A wise person once told me a good definition of insanity is, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.” I always liked that simple definition because I think it rings true in most people’s personal lives as well as their professional lives. I have noticed a few things this year in my personal and professional life that I’ve been going about in an insane manner. Literally, I’m repeating the same steps time and time again and expecting a different outcome. It took a profound, yet short ambulance ride a few weeks ago for me to come to these realizations.
I’ve always taken pride in being good at self reflection. I know, it sounds rather nerdy and pathetic, but being able to be honest with yourself is a great attribute to have. With that I made it a point this year to build some personal and business relationships that were lacking in years past, set better expectations up front and improve on my personal hobbies as well. These all sound like rather vague goals, but I’ll narrow them down in the next few paragraphs.
Improve relationships:
In the past I’d just email, call, tweet or whatever and my networking skills were always OK at best, but I never really felt like I was getting anywhere with my business relationships. Well, my lack of effort and energy was the main reason. I kept doing the same thing day after day and for some strange reason I expected a better outcome. I know a great deal of people through the digital and business world be it through a mutual acquaintance or through twitter, facebook, LinkedIn or so on. When I say “I know them” I mean we’ve spoken at some point in person or through email. I’m making it a point to improve my networking skills this year by attending more events, having lunches, going to meetings and making a conscious effort to reach out more often. So far it’s been a nice change of pace and I’m having some great conversations with amazing people I’d never had before. Changing my level of involvement has been instrumental in building better relationships.
Better expectations:
I’m one of those annoying people who constantly over analyze results and asks, “Why did we do it this way, or why didn’t that happen?” It’s funny how we get results not inline with our goals or expectations and immediately think someone, somewhere along the way dropped the ball or missed the target and we ended up with X. Well, I’m noticing more often than anyone would like to admit it’s usually a lack of communication and poor expectations being set on the front end that lead us to our end results. If you communicate the same way and manner you always have and you’re coming up a bit short or not quite happy with the way things are going you may want to revise your tactics. This goes for your personal life as well. If your friends show up at the lake for the day with no food, water, sunscreen, money or towels you’re partially to blame. Yeah, they are pretty sad people if they didn’t bring sun screen, but you can still communicate those things on the front end. People are not mind readers. Same thing goes for a board meeting where your coworkers didn’t bring the prospectus PowerPoint file or the cable for the projector so you can give your presentation. You have to be clear and let people know ahead of time or you’re always going to come up short. Change your communications tactics.
Hobbies:
Now for the ambulance ride part. At a race in Savannah a few weeks ago I had a little mishap on the bike and ran off the track at a tad over 100 MPH in a very sharp right hand turn. Despite being off the track I rode the bike all the way to the tree line trying to brake on the wet grass until I realized I wasn’t going to stop. I decided to take my chances with the ground rather than a 60 year old oak. Despite my best efforts I still ended up buried in the woods, on my back, with the wind knocked out of me gasping for air wondering what the hell just happened. It was one of those moments where you wiggle your fingers and toes to make sure they are still there and operating normally. Not fun. Well after sitting in the ambulance I started thinking, “I’ve crashed two times in the past month at these freaking races and this is starting to become not fun.” After being released from the EMT’s and waiving all my rights to sue the ambulance company for declining to go to the hospital I hobbled back to our pit area and sat there. “I’m doing it again!” I’m showing up the evening before a race, setting up, registering, getting the bike inspected and racing at 110% of my ability with zero preparation, practice, or time to get my head right. I’m doing this at each race weekend and each time I’m upset with my performance and how the day ends (with a broken bike and a hurt body). It was a reminder that my racing routine was quite insane. How would I ever progress or get to the next level without putting in more effort or energy? The simple answer is, I wouldn’t.
Take a look at the things in your life that may not being going the way you want them to. It could be a job, relationship, family, hobby, home improvement project, career search, corporate strategy, sales numbers or whatever.
If you’re not getting the results you want or things aren’t where they need to be you are probably in need for some insanity checks. Nothing will change if you go about things the same way over and over again. That much I can assure you.
Recently I’ve noticed many social media “professionals” and agencies alike touting their large twitter lists, and huge facebook fan pages they’ve built for clients and so on. These professionals think that a successful following or fan base comes by gaining the largest numbers of followers possible. While they may have one thing correct, in that they are participating in social they are missing the overall idea and principal of social media. Being social.
The success in social lies within the real, transparent relationships you can create with people over the web. Hints the “social” aspect of the term social media. Companies or individuals who are their own brands (Chris Brogan, Brian Solis come to mind) that say, “Well, we have a facebook, MySpace, and twitter page with a lot of fans/followers, so we’re all set on the social front” couldn’t be more incorrect. The number of fans or followers you have on a social network means nothing. Yes, I said it. Your insanely large numbers don’t mean a thing if you didn’t go about building your brand or self the proper way. I’ll give you a few examples why this is true.
