective marketing strategy, with studies showing that it costs five times more to find a new customer than to retain an existing one.

Such is the power of  ’thank you’.

Here are five quick tips to harness the power of ‘thank you’:

1.  Audit your processes to identify if, when and how often you say ‘thank you’ to your customers.

2.  If in a retail environment, and purchase is associated with minimal risk and low price – build in thank you’s to the transaction – and take the opportunity to say thank you to customers in your regular newsletter to your database.

3. If purchase involves higher risk and price, schedule post purchase contact after completion of every purchase.

4. Ensure all contact facilitates an opportunity for the customer to provide feedback about the product/service.

5. Act to resolve any issues arising from  feedback promptly.

A last word on ‘thank you’.

In his latest book,  Tom Peters, management author, consultant and also  ’unrepentant engineer’ with a great love of  mathematical and/or algebraic representations, provides a series of equations to boost odds of success of implementation of ‘damn near anything’. Here is the equation relating to ‘thank you’.

Success at GTD/Getting Things Done is a Function of:

S=f (#TY,  #TNT)

number of ‘thank yous’  today, number of thank-you notes sent today

The Little Big Things by Tom Peters is available for purchase here.

Reading. Not only great for new ideas and innovation but a fantastic excuse to find a brilliant book case. This from Lago, Italy.

I’m sure someone far more notable than me said that!

It has been going around in my head a lot over the last few days, particularly as I spy the growing pile of books by the side of my bed and the increasing number that have been downloaded digitally on the Kindle!

For me, it’s  exciting to have so many new ideas at the ready, to learn and be inspired to try new ways of doing things.

(And, as you can see, reading is also very handy for stimulating new ideas for blog posts as Brian Clark at Copyblogger and Darren Rowse at Problogger testify.)

This week, in our StratEgy newsletter, we mentioned the impact of reading on your Personal Brand Equity (PBE), a term used by Tom Peters, one of the most listened to and inspiring business thinkers of our time, in his 1997 book –  ’The Circle of Innovation’

Exposure to new ideas, learning and the inspiration to actually implement or apply new insights, not only enhances your PBE but also provides your business with new energy and no doubt efficiencies.   Reading strengthens ‘Brand U’ (another Tom Peters term) whether that brand is your own personal brand or that of your business.

So this is what I’m reading at the moment: Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel. Am just loving it. It summarises much information about connection and business, confirms some of what I already know and provides new tips.

In a recent post,  about Social Media Marketing Mitch provides a great reading list .

Seth Godin has been providing great reading lists for some time. Here are a few:

Seth’s Spring Reading List

Another Seth List

Recommended

Many of the books are available in our E Store

So here’s to new ideas, learning and inspiration.

Happy Reading! I’m off to investigate a speed reading course …

Update. Just came across this great review of Rework by Jason Fried and  and David Heinmeier Hanson. Another one for the list!

When I started my business not quite two years ago, many of  Seth’s blogs felt as though he was speaking directly to me.  Some of my favourites include:  Breakthrough’s and Drips (about delivering consistent benefits over time);  The Marketer’s Attitude (detailing desirable traits of marketers),  What Marketers Actually Sell and Lonely, Scared & Bitter . These were just some of the posts which  provided much inspiration and motivation in those early days,  and Seth’s Blog continues to do so.   For me, Linchpin extends that.

‘Our work is our art‘

In Linchpin Seth likens our work to that of an artist. As an amateur and frequently frustrated artist I loved this analogy – the rawness, frustration and creativity involved in the pursuit of our own idea of perfection. Seth asserts our work is our art. The more we put into it – emotional work – the better the results.

‘Transcend the job description’

Seth inspires us not to be average but to be the best we can be.

Perhaps by having my own business it is easier to express this, but he makes it clear no matter what working environment you are in, you can do this.  Transcend the job description.

‘Beware the Lizard Brain’

I have posted previously about the lizard brain: that which holds us back from our best work, stopping us from becoming true artists.

Linchpin is also a plea for individuals to be true to themselves: work hard, don’t be compliant, go above and beyond:

‘Sing in your voice. Draw your own map. Make your own systems’.

In Linchpin, I feel Seth is like a coach:  motivating, nudging and inspiring us to do our best work.

I loved this book and will read it again.  Look forward to finding a book group in which  I can enjoy dissecting it with others.

Thanks Seth.

If you are interested in purchasing Linchpin, it’s available at our EStore.

WOW!

How fantastic it was to attend the inaugural TEDx Brisbane event on Saturday.  I knew something of TED, but had no expectations except that the day was sure to be interesting.

Interesting it was.  Also:  Inspirational. Thought provoking.  Exciting.  Emotional

With the theme ‘All you need is’ ..’  ..to see’ ..’,    to listen’..,  ‘to dream’ and ‘to act’, twelve speakers each presented for 18 minutes – except for Nigel Brennan, the final speaker, for whom the clock was switched off.

Nigel received a standing ovation at one of his first public engagements since being released from Somalia only 100 days ago.

In addition to the twelve we heard  a number of ‘brain bursts’, 3 minute concise and thought provoking snippets, on a range of topics.

Inspiration

Several recorded TED talks were featured . My favourites were by best selling author (‘Eat, Pray, Love)  Elizabeth Gilbert who spoke on creative genius and UK Prime Minister,  Gordon Brown who spoke passionately about marrying morality to the world’s new interconnectedness. Foreign policy, he says, is  now consumer driven, with new media making it so easy for consumers to comment.   The New Rules of Marketing & PR apply to modern day foreign policy too it seems.

Dr Joel Gilmore, Physicist provided a balanced account of climate change policy and nuclear energy, calling for more discussion, not political debate.

Creativity

As a marketer I was excited by the creativity and innovation of Designer Kevin Finn,  publisher of the Open Manifesto, who left the high powered corporate advertising world of Saatchi’s to live in Kununurra, a remote area of the Kimberleys in Western Australia. Kevin spoke of using the land’s red dirt as the visual language for some of his design work there. The dirt represented the Indigineous relationship with the land and a motif of the rich resources of the mining companies.  Kevin had the unenviable job of kicking off the day’s presentations .. but his talk, creative work and Irish sense of humour were a perfect start to the day.

On the design – creativity and innovation side – further inspiration  was furnished by Hamish Cairns, photographer, who provided a 3 minute insight into some of his photo journalism adventures in Northern Pakistan. Hamish spoke of his current pursuit of growing a  long beard which will compliment the flowing robe which he must wear when he returns to the area.  His photos are beautiful.

Sheldon Lieberman of Bigfish.tv, was wonderful – so funny, unique and creative, whilst Anthea Edam provided haunting poetry and Michael Doneman told us about developing the ’seeing muscle’.

Overwhelming Need

It was also a day which reminded of the tremendous problems which exist in our society. Dr Chris Sarra, Executive Director of the Stronger Smarter Institute spoke of the importance of providing positive messages to all young children whilst Bronwyn Sheehan, mother of three, recounted statistics and stories of the liberating power of literacy and how the Pyjama Foundation she established five years ago, has helped change so many lives through reading to foster children.

Friends & Food

Old friendships were discovered and new ones commenced. Yummy food provided by Food Connect, a social business which works with farmers surrounding Brisbane.

What does all this have to do with marketing strategy?

Design, creativity and innovation are probably most closely associated with the main theme of this blog.  However TEDx provided so much food for thought, information on topics previously not studied, a vehicle to open our minds, to  challenge, think and appreciate other situations and lives.

Personally,  I can’t wait until the next one. If you get the chance to attend TED or a TEDx event near where you live, don’t miss it!

Businesses not yet online are missing opportunities to grow. Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Many businesses are yet to embrace today’s technology and shape their marketing strategies to suit their customers’ behaviour.  In Australia, despite increasing internet usage, approximately 50% of small businesses still do not have a website and it would seem no online marketing strategy.

