Archive for the 'strategy' Category

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Just Do It?

Published on July 2, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives, entrepreneur, management and strategy. 0 Comments

We live in a very action-oriented society.

Getting things done, accomplishment, success and winning are valued above almost everything else. When you meet someone new, they first ask you what you do. And we love to tell them.

And I’m no exception. In fact, I feel guilty when I take it easy and am not doing something productive.

What’s wrong with this picture?

What’s wrong is that this primary focus on action is ultimately doomed to failure. It’s a strategy that will not consistently get us what we want. In fact, it can contribute to huge amounts of wasted time, spent energy and unfulfilled dreams.

I’m not saying that action is bad. No, it’s quite essential – in its place. What doesn’t work, what actually hurts us, is a focus on action above all else.

Nike’s iconic motto “Just Do It” is a lie.

Now, I’m not saying that taking it easy is the answer either. This article has nothing to do with finding balance and reducing stress. Although useful, they are not the key to making your dreams come true.

Have you ever noticed that two people can be equally busy in their lives – in their business – and yet one is a lot more successful, more accomplished than the other? I’ve certainly seen this with my clients.

Similar businesses, similar levels of intelligence, but very different results. One consistently produces superior results and the other struggles valiantly only to see their efforts fall short. Both are equally action focused. So why do they get different results (even when using similar methods)?

This really is the proverbial $64,000 question!

The answer to this question is both powerful and elusive. It’s powerful because, if you understand and apply it, it can change your life. It’s elusive because, like the air we breathe, it’s easy to miss.

So let me demonstrate how it works.

I’m going to ask you to do a little exercise: I want you to picture something that you want to accomplish in your business but haven’t yet. Make this as clear as you possibly can. See it, feel it, touch it. Make it completely real.

Then say these words to yourself: “I want….” and then describe what you want as clearly and as concisely as possible. Focus only on this, on nothing else. Take your time until you are clear and specific.

Notice how you feel once you have a higher level of clarity about what you want in your business. Are you more (even if a little) excited, enthusiastic and confident than before? If not, go back and clarify your “want” a little more. Don’t cheat yourself by being vague–get very specific and clear.

Next, take a minute and write down 3 things you can do to make your “want” happen. It could be anything, but again, like your intended result, make your action steps very specific.

Do these action steps seems doable, achievable? Can you easily see yourself doing them and having them lead to your ultimate accomplishment? Are you ready to get started?

OK, that’s the exercise.

If you only read through this exercise quickly, I urge you to go back and actually do it. It only takes a minute or two and can kick start major changes in your business.

Clearly picture something you want to accomplish in your business and concisely articulate what it is.
Notice how you feel (if it’s not more positive, repeat step 1).
Write down three specific action steps.

The secret to effective action is “Clear Intention.” Without clear intention, you’re just going through the motions. You’re putting a plan into action with no direction. And more often than not, you don’t get the results you desire.

I have a pretty good understanding of what you’re going through right now. I’ve noticed that when you tell someone that they haven’t created a strong clear intention, they usually won’t agree with you!

But the proof is in the pudding. When the intention is clear, your feelings are in alignment and the steps you need to take seem both obvious and simple. You automatically move towards realizing the intention you created.

Take a few moments to create a clear intention for your business – what is something you really want to accomplish? Set a clear intention for money – how much do you want to earn and what will you do with it? Set a clear intention for marketing and selling – what projects and clients would you love to have?

Action without clear intention is like a race car without big sticky tires; you’ll feel like you’re moving forward only to look back and realize you’ve been spinning your wheels.

(originally published by Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing)

Ideal Client Mix

Published on April 8, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives, advertising, marketing and strategy. 4 Comments

The more I learn about small business, the more I’m surprised about the shaky foundation on which they build their businesses. Owners risk so for their business, yet they often put themselves at greater risk because they choose not to market consistently.

Overwhelmingly, when people discover that I’m a marketing coach they proudly state, “I’ve built my entire business on referrals. I’ve never had to spend a penny on advertising.” And my response is typically, “That’s great, advertising rarely works for service businesses anyway. And I applaud you for providing a service valuable enough to get people talking. So tell me, how do you get referrals on a consistent basis?” That’s when they usually stop dead in their tracks. They realize that referrals are not predictable; they realize that they are not in full control of their own business.