Finding the wrong people
My favorite examples of building a faux social friends is the “offer”. Companies offer something in exchange for you liking or following them on a social network. The two companies that come to mind are Atlanta Bread Company and Outback Steakhouse who at one point in time or still offer a food item in exchange for becoming their friend on facebook. In our day to day world this would be the equivalent to offering someone a free beer after work if they agreed to hang out with you. Not only is it a hokey and rather depressing way to attract fans, but it’s disingenuous. If you have to offer people something to like or befriend you on a social network they probably aren’t your true fans and they definitely are not the people you want to champion your brand.
Another more popular thing people and companies do to gain followers on twitter is the “follow me and I’ll follow you” tactic. I’ll be the first to tell you I’m no twitter master and my small profile is just fine by me. I don’t follow everyone who follows me and it’s mainly because if you don’t offer interesting content, funny thoughts or something relevant then I don’t have a use for you on my twitter feed. Nothing personal, but I just don’t want to have to rummage through pages of junk for actual content. If I did I’d go to http://www.Yahoo.com or http://www.CNN.com each morning.
The social wallflowers
For whatever reason I’ve notice that some major airlines have been doing a terrible job with their social sites. When I say terrible I really mean it. These two major, Atlanta based airlines appear to have hired a firm or a digital media professional and upon creation of their pages fired them. Let’s look at AirTran first and Delta next. AirTran’s twitter page came online sometime in mid to late 2009 and have a whopping 16 tweets between the two pages. That’s right, I said 16. Easy AirTran, don’t strain yourself with the social interaction, as you’d hate rampant cases of Carpal Tunnel syndrome in the office.
Up next on our list of airline wallflowers is Delta Airlines. Being one of the world’s largest airlines you’d think they have a crazy huge following on facebook. With less than 20k fans on what appears to be a non-official page and only 8k on an official page I’m not surprised at the lack of excitement around their presence. Neither page has been updated since last year and you have zero interaction on either of the pages. Get it together guys and have one voice or facebook page that you use to communicate with. Delta’s blog is great, but my guess is much like other corporate blog sites the traffic count won’t be nearly what a great facebook page would generate.
How it’s done
Now; there are some companies and individuals that have huge fan pages and large followings that are doing it right. One large, Atlanta based company that does it right is Home Depot. Home Depot has a very large twitter and facebook following and they interact; yes I said interact with their fans on a daily basis. They of course don’t interact with everyone and no one expects them to, but they do interact.
Twitter is a different animal all together when it comes to followers and you cannot really help who follows you unless you block people, but that’s rarely ever necessary. A person who engages his large follower list quite regularly would be Chris Brogan. Now this comes as no surprise as Chris is one of the hyper successful people who has turned social media into a full time gig and he’s revered as one of the most successful social pioneers of our time. With that said no one is expecting you to be a mirror image of Chris Brogan, but why not take some of the things he does and implement them in your strategy. Namely, open, honest, frequent interaction and engagement.
Wrap up
Now I’ve tried to showcase how large numbers in any format doesn’t mean a thing if you didn’t genuinely attract people or aren’t sure how to use those numbers to your advantage. The ability to easily gain followers on facebook or twitter is not a difficult task to grasp. Offer people free stuff, giveaways, and follow a ton of people so they will follow you back. It’s a rather simple process and one that doesn’t take much thought, energy or diligence so many people/companies are quick to adopt. However, implementing practices like these will leave you with a pool of non-influencers, and disingenuous followers. Agencies won’t tell you that nor will the goof ball that’s running your social campaign. They’ll show you great numbers and fan/followers acquired stats to impress you and show you that what you’re doing is working.
Harnessing social media and making it work for you requires work, interaction, transparency and conversation. There’s no 1-2-3 step process and it doesn’t end as long as you’re out there. The conversations keep going, so it’s up to you to talk back and make sure you’re doing your part, because your 760,768 fans won’t do it for you.
Links, tags and what not:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Delta-Air-Lines/108629084271#!/pages/Delta-Air-Lines/108629084271?v=wall
http://www.HomeDepot.com
http://blog.delta.com/
http://www.airtran.com
http://www.delta.com
http://www.atlantabread.com
http://www.outback.com
social media, digital media, analytics, twitter, myspace, facebook, advertising, PR, agency, marketing, Justin Bieber, kittens, Obama
Hello everyone, I’m taking this opportunity to tell a personal story, so no marketing, social media, or digital hoopla.
I sat next to a soldier.
I recently flew to Sacramento for a job interview for a position based on the west coast. The job was an internal move so I felt pretty good about my decision to interview and make the trip. I booked my tickets rather last minute and got the worst possible flights from Georgia to California. My flight going out had a 4 hour layover in Phoenix and the return flight was a red eye leaving Sacramento at 10:55pm on Friday and landing at 7:39 am Saturday morning in Atlanta. A brutal 2 days by any traveler’s standards.
My decision to apply for the position came after some pushing from my wife and friends and all I could do was think, what a big move this would be for me. Would I be able to leave my family behind? Could I really live in LA, San Fran or Sacramento? Did I feel up to the task of managing a new team in a new environment? These were huge decisions I had going through my head on the way out there. None of these questions were easily answered. I’d spoken to a few very close friends, my parents and my wife a lot prior to actually booking a ticket. Either way, I was on the plane now and the rest was up to fate.