Technology has given every business access to a global market. The number of internet users globally is huge as a  recent post on  Mashable detailed.  As of September 2009, there were:

1.73 billion Internet users worldwide;

1.4 billion e-mail users worldwide who collectively send on average 247 billion emails per day, 200 billion of which were spam.   In December 2009, there were 234 million websites

Social Media

The same report advised that Facebook receives 260 billion pageviews per month, which is  equivalent to 6 million page views per minute; and that the  number of  Facebook users now exceed 400 million. Twitter users are tweeting more than  50 million tweets per day whilst You Tube viewers are watching 1 billion videos per day.

Online Downunder

In Australia, more households than ever before (nearly 6 million) are now connected to the internet. We’re also conducting more online searches. In December last year, 8 million Australians visited a retail site.  We’re spending more online:  IBIS World estimates that Australian online shopping revenue will increase by 5% to nearly $20 billion in 2010.

For businesses,  web absence means missed sales and opportunities to build relationships, as both existing and potential customers are online.

How can businesses tap into this opportunity?

1) Identify how your customers are using the technology and then customise your marketing strategy accordingly.

2) Create a website.  It really is the centre piece of cost effective marketing these days and  need not be expensive.

3) Optimise.  Research keywords that your customers are searching on and include these in your web copy.

4) Go where your customers are. Join the conversation in social media. Build your community – your own ‘tribe’. Interact, engage and listen.  If your customers are women 35 years+, who happen to be the fastest growing demongraphic user of Facebook,  a Facebook Business page is a natural next step. And it’s free.

Leveraging the technology is a cost effective marketing strategy; which offers significant benefits.   Customers will do your marketing for you. As brand advocates, they will spread the word via word of mouth,  decreasing  marketing expenditure  required. Your strengthened brand will attract new customers as well as reinforce relationships with existing ones.

As marketing author Seth Godin says:

‘.. the future belongs to marketers who establish a foundation and process where interested people can market to each other. Ignite consumer networks and then get out of the way and let them talk

Don’t delay any longer.   If you need any help with getting online or you’d like to discuss current marketing strategies – please contact us.  We’d love to assist.

Related Posts:
The Beautiful Business Benefits of Blogging
The 1-2-3 of Managing Your Social Media – A Beginner’s Guide
In Memory of Netscape – The Transformation of Business Marketing
Some Linkedin Lovin’
Social Media For Good – Businesses Making A Difference Using Social Media 12for12K

Vision will ensure a good landing. Photo Credit: snowboarding.com

Whilst watching the Winter Olympics  over the weekend, we couldn’t help but comment on the number of athletes competing after recovery from serious injuries. Traumas  included cracked sternums, dislocated shoulders, dislocated knees, concussion,  broken ankles … the list goes on.

It makes the achievements of these athletes even more awesome and reminds again that fulfilling the dream can be  a long and sometimes arduous journey.

In the face of obstacles such as serious injuries  these athletes stayed true to their vision of participating  in an Olympic games.  For businesses experiencing difficult times, returning to your  values and vision  can help renew strength, focus  and commitment.  As a foundation to all business activities, values and vision  align focus of energy and resources,  and therefore facilitate   cost effective business and marketing strategies.

As business owners,  during the periods of  wondering what we are doing and our reasons for doing it, values and vision can help get us through the challenging times and onto the next stage.  Like these amazing athletes.

Has knowing your values and having a vision helped you in your business?  I’d love to hear.

Update: The examples and inspiration keep on coming …!  Was interested to hear that Tessa Virtue, one half of the gold medal winning ice dancing duo, missed most of the 2008/2009 season due to surgery to relieve exercise induced chronic shin pain. Her partner, Scott Moir, continued to train maintaining strength by substituting a sand bag and weighted exercise balls  for his  partner. It was the first time that Canada won the Olympic ice dancing event – and only the third time in history that the win was achieved by  any other than a Russian or Soviet couple. Virtue and Moir held the dream and kept their vision!

Resilience and focus on the vision. Congratulations Torah Bright! (Photo: www.coomaexpress.com.au)

Where there is no vision, people perish –  Proverbs 29:18

What is your business vision?

What does your business stand for? What is its vision?   Its mission?

Values, vision and mission are the foundations of a business,  and a  reference  for alignment of business activity with  the desired organizational direction.  Avoiding activities which are  not in accord with the agreed direction of the business results in a focused business and cost effective marketing strategy.

Values underpin everything an organisation does and can guide a business through difficult situations and tough decisions. From a marketing strategy perspective, it is also important that brand values are aligned with those of the parent business.

The vision statement for an organisation announces to customers and staff where it is  heading and what it wishes  to become.  It’s  future focused and motivational.  An organisation’s mission statement reflects more of what the business wishes to achieve on a daily basis.

The large and successful corporate businesses with whom I have worked, as well as those smaller businesses just starting out, have benefited significantly from investing time early  in the business  planning phase  to articulate these statements.

Like any aspect of planning however, the values, vision and mission need to be firmly embedded into the culture of the business and  enacted  in its daily operations.  The statements mean little if they remain  just words within a document or on a business card.

Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers wrote the following about Vision in Seth Godin’s ‘What Matters Now’. He talks of how a vision connects employees to a larger story and how leadership is critical to both:

Vision is the lifeblood of any organization. It is what keeps it moving forward. It provides meaning to the day-to-day challenges and setback that make up the rumble and tumble of real life.

In a down economy – particularly one that has taken most of us by surprise – things get very tactical. We are just trying to survive. What worked yesterday does not necessarily work today. What works today may not necessarily work tomorrow. Decisions become pragmatic.

But after a while this wears on people. They don’t know why their efforts matter. They cannot connect their actions to a larger story. Their work becomes a matter of just going through the motions, living from weekend to weekend, paycheck to paycheck.

This is where great leadership makes all the difference. Leadership is more than influence.  It is about reminding people of what it is we are trying to build – and why it matters. It is about painting a picture of a better future. It comes down to pointing the way and saying,  “C’mon. We can do this!’.  When times are tough, vision is the first casualty. Before conditons can improve, it is the first thing we must recover.’

If you’d like assistance in revisiting your values, vision or mission as a precursor to strategy formulation – please call or Email Us.

Image: djcodrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How healthy is your marketing? A Marketing Health Check is the first step to cost effective marketing. Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Cost effective marketing strategy is important for all businesses, large and small.   Resources are always limited, requiring careful allocation of expenditure to provide the best possible return.

Cost effective marketing strategy:

• makes best use of resources
• is focused upon a clear direction
• is targeted
• leverages 21st century technology

How to Market Cost Effectively?

Take a health check!

For established businesses  already conducting marketing  activity – a good starting point is a marketing audit. We call it the ‘Marketing Health Check’.

As we’ve previously blogged, ( ‘Spring Clean Your Marketing – Let’s Audit’ , ‘I Love A Good Audit’)  an audit provides  insights into the effectiveness of  current marketing strategies. The findings can then be used to help shape the new marketing program.

An audit  identifies successful marketing activities and those that didn’t work;  the customer groups generating the majority of  income as well as the most profitable products.

Your Ultimate Cost Effective Marketing Tool

For new businesses and others that don’t have one – the most effective marketing tool is a marketing plan. Plans don’t need to be cumbersome and can be summarized in one page. The consideration a plan gives to your market, customers and products ensures the resulting marketing strategy is tight and targeted, avoiding wasted expenditure on ill targeted or mistimed activities.

Our next post will discuss some other aspects of cost effective marketing.

In the meantime – what are your thoughts about cost effective marketing?  We’d love to hear.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Whether you are a small business or larger corporate,  the need to drive every marketing dollar in your marketing strategy is equally important.