Now let me be clear; referrals are great! They are vital to your firm’s growth. They are the easiest business to close and they are typically less price sensitive than other buyers. You should ALWAYS strive to do your job well enough to get people talking about you and your services to friends and colleagues.

That said, the ideal client mix for a service business is 50% referrals and 50% new business. And by new business, I mean clients that would not have otherwise come to you without stumbling across one (or more) of your marketing tactics. So what’s your percentage? How much of your business do you ultimately control?

Referrals are going to happen (or not) when you provide good service and deliver value. Referrals are next to impossible to control. You can’t magically turn on the referral switch and get new business when you need it. So while they are great business; you shouldn’t let referrals totally control your business. You need to proactively grow your business in addition to working with referrals.

You need a reliable system in place for generating new leads and attracting new clients. By balancing referrals with proven marketing strategies, you can potentially double your business if your current mix is 100% referral-based.

Just for a minute, assume you keep your current level of referrals and you elevate your new business marketing efforts to attain the ideal 50/50 split. What would that mean for your business? What would that mean for your personal goals? Having a marketing engine that consistently creates more opportunity than capacity allows you to choose better clients and better projects.

What I’ve discovered is that most people don’t understand how to market their business. They’ve never had any training or they simply get distracted by the details leaving their big plans to collect dust. In addition to referrals and advertising, there are many more marketing options.

BNI is the world’s largest “lead referral group.” Each week millions of businessmen and women around the world get together to proactively drum up referrals for their business. Earlier this year, they asked their members about their marketing strategies. Here are the results (in order of weight as of March 2008):

BNI Marketing Strategies

Referral Marketing – 41.6%
Direct Marketing – 17.6%
Web Marketing – 9.9%
Direct Mail Marketing – 5.8%
Email Marketing – 5.5%
Print Ads – 4.8%
Other – 4.2%
Public Relations – 3.8%
Telemarketing – 3.1%
TV/Radio – 2.8%

So even in a group that purposefully built to generate referrals, members are still spending over 50% of marketing efforts on other strategies. But here’s the kicker, BNI members are missing out on some of the most effective marketing strategies available for professional service businesses.

Just look at the focus on direct marketing, direct mail, print ads, and tv/radio; those strategies are basically marketing number games. The response rate for those strategies is so low you need tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of contact names on your prospect list to make it worth your time and effort. We’re talking about a ~0.5% response rate on those strategies.

If you’re in a service business, you are selling your knowledge, expertise and ability to solve client problems. Chances are you have hundreds, maybe thousands, of people in your contact list or address book–no where near enough to play marketing number games. Not to mention, it’s very difficult to explain the value of your intangible service offering with traditional advertising. You need a different approach; you need different options.

I help my clients pick between 11 proven marketing strategies. We select the top three to five strategies that are best suited for their unique goals and personality. These are “big bucket” strategies that can have hundreds of different tactical executions apiece. The 11 strategies include (in alphabetical order not effectiveness):

1. Advertising (paid placement of message, incl. sponsorship)
2. Articles & Publishing
3. Direct Outreach (one-to-one direct mail, email, phone calls)
4. Keep in Touch (newsletters, auto-responder email)
5. Networking (events, lunches, committees, Board of Directors
6. Online (SEO, banner ads, webinar, registration forms, blog)
7. PR (earned media/press mention)
8. Referral (Word of mouth, viral marketing)
9. Speaking, Presentations, Workshops
10. Special Events (host seminars, open house, customer events)
11. Strategic Alliance / Joint Venture

For instance, take Networking. As an overarching strategy, you can network at local Chamber events, professional groups, church, alumni clubs, civic organizations, and online networking sites like LinkedIn. You can join boards, country clubs, mastermind groups. In order to take advantage of networking (or any of these strategies), you need a plan.

Each of these marketing strategies has been proven to work. But some are more effective than others. Notice that advertising and referrals are both solid strategies, but they’re not the only options. And I like I said before, advertising only works with businesses with mass market appeal. The very nature of a service business has a targeted audience.

