When you lose your passion, the effect goes much deeper than just your energy level. If you are a team leader, a business owner or even a coach, your passion informs how you do your job and how you define the value you bring to your customer, staff or players.
Your passion also informs your personal brand and your business brand. As a business owner, the business idea was yours and your passion for it took you into business. If you're wondering where your success is hiding, maybe it's disappeared because you've forgotten your passion.
At some point, you believed you could do it better, faster, cheaper, more creatively. There was something that inspired you to take the leap into being a leader, a business owner or coach. You've got to find that inspiration, that passion, and bring it back to life.
When times are tough, it's easy to lose your passion in amongst worrying about paying bills, keeping staff or whether there'll be another customer. But if you lose your passion, those customers will never appear - or at least fewer of them will.
Your personal passion inspires your staff and your customers. Your knowledge and enthusiasm, delivered with passion, inform the behaviours of your staff and customers. Will your staff go the extra mile? Will your customers happily return? And more importantly, will they tell others about your passion for what you do and the value that brings to the sales experience?
Get out of the doldrums and rediscover why you made the choices you did to become a leader, coach or business owner. Revisit the elements of whatever it is you do - those things that inspired you, engaged you, lifted you up. They haven't abandoned you - you just stopped letting them be part of your day.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Who owns what? Don't get taken by your suppliers
Not all graphic designers and website programmers are created equal. And in this case, it isn't a talent thing although in that category it is beyond true that not all are equal. In this instance, the inequality is based on honesty and a knowledge of intellectual property and marketing law.
In Canada, intellectual property law and marketing law are both built to protect the creative folks and their clients. It is very clearly stated that creative work continues to be owned by its creator until it has been paid for, in full, by the person who contracted the work. At that time, the work becomes the property of the client.
The exception here is when there is a signed contract that stipulates that the work remains in the ownership of the creator. Notice I said 'a signed contract', not a verbal agreement, not a terms and conditions that appear after the project is completed.
Too many small business clients discover that, in the end, their creative designers and programmers hold them over a barrel saying that the work remains in the ownership of the creator and additional fees will be charged for the client to obtain possession of the work.
An example happened recently to my newest client. Their website had been created by a local firm and the client understood that, other than proprietary software used in the creation of the website, they owned all the work and images (having paid substantially for them). In the Terms and Conditions at the base of the website pages, it clearly stated that all work remains in the ownership of the programming company.
Well, big surprise, just because you say it, doesn't make it so. However the challenge is that my new clients would have to spend money in the legal system to rectify the situation. One hopes that a reasonable conversation with the programmer will fix the issue, but you just never know.
Credible creative folks are aware of their rights and yours as small business owners contracting them to develop work. Don't sign a contract without reading it (and that shouldn't even need to be said). Ask the question out loud about who owns what once it's paid for. If there's any weebly-wobbling about the answer, find someone else to do the work.
Oh, and the mysterious proprietary software used on my new client's website? Flash. Don't get bamboozled. Understand what's being built and how.
It's your responsibility to protect yourself and your business. Make sure you do.
In Canada, intellectual property law and marketing law are both built to protect the creative folks and their clients. It is very clearly stated that creative work continues to be owned by its creator until it has been paid for, in full, by the person who contracted the work. At that time, the work becomes the property of the client.
The exception here is when there is a signed contract that stipulates that the work remains in the ownership of the creator. Notice I said 'a signed contract', not a verbal agreement, not a terms and conditions that appear after the project is completed.
Too many small business clients discover that, in the end, their creative designers and programmers hold them over a barrel saying that the work remains in the ownership of the creator and additional fees will be charged for the client to obtain possession of the work.
An example happened recently to my newest client. Their website had been created by a local firm and the client understood that, other than proprietary software used in the creation of the website, they owned all the work and images (having paid substantially for them). In the Terms and Conditions at the base of the website pages, it clearly stated that all work remains in the ownership of the programming company.
Well, big surprise, just because you say it, doesn't make it so. However the challenge is that my new clients would have to spend money in the legal system to rectify the situation. One hopes that a reasonable conversation with the programmer will fix the issue, but you just never know.
Credible creative folks are aware of their rights and yours as small business owners contracting them to develop work. Don't sign a contract without reading it (and that shouldn't even need to be said). Ask the question out loud about who owns what once it's paid for. If there's any weebly-wobbling about the answer, find someone else to do the work.
Oh, and the mysterious proprietary software used on my new client's website? Flash. Don't get bamboozled. Understand what's being built and how.