We firmly believe great marketing does not have to be expensive.  Cost effective business and marketing strategies are  even easier with today’s technology.

In the next few blog posts, I’ll summarise some of the key points of a strategy marketing presentation I gave last year entitled  ’20 Tips to Cost Effective Marketing’.

I hope you find it useful in your marketing planning.

‘We envision a day in the near future when companies that don’t blog will be held suspect to some degree, with people wondering whether those companies have something to hide or whether the owners are worried about what the people who work for them have to say’

- Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, Naked  Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk With Customers

Blogging for Business. Fish where the fish are. Photo Credit: Xalamay http://www.flickr.com/photos/xalamay/

I was asked recently about the value to business of blogging. In this era of interactive technology enabled by Web 2.0, blogs or web logs have become increasingly popular.  The benefits are many.  Here are just three:

Customers eMarketer reports that in 2009,  96.6 million US Internet users, representing 48.5% of the population, read a blog at least once per month. In 2013, it is anticipated that this number will grow to 128.2 million people, or 58% of all US users.

The number of bloggers is also rising. In 2009, 27.9 million US Internet users have a blog they update at least once per month, representing 14% of the Internet population. By 2013, 37.6 million will update their blogs at least monthly.

With so many people reading or actually writing blogs – it is likely your customers are too.

In a recent article, inbound marketing software company,  HubSpot customers revealed ‘that businesses that blog witness their monthly leads rise by 126% more than those who don’t.’

Communication A blog provides the means to listen to and engage with your customers. A business can test ideas, undertake research or gather opinions about its product/service. Marketer and author David Meerman Scott credits his best selling book ‘The New Rules of Marketing & PR’ (now in its second edition) as a result of a single blog post and the refinement of ideas following feedback received via his blog.

Search Engines Love Blogs Regular blogs provide fresh  content for your website which helps its ranking in search engines.

I’ll leave the last word on blogging to Seth Godin, who writes the world’s most popular marketing blog and Tom Peters: Management Consultant, Writer, Lecturer  and  co-author of the seminal ‘In Search of Excellence’  in a clip we posted last year.    So Get Blogging!

In Linchpin, we’re again made to think, whilst also being inspired.  If you need any further ‘firing up’ for your activities this year – I recommend getting hold of this book.

The book’s marketing has been interesting.  Seth shared  via his community – rather than the traditional means of book promotions – ie print, radio, tv advertising and publicity.

Judging from the number of people now talking about Linchpin, including the significant number of other marketers and writers who have interviewed Seth,  the ‘New Rules’ marketing approach has worked.   Linchpin is set to become an instant bestseller.

Linchpin’s  messages  are profound.  From reading and listening to several interview transcripts, the following ideas  personally resonate:

1. Lizard brain – a concept  which  as David Meerman Scott posts,   is at the core of our resistance to do meaningful work.  My understanding:  it’s what holds us back from realizing our potential – doing what we want to do  which might be contrary to the ‘norm’ .  The lizard brain,  according to Seth prevents us from  from being ‘artists’.

2. Seth’s analogy of artists:   Art is the  ’act of bringing humanity and connection to somebody else’  .. not following rules but ‘your gut and soul’. Its about creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo.  In a recent blog post continuing the theme Seth wrote: ’Art is what we are doing when we do our best work ‘ from Making Art

Here are a couple of the Seth Godin Linchpin interviews.  A full list is here and Seth’s blog post- here .  The list doubles as a convenient summary of  great blogs to read.

As the end of the first month of a new year approaches,  I hope you draw inspiration for the remainder of 2010 from this book. Enjoy!

David Meerman Scott interviews Seth Godin from David Meerman Scott on Vimeo.

John Jantsch’s Interview with Seth Godin

You can order your copy of Seth’s new book here.

Create raving fans with customer focused product design.

Great design delights customers.

It also provides significant benefits to business. Design differentiates a product in a competitive market, enhances the brand, generates customer loyalty and reduces the marketing budget.

How?

By being customer focused.

The best (most successful) products are designed to suit the customer.  They  are shaped  from a commitment to understand customer needs, behaviour and enhance their overall experience.

Commitment,  innovation and creativity  enhance  the brand,  reinforce loyalty and create brand advocacy amongst customers.  Customers become ‘raving fans’ who via word of mouth will do much of the marketing for the business, which means less  budget is required.

For mature products, re-design can breathe new life (sales and profits) into a product.   Adding new features, attributes or presenting the product in a different way, kicks off a new cycle returning the mature product to growth.

Here are five benefits of customer focused design:

1. Differentiates a product amongst competitors
2. Enhances brand – (from product functionality, innovation, creativity and customer commitment perspectives)
3. For mature products, re design can extend product life, returning it to growth, increasing sales and ultimately profits
4. Build loyalty and brand advocacy by converting customers to  ‘raving fans’
5. Decreases long term marketing expenditure

3 Ways to  Re-design

Are there ways of shaping your product/service to better suit your customers’ needs?  Here are three ways to approach a redesign.

1. Integrate product or service re-design  into the existing continued improvement processes of your business.
2. Find out what customers are wanting and what they think of your products/services. Ask them and listen. Social media platforms particularly make this easy to do.
3. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Be a customer of your own product/service for further ideas.

Great, customer focused design is exciting. It combines creativity,  innovation and the potential  to really satisfy your customer needs.

Last week’s BRW showcased several entrants in the Australian International Design Awards.

Our favourite is the Berocca®  Twist n Go.

This new product drops the fizzy tablet into the water as the package is opened.  No need to go searching for water when you are in need of a Berocca®!

Great for customers and new  opportunities for the company with the product now included in the cold drinks cabinet – rather than just the medicine/vitamins section of the supermarket. The article reported that Sports waters account for 8% of Australia’s $1 billion bottled water industry; and sales for Berocca’s new product have already exceeded predictions by 10%.

Love your customers by engaging with them and they will become your best advocates.

Image: graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Unsure of the best way to promote your business to achieve business growth?

It can be complex.

Firstly understanding your market, product or service and customers will ensure selection of the promotional tools most suitable for your target audience.

Within the decision making criteria, the modern day marketing catch cry:  ‘Stop Interrupting!’ is proving key.

What does this mean?

Marketing is no longer about broadcasting messages ‘at’ customers in an interruptive, one way fashion.  Enabled by web 2.0, successful businesses are engaging customers via social media and other e-communications in a dialogue or conversation. These companies are  also listening, really listening to them.

New Research

A recent study by social research company, Colmar Brunton[1] highlights the  changing media landscape and the wane  of  the ‘interruption’ style of marketing.

Interruptive, Irritating & Informative

Amongst the findings were:

Web pop-ups (35%) and TV advertising (31%) were found to be the most interruptive media, with both also regarded as the most irritating. (Web pop’s (65%) web pop-ups and 43% TV advertising.)

One in five people considered radio boring (the highest percentage  for any of the advertising platforms).  21% also regarded it interuptive.  However 19% found it informative.

Considered traditionally as a medium of intimacy, the radio results   could possibly reflect the type and style of ad’s

So, how can customer engagement grow your business?

The benefits of customer engagement are significant.

Strong Relationships = Less Marketing

Most importantly, customer engagement forges the creation of strong relationships with customers.  Strong relationships mean increased customer loyalty, repeat business and referrals. Less marketing expenditure is then required to acquire new customers.

Great for the Brand

Customer engagement is also good for the brand. Instead of   fuelling  negativity from irritating, interruptive communication to customers, positive goodwill towards the brand and positive word of mouth about the brand are generated.   Brand advocacy results.  Your engaged customers become integral to the promotion efforts and your business growth.

A Secret No Longer

In planning your promotion strategies – adopt the ‘Stop Interrupting’ mantra, engage your customers and see the positive results for your brand and business growth.