The small business owners I talk to want a tangible return on their investment of time, money and energy into marketing. Everyone has unique goals, but one of the most common goals that I encounter in professional service partners is the desire to be seen as an “expert” in their field. They want to elevate above their competition and be recognized as a leader. If this goal resonates with you, one of the most potent combination of marketing strategies you can employee is Writing, Speaking, and Networking.

Think about who you look to as leaders. How do you tap into their knowledge? Where do you find them? Chances are you buy their books; or read their articles/white papers; or see them talk at a conference. Experts purposefully select marketing strategies that allow them to capitalize on their knowledge and “thought leadership.” Now, this is just one example. You have to pick strategies that excite you and are best suited to reaching your specific goals. If you can’t get excited about speaking, for instance, chances are you won’t actively work your speaking plan.

In closing, I want you to think about your business and your goals. If you have a business built 100% on referrals and you’re completely happy, I congratulate you. But if you have a business dependent on referrals and the stream is dwindling down or you yearn to take the business to the next level, you must become a better marketer. You need to balance your referral stream with new clients. Building action plans around a couple of the marketing strategies listed above is a great way to reach the 50/50 client mix.

—–

If you’re in the greater Lexington, KY area, mark your calendar. Starting May 15th, I’m leading an 8 week marketing workshop for Independent Professionals and Partners in professional service businesses who want to attract more clients. This program, entitled the Fast Track to More Clients, will be a business “tipping point” for owners who are:

Tired of struggling with marketing and getting minimal results
Resistant to engaging in marketing activities
Committed to growing their business to a whole new level

Learn more at http://www.nick-rice.com/fasttrack

Is the opportunity real?

Published on February 4, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives, business and strategy. 3 Comments

We’ve all been in that sales situation where you think you have it wrapped up and at the last minute it stalls. They stop returning your calls and emails, all correspondences are very short and to the point, the RFP is hanging out there, it seems like your prospect has simply fallen off the face of the earth.

So what happened? Were they not an ideal client or part of your target audience? Was there secretly a competitor with an inside track or existing relationship (hint: there usually is, but that’s a different ezine topic)? Were they simply shopping to see what’s available in the marketplace?

It could’ve been any of those, and more, so today I want to introduce a framework to help you evaluate each opportunity – before you commit to chasing it. I can’t claim this model as my own, though I’ve adopted it in my daily client interactions.

When I got serious about understanding consultative sales, multiple colleagues recommended I pick up Mahan Khalsa’s book, “Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play.” And I recommend you read it as well. The short version of the story is that Mahan is responsible for sales performance at FranklinCovey, the Seven Habits folks, and this book shed more light on how modern sales work than anything I’ve read. When I read a recent ezine from Mahan, I knew I needed to share some of his wisdom with a little bit of “Nick Rice practicality” thrown in for good measure.

When you are presented with an opportunity for a new project or new business, you need to uncover as much as possible to gauge how successful you will be with this project. If you try to fix every problem that presents itself, you will never be seen as a specialist, and as such, you will never command high fees. Generalists stay busy with small projects, but when the client wakes up and decides to fix the big problem, who are they going to call?

So, how do you uncover such details? At a high level, you have to ensure that three things are present before you can properly evaluate an opportunity. Here is the Opportunity Framework:

Opportunity Framework

First off, you have to know that there truly is a problem to solve or a result to achieve. You cannot help someone that doesn’t admit or realize that something needs to change. It doesn’t matter if you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there’s an issue; if you cannot get your prospect to see it and admit it, you’re wasting your time. On the flip side of this, it has to be a problem worth fixing or a result worth achieving. Organizations live in a constant state of brokenness – and that’s okay as long as they are still profitably functional. Some problems are worth fixing, some are not. Realize that as soon as possible and move on.

The second item to uncover is the prospect’s ability to make and act upon a decision. There’s nothing worse than someone who cannot make a decision and move on it. If you’re running into this, chances are you’re not talking to the real decision maker or you’re not helping them paint a picture of what life could be like after fixing the situation. If you work with large organizations, know that junior level managers and staff love to keep consultants and sales people busy. They like the power trip. And it makes them look productive to their bosses. You need assurance that the person you’re working with can say yes to your proposed solution before you invest a lot of time and energy.

