Blog - Page 93 of 181 - McLellan Marketing Group

Don’t mistake getting stuck for being smart

April 13, 2009

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know that I am a big believer in having a plan. Strategy is king. Today’s marketing dollars are too scarce to be wasted. The 4th quarter and early January seems to have most marketers knee-deep in research, budgets, what if scenarios and gantt charts.

All of that is well and good. And important. But there is a serious danger that you can get paralyzed in your planning. Smart is good. Perfect is paralysis.

Sometimes, especially when spending even a dollar feels like a calculated risk — we can let the need to be absolutely right freeze us in place.

Marketing is a healthy mix of art and science. Exacting precision is for engineers and surgeons, not marketers. We have to settle for darn close. The reality is we don’t have the luxury of operating in a sterile space. We have to function in the nitty-gritty of the real world. We can’t control all the variables and factors.

At a certain point in the process, we have to walk away from theory and leap off the edge into reality.

It feels safe to stay in planning mode. After all, the plan looks so pristine and right. There’s nothing tainting the purity of it. Once you step out and actually launch a new initiative, things get muddy in a hurry.

While we can be pretty smart and quite right during the planning process, it’s in the fray of the action, that we get even smarter. We can observe reactions, listen to customers, make little tweaks and then re-evaluate all over again. Unlike an operating room, the marketplace brings nuances, unpredictable truths and quirks of human nature.

If you need one more nudge to get you unstuck and out from behind the planning mode, just remember, no one ever bought a product or service from a gantt chart.

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Is employee communication really a 2-way street?

April 11, 2009

Your employees are an absolutely critical audience for your organization. No brand promise gets delivered, no customer is delighted and no customer feedback flows back to you — if your employees are not inspired and feel like a vital part of the team.

So how do you make sure all of that happens? Talk to them.

It's human nature to want to be in the know. it eases worry and keeps you from making up stories in your head. Typically most employees believe that their boss could do a better job in the communication department.

Ironically, if you ask the management team (boss, owner) they'll tell you they are huge communicators and the employees know everything they could possibly want to know.

So where lies the truth?

According to a recent survey I read about on MarketingCharts.com, nearly three-fourths (71%) of US communications and human resources professionals in a recent survey say are getting the right amount of information about the current state of their company during the recession, but many would like more opportunities to use social media and have face-to-face communications with company leaders. (all data according to a survey by Heyman Associates Executive Search.)

The survey, which was conducted to gauge the effectiveness of corporate communications in today’s tough economic climate amidst repeated company failures and layoffs, found that 85% of survey respondents say their CEO, among other managers, is communicating with them, though 65% would still like more informal, in-person communication.

CEOs Stepping Up

When asked who in their company is speaking with them about the current state of affairs, respondents overwhelmingly cited their CEO:

85% said their CEO was speaking with them
43% cited their department head
35% cited their direct manager
30% mentioned the CFO
15% cited a human resources representative
5% said no one communicated with them

Among those who say nobody in the company communicates information, some have found out information about their own company in the newspaper, while others tap the grapevine, which they acknowledge is not always reliable.

Need for In-Person Communication, Social Media

Though many respondents are already receiving a large number of electronic and mass communications within their company, the survey uncovered an important need for more in-person communications.

When asked how they would improve the way they receive information about their company, a majority of professionals responded that they would like increased, informal, face-to-face communication. Out of 452 responses:

65% want increased informal in-person communication
50% want increased formal in-person meetings
31% want increased formal written materials

The responses also indicate a desire for more social media because of its interactive nature. Some respondents suggest that an increased mix of in-person communication and social media will create and repeat frequent and trustworthy messages, while others want the communications to better explain how any given situation affects them personally.

So…what do you think? How does your company communicate with you? or if you're the leader — how would you rate your information flow?

What's the most effective method of communicating company news, in your opinion?

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Characteristics of Successful Salespeople (Dave Kahle)

April 10, 2009

Drew's Note: As I try to do every Friday, I'm pleased to bring you a guest post. Meet another thought leader who shares his insights via the blogosphere. So without further ado…Dave Kahle. Again. Enjoy!

Are successful salespeople made or born? It is the eternal question: the sales manager's version of nature versus nurture.