[1] BRW Jan 14-Feb 3, 2010, p31

Image Credit: Outlaw Design Blog

Action is the foundational key to all success – Pablo Picasso

We blogged recently about the timeliness that a New Year brings for assessment of business activities and goals.  (A New Year’s Reflection).  We advocated activities such as revisiting business and marketing plans to check progress against targets; conducting a marketing audit of activities identifying what worked and what didn’t.

However these activities alone will not result in any improvement unless they are implemented.  Action, the vital ingredient to success, is required.

Image Credit: Outlaw Design Blog

Sometimes it can seem difficult to take that first  step if  obstacles are perceived in your way. These might include lack of research, conviction that an idea will work, a general lack of self belief or fear of failure. However, whilst identifying and balancing risks – you will never know unless you’ve tried. And part of success is picking yourself up and moving on if  ’at first you don’t succeed’ or an idea didn’t work.

I personally take much inspiration from those  who took the leap and followed their ideas to fruition such as the successful entrepreneurs interviewed in this story:  Tips from Unstoppable Women Entrepreneurs.

Here are some other wise words:

In his book Think Big and Kick Ass, Donald Trump – who has demonstrated incredible resilience in navigating both personal and business highs and lows said:

Once you set your goals, start looking for opportunities to start acting on them. If you hesitate when an opportunity presents itself to you, it may be the fear of failure that makes you procrastinate. Break through this fear, for if you make a habit of procrastinating then all your goals become empty promises that will never be fulfilled. Always keep your promises to yourself by making a habit of acting on your goals.

My favourite though is from management guru, consultant and author Tom Peters:

Try it! Try it! Try it! If a suggestion is made, your instinctive response should be ‘Try It’. In 40 plus years of study and practice, I sometimes think I’ve only learned one thing:  ’He or she who tries the most stuff wins

Here he  talks of ‘ What the Hell Moments‘.  The comments in the post are also insightful.

When I think back over my corporate life before establishing Marketing Is Us, the most successful companies and CEO’s with whom I worked – were those who said just that ‘Try It’.

May you do much ‘Try It’  in 2010 and I wish you great success and learnings from the journey.

Have you had a ‘Try It’ moment?  What has been your journey on the road to action?  We’d love to hear about it.

NB Donald Trump’s book (and others) now available at our E Store.

From a business perspective – it is opportune to identify what worked last year and what didn’t.  We’ve blogged previously about the value of auditing (Spring Clean Your Marketing – Let’s Audit and I Love A Good Audit ) and this is a perfect time to undertake one.

Revisiting your business and/or marketing plan – checking progress against goals,  confirming targets for 2010 and the strategies to make these happen -   provides a  clear direction and ensures all resources of the business are being applied effectively to the ‘right’ activities – the ultimate cost effective business activity.  As Tim Berry mentions in the the post 15 Predictions and Trends for 2010 – in a planning context – ‘form follows function’.

It is also a great time to reflect upon your customers, staff and colleagues and how to strengthen relationships with them.  Anything is possible when relationships are strong.

In 2010 Marketing Is Us will continue to provide information and services to assist you to cost effectively maximise your marketing and achieve your business objectives.

As colleague Richard Marti says: ‘Let’s make ‘10 a 10′.   From Us to You – Happy New Year!

Best wishes,

Image: luigi diamanti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Persistence
With consecutive  innings scores of 96, 89 and 93 – Shane came tantalizingly close to his goal on his  three previous visits to the crease.  He didn’t give up. Success perhaps in all things is so much sweeter when you’ve had to fight for it.  It rarely comes easily.

Focus
With two runs needed to make his century before the lunch break, he resisted temptation to swing, kept a cool head and maintained focus and patience.

Humour amidst disappointment and frustration
Shane’s good humour displayed last match after the embarrassing mix up which robbed him of an opportunity  to achieve a century at that time, showed humility and good naturedness, (and perhaps) perspective in the face of adversity. He didn’t seek to blame for what went wrong previously but just got on with it.

Consistency
Like any brand it is consistency in execution of attributes which renders success.

Shane’s efforts were rewarded. As our PM tweeted ..’the nation breathes easier now that Shane Watson has his century.’

It is nice to smile about but perhaps some  musings worthy for a New Year.

Congratulations Shane and thanks for the inspiration. Enjoy the celebrations. They are well deserved.

It is difficult to nominate but amongst my favourites are:

‘Make compassion a core value’ Mitch Joel, p33

‘The future belongs to people who can spread ideas’ Guy Kawasaki, p32

‘Or you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishing it online for free’  David Meerman Scott p48

‘Stop waiting around for bosses and companies to get better and and complaining about how you are treated. Build the skills – and use them – that will permit you to create the environment in which you want to live’ Jeffrey Pfeffer, p29

‘Business is a game.  (In) Strategy. Learn to adapt. Adjust your style of play  as the dynamics of the game change.’ Tony Hsieh, p26

‘Sing in your own voice’ Hugh Macleod, p10

 ’If not Excellence, what?’  Tom Peters, p20

‘…its usually a small percentage of the tribe within the larger tribe who spread the word. …They are the One Percenters. The One Percenters are often hidden in the crevices of niches but they are the roots of word of mouth. …find them and attract them.’ Jackie Huba & Ben McConnell,  p17

‘Forget about working on your weaknesses -> Focus on supporting your strengths. ‘ Marti Baletta, p22

As Seth says: ‘Things to think about’ .. ’small things do make a difference’.  You can view the E-Book and download here. (Just click on the link).  Enjoy!  And thanks Seth!

What Matters Now

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90% of your sales will come from word of mouth or digital promotion by 2011. How do you change what you’re doing today to be ready for that? Seth Godin, April 20, 2009

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Social media has become a powerful additional communications channel in your marketing strategy to build relationships with customers.  Managing it can be as easy as    1-2-3!

Here are some stat’s:

Facebook alone has more than 400 million users worldwide, half of whom log on daily.The fastest growing demographic is 35 years + female.

LinkedIn, described as the ‘buttoned down, suited up’ version of social media has  more than 47 million members with a new member joining  every second. Half of all members are from outside the U.S.

Twitter – (microblogs), is one the fastest growing social networking sites in history with millions of users within its first year.

Blogs – (web log) 184 million users globally have started a blog and 346 million people read them[1]. The majority (77%) of active internet users read blogs. Chances are your customers are too.

YouTube – It has been said if YouTube was a country it would be the third most populated place in the world!  20 hours of video are uploaded every minute[2]. 100 million unique monthly visits.[3]. #1 entertainment site on the Internet, #6 largest internet destination.[4]

So, if you are just starting out or have your accounts already established, the following provides some quick  tips for making the most of these media:

1. Purpose

Think about what you are seeking to achieve from your social media activity. Are you hoping to: increase customers, sales, awareness of your business or all of the above?  Clarity about your purpose will help refine the type of content you provide and how often you use these media.

2. Plan

Planning is key to optimizing your time and outcomes. Planning for content, frequency and time management will provide efficiencies.

Content Social media is not about selling – but like offline networking – its more about building relationships and engaging your followers.    Follow the 80/20 rule: 80% of your posts provide information of value, relevant and of interest to your followers, such as  articles, links and tips relevant to your business and industry. 20%  of your posts can be  about your business including special offers.

How often? To build and maintain a following you need to participate and engage regularly.  Suggested: Twitter – several times per day;  Facebook – 2-3 times per week.

Time Management Managing social media is now akin to email management. Set aside some time, perhaps 15 minutes twice daily, to answer messages, accept friend requests and make your posts.

Use programs such as Ping FM (www.pingfm.com) which links your social media – enabling your posts to be automatically distributed to your other sites.   Twitter can be linked to Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn – so any new posts on your Twitter feed will be automatically updated on your other platforms.