It's your responsibility to protect yourself and your business. Make sure you do.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Guest blogger - Where Your Brand Consistency Efforts Fall Apart
Marketers expend a lot of resources ensuring their brand messaging is consistent and reflects the promise their company makes to the marketplace. This is justified. Unfortunately a key customer touch-point often neglected by Marketing is the direct messaging delivered by the sales representatives to customers and prospects.
In a ‘considered purchase’ situation where the prospect relies on the sales rep for key information and justification, your marketing person or team must be involved in helping deliver consistent and on-brand messages. All sales teams have inconsistency in performance between individuals based on the experience each rep has and the tools they use.
Good sales reps have behaviors based on experience. They: horde key information, develop customized presentations for certain situations, understand the customer’s buying cycle and the rationale, and refer to historical relevant case studies as required. Junior members of the sales team have limited training, a few product binders, youthful exuberance and a lot of fear. It’s not surprising that the brand message each sales rep delivers is wildly different.
Marketing must engage with sales in a more effective way than the historical division that often exists. When Marketing and Sales both consider themselves as key components in driving revenue then collaboration on tools development can drive consistency in sales rep messaging, speedier new rep development, greater team success and, most importantly, an experience the customer will feel is true to the brand promise.
Tools are now emerging that go far beyond typical Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and product information access for sales reps. The most sophisticated of these centralized, on-line tools are helping sales people determine: where the prospect is at in the buying cycle, what key challenges need to be solved, likely competitive positioning, most appropriate solution bundles, access to the most relevant case histories and other critical information that helps determine the right messaging.
Successful deployment of these tools results in more consistency of messaging from sales to customer and helps all the sales reps access the information and support that allows them to quickly become the trusted advisor the customer desires. A nice side benefit is sales and marketing might actually get along for a while….at least until next year’s targets are set!
Bill Jamieson
Bill is the Managing Partner for Streetwise Consulting, a London Ontario based consulting team that specializes in helping companies solve business development challenges. Bill is a graduate of the Ivey School of Business at UWO and has over 25 years experience in marketing, sales and corporate communications. He can be contacted at bill@streetwiseconsulting.org .
In a ‘considered purchase’ situation where the prospect relies on the sales rep for key information and justification, your marketing person or team must be involved in helping deliver consistent and on-brand messages. All sales teams have inconsistency in performance between individuals based on the experience each rep has and the tools they use.
Good sales reps have behaviors based on experience. They: horde key information, develop customized presentations for certain situations, understand the customer’s buying cycle and the rationale, and refer to historical relevant case studies as required. Junior members of the sales team have limited training, a few product binders, youthful exuberance and a lot of fear. It’s not surprising that the brand message each sales rep delivers is wildly different.
Marketing must engage with sales in a more effective way than the historical division that often exists. When Marketing and Sales both consider themselves as key components in driving revenue then collaboration on tools development can drive consistency in sales rep messaging, speedier new rep development, greater team success and, most importantly, an experience the customer will feel is true to the brand promise.
Tools are now emerging that go far beyond typical Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and product information access for sales reps. The most sophisticated of these centralized, on-line tools are helping sales people determine: where the prospect is at in the buying cycle, what key challenges need to be solved, likely competitive positioning, most appropriate solution bundles, access to the most relevant case histories and other critical information that helps determine the right messaging.
Successful deployment of these tools results in more consistency of messaging from sales to customer and helps all the sales reps access the information and support that allows them to quickly become the trusted advisor the customer desires. A nice side benefit is sales and marketing might actually get along for a while….at least until next year’s targets are set!
Bill Jamieson
Bill is the Managing Partner for Streetwise Consulting, a London Ontario based consulting team that specializes in helping companies solve business development challenges. Bill is a graduate of the Ivey School of Business at UWO and has over 25 years experience in marketing, sales and corporate communications. He can be contacted at bill@streetwiseconsulting.org .
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
A special place in hell for marketers
There's a certain line in the sand with marketing - and it keeps being crossed. I believe there should be a special place in hell for marketers and programs that haven't the wits to know when they are irritating their audience. Irritation doesn't breed happy brand experience in anyone's world.
The first special place in hell goes to programming that blatantly uses paid product placement to finance their projects. A little product placement may be amusing but, when it is in your face every five minutes, it screams of desperation.
Case in point - So You Think You Can Dance, Canada (SYTYCDC). I've watched both the American and Canadian versions and the Canadian one is a patchwork quilt of useless product sponsorships that precede nearly every commercial break (as if what we see in the commercial break isn't enough).
Now I get that marketers are having to be more creative in how they reach their audience but the product sponsorships on SYTYCDC are embarassingly uncreative. The Aquafina glasses the judges have strategically placed in front of them so they are in every shot is quiet and traditional.