Since I spend most of my time teaching salespeople how to become better at their jobs, I'm 100 percent in the "made" camp. There are best practices in the sales profession, and outstanding salespeople do many of the same things. A salesperson can, and should be, taught those best practices so they know how to do the job well.

Much of my practices consists of identifying and teaching the best practices to salespeople. I'm a believer in the notion that sales is a proactive profession – that you must first act, and then your actions get reactions. A good salesperson acts in the right way. His or her behavior is ultimately what determines his degree of success.

Thus, I believe that anyone can be taught the principles, processes and practices of effective sales. I like to characterize it like this: On a 1 – 10 scale, I can take 7s and make them into 10s. I can take 4s and make them into 7s. I can take 1s and make them into 4s. But I can't take 1s and make them into 10s.

As in every sophisticated endeavor, in the world of sales it sure helps if you have the aptitude and character with which to begin. "Character" is the operant word here. The Encarta Dictionary defines character as "the set of qualities that make somebody distinctive, especially somebody's quality of mind and feeling." In a common sense, we understand a person's character to be that combination of qualities, beliefs, tendencies and attitudes that give rise to his/her behavior.

It is the combination of characteristics that define who is the person. The practices and principles we teach instruct the person on what to do. While countless books and articles have addressed "what successful salespeople do", few have described "who successful salespeople are."

I don't claim to have the last word on this, nor do I believe that this group of characteristics is the whole story. But, from one person's perspective, here are my observations of the essential character traits of a successful salesperson.

The first characteristic that I see among successful people is this: They truly want to be successful. This isn't as simple and self–evident as it sounds. The world is mostly populated by people who don't want to be successful – at least not if it is going to cost them anything. Most people would like to have the benefit of success – the sense of confidence and competence, the material advantages, the respect and admiration of others – it's just that they aren't willing to accept the cost that is the inevitable prelude to success.

Success is almost always the result of a consistent, long range investment of time and energy on the part of the successful person. You must give something up if you want to be successful. For example, if you want to be home everyday to watch Oprah, and you won't give that up, you probably won't be successful. You're not willing to give up something in order to get something larger.

Successful salespeople want to be successful to the point they are willing to accept the costs and invest the time and effort that it takes to be successful. Thus, the success–focused salesperson works more hours than his average colleague. They try to make their first appointment for 7:45 a.m. and their last for 4:30 p.m. And when someone cancels, or the salesperson finds himself with unplanned downtime, he finds something productive to do.

Whereas most salespeople have not invested $20 in their own development in the last year, the success–seeking salesperson constantly buys the books, listens to the CDs, and attends the seminars in an attempt to gain more ideas and, therefore, shape his behavior more effectively. He/she is eager to learn from others, pays attention at sales meetings, and solicits his manager's input into his performance. He constantly thinks about his job, and continually tries to do it better.

This willingness to trade a short term pleasure and invest in themselves for the long term benefit is the first characteristic of a successful salesperson. Most just aren't willing to make the sacrifices that success calls on them to make.

I call characteristic number two "the ability and propensity to learn." For salespeople, I define learning as exposing yourself to new ideas, and then changing your behavior in positive ways as a result. Thus a successful salesperson is always looking for the next good idea, and continually experimenting with practices and behaviors that are designed to give him the best results.

This is the operating expression of the first characteristic. Whereas the desire for success supplies the energy and motivation, the ability and propensity to learn is one key way that motivation expresses itself.
Following this life–changing practice means that eventually every success–seeking salesperson is going to become exposed to the best practices of his profession, and every salesperson so inclined will eventually fold them into his/her routines. That means, equipped with this characteristic and given enough time, they are going to be successful. It is inevitable.

These two characteristics are so powerful and fundamental that they form the cornerstone of a success profile for a salesperson. The other characteristics which follow are derived from and expressions of these two characteristics.

For example, successful salespeople deal successfully with adversity. They don't let failure knock them off the path. They see failures and adversity as temporary stumbling blocks, and bounce back from every defeat. This is such a pronounced characteristic of successful salespeople that some authors hold it up as the single most outstanding characteristic of successful people.

It is this characteristic that causes them to make the second sales call after having been rejected in the first. It is this characteristic that stimulates the salesperson to approach just one more prospect, or visit this account one more time in spite of having failed previously.

