Today is the Global Centenary of International Women’s Day, celebrating the economic,  political and social achievements of women past, present and future.

The economic power of women was discussed in a recent presentation by Tom Peters (see last week’s blog post), and included the following:

• Women represent a growth market twice as big than China and India combined
• Globally women control about $20 trillion in consumer spending, estimated to grow to $28 trillion by 2014
• Women are decision makers in 83% of all consumer purchases including 94% home furnishings, 91% houses and influence 90% car purchases.

In a 2011 prediction paper, futurist Faith Popcorn continues this theme citing the following:

• Women hold 51% of managerial and professional jobs (Tom Peters says therefore women also make the majority of commercial purchasing decisions)
• Four in ten mothers are primary breadwinners; working wives are coming close to bringing in half of household income
• Single, childless women under 30 earn 8% more than their male peers
• The number of women earning six figure salaries has increased 14% in the last two years

Popcorn proposes that in 2011 we have entered an “unprecedented” period which will mark the end of our traditional gender divide, and  has named this The Year of EN-GEN or (End of Gender). This era is neither female or male. It will be ‘Just Human’.

She predicts that male dominated fields like construction and manufacturing will shrink and predominantly female sectors – education, healthcare and social services will expand.

Popcorn also describes “six gender turning points to watch”. Read more about them by downloading the paper here.

Every business will be touched in some way by the influence of women. How have you adapted your marketing strategy accordingly?

Related Links:

UNIFEM website

Tom Peters from The Little Big Things:

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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’s 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 3,000 (2,793) 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.

(Thanks David!)

Follow Deloitte on Twitter: @green_dot

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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?

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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.

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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’, three 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!

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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 demographic 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

So 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

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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 first step – please Contact Us.

Image: djcodrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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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.

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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.

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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

Order your copy of Seth’s new book here.

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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 does great design do all this?

By being customer focused.

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

Customers – members of the marketing team

Customer commitment, combined with innovation and creativity  will enhance  the brand, reinforce customer 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, meaning less  budget is required for marketing activities. ‘Raving fans’ become unpaid members of your marketing team.

Product re-design = new life

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, extends the life of a mature product.

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. Extends the life of  mature products
4. Builds loyalty and brand advocacy by converting customers to  ‘raving fans’
5. Decreases long term marketing expenditure

How to re-design?

Can you shape your product/service to better suit your customers’ needs?  Here are three ways to approach a re-design.

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 product design – an example

Great, customer focused design is exciting as  it combines creativity,  innovation and the potential  to really satisfy your customers’ needs. The Berocca Twist ‘n’ Go is a favourite example cited in last week’s BRW.

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®!

With sports waters accounting  for 8% of Australia’s $1 billion bottled water industry, Berocca Twist ‘n’ Go promises new opportunities and attractive sales forecasts, as it can now be included in the cold drinks cabinet – rather than just the medicine/vitamins section of the supermarket.

And BRW reported that sales for Berocca’s new product have already exceeded predictions by 10%.

How can you re-design your product/service to better suit your customers’ needs?

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

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

And underpinning all communication is today’s marketing catch cry:  ‘Stop Interrupting!’ .

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  dialogues or conversations and really listening to their customers.

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

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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

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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

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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!

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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

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

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‘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?

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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.  Twenty five per cent 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.

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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)

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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 about this experience and the birth of 12for12K 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 firstly see which ones fit our criteria in terms of 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.

A large and growing membership

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 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, it’s 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 continual 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

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  also aims to bring a local focus to the global connections achieved via social media:
“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  enabled by the connections  of twenty first  century technology and social media.

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

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

12for12K on CTV

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Last week we initiated our Twitter Theme Weeks – which provide thoughts and insights around a marketing theme.

The first of these focused on  David Meerman Scott’s new book World Wide Rave – which I  highly recommend.

In case you missed any of our tweets – follows is a summary:

1. ‘Nobody cares about your products (except you)’. People care about ways to solve their problems.

2. No Coercion Required. When you have something worth sharing, people will share it – no coercion required.

3. Lose Control. Make your content free & freely sharable; easy to find & consume.

4 Put Down Roots. Be involved in the online communities of people who actively share.

5 ‘Create triggers that encourage people to share’. Creativity and imagination required.

6. ‘Point the world to your (virtual) doorstep’ Create a World Wide Rave. Offer excellent content.

We concluded the week of tweetful insights with my personal favourite:

‘Focus on your buyer personas and how you can solve problems for them.’

Stand by for our next Theme Week!

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‘TOURISM Queensland has massively outstripped the performance of Tourism Australia’s $40million sponsorship of Baz Lurhman’s movie Australia, despite being run on a budget of just $1.7m, according to the chairman of Tourism Queensland.

The Best Job in the World advertising campaign set a new record at the Cannes International Advertising Festival last week when it took an unprecedented three Grand Prixs for public relations, direct advertising and cyber websites. ..  More on Tourism Queensland award win

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Congratulations to the Cummins Nitro team who this week won the prestigious Grand Prix awards for both public relations and direct advertising for its Tourism Queensland Best Job in the World campaign, at the Cannes International Advertising Festival.

As quoted in the attached article jury chairman Lord Tim Bell said the work was ‘classic and single minded’.  The campaign was created on a budget of $1.7 m and generated media coverage exceeding US$ 150 m. Great return on investment, highlighting the value of an innovative idea and great planning, implementation and measurement.

Click here to read our original post of May 6  Great Job|Great Publicity .

Here is the job spec!

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