The interview went well, and I had 10 hours on Friday prior to my flight leaving Sacramento so I decided to head to San Francisco for the day and check out the sites. Needless to say I had a blast and spent the day doing all of the touristy things you can do. I saw the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Warf, some crazy popular street that’s at a 40 degree incline, and ate burritos in the Mission District. A great way to wrap up my 25 hour trip to Northern California. On the drive back to Sacramento (about 2 hours from San Fran) I called a few buddies back in Atlanta and lined up our weekend plans to go racing. You see, I had already entered a few sprint races for this weekend prior to knowing about my last minute trip to California. Once I got back into Atlanta on Saturday from my red eye flight I had to hook up to the trailer, load the bikes and head to Alabama’s Talladega Gran Prix. It was going to be a heck of a long 4 days, and needless to say I wasn’t too happy about racing on zero sleep.
So I told you all of that to tell you about the soldier I sat next to. Upon arriving at my gate back in the Sacramento airport I decided to sit in an obscure corner; mind my business and catch up on emails. I’d been dragging behind due to my fun day in San Fran and I desperately needed to hammer out some work. While sitting in my exhausted haze, thinking about the races ahead and the interview I’d left behind I saw a soldier out of the corner of my eye in ACU’s (Army Combat Uniform) with a full pack sitting across from me. He was a younger guy, probably early 30’s and seemed very content just to sit there and watch passers by as they de-boarded their flights. He didn’t have a laptop, book, newspaper or even a magazine. He just sat there resting and looking around. I always like to watch the soldiers and wonder where they’re going and where they’ve been as they sit in the airports. I want to walk up and tell all of them how much I appreciate them and how amazing they are for their sacrifice for our country, but I never do. Nerves I guess.
Upon boarding my flight I noticed I’ve been dealt a middle seat for this wonderful 4 hour red eye and immediately I get frustrated and think to myself, “you have to be joking”. I have to fly home over night, in a middle seat and head to Alabama once I land with zero sleep. “Sweet life Dickerson” is all I can think to myself. I take my seat, stow my comp bag and almost get my lap belt buckled before I hear a very apologetic voice ask me, “excuse me sir, I’m sorry, but can I slide in there?” To my amassment I look up and see the soldier from the terminal holding his full pack looking at me with tired, apologetic eyes. “Absolutely”, I tell him as I spring to my feet. He apologizes again as he slides past the seats with his overstuffed hiking pack.
Once I slide back in I decide not to start the usual plane chatter as I’m exhausted, he’s got to be and we’re both about to take off on a long dark flight. I look out of the corner of my eye and notice him trying to fit the bag into the small spot below the seat in front of him. Knowing a square peg will never fit into a round hole I offer to see if theirs any room in the overheads for his bag. He tells me he’s fine and he’ll just leave it but I didn’t think that was acceptable since he literally had to jam his legs around the bag in order to keep from using the bag as a foot rest and having his knees up in his face. After jumping up and quickly looking around I can see that this flight is packed, and not one single spot in an overhead was available. I told him the not so great news to which he replied, “Seriously, don’t worry about it, I’m fine.” I could see that this man had no need for help, and hated the idea he could possibly be bothering anyone with his simple inconveniences.
The flight leaves, and I begin to nod off; catching myself doing the whole neck jerk thing where I wake up just before my uncontrollable head hits the seat back in front of me or the persons shoulder next to me. You know what I’m referring to as we’ve all done it. I look over and there the soldier is just sitting with his legs crammed around his pack and his eyes looking forward. “What’s running through his mind I think to myself?” He’s so quiet, so focused and looks so tired. After falling back asleep for an hour or so I begin to start thinking about my sweet middle seat and the terrible drive I have ahead of me when I land. I’m really starting to get aggravated that I didn’t plan this out better and that my head now hurts from smashing it on the tray table in front of me just a few minutes prior. I can feel the bruise forming all because the seat I’m in has nowhere for me to rest. Yes, I was having a seat 23D pity party for myself and it was awful.
About a half hour later the drink cart comes rolling down and I see that the soldier is now eating a premade sandwich he’s picked up in the airport and drinking a bottle of water he previously purchased. He just sat there eating and minding his business. When the stewardess came by and asked if he wanted anything he simply replied, “No thank you, I’m fine.” Here I am sucking down water and ripping into my pretzels like I haven’t eaten for weeks. After my gourmet pretzel and water dinner I am again briefly interrupted by our soldier who is politely asking if he can use the restroom. We all slide out and let him leave for the back of the plane. Upon his return he apologizes no less than 3 times (“thank you Sir”) for making us move and takes his seat back in his cramp quarters.
With 30 minutes left in the flight the lights come on, the flight attendants ask us to do the whole “seat backs to their full and upright…” you get the point. I look over to see the soldier packing his sandwich trash and his empty bottle of water back into his bag. I lean over and tell him I’d give it to the stewardess when she came through. He looked at me and simply replied, “Not necessary.” Baffled as to why anyone would want to keep their own trash I ask him if he’s headed home and if Atlanta was his last stop. Knowing damn well it wasn’t any of my business and I’d probably manage to aggravate him I asked anyways. Those of you who know me well know I just cannot help but talk when I’m bored.