It is this characteristic that prods the salesperson to bounce back from a failed marriage, a financial reversal, a bad experience with an employer, or a manager with whom he doesn't get along.
Motivated by his desire to succeed, and equipped with the ability to learn, he sees adversity as just another learning experience, and becomes more focused, wiser and more committed as a result.

The last of my big four characteristics is "the ability to focus." This is particularly important in our 21st Century economy. There are so many "things to do", so many opportunities and demands on our time, the unfocused salesperson can squander much of his day reacting to the superfluous.

Remember the movie "City Slickers?" When asked his secret for living a successful life, Curly held up one finger. "One thing" he said. Focus on one thing and do it well.

Very few people can do more than one thing exceptionally well. Sales is an incredibly sophisticated profession wherein real, long–lasting success takes years of disciplined work. Successful salespeople know that, and stay focused on the basics of their job, and the practices and principles that they know will pay off.

Given these four characteristics and enough time, the salesperson will become successful. When we find one of them, and then we add training in the principles and practices that define the best way to do the job, we have every reason to expect that person to develop into one of the successful superstars.
It starts with character.

Dave Kahle is the country's premier sales training educator. Since 1988, Dave has worked with over 400 companies, helping them to increase their sales and develop their sales people. He's been published over 1,000 times, writes a weekly Ezine, and has authored seven books. He has a gift for creating powerful training events that get audiences thinking differently about sales. Also, check out Dave's blog.

Every Friday is "grab the mic" day. Want to grab the mic and be a guest blogger on Drew's Marketing Minute? Shoot me an e-mail.

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Questions to ask before you design a new logo

April 8, 2009

Call it a creative brief. Call it a discovery process. Call it what you will…but be sure to do it, before you either hire a designer or try to design your own logo.

If you remember, a few weeks ago I did a call for companies who wanted to win a free logo design from LogoInn.com. The catch was….you had to let your logo evolve right here on the blog, so everyone could learn as we went. Scads of entries came in and I want to thank everyone who entered.

The final winner was actually not a for profit company but an organization — Colfax Main Street. We'll learn more as we go. We'll take a look at their answers to these questions as the first step in the process.

Okay….back to the creative brief. No matter how small or large your organization….you need to be as objective as possible about your logo design. This isn't about whether you like the color orange or think trapezoids are cool shapes.

This is about trying to capture the spirit of your organization in a mark…to give people a clue as to what you do and what you're all about.

That's where the creative brief comes in. This series of questions will guide you and the designer. It will both illuminate and eliminate.

You will see LogoInn.com's creative brief and then I've added some additional questions that I think are critical. You'll also note that I've customized some of the questions specifically for Colfax Main Street. You'll want to do the same for your business.

Logo Inn’s creative brief

Your company name
Describe your business (your product or service)
Website address
Who's your target audience
What colors do you require in the logo?
Do you have any preference for you logo regarding image and text style?
Language you require in logo?
Any additional thoughts?

My additional questions

What, if anything, are you using for a logo now?
If you have a current logo, why are you looking to change it?
What word/words need to be included in your logo?
Who is your competition? How are you different from them?
What is your brand promise/tagline? How do you bring that to life?
What are your organization's values/mission?
What words would people use to describe your organization/city BEFORE their first visit (in other words-what do they think/believe before they visit)
What words would people use to describe your organization/city AFTER their first visit (in other words-what do they think/believe after they visit)
Are there any iconic places, elements of architecture, design elements, landmarks that make Colfax unique?
Which of these words is a better fit for your brand? Techno or Active
Which of these words is a better fit for your brand? Warm or Progressive
Which of these words is a better fit for your brand? Old Fashioned or Modern
Which of these words is a better fit for your brand? High End or Cost Effective
Which of these words is a better fit for your brand? Night Life or Early Morning
Who would have no interest in your city/brand?
Are there any color no no's? Image no no's?
Competitors' marks (colors, shapes, concepts, ideas are already being used in the marketplace)
Where will the logo appear/primary usage — how will you use it?
Any other production considerations (must work extremely small, or will be usually be reproduced in single color etc.)

What do you think? What else could or should we have asked?

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Are you managing your personal brand or it is managing you?