3. Promote

• Choose a name for each of your profiles relevant to your business and consistent with  your branding. Once you have 25 fans on your Facebook business page, you can claim your url.
• To reinforce your branding – keep your profile images consistent on each platform.
• Promote your social media addresses on all your written and electronic communication.
• Follow up networking events by connecting with new colleagues via these media. LinkedIn particularly is great for this.

Take advantage of the fantastic technological phenomenon that is social media to build your network and grow your business.     Good luck!

[2] YouTube 2009

[3] Comscore 2009

[4] YouTube 2009

An early Christmas present for us (Seth Godin’s new book) and an opportunity to assist a worthy cause. Please click on the link :   Acumen

Source: Herald Sun

As  one of the 1.3 million people who tuned into the final episode of Australian Celebrity Masterchef last week, it occurred to me that the activities in the Masterchef kitchen provided some useful lessons for business and management.

 Here are my top five findings:

1. Grace under pressure: The contestants for the most part kept their cool and good humour despite things going wrong for them at different times.  I love the quote: Great works are performed not by strength but by perserverance (Samuel Johnson).  In business (and in kitchens) things can and do go wrong. Keeping calm conserves energy and helps maintain clear thinking. Not giving up – persistence –  is vital for success.
2. Attention to Detail: Eamon’s awesome dessert resulted from a multifaceted process with every detail through to presentation addressed. In cooking – as in business – particularly when looking after customers and presenting your product/service – there are no small details.
3. Positive Feedback – The judges provided constructive criticism couched in much positive feedback. They acknowledged  effort and their feedback provided the base for subsequent improvement. In their book, The One Minute Manager, authors Blanchard &  Hutson called this The One Minute Reprimand. It is a positive way of managing your team and all relationships.
4. Benefits of a Plan –  To obtain the  desired culinary result  a good plan was needed. Some prior thought was given to the forthcoming process (strategy) after assessment of existing resources and potential influences (in this case – the judges’ preferences and competitors’ activities).  In business, when resources such as time and money are finite – it is even more vital to plan. 
5. Benefits of a Plan B – Rachel’s dessert malfunction in the second last round highlighted the need for agility,  to be able to respond quickly and have a contingency. Businesses operate in a dynamic environment and unplanned events  of  significant potential impact to a business will occur. The ability to recognize these events and be able to respond can provide competitive advantage.

 The Marketing Phenomenon

The show tapped into the population’s need for feel good programs and has been a marketing phenomenon. The Celebrity program extension reflected the producer’s consciousness of audience likes and dislikes.  They listened and responded to their customers -  important for all business marketing.

Merchandising has commenced with the first of the Masterchef recipe books now available. This provides another example.  How can your business take your product/service and extend the promotion in new and innovative ways?

Congratulations to Eamon Sullivan, our world champion swimmer,  who showed he has considerable other talents in addition to being very speedy in the pool. It is a shame he and Stephanie are no longer together. Imagine the marketing possibilities (and word plays) of Rice and Eamon’s now recognized cheffing skills!

Respected management thinker and writer, Peter Drucker,  would have celebrated his 100^th birthday on November 19. 

Born in Austria, he started out his career as newspaper correspondent, continued as an economist, management consultant and teacher.  He wrote 39 books – not only on  management but also politics, economics and society and was an iconic contributor to the Harvard Business Review for more than 50 years.

I first encountered  his thoughts during my studies, and although imminently ‘paraphrasable’ it is considered that it is not just  the ‘content of his ideas’ but rather the ‘discipline of his mind’ from which we can learn.  He was a holistic, integrative and far sighted thinker.  RBMKanter states: ‘he preached steadinesss and lifetime vision’  (HBR, November 2009)

 The following are some of my favourite  Drucker quotes/ideas, the substance of which is of great value for businesses of all sizes in their management and marketing strategy development. They also provide  a glimpse into the workings of this great mind.

-oo-

 We live and operate in dynamic environment:

Managers believe that industry structures are ordained by the Good Lord, but they can and often do – change overnight

Customers – at the heart of every business – and every marketing strategy

The purpose of a company is to create a customer

A business.. is defined by the want the customer satisfies when he or she buys a product of service

To satisfy the customers is the mission and purpose of every business

 Employees Purpose & Motivation:

The number of people who are really motivated by money is very mall. Most people need to feel that are here for a purpose, and unless an organization can connect to this, need to leave something behind that makes this a better world, or at least a different one, it won’t be successful over time.

Customers, Business & The Internet

In the mental geography of ecommerce, distance has been eliminated

 Management & Non Profits:

Non profits are of course still dedicated to ‘doing good’. But they also realize that good intentions are no substitute   for organisation and leadership, for accountability, performance, and results.  Those require management and that .. begins with the organisation’s mission.

Mission:

A clearly defined mission will foster innovative ideas and help others understand why they need to be implemented

 A mission …focuses the organisation on action.

 Innovation:

Means looking on change as an opportunity… abandoning the old

 Innovation matters because ours is a knowledge based society

Here is an interview with Peter Drucker:

 Do you have a favourite Drucker insight? Please tell us!

‘Great Job|Great Publicity’  ‘More on Tourism Queensland Win’

Recent media reports have commented that despite its long list of  awards, the campaign hasn’t increased traffic numbers.

This is shortsighted. The environment in which businesses (including tourism) operate is impacted by many factors.  The Global Financial Crisis, cited as the worst economic downturn for a century and from which we are only just emerging, has been of particular influence to potential visitors.

The effect of marketing is cumulative. It is not a tap to  turn on and off. The best marketing results are gained when companies commit to a focussed, long term consistent effort. Switching off marketing activity - particularly in tough times - gives competitors still marketing an edge; and means substantial future investment in catch up to reestablish the brand, awareness and win back customers  lost from ceasing communication with them.

The marketing investment such as TQ’s campaign will bring returns in the longer term. The campaign now enters a new phase to capitalise upon the massive publicity  and convert interest to sales. It is the long term, consistent effort which will reap rewards.

Rather than only assessing sales (via traffic numbers), the question should also be – what would have happened if no campaign had run? What would the traffic figures been like then?

Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Two of my favourite business magazines recently devoted their entire issues to sustainability. Increasingly companies are seizing the issue to to garner a competitive edge with consumers.

Whilst marketing might communicate being green as  a brand attribute (not core benefit); it struck me (probably idealistically) how wonderful  will be the time when green is the organisational norm – and not a unique selling point or source of competitive advantage. There would be no differentiation –  all companies would be  green.

Until that day - customers’ support of green companies and brands will continue to encourage business adoption of policies.  However marketing has an important role in communicating how to support our fragile eco system. Indeed, in understanding which companies are green a recent study showed that 50% of people could name an organisation with green credibility (1). Another study showed that although Australian SME’s were willing, two thirds were unsure how to action climate change policies. (BRW, October 22, 2009).

For businesses – how to get started?

• Reduce your organisation’s energy use .. buying the energy your business uses from renewable sources
• Add a carbon offsetting option to your billing
• Review your suppliers in the value chain and assess their green practices – seek out eco partners
• Use recycled stationery and materials for all communications pieces, and sales promotion items
• Measure and offset the carbon footprint of your organisation’s website. (Visit : Greenserve, CO2Stats.com and GREENMYWEBSITE.COM)

For larger, publicly listed companies – organisations such as Sydney’s Interactive Investor provide online reporting including green reports in lieu of paper reports.

Be wary of greenwashing

In an age of authenticity, businesses need to be particularly wary of ‘greenwashing’ – making claims that cannot be substantiated. To assist, The Australian Association of National Advertisers has introduced a green claims code, for marketers to check their environmental claims. Greenwashing can result in substantial fines (in Australia – up to $ 1.1 million) – but more importantly, organisations will compromise the relationship with their customers and damage their brand.