He looked me right in the eyes for a brief second like I’d just asked him the most personal question in the world. I had to look away because it was a bit uncomfortable and I didn’t know what thoughts or memories I’d just brought up. He said, “I’m heading back out. I’ve been home for a few weeks for some rest, and I’m due back in the field tomorrow, so I leave for xxxx airport where I’ll catch a flight to xxxx (somewhere in Afghanistan).” He then asked, “You?” As to inquire if Atlanta was going to be my final destination.
Well, let me tell you how good I felt about myself after those 3 sentences were muttered by the hero sitting next to me. I looked down and simply replied, “Yes, Atlanta is home for me.” “Atlanta seems to be a great place” he replied. I simply responded “Yeah, I’ve lived here my whole life and I like it a good bit.” Sensing some odd nervousness in the air he simply left it as it was and leaned back into his seat.
Here’s a moment of internal humility every person must experience at some point in their lives. I’m 27, never been in the services, have a great job, beautiful wife, nice house, great friends and I’m worried and stressing about a possible promotion and a race weekend with my buddies. I’m sitting next to a guy who is on his way away from all of those things he holds dear to sit in a desert with an M16 and fight for Democracy just so I can wine and moan in my middle seat on my red eye back from a job interview and a great day in San Francisco with friends. WOW, I’m a jackass. I know he’s chosen that path and he must enjoy it but it doesn’t make it any less heroic or special to see soldiers doing what they do. Here I sit exhausted from a one day vacation, moaning about having to drive to a motorcycle race and this man addresses me as Sir, asks nothing from anyone, apologizes profusely for using the restroom, sits in discomfort for 4 hours so he doesn’t have to ask a flight attendant for a bag check, and the whole time he knows he’s about to have to go to a war zone AGAIN and do what he was trained to do. Reality check, party of 1.
We land, I get my bag from under the seat look him in the eye and tell him, “thank you for all that you do, and tell the rest of the soldiers out there that the people at home really appreciate what you’re doing and we want you all home safe soon.” He looks up and catches my eyes with a smile and simply replies, “thank you, we really appreciate it.”
I walked down the jet way with my head low and my priorities and complaints in check. I know that I have no room to complain about anything and I owe that soldier more than I could ever give him.
That’s the soldier I sat next to. He wants and expects nothing in return for his service but our thanks and gratitude. He addresses you as Sir. He will go out of his way as to not inconvenience anyone. He is in control. He is self sufficient. He is patient. He is proud to wear the flag.
The hottest trend in social media right now has to be location based social media. Mashable recently featured a location based write up; 5 things you need to know about location-based social media by mobile guru Kevin Nakao that gained a good bit of interest. It’s no wonder location based social media is getting the attention it is with lo-so’s juggernauts emerging very rapidly in the mobile app world. With Foursquare’s growing popularity and more companies taking advantage of the marketing opportunities that come with the easy to use apps we’re bound to see some interesting evolutions in these mobile games.
The irony behind Lo-So is the fun of the game being centered around telling people where you are, but it’s also a bit creepy and unnerving. After all, who wants the world to know that they aren’t home, or that they are at the bar on a Saturday night? It brings up the age old question of privacy, but if you want to play the game then you have to give a little on the privacy issue. The privacy settings on most of the platforms allow you to choose how much you want to share and whom you want to share it with. It’s still a bit to overcome, but I was able to do it along with roughly 1 million other people, so it must not be too creepy.
The ability to target, track and bundle consumer information has never been so easy, and with growing popularity the “check-in” is quickly becoming an open door for marketers and companies to see who’s really doing what and going were. The lo-so landscape is quickly developing, but Foursquare still holds the first place spot and no where is their gain in popularity more prevalent than in my loss of Mayorships in the last month. I was an early adopter in Foursquare and Mayorships were easy to come by, but the gain in popularity has my frequented locations being overrun by newbie’s. I suppose small victories won’t last too long in an emerging game.
Oh the possibilities.
With all of the consumer data available, and the ability to target the consumer becoming more and more accurate marketers are quick to take advantage of the information. That’s all fine and dandy, but what businesses need to keep in mind is the extremely personal aspect of Lo-So. People are hesitant to share any information with marketers, much less accepting the fact that being bombarded with digital specials on their phones will be the way of the future. Sure it’s cool, but it’s also a bit intrusive. The example below came through my foursquare app when I check in at a neighboring business the other day. This level of marketing wasn’t too bad, but anything more than this would have been a huge turnoff.
Another interesting function of the “check-in” is the ability to add a “tip” or “shout”. If you have a solid fan base of users on the platform it gives you the ability to have your fans speak for you. These tips are the digital equivalent of a personal recommendation and most people will put a lot more validity in a personal endorsement over a banner add. This is where your strong customer base and digital savvy will pay off tremendously.
Location based social media is still in it’s infancy, but my guess is that it will continue to gain in popularity until it’s a social norm or until marketers run it into the ground with ads and annoying, phony friend requests. It definitely has the potential to Myspace itself to death if it’s not regulated and kept to a fairly non-intrusive fun game.