The Canon sponsorship of 'how the stars get their transformation' is ridiculous. Quick snapshots of the dancers getting their make-up applied - honestly how many times do we have to see the same style of snapshot? If anything, it demonstrates a lack of creativity when using the camera. Good message? I think not. (And of course it is followed in the commercial break by a Canon ad.)
The Joe fresh stage for the audience to dance on is also leaning toward nonsense. A nasty excuse to get the brand in front of both the studio audience and the viewers - and of course followed by an ad in the commercial break.
Finally, as if this wasn't enough, and gracious there may be more that I've forgotten (which indicates how successful this is), is the Tylenol Muscle and Back Pain backstage update. Followed by chatter from the dancers as they breeze by the camera and, you guessed it, a Tylenol ad in the commercial break.
Now in my world, each and every one of these product placement sponsorships should be asking for a discount because their impact is watered down by being trapped with all the other ridiculous activities of paid sponsorship. Is SYTYCDC that desperate for money - or are the advertisers not finding value in buying regular advertising spots? In either case, perhaps a measurement of the value of the programming, or how it is presented, is in order - by both the producers and the advertisers. Perhaps they should just pay for their 15 minutes of the program and spare us the commercial break. Imagine that - network television could become commercial break free! Obviously not commercial-free, but we'd get more program in the one hour than the 40 out of 60 minutes we currently get.
Oh, and the second special place in hell goes to the marketers who think it is clever to buy space to play the same ad back-to-back. Yes, a 15-second ad becomes a 30-second one when you play it twice in a row, but for heaven's sake - do you know how irritating that is? Just a suggestion - negative impact is not a good brand experience and while it gets someone talking about you, it isn't in a pleasant way so they aren't going to support your brand. Fools.
The first special place in hell goes to programming that blatantly uses paid product placement to finance their projects. A little product placement may be amusing but, when it is in your face every five minutes, it screams of desperation.
Case in point - So You Think You Can Dance, Canada (SYTYCDC). I've watched both the American and Canadian versions and the Canadian one is a patchwork quilt of useless product sponsorships that precede nearly every commercial break (as if what we see in the commercial break isn't enough).
Now I get that marketers are having to be more creative in how they reach their audience but the product sponsorships on SYTYCDC are embarassingly uncreative. The Aquafina glasses the judges have strategically placed in front of them so they are in every shot is quiet and traditional.
The Canon sponsorship of 'how the stars get their transformation' is ridiculous. Quick snapshots of the dancers getting their make-up applied - honestly how many times do we have to see the same style of snapshot? If anything, it demonstrates a lack of creativity when using the camera. Good message? I think not. (And of course it is followed in the commercial break by a Canon ad.)
The Joe fresh stage for the audience to dance on is also leaning toward nonsense. A nasty excuse to get the brand in front of both the studio audience and the viewers - and of course followed by an ad in the commercial break.
Finally, as if this wasn't enough, and gracious there may be more that I've forgotten (which indicates how successful this is), is the Tylenol Muscle and Back Pain backstage update. Followed by chatter from the dancers as they breeze by the camera and, you guessed it, a Tylenol ad in the commercial break.
Now in my world, each and every one of these product placement sponsorships should be asking for a discount because their impact is watered down by being trapped with all the other ridiculous activities of paid sponsorship. Is SYTYCDC that desperate for money - or are the advertisers not finding value in buying regular advertising spots? In either case, perhaps a measurement of the value of the programming, or how it is presented, is in order - by both the producers and the advertisers. Perhaps they should just pay for their 15 minutes of the program and spare us the commercial break. Imagine that - network television could become commercial break free! Obviously not commercial-free, but we'd get more program in the one hour than the 40 out of 60 minutes we currently get.
Oh, and the second special place in hell goes to the marketers who think it is clever to buy space to play the same ad back-to-back. Yes, a 15-second ad becomes a 30-second one when you play it twice in a row, but for heaven's sake - do you know how irritating that is? Just a suggestion - negative impact is not a good brand experience and while it gets someone talking about you, it isn't in a pleasant way so they aren't going to support your brand. Fools.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Dazzling upholds its brand name!
Just a couple hours ago, I was a dinner guest at Dazzling Restaurant & Bar on King St. W in Toronto - the illustrious theatre district. Dazzling brings an interesting fusion to several Far East dining styles. From Dim Sum to Sushi, from Pad Thai to Salt & Pepper Shrimp, the creations at Dazzling were just that - dazzling.