The following provides some additional resources which may be of assistance:

For Australian organisations and here

For U.S organisations

Five Ways to Green Your Office (Article from Forbes magazine)

(1) Fifty things you need to know about being green, Kevin Johns, B&T October 16, 2009  - citing Mobium research of 22,000 people.

Disclosure: Interactive Investor is a client of the author.

It will be awhile before I come to terms with the reality that Dean is no longer with us and I can’t imagine what his family are going through. Dean’s passing has stimulated much reflection, particularly about how he  exemplified so perfectly  that in business and in life, it is possible not only to be smart, successful and creative, but to be really nice too.

My first memory of Dean was during the obligatory introductions on the morning of our first workshop.  Dean introduced himself as a financial services marketer, who lived in St Kilda (a cool part of Melbourne) and loved music, art and sport.  As we listened (and assessed) our new colleagues –  I immediately thought: ‘Wow he’s an interesting guy -well rounded,  immediately extremely personable and likeable.”  These first impressions held true over the ensuing three years of our study – and were simply developed and reinforced.

We all held fairly demanding jobs during our studies, so many Sunday mornings and late week nights were devoted to  our syndicate group work. The intensity of our studies, deadlines and lives – facilitated the privilege of getting to know our colleagues quite deeply. Friendships were formed which continue today.

Daniel Goleman’s book ‘Emotional Intelligence’ had just been published and Dean had EI in spades. He was a brilliant chair to our meetings, innovator and mediator. Dean enriched our MBA experience and  made it fun. Most of all, Dean inspired each of us to be better people.

They say God only takes the best – and he’s certainly done so in this case. God’s marketing department has a wonderful new angel.

The Australian Consulate is holding a special dinner tonight for Dean in Singapore, Dean and Mandy’s home for the last several years.

We will be thinking of them tonight.  Dean – you  will be in our hearts always.

RIP.  We will miss you.

by ~inspirational-dreamson deviantART

I am not proud to admit that I spent some considerable time recently cleaning my bulging inbox. Am too embarrassed to admit the exact number, but rest assured a significant number of emails met their cyber maker. As I ploughed through - intensely committed to getting the unwieldy tool organised – I couldn't help but wonder how it got so out of control in the first place. 

The process reminded me of editing major papers at university, when a successful afternoon was marked by the elimination of several thousand words. At that time I learnt how useful it was to establish processes and write succinctly at the outset – rather than investing copious amounts of editing time later. The same principle applies to my burgeoning inbox. It would be beneficial in terms of time and computer efficiency if the emails were filed or deleted as they were received, well before my hardworking computer slowed in protest, creeking under their weight.

The adages “Begin with the end in mind” and  “Start out how you wish to continue” remind us of this principle and are applicable to  business. Yet unfortunately many businesses start up or continue to operate without a plan, only taking action when the business has run into difficulty and adversely affected.

A good marketing plan is a business’s most cost effective marketing tool. It doesn't need to be cumbersome – indeed it can be presented in a page. But like the time invested in bulging inboxes or shearing words in editing a paper, a plan and its consideration of the market, customers and the shaping of your services to suit, will help avoid ad hoc and unnecessary expenditure in mistimed and ill designed business marketing activities.

Strategic planning is a fundamental business process which will increase  the chances of business success – and to get it right from the beginning. Like unattended inboxes, doing it now will save time and money later. Very beneficial!

Postscript: 

I can take heart from this: Einstein managed his inbox!

And tips from Cory Doctorow in managing email:Cory Doctorow's article

And  from the super organised  Get Organized Wizard – Michele Connolly - in Slaying the Inbox Dragon

The Tipping Point as Malcolm Gladwell describes – and as author Iggy Pintado notes in his book Connection Generation – is ‘the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.’

That point – says Iggy was October 13, 1994 – 15 years ago today – with the public launch of the Netscape Navigator Web browser, providing access to the wealth of  information  available on the World Wide Web. Google’s subsequent introduction  extended access to that information by enabling specific word and phrase search.

These changes have transformed marketing and business today. A website is the ultimate cost effective marketing tool, extending market reach for businesses, providing a platform to build relationships with customers, brand awareness and communication.

However, although most Australian businesses are online -   a little more than half have a website. If your customers are online then you definitely should be. 25% of the world’s population or more than 1.6 billion people are linked to the web. And two thirds of Australian households are now online. A website is now a key marketing tool and fundamental to business today.

Netscape is no longer with us. The popularity of Microsoft Internet Explorer and subsequent other browsers, led to its demise. Development ceased in late 2007 and technical support cancelled in March, 2008. Netscape’s legacy though is certain to live on.

]]> http://marketingisus.com.au/in-memory-of-netscape-the-transformation-of-business-marketing/feed/ 4 http://marketingisus.com.au/some-linkedin-lovin/ http://marketingisus.com.au/some-linkedin-lovin/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:19:16 +0000 Anne http://marketingisus.com.au.previewdns.com/some-linkedin-lovin/ I have a confession to make. In the world of social media I came to LinkedIn rather late. I've heard LinkedIn described as the 'buttoned down, suited up version' of social media and after working for more than 20 years in corporate environments – was keen to pursue what I felt were more [...]]]>

Thanks to Fantastic Bright Blogger Zac Martin for granting use of his image.  You can read Zac's blog Pigs Don't Fly here.

Stop Press to yesterday's post re Vegemite's misbranding: A Different Branding Experience: The New Vegemite

Kraft has reportedly announced that they will be withdrawing the name and have elected that Australia will choose another name. They insist it was not a publicity stunt.

Just some of the  news items follow:

 Mumbrella

BBC

SMH

 The Punch (another of Zac's blogs)

Further to our post of how social media is being used by non profits using the  12for12K example, the following has just been published in Fast Company. Great article – and 12for12K  is mentioned:

Tweet, Tweet, Ka-Ching: Twitter is Changing the Way Nonprofits Make the Ask

Can non-profits raise awareness, increase membership, and–most critically–“make the ask” successfully on Twitter? Can a 140-character message deliver the visceral wallop of, say, heart-wrenching footage of starving children covered in flies or the sad eyes of a neglected and abused animal? The answer is yes”  …

Read entire article

Social media non profit specialist Beth Kanter is mentioned. Her recent presentation follows (from Beth’s blog)

Social media is the new weapon in an organisation’s marketing communication arsenal. Increasingly social media is being harnessed to engage communities, increase awareness and in the case of not for profits, attract funds, affecting change and ultimately making a difference.

The 12for12K Challenge is a great example.

The 12for12K Challenge was founded late last year by Danny Brown, a Scot, now residing in Canada.  Danny established the charity after some reflection about the degree of true connectedness in the world today.   One Sunday afternoon,  whilst visiting a food court, Danny spotted an elderly woman wearing a wedding ring, eating alone. Despite being  active in social media where it is customary to strike up conversations with strangers, on this occasion, Danny didn’t. He later felt he had missed an opportunity to reach out. You can read Danny's original post here.  In an age of supposed connectedness,  Danny wanted to actively use the power of social media to reach out and help others.

The 12for12k Challenge represents Hope – Change – Belief and uses social media to raise awareness and funds  to change the lives of millions worldwide. The 12for12K Challenge supports a different charity each month:  12 charities, 12 months, aiming to raise $12,000 per charity.  Charities with administration costs of 10% or less and openly available financial records, are chosen by collective vote from supporters.

Danny explains: “We look at all the suggestions and see which fit our criteria first – operating costs, long term change etc,” he says. “Then we see which can help the most people or needs the most support from us.  Our goal is to be the voice of the voiceless, some need us more than others in that respect.” he says.