References:
http://mashable.com/2010/03/19/location-based-strategy/
Foursquare’s
http://gowalla.com/
http://www.loopt.com/
http://www.yelp.com/
Competition can be your downfall or your inspiration depending on how you position yourself to handle it. For many businesses competition is something that gets in the way of better profit margins and a higher traffic count. You don’t even have to think of competition in a business sense to see its positive or negative effects on people’s lives. You may be in competition with a coworker for a promotion, or in competition with your roommates to see who can loose the most weight on your new P90X workout regimen. There are many forms of competition, and while I was recently watching a race track side with a buddy of mine (that I race against) I started to think of this blog topic and how it translates into my every day life.
Businesses and competition.
“Competition is the keen cutting edge of business, always shaving away at costs”
-Henry Ford
Businesses have been competing since the beginning of time. They have to evolve in order to stay competitive and never has that been more essential than in today’s market place. We see offers for “better, cheaper, faster, longer” all the time and the consumer is a savvy, cynical target that marketers have to hit. In recent years the market has shown price to be its number one factor. This wasn’t always so when our economy was thriving and people would pay a bit extra for a popular brand or heartier product. However, with the decline of the financial markets and the jobless rates rising by the month people are tightening up their wallets more and more. This is when competition is crucial and we’re seeing numerous companies answer the call of the consumer.
The most notable battle in my mind right now would be the battle raging between Verizon and AT&T. These two companies are dueling it out on every media outlet known to man. You cannot watch a TV show, log in to facebook or listen to the radio without hearing a commercial where one company is ripping the other company’s coverage area or network to shreds. While this can be annoying it’s greatly benefiting the consumer. We’ve seen plan prices drop almost 50% in the last 6 moths. The competition has driven prices down and the consumer is seeing much cheaper phone bills, better phones and larger coverage areas thanks to good old competition. It’s a great thing to sit back and watch two companies run leaner, faster and smarter than ever before. Now, I’m sure the execs at Verizon and AT&T would argue otherwise, but I’m not one of them.
Another remarkable aspect of business competition is a company’s ability to predict where the market will go in the coming years. While this sounds impossible without the help of a crystal ball some companies have been able to effectively predict consumer’s habits well before they change. One particular company comes to mind and that’s Honda. Honda had an amazing story back in the early 80’s when American vehicles were large, heavy, uneconomical and American mussel was much cooler than Civic responsibility (pun intended). The thought to avoid large gas guzzlers and market smaller commuter vehicles was a bold move on their part and the fact that gas prices were a focus even then shows you how well they planned ahead. The result was a car that could achieve 49 Highway MPG in 1980! This mindset forever changed the way auto manufacturers thought about fuel consumption. Today, Honda still leads the world in making the most fuel efficient vehicles and doesn’t have to use the “Green” marketing tactic nearly as much as competitors because they already established themselves as a eco friendly company decades ago. Just say out loud the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a Honda and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Someone has to loose.
I cannot think of a business in the world that’s not susceptible to fierce competition. With the expectation of the US government, but that’s a different topic for a different post. Even juggernauts like Google, Microsoft and IBM have competitors and have to stay on their toes in order to thrive. Businesses that listen to consumers, plan accordingly, and execute effectively will be rewarded with better profit margins, higher brand recondition and more market share. Those that fail to adapt will fall by the wayside.
A prime example of a business failing to react to the markets demands would be the Wonder Bread brand. Now, I’m not bashing Wonder Breads product. In fact I used to love the stuff when I was a kid, and more than likely your parents also lived in a Wonder Bread house. They had a ton of market share and the nostalgic brand had a great run all the way up until people stopped buying it earlier this decade. Why did they stop buying it you ask? The youngsters that grew up loving the enriched, fortified and bright white bread grew to hate what it did to their mid sections. The new consumer was carb conscious, and wanted whole wheat or grain bread. It wasn’t cool to eat something with so much sugar and chemicals. People were now aware of the affects a high carb and sugar diet had on the body. This shift in consumer spending had Wonder Bread competing with companies like Natures Own, and store brands with cheap white bread for market share. They failed to listen to the consumer and they added additional products too late in the game. The lack of whole grain options and a brand deep rooted with old eating habits soon found itself in bankruptcy court. Competition unfortunately produces losers. Wonder Bread was a loser.
Personal competition.
“The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be only sustainable competitive advantage.” -Arie de Geus
I chose the quote above because it rings true in the racing world. Most of the time I’m matched up against competitors with similar skill and equipment on the grid. It’s what I choose to do with my skill and equipment that puts me ahead or behind my competition. Sometimes I use my foresight and abilities to choose a faster line, make a narrow pass or carry more speed into a turn to gain ground on a competitor. Other times I fail to react timely, make a poor observation or choose to follow, and I’m left with nothing more than a bad position and a lot of ground to make up. Racing does something to me that I never really thought possible while riding a motorcycle. It allows me to concentrate on my performance, competitors and my environment all at the same time while blocking out everything else in my life. The random questions or thoughts that pop into your head during the day are distant conversation stuck somewhere in the doldrums of your mind, reserved for a time after the checkered flag has been waved. Nothing matters other than winning, and nothing takes that feeling away until you move over the finish line. It’s a very primal train of thought but one necessary for many racers and businesses. Just think if companies, CEO’s, CFO’s or Presidents could have such a concentrated mind set. It would be amazing what one could accomplish.