It's easy to see how deciding to brand yourselves Dazzling could be a challenge waiting to happen. However, in this particular instance, it actually holds true. The decor is enchanting, the service attentive and welcoming. But the food - the food is what's truly dazzling about this restaurant.
As a long-time fan of ordering a salad and then select choices from the appetizer menu, Dazzling didn't let me down. And didn't let down my dining companion - one of the fussiest eaters I have ever had the pleasure of dining with. Everything from the salad and appetizer menu just sang of the care taken in the kitchen to bring these delectables to table.
The frontage of the restaurant doesn't give away a hint of the dazzlingness inside - even though the theatre district and its ever present lightshow might overshadow the concept of anything else being dazzling. Living up to the brand promise - and for me a restaurant is about the experience and the food - that's what Dazzling actually accomplishes. The smoked salmon avocado salad is positively genius, the detail of delivering a bowl of magnificently tender, warm edamame, and attentive staff that is just there when you need them - everything was what the brand promised.
Congratulations to Dave and his team for putting together a dining experience that makes a marketer (who was quite skeptical that anything deserved the brand Dazzling) get excited about how to take the elements of a word and turn it into something that tastes just as dazzling as promised.
And that's what good marketing is all about - keeping the promise that your brand offers. (And notice please Dave, that I never said a word about the creme brulee. . .)
It's easy to see how deciding to brand yourselves Dazzling could be a challenge waiting to happen. However, in this particular instance, it actually holds true. The decor is enchanting, the service attentive and welcoming. But the food - the food is what's truly dazzling about this restaurant.
As a long-time fan of ordering a salad and then select choices from the appetizer menu, Dazzling didn't let me down. And didn't let down my dining companion - one of the fussiest eaters I have ever had the pleasure of dining with. Everything from the salad and appetizer menu just sang of the care taken in the kitchen to bring these delectables to table.
The frontage of the restaurant doesn't give away a hint of the dazzlingness inside - even though the theatre district and its ever present lightshow might overshadow the concept of anything else being dazzling. Living up to the brand promise - and for me a restaurant is about the experience and the food - that's what Dazzling actually accomplishes. The smoked salmon avocado salad is positively genius, the detail of delivering a bowl of magnificently tender, warm edamame, and attentive staff that is just there when you need them - everything was what the brand promised.
Congratulations to Dave and his team for putting together a dining experience that makes a marketer (who was quite skeptical that anything deserved the brand Dazzling) get excited about how to take the elements of a word and turn it into something that tastes just as dazzling as promised.
And that's what good marketing is all about - keeping the promise that your brand offers. (And notice please Dave, that I never said a word about the creme brulee. . .)
Monday, August 17, 2009
Analyze by psychographics - not demographics
There may have been a time when demographics actually defined your customer base successfully, but age, gender and geography are so overlapping now that if you are using just demographics to determine your marketing tactics, you are truly missing the boat.
Demographics equal age, income, gender, education, marital status, geography. The availability of disposable income no longer simply hinges on how much money someone makes - it is a question of lifestyle. You can make $100,000/year but if it is all tied up in mortgages and car payments, then even that level of income doesn't represent disposable. What is the personality that creates disposable income in almost any income bracket? Figure that out and you have the advantage over your competition.
Having a basic knowledge of your customers' demographics is a positive thing, but don't get married to it. The reality is you need to know your customers' hobbies, interests and even occupation to be more effective in your advertising. It's called psychographics.
Mass marketing is quickly becoming the dinosaur in the room - extinct. Even when purchasing television advertising - the big daddy of all mass marketing - you can now position your messages within specialty channels.
When you consider a 50-year-old female gardener, you would find she has more in common with more gardeners of any age or gender than she would have with the general population of 50-year-old females. People find comfort in groups of folks who are like-minded rather than simply groups of the same age or income bracket.
To be truly economical and efficient with your marketing tactics, you need to know which groups your product or service appeals to. Are they arts-minded? Sports fans? Instinctively frugal? Show-offs? You get the idea.
Match your tactics to your special interest groups and you'll be reaching them where they are more likely to appreciate and engage with your messages.
Demographics equal age, income, gender, education, marital status, geography. The availability of disposable income no longer simply hinges on how much money someone makes - it is a question of lifestyle. You can make $100,000/year but if it is all tied up in mortgages and car payments, then even that level of income doesn't represent disposable. What is the personality that creates disposable income in almost any income bracket? Figure that out and you have the advantage over your competition.
Having a basic knowledge of your customers' demographics is a positive thing, but don't get married to it. The reality is you need to know your customers' hobbies, interests and even occupation to be more effective in your advertising. It's called psychographics.