The third leg of this stool is ensuring that appropriate resources are available to address the issue. Resources can take the shape of budget dollars, staff availability, executive oversight, equipment – anything required to make the solution a reality. If there’s not enough budget or internal staff resources, the project will never get off the ground. If you cannot get commitment from a certain executive for support, you’re on thin ice. How can you be successful without appropriate resources?

If any one of these three items is left unknown, you put the project and your success at risk. Chances are you’re going to waste a lot of time when this initiative stalls at some point in the future.

We’ve all seen good opportunities with no budget. We’ve all seen executives than cannot make a decision. We’ve all walked into a client’s office and almost tripped over the problems in the organization. If you are someone that wants to be recognized as an expert in their field; someone that wants to truly provide the best solution to the client’s problem; you owe it to yourself to slow down enough to uncover all three parts of an opportunity. And don’t be afraid to walk away if the opportunity isn’t ideal. You should only work in an environment where you are set up to succeed. If the project isn’t right, it isn’t right and now it’s time to move on.

You cannot expect the client to simply lay all of this out on the table for you. You have to dig. You have to ask the right questions to bring these issues to the forefront – and in doing so you will separate yourself from 98% of the other sales people out there. Too many people simply jump at what’s presented in an RFP or what’s said a meetings as gospel without digging any deeper. Clients want and expect you to ask tough questions. They want to know that you fully understand their issue inside and out before presenting a solution.

When you approach each opportunity as a chance to find the perfect solution for your client – whether it involves you or not – you’re doing the right thing. And Carma has a way of rewarding those that do the right thing. In order to understand the problem and propose the perfect solution, you need to know all three parts of an opportunity.

Excellence versus Perfection

Published on January 9, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives, marketing and strategy. 3 Comments

Michael J. Fox once said, “I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.” Those words rang true as soon as I read them.

Early in my career I was a graphic designer for a local university. I was responsible for creating text books and classroom materials for the International College of Dentistry – super exciting work by the way . Like any job I had deadlines to meet with the editors, publishers, printers, etc… One day I caught myself going back to tweak the layout for a certain book. That particular book was printed six months earlier and currently in use in Dental Schools throughout the Middle East. But here I was futzing with margins, font spacing and the like.

Something made me stop and think about what I was doing. Why in the world was I messing with a text book that would never be reprinted? I had other things to work on, but internally I was going nuts because I knew I could do a better job than I had originally. Mind you, there was nothing wrong with the final published book. It was great. Everyone signed off on my designs and loved it. Not to mention that it was a critical component of actually training and producing dentists. It was working.

And in that moment I realized that I was a “tweaker”. My edits had nothing to do with my audience. They were strictly for my own benefit and justification. I wanted better margins simply because it was the right thing to do in my mind. Tweaking was a constant thread in my professional life for years. And to this day I still fight the urge to pull up a logo I designed nine months ago, or a strategic plan that I helped write with a client and make a few tweaks. It’s just a part of who I am.

But a few years ago I realized that tweaking was just for me – not my clients – most of the time they never saw my tweaks anyway. When I did bring my revised files to a client, they would look at me like I just handed them a moon rock. You could see it in their eyes, “What is this? Why are you bringing this to me now?”

After more than a few of those interactions, I decided that perfectionism doesn’t work for me. In fact, it was actually hurting my client relationships. They had moved on. I was obsessing. I was the crazy consultant or designer that couldn’t let go. So today, I actively strive for excellence.

Excellence is something completely different than perfection. And it took me a long time to fully understand how powerful and good simply being excellent was. For me, perfection was the top. It was it. Anything else seemed like failure. I look back now and realize how silly I was to think that being excellent meant failure.

And here’s the funny thing that all perfectionists know – perfection isn’t possible. If it isn’t possible, why keep killing ourselves to reach it? If it isn’t possible, why even think and act like it is? Why assume that nothing else will suffice? Why do we set ourselves up for a letdown?

Being excellent is attainable. It’s not always easy, but it is doable. Excellence doesn’t mean that you’re sacrificing your soul. It doesn’t mean anything other than excellent. And how can that be a bad thing?

When you strive for perfection, you shoot yourself in the foot right from the start. You’ve given yourself a goal that’s unreachable. You will never be satisfied with the end result and that creates a type of myopia. You cannot see past perfection. Perfection holds you back from reaching your true potential. It’s a constrictive way of being. Perfection costs you more than you realize.