I’m not a super competitive person by nature, but I do enjoy what competition brings out in me. I like the feeling I get when I grid up and perform well. Others do not handle competition well and people often let it bring out the worse in them. Businesses are no different. It’s all in how you prepare for the time ahead that will determine how well you match up. The consumers and your competitors will keep moving and adapting so it’s up to you if you want to succeed.
I recently read an article in a trendy business magazine about yelp.com and the business owners that have grown to hate the site, its reviewers and its business practices. The critics went on to say that the ratings are too harsh, uncensored, biased and permanent. They hated mostly everything about the site and the fact that a business could be brought to its knees by a few negative reviews. After all isn’t everyone allowed to have their off day?
My reply to the naysayers is simply. Get over it. This is your business’s image in the eyes of your customers. Despite whether or not you choose to accept it; it’s finally out in the open for the entire world to see. The issue businesses have with sites like yelp is that they have no control over their public image. Any average Joe can get on the site and run the business’s image into the ground with the stroke of the keys. On the flip side to that the average Joe can also sing your praises with a solid 5 star review. Businesses cannot alter reviews, or choose what order reviews are displayed, but they can use the manager tools to reach out to reviewers and have a conversation.
Sites like yelp have empowered the consumer and given a level of transparency to the business world like never before seen. You want to know where to eat in Boca Raton? Simply check the site for solid reviews and great feedback. The reviewers are usually average people like you and me who want to voice their concerns or praises for their local businesses. The owners can sit back and see how their staff or even they are viewed by the general public. It’s amazing to see some of the harsh or very solid feedback given on the site. Never before would you know the waitress “looked like she was on meth”, or “it appears they only employ the dumb and deaf.” While harsh, these are real, raw, honest reviews. This is how your business and staff are perceived in the eyes of the people you reply on to pay the bills. You’d better listen to them because if you choose not to you will find your quarterly earnings falling short of your projections.
What do you do?
After climbing down off the ceiling from the last 2 star rating you received think long and hard about what was said. Were the comments valid or justified? Did you provide your service or product in a manner deemed reasonable by your customers? Did you do what you promised? I know it can be tough to be impartial when reviewing your business or yourself, but it’s critical in today’s market place. Consumers will not tolerate incompetence, unreliable products or poor service. They don’t have to and it won’t take long before the local community and the world knows that you can’t deliver. Address the issues. You’d address the issues if the person was speaking to you face to face, so why act any differently? The messaging option is a very powerful and underutilized tool that I’ve only seen the best businesses harness. It’s so simple, transparent and effective I just don’t see why anyone wouldn’t take advantage of it.
Put the egos down.
It’s human nature for our egos to get in the way when listening to feedback or criticisms. Entrepreneurs and managers are especially guilty of this, and rightfully so. They are doing something that most dare not attempt. It takes a certain amount of ego and strength to build, manage and maintain a business. You may not want to hear that your “rockstar” receptionist is rude on the phone, or the 18 year old cashier is better with customers than you are or your store is “messy and disorganized”, but these are things that you can work on. No one expects a business to be perfect, but they definitely expect you to fix or address any issues. More often than not people dismiss feedback as “invalid” or “irrelevant” when in fact it’s very valid and relevant. Stop creating excuses for ignoring feedback. You’re not doing yourself, your bottom line or your customers any justice.
Friend or foe?
Sites like yelp may be your best friend or worst enemy. It’s really up to you to choose what to do with the information. It’s there for the entire world to see so why ignore it? The businesses that embrace feedback and provide exactly what they promise are constantly rewarded with strong reviews, great feedback and loyal customers. Why not be that business?
User generated review sites like yelp are not a passing fad, and they are quickly gaining in popularity. Accepting feedback and working to improve your image, business or product is as important in today’s marketplace as selecting good real estate. If you listen to your customers and embrace sites like yelp you’ll be rewarded with years of continued business success and customer loyalty like you never imagined. The choice is yours.
Ok, so growing up my father always told me that, “my word was my bond”. At 7 I didn’t really understand what that meant or the life lessons it would take me to realize that he was right. Well, 20 years later I could not agree more with my father. A persons “word” is really all they have until they prove otherwise. Being a consultant I have the pleasure of dealing with clients, sales reps, media, PR agents and so on. My business is fast paced, exciting, demanding and rewarding all at the same time. Most of my business, schedule and plans are based on a person’s ability to stand by their word. I define a person’s word as their ability to stand behind what they tell you. If you tell someone you’re going to call, swing by, send an email, make something happen or follow up you’d better do it.
Now that I am old enough to appreciate my time and others I realize the implications of someone not doing what they said they would. It’s quite simply a ridiculous way to conduct business. I totally understand people have issues arise, car problems, dead cell batteries and other goings on that come up, but simply being unprofessional is inexcusable.