April 7, 2009

Here's the truth. We all have a personal brand. Some of them are more visible or more aligned with our goals and others just limp along…giving off a lot of misinformation because no one is paying attention to it.

We all have a brand. Are you managing it or is yours managing you?

There's a lot of buzz about personal branding these days, especially in terms of building your career and making sure that you're perceived as the "must have" employee if your employer is considering layoffs.

That's what makes Dan Schawbel's new book, Me 2.0 so perfectly timed. Dan has become synonymous with personal branding, having appeared in every publication from BusinessWeek to Forbes and Fast Company.

Dan's book outlines his four-step process for building a powerful brand and his case studies and research reports back up every recommendation he makes.

This is the first book about personal branding written for the millennial generation by a millennial.

But don't think that's all there is to it. Whether you are 25 or 52 — Me 2.0 will teach you how to bridge the gap between the current business environment and the progressive best practices of today…and tomorrow.

Don't take my word for it…here are some of the early reviews:

"Me 2.0 is an easy, thought-provoking read and recommended for anyone who may find themselves back on the job market with only a paper resume as a calling card." —Entrepreneur

"Only 25, Dan Schawbel has branded himself as the expert in personal branding. Even more, he's found a competitive edge: He's the expert in Gen-Y personal branding. Schawbel writes an online personal branding magazine. He has a personal branding website. He says personal branding will help college students land jobs, entrepreneurs get financing, even managers earn promotions." —Miami Herald

"The Business world is changing and what Dan Schawbel has captured in this book is the pulse of the changing branding market." —Gary Vaynerchuk, host and founder of Wine Library TV

Buy the book today and give your personal brand the boost it deserves!

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What’s really up with small business marketing?

April 6, 2009

That was the question that Jay Ehret posed on his most recent podcast.

As Jay says in his intro…"We are marketing in a great period of transition: a digital divide. The abandonment of traditional media and the adoption of new media in small business marketing is in. Or is it?

So what should you do? Jump wholeheartedly into social media and online marketing? Are traditional media like newspaper, TV and radio dead? Is Facebook and Twitter the magic marketing answer?"

He then interviewed four business marketing practitioners to get their take. Where should entrepreneurs do? What's working right now? What does the future hold?

It's a good listen and I think you'll walk away with some things to ponder.

You can listen off Jay's site or download the podcast to listen on the treadmill. Either way, grab it here.

And yes…that is me.

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Does your bank want to check your indent?

April 4, 2009

I laughed out loud when I saw this sign outside a bank's drive-up window. And, they're so worried about your indents, they had an identical sign in the adjacent window.

Let this be a reminder to all of us — for the love of all that is holy — PROOFREAD!

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Four Buzz Tips from Startups (Emanuel Rosen)

April 3, 2009

Drew's Note: As I try to do every Friday, I'm pleased to bring you a guest post. Meet another thought leader who shares his insights via the blogosphere. So without further ado…Emanual Rosen. Again. Enjoy!

In researching my books on word-of-mouth marketing, I’ve interviewed several entrepreneurs who have been successful in creating buzz for their business. Here are four lessons I have learned from them:

The most important buzz technology is your ear. When Brian Maxwell was developing an energy bar for athletes, he started by listening to what these folks had to say. The late co-founder of PowerBar estimated that he and his team talked with about 1,200 athletes during the development stage. When the product was ready, these people got some bars (and a follow up survey) and were the first to buzz about the product.

The right channel can create initial buzz. When Margot Fraser decided to market Birkenstock in the U.S., she went to the most natural channel: shoe stores. But shoe store owners didn’t believe anyone would buy these strange looking sandals. Fraser found that owners of health food stores were more receptive to the unconventional sandals. Many of them bought the product for their own use and buzzed to their customers about it. (A similar thing happened with PowerBar that spread through bicycle shops.)