And here’s the kicker – no one expects you to be perfect. People expect you to strive for excellence. Excellence is what people pay for. It’s what people really want from you.

Being recognized as excellent in your field is the key to success. So I encourage all of you perfectionist out there to take a few minutes and look at how your never-ending quest for perfection affects your life and relationships. Is it helping or hurting you? Are you getting what you want?

If you’re open to looking at it from another angle, ask yourself these two questions:

If it were impossible to be perfect who would I prefer to be?
If I could be the new way, what would things be like? What would happen?

If you’re like me, you’ll find that the new way of being is much better than the current constrictive way. Once you come to that realization, life and work take on a whole new meaning.

Like I said, I still fight the urge to tweak, but recognizing how it affects me and actively striving for excellence has allowed me to be more productive, more effective and happier. And that’s something that most New Year’s resolutions can’t beat.

BTW, There are probably spelling and/or grammar mistakes in this blog post. And that’s okay. I’ve spell checked it and I’ve re-read it and now I’m sending it. I want it to be right, but I also know that I can spend hours obsessing over every detail and it won’t go out until tomorrow or the next day. Hopefully a few grammatical errors (if you catch them) won’t keep you from thinking about what I’ve said. So here goes…

5 Ways to Join the Conversation Economy

Published on April 27, 2007 in marketing, social media and strategy. 3 Comments

It’s no secret that the web is moving to a conversation platform. That’s one of the major check boxes for all “Web 2.0” apps online. You can have a 2.0 look (big fonts, clean simple design, and gradient color buttons), but to truly be 2.0 you have to build your site around information sharing and user contribution.

Well that’s easy to do if you’re a start-up. But what’s the benefit to Fortune 500 companies that are decades or centuries old? It’s hard to wrap your head around this paradigm shift if you’ve been pushing information out to your customers for the last 20+ years. In the old model, a company would buy enough airtime and/or print advertising to throw their message out in the market. It was a shotgun approach in the purest sense. Even as media-scarcity began to evaporate (think cable TV versus network or niche magazines versus the NY Times), new targeting models came about to direct budget dollars to more appropriate mediums. But it’s was still a one way conversation. Focus groups and the occasional talk to a sales person became the primary method of hearing what was going on with customers.

Today, we understand the world has changed. The TV industrial complex is all but gone. That’s not to say that no one will ever advertise on TV again; but we now understand that the expense to do so rarely generates a worthwhile return on budget dollars. There’s only one true mass market TV event – the SuperBowl – and that has pretty much sucked from an advertising point of view for the last few years.

The music industry is falling apart. Why would a band sell their souls to a record label when they can get online distribution on their own? When was the last time you walked into a CD or record store and bought something? The world has changed.

Ten years ago we had no idea what Amazon and eBay would do the marketplace. They built systems around trust – not to mention the innovations around warehousing, shipping and distribution. Trust comes from real people giving recommendations, ratings, comments and reviews. That’s not a new concept. The difference is that today, it’s enabled by high speed web technology.

So where do you start? How do you get on the bus? Whoa, slow down a sec. You don’t think you need to be on that bus? Well, if you don’t you’ll continue to see your profit slip. You’ll continue to get bashed on Technorati (didn’t know that was happening did you?). You’ll continue to look for ways to cut costs instead of grow revenue. And you’ll continue to feel the seismic shift underfoot until you fall in the crack. The world has changed. Consumers want, and sometimes demand, to participate in your brand – your half of the conversation.

So, here are my five ways you can start to revamp your business around the conversational economy/web:

Make it easy for consumers to talk about you – good and bad.
If you sell products or services, let users submit testimonials, reviews and ratings on your site. If you’re making good products or selling valuable services, you shouldn’t have to worry because you’ll see glowing reviews. If not, you’ve most likely found the source of your profitability or market share issues.
Customers are always right.
Even when they’re wrong, in their heads, they’re right. You have an opportunity to educate them; but at the end of the day, they choose whether to stay with you or leave. You cannot control that. How you handle the education part makes a big difference in their decision.
Stop trying to please everyone.
Make an awesome product for one segment. Dominate that group of users. Turn them into your biggest advocates. When you try to make something for everyone, you end up with mush. Think Apple. The only way to survive the conversational web or economy is to have people talking about you. They can either love you or hate you, but if you’re stuck in the middle, you’re toast.
Understand that each and every customer counts.
Like Chris Anderson said, “the ants have megaphones.” You have to recognize vocal supporters and address vocal critics. One bad review by an influential blogger and you’ve lost a lot of opportunities and credibility in the marketplace. People don’t trust mass media. They trust people like themselves. If you feel like addressing individual users is too much hassle, you now see how far you have to come to truly participate in the new marketplace.
Do something worth conversation.
I’m not talking about a press stunt. I’m talking about developing offerings that people love. I’m talking about delivering customers service that is delightfully unexpected. Simply meeting expectations doesn’t count anymore. There are too many options to pick from. That mentality comes from a scarcity mindset and we live in an abundant world. Create joy. Make a difference. Get people talking.

Customers have always talked about brands, products and services. Today, through web technology, they can influence 100X the number of people with very little time and effort. It’s just a few keystrokes after all. Consumers have always owned the brand of businesses they interact with. Today they control the brand. Conversation is the key – true two-way conversation. Stop pushing content out. Starting interacting and engaging with your audience. Your eyes and ears will be opened and you’ll benefit and create loyalty if you do it right.

(adapted from my Fast Company blog post earlier this week)

If you’re not on the cause marketing bandwagon…

Published on March 21, 2007 in cause marketing and strategy. 0 Comments

From BrandWeek, “Good Things Come to Brands That Give”

57% of consumers said they are more loyal to socially responsible companies
52% are more likely to talk to friends and family about those corporations, products and services
38% are willing to pay extra
35% are more likely to buy stock in those firms

Let’s see, loyalty, referrals, profitability, ownership! Yep, pretty much covers all the bases of strategic growth.

See the Top 50 socially & environmentally responsible companies (PDF)

If you’re not on board but would like to learn more, give me a ring. We’ve helped others, chances are we can help you.

Apple COO on Apple

Published on March 17, 2007 in management and strategy. 1 Comment

Here are some snippets from Tim Cook’s speech at the Goldman Sach’s Technology Investment Syposium from late Feb. (from Mac Rumors)

How do you keep innovating?

…I would say is our corporate culture is a very simple culture. We hire people who want to make the best products in the world and provide an atmosphere to challenge each other to make the best products. And that’s deeply embedded in the DNA of the company. …. I can tell you this is why people come to work at Apple.

How do you view the market for the iPhone?

The traditional way that all of us were taught in business school to look at a market was you look at the products you are selling, you look at the price bands that are in the market, you think of the price band that you product is in and assume you can get a percentage of it, and that’s how you get this addressable market. That kind of analysis doesn’t make really great products. The iPod would not have been brought to market if we had looked it that way. How many $399 music players were being sold at that time? Today the cell phone industry, a lot of people pay $0 for the cell phone. Guess why? That’s what its worth! If we offer something that has tremendous value that is sort of this thing that people didn’t have in their consciousness, it was not imaginable… I think there are a bunch of people that will pay $499 or $599 and our target is clearly to hit 10 million and I would guess some of those people are paying $0 because its worth $0 and willing to pay a bit more because its worth more.

How do you handle the loss of a senior exec?

Apple is an amazing company, and I didn’t fully understand until I got there, how amazing it was. And the feeling of not getting weighed down by bureaucracy, and politics and all the ancillary things that any businesses are. So this atmosphere is a very very unique kind of atmosphere and frankly, we don’t have an issue attracting people to work there, and we have so many things going on and innovation is so deeply embedded in this place. While you may see 5-6 or 10 people being most visible, the company is full of off-the-charts smart people. We’ve had some executive departures, but as a grown-up company does, we planned good succession, and I think you can see from our results, the products have kept coming.

It’s obvious how much Apple respects their customer (or should I say legions of mac addicts) and their employees. I’m continually amazed, given their formula of success, how other large companies scoff at Apple. In today’s world cost-cutting is viewed as an innovation. It’s bad enough to focus your efforts internally for growth (as compared to what really drives top line growth – delivering what customers desire on top of an outstanding experience), but when you skip right past your people and only look for cost targets how do you ever expect to right the ship.