Mass marketing is quickly becoming the dinosaur in the room - extinct. Even when purchasing television advertising - the big daddy of all mass marketing - you can now position your messages within specialty channels.
When you consider a 50-year-old female gardener, you would find she has more in common with more gardeners of any age or gender than she would have with the general population of 50-year-old females. People find comfort in groups of folks who are like-minded rather than simply groups of the same age or income bracket.
To be truly economical and efficient with your marketing tactics, you need to know which groups your product or service appeals to. Are they arts-minded? Sports fans? Instinctively frugal? Show-offs? You get the idea.
Match your tactics to your special interest groups and you'll be reaching them where they are more likely to appreciate and engage with your messages.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Canada - The brand outside your window
Happy Canada Day everyone! A celebration of the country where 89% of the residents believe we live in the best country in the world, according to the Globe and Mail. And a country which has regularly discussed our self-identity and whether we even have one.
I am fortunate to live in a part of Canada where I can cross the border into the US at several points without much more than a short drive. As such, I do speaking engagements in the US and hear from our American friends who live close to the border on how they perceive their Canadian neighbours.
I've always thought we were seen as beer-drinking, funny, polite people. Let's face it, some of the best things to be exported to the US are our beer and our comedians. And there's no doubt we have excellent manners, when taken as whole. However, I found an interesting comment to be recurring in my conversations during American speaking gigs; apparently Canadians are just not worldly.
Not worldly. Hmm. So having the safest, most successful banking industry in the world doesn't matter. Being an upstanding member of the United Nations who regularly is called up to bat in international conflict isn't really very telling. And the fact that we have more successful relationships with more countries in the world than anyone else isn't even considered.
What is considered, oddly enough, is that Canada represents, in many American minds, a country of rural residents. If we have so much space and so few people, so few large cities and so little time spent bragging about it, how can we possibly be a world-player?
Thus the flaw of so many branding exercises. What the business owner and managers think is happening outside the window is often very different from what the customer is thinking. There's no question Canadians have talked the concept of our brand (or self-identity if you want to use a more politically-correct term) nearly to death. Our government protects us from American television by legislating a certain number of hours of Canadian programming all in the name of establishing our unique Canadian identity. But it appears that our own self-vision has nothing to do with how other people see us.
How many businesses do you know that believe they are special for one reason and it turns out you buy from them for a completely different one?
I rather liked thinking we had great beer, the largest crop per capita of funny people and always say 'thank you' and 'excuse me'. I don't really like thinking we aren't taken seriously because we aren't worldly. Perhaps it's a comment on how goofy our politicans behave out in public because I can't believe it is a result of a general behaviour, not in our impressive, multi-cultural country.
Who knew the geography would define our brand?
I am fortunate to live in a part of Canada where I can cross the border into the US at several points without much more than a short drive. As such, I do speaking engagements in the US and hear from our American friends who live close to the border on how they perceive their Canadian neighbours.
I've always thought we were seen as beer-drinking, funny, polite people. Let's face it, some of the best things to be exported to the US are our beer and our comedians. And there's no doubt we have excellent manners, when taken as whole. However, I found an interesting comment to be recurring in my conversations during American speaking gigs; apparently Canadians are just not worldly.
Not worldly. Hmm. So having the safest, most successful banking industry in the world doesn't matter. Being an upstanding member of the United Nations who regularly is called up to bat in international conflict isn't really very telling. And the fact that we have more successful relationships with more countries in the world than anyone else isn't even considered.
What is considered, oddly enough, is that Canada represents, in many American minds, a country of rural residents. If we have so much space and so few people, so few large cities and so little time spent bragging about it, how can we possibly be a world-player?
Thus the flaw of so many branding exercises. What the business owner and managers think is happening outside the window is often very different from what the customer is thinking. There's no question Canadians have talked the concept of our brand (or self-identity if you want to use a more politically-correct term) nearly to death. Our government protects us from American television by legislating a certain number of hours of Canadian programming all in the name of establishing our unique Canadian identity. But it appears that our own self-vision has nothing to do with how other people see us.
How many businesses do you know that believe they are special for one reason and it turns out you buy from them for a completely different one?
I rather liked thinking we had great beer, the largest crop per capita of funny people and always say 'thank you' and 'excuse me'. I don't really like thinking we aren't taken seriously because we aren't worldly. Perhaps it's a comment on how goofy our politicans behave out in public because I can't believe it is a result of a general behaviour, not in our impressive, multi-cultural country.
Who knew the geography would define our brand?
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