All work for 12for12K is undertaken voluntarily – with no money being taken for administration. Donations are made by PayPal or credit card online directly to that month’s charity, eliminating third parties.

The 12for12K support base has grown significantly since its inception. In less than 12 months, almost 2,500 people have subscribed to the blog, more than 600 joined the 12for12K Facebook page and 500 the email list, in addition to countless Twitter supporters and hashtag users.  30 official blog partnerships have also been established.

The support base is truly international with  US, Canada, UK, Australia Japan France, German, South America, Sweden, Italy and New Zealand just a few of the countries represented.

Charities Assisted

To date the organization has raised more than $50,000 US and supported more than eight charities.

“While this is short of our goal, its still  a terrific amount for us” says Danny “and I’m incredibly proud and humbled by our supporters.’ He says.

 The positive impact extends beyond the month of support. The increased awareness of chosen charities achieved from the 12for12K support encourages a continue flow of donations over the longer term.

 “ We are simply a call to action for the charities.” Danny says. “ This is why all donations go directly to the charity itself as opposed through 12for12K accounts’

What’s Next?

In March next year, Danny hopes to chat about global consciousness at the South by South West Film & Interactive, a conference which attracts approximately 17,000 attendees.   He is also aiming to bring a local focus to the global connections achieved via social media next year.

“One of our members Jon Aston coined the phrase Connect Globally:Think Locally," says Danny. "I have a ton of ideas about how to empower 12for12K locally so you can really make a difference where you live, no matter where in the world you are.'

Exciting times ahead – for sure – all enabled by the connection that our 21^st century technology and social media provide.

For further information or to join click here: 12for12K   Follow on Twitter 

Follows are some links for further background.

PS C’mon Aussies  .. we’ll be rallying the troops in the months ahead and will be providing more information about local charities and causes for our support, providing information how such support can be linked to your corporate social responsibility activities.

12for12K on CTV

‘A Big Week for Books’

Seth’s reading list.

Others in my reading pile:

Connection Generation – Iggy Pintado

Free – Chris Anderson

The Power of Small – Why Little things make all the difference – Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval

..to name just a few.

Chris Brogan’s book is now in there too.

Enjoy!

In his new book 'World Wide Rave', David Meerman Scott discusses the case of Approva, a provider of software products for internal auditors. Rather than provide the same 'jargon laden product messaging' akin to all the other players in this market, Approva decided to communicate more directly with their buyers using meaningful messages in a creative execution which cut through the market's similar, undifferentiated communication.

The 'I Love A Good Audit' theme was created – a fun way to communicate a rather staid topic. The theme extended into 'I Love a Good Audit ' buttons distributed at trade shows and a website which includes e cards and blog. See the website here. It's fun, innovative and refreshing.

This work continued with a video which has received more than 23,000 hits on You Tube, celebrating the fifth birthday of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), a federal law regulating new or enhanced standards for all US public companies following corporate scandales of the 1990's. See the video here.

This post isn't about the valuable process of auditing but rather the effectiveness of clever,innovative communication which integrates problems solutions to target customers. Such communication can considerably enhance a brand's personality and ultimately its equity.

Welcome to Spring!

With the recent economic news indicating ‘green shoots’,  a time of business growth and renewal is also upon us.  In preparing well for such growth a marketing audit is valuable.

What is it?  A marketing audit is a key component of a strategic marketing plan. Essentially a marketing audit is a thorough review of all marketing activities in light of prevailing market trends. Aspects considered are sales and profit patterns; positioning, target markets,  promotional activities and results.  An audit assesses the success of your marketing activity and identifies opportunities for strategy refinement.

When to audit?  Measuring the results of all marketing activity and comparing against objectives should be undertaken after each campaign. Such measurement to some degree could be considered a ‘mini audit’.  However, the more encompassing marketing audit should be undertaken at least once per year as part of the overall business and marketing planning cycles, coinciding with annual plans and budget preparation.  

Value? Stopping to reflect and analyse activities not only helps shape more effective strategies, but is also cost effective, ensuring marketing investment is focused and targeted. In light of all marketing factors, reasons can be considered for any activities not producing desired outcomes. These activities can be subsequently refined or eliminated in the reformulated strategy. 

Ensure you are working ‘on’ your business!  It is always easy to continue working ‘in’ the business but stepping away to work ‘on’ the business in this way is vital. Evaluation and assessment of all business aspects including marketing provides a strong and solid foundation for future action.

If you haven’t stopped to audit your marketing activities in the last twelve months – why not give your marketing a Spring clean and do one this month? It will  refresh your strategies and activities and set your business on a strong course for the months ahead.

If you require any assistance in undertaking your marketing audit or any marketing activity – please do not hesitate to contact us.  We would love to be of assistance  to grow your business.

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'Business has only two functions — marketing and innovation.'

Peter Drucker's famous quote is poignant. Today's Entrepreneur section of the The Australian details several articles about the value of good planning and targeted marketing to all businesses – not just SME's.

The following are a couple of links to articles published. Marketing Is Us is mentioned in the second and provided some info for others which appeared.

Ideas Do The Selling

and

Target the Market and Win the Game

Enjoy!

The following is a great example of shaping products to suit customer needs  – satisfying a need with which many women would identify.

Called Feet Fairies -they're little fold up ballet pumps, small enough to fit in your handbag, ready to exchange for your high heels at the end of a long night of standing or dancing.  FAvaila

Rainproof and available in two sizes, they're packaged in a small pouch which unfolds to create a portable carrier for those heels.

A fantastic idea – and perfect for the forthcoming Spring Racing carnival!

 Shaping or customising products to suit customers' needs begins with understanding customers – which the following post discusses. For every company – consumer insights must be non negotiable

How  have you shaped your products to suit your customer needs? It is important to consider as a fundamental to your overall  business and marketing strategy.

But I also LOVE finding and telling clients' stories – in the process of assisting them to increase their brand awareness via publicity, as part of an integrated promotional effort.

The following is a case in point. Michelle Bent is a Brisbane designer who has recently launched her fresh and innovative plus size label – Bent Creations.

Like its namesake, the designs are stylish, sassy and affordable. The signature piece is very cleverly designed pants. "They're classic and sit comfortably on the hip. It's all in the cut." says Michelle.

So more curvaceous ladies need no longer despair – Bent Creations has arrived, providing unique designs for the plus sized woman.

You can find Michelle and Bent Creations at: Shop 2/7 Allardyce Street, Graceville T: 0402 821 883

Web site: Bent Creations .. . and can read more about her in the following. Its a great story.

'We have to accept what we all know to be elemental – that taking a defensive position, can, at best, only limit losses. And we need gains'  Peter F Drucker from 'This Competitive World' in the Harvard Business Review – March – April, 1961.

Although nearly 50 years old, the quote is still relevant today; and reflects that despite rapid and continued change – particularly in respect to  innovation and technology – some fundamentals of business and marketing  remain the same.

The following is another case in point.  This video depicts an active demonstration of the famous ' Man In the Chair' ad which is 51 years old.  It then presents a modern take of the same principles which underscore the ad.  Essentially customers like to know who they are buying from –  brand awarness and establishing credibility has and continues to be important.

These are only a couple of examples.  Much has changed. But some aspects remain constant. Maybe it is not so much 'out with the old – in with the new' but rather retaining some of the old as foundations upon which the new can be built.

We took Ms Ella, our fluffy, four legged feline for her annual check up on the weekend.  We go to 'The Cat Clinic', located close to home.  Although Ella wasn’t too happy about going – meowing throughout the entire short drive there – once we arrived , she was fine.  Maybe because at ‘The Cat Clinic’ … there are ‘no scary dogs allowed.’ 