I know there’s not an easy or a quick fix. But today’s executives have to actively evolve their corporate culture, their internal DNA, to focus on real long term growth strategies. You only need to focus on two things – your customers and your employees. And by stating that “our employees are our greatest asset” in your mission statement doesn’t cut it. You have to prove you mean it. Set your employees free to innovate, let them really converse with customers. Then you’ll see loyalty and growth from both parties.

If you don’t believe me, look at the Fortune 500 list from 1995. How many of those companies are still on there? How many are still in existence? Einstein said it best, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”

Do something different or accept your fate as the dinosaur grazing while a meteor is barreling down with you in it’s crosshairs.

Who cares about plain text emails?

Published on March 3, 2007 in business, marketing and strategy. 0 Comments

Found this great post at AWeber Communications on HTML versus text only emails.

There are some good comments (including my own, if I might add) on the benefits and disadvantages of both email formats. At Cre8tive, we typically will send both versions automatically and let the recipient’s server decide which version is appropriate. With Microsoft Outlook 2007 coming, the rules around HTML email coding have changed a bit. With the new version, Outlook will use MS Word as it’s HTML rendering engine instead of Internet Explorer. It does affect how you need to program and layout your HTML emails. You need to be aware of the new rules and issues. Here are the reasons behind the change.

The good thing about text only versions is that they are super stable. You don’t have to worry about horizontal or vertical viewing panes or images being disabled or your CSS/table layout being screwed up. It just works. Unfortunately, it’s not as trackable as the HTML version – but you can track all external links to your mini-site or landing page. And once on your website, you have the full benefits of your installed analytics engine to take care of the tracking details.

I recommend sending both. And in each version, include a full link to a web version as well. And like all good marketing efforts; test, evaluate, tweak, rinse and repeat. The beauty of email marketing is the immediate feedback and the cost effective nature. It allows very easy A/B testing, personalization and ROI tracking. It’s a great way to stay in front of your customers while offering a lot of value in a small package.

Marketing (r)evolution Carnival #2 – February 12, 2007

Published on February 11, 2007 in advertising, branding, marketing, marketing (r)evolution and strategy. 4 Comments

Marketing (r)evolution Carnival - Nick Rice

Welcome to the February 12, 2007 edition of Marketing (r)evolution Carnival.

This ended up being much larger than I anticipated, but there’s a lot of good articles here. Enjoy the 2nd Edition.

Advertising

David Polinchock presents Experience Manifesto: BEL Predictions posted at Experience Manifesto, saying, “I thought that our 2007 predictions would make a good addition to the next edition of the marketing (r)evolution carnival.”

Christopher J. Brunner presents Are You Using Your Business Cards? posted at The Small Business Buzz, saying, “Are you using your business cards to network and advertise your business? If not, here are some tips to help you utilize the power of these mini-billboards called business cards.”

Vahid Chaychi presents How to Maximize Your Profit in Pay Per Click Advertising posted at Internet and Search Engine Marketing, saying, “Pay per click advertising is good but you should be able to make a profit through it. It means you should make more than what you spend. You can do it by choosing the right keywords, proper designing of the target page and … .”

Christopher J. Brunner presents Adding Non-Text Elements to Your Business Cards posted at The Small Business Buzz, saying, “Thank you for considering my submission for inclusion in this month’s edition of MRC. Michelle Cramer”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Of Loan Refinancing, Debt Consolidation And LowerMyBills’ Dancing Cowboys posted at The Digerati Life.

Branding

Ron E presents Branding to the Young…of Heart posted at Brand Curve, saying, “Branding and Marketing to the baby boomers is getting hotter by the minute. Some thoughts on how companies can tackle this -forgotten- market.”

Kim M. Bayne presents Naming Your Web Site posted at Minced Media.

David Maister presents Stylists (Staff Turnover and Customer Retention) posted at Passion, People and Principles, saying, “Who owns your brand? Your employees or your company?”

Anna Farmery presents Communication – Push or Pull? posted at The Engaging Brand.

Krishna De presents 5 keys to authoring your business book posted at Krishna De.