By now if you’re guessing I had some issues come up in the recent weeks with people doing what they told me they would you’d be right. I just do not understand people “forgetting” or simply not doing what they said they would do. It’s a reflection of character and shows a lot about a person. I’m not saying I’m perfect, and I’ve definitely missed deadlines and conference calls, but not without knowing the implication of my actions.
Whether in your personal life or the business world you’re only as good as your word or your promises. If you tell someone you’re going to do something you better follow through or know that the next time you cry “team call” no one may be on the other end of the line.
Ok, so you’ve been tweeting, facebooking, and hammering out status updates at a break neck speed. With all those hours spent in front of a computer talking to friends, colleagues, current and prospective clients and other trendsetters what do you have to show for your work? Was it really worth it? Were you crazy when you thought Facebook and twitter could actually drive sales?
With all the buzz surrounding social media and companies like Dell, Best Buy and others showing millions in profits from campaigns it’s easy to think that anyone can make social media pay out. A lot of companies have branched out and started to tweet, facebook, upload photos to flickr, or create a LinkedIn profile in hopes for some return to the bottom line. I hear both sides of the argument for social media building business and the first thing I ask people when they say, “I haven’t really seen a return with my social media ventures.” is…
What’s your goal?
Social media is no different than any other type of advertising or sales building tool in the sense that you need an overall goal before you set out on a campaign. When you launch a campaign with too broad of a goal you’ll always hit your target. It’s extremely important to lay out your expectations on the front end and make sure you have a clear plan to achieve results. Whether you’re looking to expand your brand, build your network, reach potential clients, maintain relationships, or build sales with a strong online presence you still need a plan to achieve the desired outcome. You can blog, tweet, upload, and update until your hearts content but lacking an overall strategy will leave you with a bunch of information you’re not quite sure how to process.
Companies who successfully use social media as a business tool always have specific ideas in mind before they implement their new strategies. Companies like Comcast and Southwest Airlines have used Twitter to trouble shoot PR and customer service issues. It’s clean, simple, and effective. They don’t try to promote sales, promos or products on these sites. Rather they are focused on one goal; keep customers happy and trouble shoot any issues that arise.
Other companies like McDonalds and Outback Steakhouse have amazing and very pricey facebook pages that were built to expand the companies reach, and build brand awareness on a different scale than a traditional website. Very effective and simple while costly these sites generate invaluable demographic information and allow the companies to use the sites widgets to build email lists, promote menu items, new restaurants and so on. You’ll notice the customer interaction on theses sites is minimal since they were never intended to be used as a 2-way communications tool.
Numerous salons and spas started using flickr the past few years to show off their amazing amenities and cutting edge styling techniques. Rather than spend thousands in print advertising a nice digital SLR and some time uploading images will show your potential customers what you have to offer. Done properly these sites can generate a lot of buzz and drive sales for a minimal investment. Again, on here you will not find companies building email lists, promoting launches or troubleshooting customer service issues. Most use flickr as a window for customers to take a peak right into their businesses and see what they have to offer. It’s cheap, easy and effective and done properly will bring results.
The companies above have separate campaigns built around branding, customer service and sales, but they do not try to accomplish all of their goals with one crusade. While a one trick pony is possible and one page could house all of your pictures, promos, company information and customers service contacts that’s typically a job reserved your website. That’s where most businesses get it wrong. Social media sites aren’t extensions of your website and people don’t want to see all of that content in their face while they browse facebook, twitter and so on. If they wanted to see your site they’d visit it, and from your hits per day count you and I both know that’s not happening.
A specialized site allows businesses to target a certain group of current/potential customers, and build awareness on a much more relaxed and targeted platform. The companies above are a few good examples of how to target your social media campaigns to achieve a specific goal. Once you lay out a plan choose what platform works best for you. Make sure you keep in mind your overall goal and see where this new formula takes you.
I promise in 3 months time you won’t say, “I haven’t seen a return with my social media ventures.”
Good luck.
Part of my job is to teach people ways to build their sales, brand, customer experiences and customer retention levels. One of the issues many businesses have to deal with are un happy customers. Customer gripes range from minuscule issues all the way to major service problems. How you handle customer service issues will greatly affect your business, brand, sales and retention rates. If you’re not on top of your customer service game in 2010 rest assured your customers will find themselves doing business with someone else who is.
No business is immune to a bad public image or reputation. Everyone has to deal with people whether you sell a product or service, and everyone has at one point had to deal with “that customer”. Unfortunately most businesses handle poor customer experiences or criticisms very badly. Many businesses cease to realize what a great tool an email, letter or face to face complaint can be. When people are dissatisfied with a product or service and they make the decision to communicate that issue you owe it to them as a reputable company to listen and react in an appropriate manner. Unfortunately, what usually happens is a breakdown in communication with both parties leaving unsatisfied.
True story
Four years ago almost to the day of this posting I had to fly to Vegas for a conference for my new job. This was going to be my first trip, meeting, and introduction to all of my new co workers. I booked my flight on Delta months ahead. Growing up in Atlanta with a father that worked for Delta for 23 years I had some serious brand loyalty. Even though I booked my ticket months out I missed my flight due to a crazy gate change the morning of. I’ll take the blame for that, but what happened next is the perfect example of WHAT NOT TO DO.