People don’t buzz for money, but… everyone likes a little thank you note. Here’s an example: When you bring in a new member to Angie’s List, you get a one-pound bag of M&M’s. “From the very early days, we have put a big emphasis on rewarding our members when they get other people to join,” says Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie’s List. The company used to send a blank check for seven dollars that you could make out to yourself or your favorite charity, but they discontinued this promotion. The M&M’s are still very popular…

People love to tell a good story. Consider this one: A few years ago, Blake Mycoskie visited Argentina where he found these cool canvas slip-on shoes called alpargatas. A few days later, he came across some impoverished kids who were running around barefoot and he had an idea: He would redesign the alpargatas and for every pair that he’d sell, he would give away another pair to a child in need. His company, Toms Shoes, has given away tens of thousands of shoes and is getting tons of buzz. “I wish I could give you some great topical or tactical way we’re doing this,” Mycoskie told me “but the truth is it’s just a great story and people feel good telling it.”

Emanuel Rosen is the author of the national bestseller The Anatomy of Buzz (Doubleday, 2000). His new book The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited: Real-Life Lessons in Word-of-Mouth Marketing, was published in February 2009. You can follow him on Twitter @EmanuelRosen, visit his web site or email emanuel@emanuel-rosen.com

Purchase his new book The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited (which is fascinating…you'll find yourself quoting it all week!).

Every Friday is "grab the mic" day. Want to grab the mic and be a guest blogger on Drew's Marketing Minute? Shoot me an e-mail.

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Twitter transparency & tweet formulas

April 1, 2009

I fear that the word transparency may go the way of empowered, engaged and conversation — words that once meant something but have now been turned into business jargon. I think one of the downsides of social media is that we are wearing out words at a rapid rate.

But….having said all that — one of the most important factors to remember about social media tools like Twitter is in fact….transparency.

As businesses and marketing folks wrestle with how to participate on Twitter but do it without any facades…lots of people are trying lots of different things. One of the constant complaints about Twitter is that if a company is the Twitter ID….who are you really talking to?

The digital agency Modea has handled their Twitter account in a very smart and "look behind the curtain" way. As you can see on this screen shot….although they are tweeting under the company name, they've identified who is the man (and woman) behind the curtain.

They're building equity in their brand but we don't feel like we're talking to an anonymous IT or marketing person. Instead, we know it's David or Julianne.

We're all still trying to figure this stuff out…but this sure seems like a smart way to approach handling a company account.

Next step for Modea…I hope they'll start sharing more resources and knowledge. It's great to learn more about what's happening at their agency — but I also want them to help be (and all of their followers) stay current and smart.

Everyone should decide how they want to use Twitter and connect with their community. But…for me and MMG, the formula we've informally created is 85% of the time — provide value/resources. 10% of the time — chat and connect with other Tweeters and 5% of the time — promote our own agency and blog posts.

How about you — how are you staying transparent and what's your Tweet formula?

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Shame on you advertisers!

March 31, 2009

We've talked before about how the media hype is actually making the recession worse. How our fear is paralyzing us from spending a buck or making a business decision that involves any sort of an investment.

As you'll recall, I said I thought it was up to the businesses of this country to ignore the doomsday talk and get out there and behave our way out of the recession. We need to be smart but we need to grow our businesses just like we've always done. By investing in good people, good products and good services.

So that's why I find some of the recent ads I've seen so alarming.

An All State Insurance ad I just saw the other night started out like this (my paraphrasing): "Today, the longest walk of the day is the walk to the mailbox…where all those bills are just waiting for you."

A local ad here from a company that sells pool tables and accessories has the owner on camera, talking about he's taken a beating during the recession…so he is being forced to sell his wares practically at cost, just to pay the wholesaler's note.

Come on!

For a very small group of people, that's a true statement. But when the media…and now the advertising constantly tells all of us that we should be dismal and dread our mail — we are just adding to the malaise of this country. We're making it worse.

Does that mean you shouldn't talk about how your product or service is a good value? Of course not. But stop wrapping it up in the recession flag. You should always be a good value, right? Did your potential customers not care about that when the economy was booming?

If you don't care so much about how your marketing is impacting the economy…ponder this. How many ads have you seen/heard/read in the last 30 days that referenced the recession or these tough economic times? Just about all of them! It's become the theme du jour, which means that your efforts sound a whole lot like everyone else's.

So whether you want to stand out or you want to be a part of the solution — for the love of Pete, stop or if you're one of the few who hasn't jumped on the bandwagon yet — don't start.

How can you (or are you already) marketing your product without using the recession as a crutch?

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