Marketing

Matthew Paulson presents Why I Don’t Buy From Quixtar posted at Getting Green.

K T Cat presents Where the Traffic Comes From posted at The Scratching Post.

Anna Farmery presents How Apple excites you posted at The Engaging Brand.

Charles H. Green presents Trust Tip 47: Subsidize Marketing with Sales posted at Trust Matters, saying, “Are you getting the most marketing impact out of your sales interactions?”

infonote presents Marketing and the legal environment posted at Kaizenlog, saying, “Kaizenlog contains a marketing section with information that people should find useful.”

Daniel presents CopyMarketing · 9 Steps To Reach Your Customers Successfully! posted at Copymarketing: Writing Profitable Marketing Copies.

Daniel presents CopyMarketing: One Very Effective Headline That Matters posted at Copymarketing: Writing Profitable Marketing Copies.

Daniel presents Benefits: The Real Currency of Marketing posted at Copymarketing: Writing Profitable Marketing Copies.

Scott Allen presents Monday Marketing Tip #5: Cotton Candy Marketing posted at About.com Entrepreneur’s Guide.

David Olsen presents Affiliate Marketing – Five tactics for getting the most out of your traffic posted at Affiliate Profit Center, saying, “Affiliate Marketing – Five tactics for getting the most out of your traffic”

Drew McLellan presents Surprise (Marketing lessons from Walt) posted at The Marketing Minute, saying, “This is the first in a series of 8 posts that spotlight the marketing wisdom of Walt Disney.”

Benjamin Yoskovitz presents Publish Articles Online to Generate Buzz and Traffic posted at Instigator Blog, saying, “Looking for ways to generate buzz, I’m attempting to accomplish as many of Ron McDaniel’s 57 buzz challenges as possible. One of them was to look at writing articles online (in article directories.)”

Becky Carroll presents Marketing Experiences, not Products posted at Customers Rock!, saying, “Thanks for the opportunity! This post is the first part of a series and discusses how we can look at marketing from a customer’s perspective, across the entire customer experience.”

Chris Sandberg presents Using Social Proof as a Marketing Tool posted at Internet Business Blog.

Elias Dabbas presents The Benefits of a Local eBusiness posted at The Media Supermarket.

Strategy

Matthew Paulson presents Gold: A Bad Investment posted at Getting Green.

Ruben presents 5 Explosive Secrets to Boost Your Traffic For Free For Years posted at Turn Your Blog Into Money Making Machine.

David Maister presents Changing People’s Minds posted at Passion, People and Principles, saying, “Is your marketing strategy changing minds?”

Vahid Chaychi presents How to Report Spam and Scam Emails posted at Work at Home Entrepreneurs, saying, “If you have an email address, you should be able to report spam and scam emails. If internet users learns this, we will have a safer internet for everybody.”

almomento presents The Hidden Power of Mastermind posted at BurstCreativity.

Krishna De presents Google alerts – probably the best free research tool in the world posted at Krishna De, saying, “Discover 10 ways to use Google Alerts to grow your business”

Steven Silvers presents If your advertising agency isn’t getting arrested, maybe they’re not trying hard enough. posted at Scatterbox at stevensilvers.com, saying, “The accidental publicity value of the Great Boston Terrorist Ads Scare will convince other companies to create their own buzz through “public nuisance marketing.””

Jon Miller presents 8 Ways The Internet Changed Software Marketing posted at Modern B2B Marketing, saying, “Unshackle yourself from traditional marketing and sales models — here are eight ways how.”

Erek Ostrowski presents Organizational Culture: The Keys to the Kingdom posted at Verve Coaching, saying, “Understanding the role that culture plays in defining an organization’s potential gives you the keys to the proverbial kingdom.”

Vahid Chaychi presents Learn your Lesson the Easy or the Hard Way posted at Work at Home Entrepreneurs.

Millennium Mommy presents Priscilla Ortiz – Journal to Prosperity, Path to Freedom Inc.: More for you posted at Priscilla Ortiz – Journal to Prosperity, Path to Freedom Inc..

Daniel Scocco presents Competitive Advantage: Responsiveness to Change posted at Innovation Zen.

That concludes the 2nd edition hosted by Strategic Design. Submit your blog article to the next edition of marketing (r)evolution carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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