I ended up standing by for 9 other flights over the course of the day with 29 other passengers from my original flight. We all had to fly stand by since the other flights were oversold. Well after talking to a gate agent I found out that the flights weren’t leaving full. They had seats available in first class, but since none of the standby passengers were first class passengers we had to wait for coach seats to open up. Needless to say I was upset since they could have easily moved someone into the front and put me in their seat, but that thought never crossed their mind. Even when I suggested that the gate agent told me “that isn’t possible”. I looked him in the eye and told him, “I’ll never spend a dime with your airline again”, to which he replied, “I’m sorry you feel that way”. Now if he were truly sorry this story would have never made it to this page.
After sitting in the airport for 11 hours I finally made a flight to Vegas just in time to miss dinner with my new coworkers. Now, after all that I still didn’t write Delta off because part of the debacle was my fault. However, when I came home I emailed their customer service department as a last resort. I’d already spoken to a handful of gate agents who did nothing and this was their last chance to win me back. Well, needless to say I never heard back. I haven’t flown Delta since, and probably never will as long as I can help it. Oh, I thought I’d remind you that Delta went bankrupt just last year.
If you do not provide your customers with the service they see fit or the service you promise they will spend their money somewhere else. It’s that simple. A smile, thank you, email, letter, apology or phone call will not cost you a thing other than your time. You don’t even have to have a customer service line on your P&L because it’s free. Don’t let something as simple and as easy as customer service make or break your business in 2010. Make it a priority because your competition already has.
It’s just that simple.
A recent discussion with a friend of mine about his company’s hiring practices led us into a larger conversation about companies with high turnover rates vs. those who retain talent successfully. I know this doesn’t sound like a very interesting conversation between friends, but we came across some interesting issues.
With the economy in decline for the past 24+ months and the jobless rate hovering in the double digits for the past year many people have been scrambling to make ends meet. Former suits found themselves jobless, without insurance, and jockeying for a few jobs with hundreds if not thousands of other candidates. While this sounds like a terrible situation none of us would want to be in, there is a small silver lining. The job market for the last few years has been the perfect storm for growing companies looking for talent on the cheap.
Companies with HR department’s stout enough to weed through the piles of resumes for top contenders would find more than qualified candidates. Former mid and top level managers jockeying for positions only requiring 3-5 years of experience offered easy decisions for hiring managers. People making 6 figures would gladly take a 40% pay cut just to keep working in this economy. Not only were these companies able to hire at an advantage, but they were able to retain solid employees who may have left for greener pastures long ago. The employees who’ve been sitting in the same positions without the usual raises or advancement opportunities are much less likely to leave or complain about the lack of opportunities within their company. Companies whose HR departments were on their game now have top talent they’ve hired on as well as talented employees they’ve retained for a bargain price.
Now that growing companies have been able to reap the rewards of this stagnant economy the question still remains…
What will companies do when the job market turns and they watch their top performers leave for more money and other opportunities?
It’s no secret that headhunters and aggressive HR departments will seek out other company’s employees and people are usually willing to leave a company for more money or opportunity. Combine that with your older semi-disgruntle employees looking for something fresh and new and you may find yourself in an empty meeting room during your weekly department gatherings. Companies will find themselves spending thousands of dollars to re-train, re hire and rebuild once stable departments. This, all while the economy is rebounding and demand on departments will be at it’s highest. This is not the situation any business wants to be in, so how can you avoid it?
- As your shares, P&L, revenue, earnings, or whatever you like to call them grow so should your employees compensation. They are the backbone of your success and much like you they have been in this battle to keep overhead low and production high in the worst economy in 30 years. Reward them accordingly.
- Promote from within. Stop paying recruiters, and spending money on searching for new hires until you’ve exhausted your current pool of talent. Only then, when you don’t find a good fit is it ok to look outside your 4 walls.
- Offer incentives for your employees based on growth. Not quite commissions, but similar. Say you grow revenue in 2010 by 13% by July and you only projected 5%. Why not offer a surprise mid year bonus to keep moral and employee retention high? These bonuses don’t have to be a lot, but a few hundred dollars here and there can really go along way.
- This one will not cost you a dime, yet it’s one of the best tools you have to let employees know you care. GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE! More people get in a funk from lack of feedback than you may ever believe. A simple email, card, phone call or visit to an office with a, “I wanted to let you know you’re work here is really appreciated…” can go further than any amount of money for some people. I’m serious, and you wouldn’t believe how many managers/supervisors overlook praising their employees.
The companies that have managed to thrive or sustain in this economy have proven to be viable competitors in the market place. Much like their ability to stay afloat financially they will need to predict and plan how to retain employees during a market rebound. Those that plan accordingly will be rewarded with a seasoned staff ready to ride the upswing and those that do not will find themselves struggling to meet expectations at a very critical time.
Where you end up is completely up to you.
Boats, Bacon, Beaches & Life 