Created   from a recognized customer need for a more positive, less stressful visit for both cat and owner, 'The Cat Clinic’ is a great example of niche marketing.  They have narrowed their focus to cater for just one segment of the market and in so doing differentiated themselves in a crowded market place, carving a unique position supported by some innovative and clever marketing. 

For example, before any major operations moggy’s Mum and Dad are required to complete a questionnaire including notes of their feline's favourite foods. We also receive reminder postcards with extremely cute visuals advising when checkups are due.

It is not only the dog ban which draws us back to the Clinic. We feel they are specialists in their field of cat care. They haven’t diluted their focus by trying to provide services for a wide range of animals. They’re good at what they do.  In the words of Seth Godin – their service and care are ‘remarkable’.

Whilst contemplating this post over the last few days,   I’ve heard the message repeated several times: ‘Find your core and blast it’ .. ‘Narrow your focus’. As Marketing Is Us approaches its first birthday, we will be narrowing our focus,  defining our niche even further, enabling our customers to identify more easily and with greater clarity the particular and compelling marketing services we provide and how we can be of assistance in facilitating growth of their businesses.

For businesses – look for the products and services which are profitable, narrow your focus – specialise. You will differentiate yourselves and make it even easier for customers to find you. Niche it!

Picture: Courtesy SMH, 28 July 2009

Watching Brenton Rickard win World Championship gold after 15 years in the sport was inspiring.  It also reminded of the lessons transferable to business, learned from our elite athletes.

Vision, Goals, Strategies –  For Brenton, winning a world title was the vision. The long held dream, had been distilled into goals and a clear strategy set to achieve them.

Like any business, Brenton and his coach would have examined and identified the surrounding positive and negative influences, including competitors, likely to impact his performance and the achievement of those objectives.

As in business, they also would have assessed his strengths to be maximised and weaknesses to be eliminated or overcome.

Consistent Execution – Successful outcomes are not only a result of preparation and planning. They’re also a result of doing the same things consistently.  For a swimmer this includes training routines practicing techniques such as turns and finishes, and out of water practices such as nutrition, rest and relaxation.  For a business it is providing consistency in product and service quality and supporting the systems and processes to facilitate this.

As in all strategies, consistency does not always mean predictable. The element of surprise -  providing a ‘wow’- something unexpected for your customers is useful. Perhaps Brenton’s low key approach enabled him to provide that surprise.

Measurement, Evaluation – Brenton and his coach would have continually measured their results and mapped against objectives.  For business, measurement means not only monitoring results, but also identifying the  return on investment, comparing  results with objectives and subsequently refining  strategies/tactics.

Resilience – Integral to strategy is the ability to deal with unforeseen obstacles. For Brenton his coach  relocating interstate meant changed plans.  For any athlete, the ability to overcome injuries is necessary. For businesses, the Global Financial Crisis was unforeseen  and despite tough, economic conditions,  businesses have refocused and adapted.

Persistence – As Brenton clearly demonstrated, overnight success is a misnomer. Continued application and adherence to the plan are the ingredients of success.   Whilst no business might want to wait 15 years to reach their objectives,  Brenton’s victory in  Rome  and its underlying messages, provide tremendous inspiration.  

As the  first Australian man for 45 years to win a world or Olympic breastroke title – congratulations Brenton and thanks for the inspiration!

The recent success in Australia of the TV show -Masterchef - denotes a change in the mood of today’s consumers.  In this week’s BRW – Neil Shoebridge talks of the number of popular shows currently screening with a feel good theme  - and believes their success provides lessons for marketers.

Shoebridge states that people are seeking these programs rather than the hard edged reality or crime shows previously populating our screens.

Perhaps it is a natural consequence of  today’s current environment. People are working hard – and whether business owners or employees – are navigating challenging economic times after a period, which for many, represented great prosperity. Perhaps others are just tired and wish to take time out, to escape  in a positive way.

In her 1991 (yes 18 years ago!), futurist Faith Popcorn of New York strategic marketing trend consultancy Brain Reserve identified the trend of ‘Fantasy Adventure’ – ’send me into another life ..but get me back for supper’.  Popcorn states ‘the challenge is to offer the safely familiar with an overlay of heart’s desire’.  In the Masterchef case, cooking with little formal training could  resemble the ’safely familiar’ and being discovered -  a ‘heart’s desire’.

If the Masterchef popularity is anything to go by .. then perhaps suppliers of products and services can contemplate how they can add attributes and service to provide a ‘feel good’ component beyond that which their  product/service already offers.

Perhaps the ‘feel good’ component can be created in the rewards offered in loyalty reward schemes or simple ‘thank you’s’ following service provision.

No doubt as in due marketing process, research studies will further document the mood of Australian consumers, which will guide the formulation of subsequent marketing strategies.

The ‘feel good’ trend though is one that  can be capitalised in the marketing of products and services relevant to this phenomenon.

Postscript:  Interestingly Popcorn’s first chapter in The Popcorn Report is about her vision for 2010. She stated: ‘Life feels smaller in scale, we’re working at home, involved in the world with networks of friends through the electronic systems that bring in and send out information day and night’  Wow! In the age of web 2.0 and social media – how true has been that prediction! s1043 stroked="f" path="m20,r,l55,20,95,50r45,45l185,150r25,35l230,225r20,40l270,315r10,50l295,420r,l300,485r,65l295,625r-10,75l205,705r,l205,690r5,-45l210,580r-5,-40l200,500r,l190,460,180,420,160,380,140,340,115,305,85,265,45,230,,195,20,xe" coordsize="300,705" fillcolor="black">

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Something to enjoy for a few moments .. take a little wander around a gallery of graphic design.

Just click on the link

Thanks to tweetbuddy @timboreid for this. You can follow Tim:  http://twitter.com/TimboReid 

and http://twitter.com/softalize who provide Free and Useful Online Resources for Designers and Developers.

Recently Mars Snackfood  Australia attracted publicity announcing  the downsize of all their 90 products to include Mars Bars which is being reduced in weight by 11.6% from 60-53 g. According to reports, whilst some products would become cheaper the new slimline Mars Bars would remain at the same price – ie less product, same price.

The size reduction has been championed by the company as a response to  increasing concern about obesity, particularly ‘the nutritional content and portion size’ of what we eat.

However, static prices on downsized products indicate a cost saving and profit building strategy.

From a strategic marketing perspective, altering one product attribute, such as recalibrating product size, is useful for mature products, as a way of breathing new life by kicking off a new life cycle.

Shampoos, mature products in a competitive, mature market frequently resize – sometimes providing ‘25% more’ but at the same price. Manufacturers alter the product – but importantly convey the provision of additional value.

In challenging economic times, providing something additional which customers deem valuable, is vital in driving business.

And perhaps this– the consumer acceptance or rejection of value – is the reason for some resizing initiatives to fail.  Last year Cascade reduced their Pale Ale stubby from a twist top 375 mil to a pry off top 330 mll bottle, with new product repackaging and labels.

However dramatic sales declines ensued, and in response to a public backlash, Cascade announced, they would reintroduce their 375 ml twist top bottle.   Interestingly the GM made the announcement on the company’s Facebook site – demonstrating  the value of asking and listening to your customers and the utility in this respect of social media.

It will be interesting to monitor the response to the Mars change. As far as I can tell, they do not have a social media presence, although one Facebook page has been established calling for the boycott of its products due to the downsizing and no corresponding price reduction. The page though at this stage only has 6 members.

If your product is mature then contemplating product attribute changes such as resizing can boost sales .. however in the current environment, the perception of value will determine  the strategy’s success.  If customers feel it is a good exchange then the strategy will be successful.  However learning from the Cascade case – it is prudent to  gauge your customers’ opinions first or at least ensure platforms exist for customer dialogue. 
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It is probably evident (:)) that I am a fan of Seth Godin! Just in case you missed it – the following is useful food for thought ..

The Best Way to