January 2014

A Simple Concept2Get

Have you ever been at a party, or perhaps the coffee shop, when you run across someone you know and you just cannot remember their name?  Of course you have - it happens to all of us.  Sometimes it's the second after they tell it to you and you realize it's a lost cause - their name is gone.

After years of attending work and social events, I started paying attention to this phenomenon and I believe I have a solution for you.  It's pretty radical to be prepared for the big shift in thinking...

Here's what you need to do...

Listen.

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 Super Hearing Not Necessary

The Big Change4You

Most of us are so concerned about getting our name out, we actually forget to listen (really listen) to the name coming from the other person.

Names are important.  Hearing their own name is a sweet sound to a person.  It helps them feel significant - even special.  Yet too often, we mess them up, forget them, or never even take the time to actually take in the information in the first place.

Start with these changes:

1. Stop telling yourself and others "you're bad with names".  That's just a negative excuse.
2. Look the person in the eye when you are introduced to them and pause for a moment before speaking or sharing your name.  That eye to eye connection will help you remember them.
3. Listen to what they are saying.  For extra credit you can repeat their name back to them shortly after you hear it.  Soak in the first bit of information they are giving you before going into the rest of the conversation.

There you go...stop, look and listen.

December 2013

It's Time2Watch Some TV Commercials

In the almost five years that I've been writing these monthly newsletters, I've repeatedly expressed that the most valuable advertisement interrupts the consumer. Successfully designed ads pull attention to your product or service in a creative and memorable way. Once the attention of the viewer is secured, you then have the opportunity to engage, sell and educate.

For those of us in the creative advertising field, it is part of our job and our entertainment to observe messaging others create and determine its effectiveness. This fall I noted two commercials that work at interrupting and I wanted to share them both with you.

#1 - Subaru

This:30 commercial...

...takes you on a drive. Literally. The commercial pulls you into the relationship between two people. Then when you think you know the story the true hook is revealed. It is successful at creating an appealing experience before revealing the product. The viewer wants to watch it again because the characters are likable and the story clever.

#2 - Subway

Like it or not, they had your attention at Five Dollar...

Subway uses music to get you to remember their offer and their campaign. Music is a powerful tool in advertising. It's been used since the earliest of radio days. Like Subaru uses storytelling to capture interest, Subway has a quick musical hook and it works.

What It Can Mean4You

You have a new year and an opportunity for a fresh advertising approach as well as the chance to build, enhance or shift your branding. Always remember to interrupt THEN share the important messaging you want to convey. How you do it depends a lot on your product, service or specific needs.

November 2013

It Isn't2Exciting

The B2Seed is typically reserved for entertaining, edgy and exciting content. This month we're going in a different direction. One of the biggest new stories of the fall has a practical application for anyone in business who interacts with customers on the web. And that's pretty much everyone.

Regardless of your political leaning, it's pretty obvious the President has a problem with Health Care Reform.

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Some people think it's a good idea. Some people think it's a bad one. Interested web surfers wanted to see for themselves, but so few could. The ones who actually got to the site found it challenging, confusing and ill conceived. In this case, President Obama is the CEO. Few CEO's are deeply engaged in web site mapping or hosting or navigational decisions. We've learned from this situation that involvement in the infrastructure of your own organization's web site is definitely worth consideration.

A Simple Recommendation4You

In response to the big national news and all the intense scrutiny of the nation's most newsworthy web site, you would be wise to consider the "behind the scenes" elements of your company's web site.

Are you prepared for the volume of visitors who are seeking information? How does your site's hosting work and what are your provider's redundancies? Can you handle a large push to your site?

Is there a logical navigational system? Does your site map reflect the flow of information your potential patients are seeking? Do you even have a plan for how people will use your site?

Finally, is the site reflective of your business' work and culture and product lines? If it is, have you checked it for style issues and spelling errors?

There's nothing glamorous about these topics and questions, but asking them (and driving for answers) would have kept that other web site out of the news and will likely make your user's experience MUCH better.

October 2013

How2Build It From Scratch

Monday nights are not generally regarded as the most thriving night for downtown restaurants (save the few times there may be a home team football game on TV). A few years back, a Roanoke restaurateur decided he was going to make a change to that mentality. Mondays are now known as "Half Price Burger Night" at Martin's Downtown.

Jason Martin decided he'd had enough sluggish Monday nights. His restaurant stays crowded most days - serving great food Monday-Saturday and turning into a hip live music venue later in the evenings. Patrons usually pay full price for the gourmet burgers --- but on Mondays they get a deal.

So how did it start?

"I just decided to do it," said Martin. "It didn't take off immediately, but people came in and word started to spread. Then we got some publicity and even more people heard about it. Pretty soon it had become a signature night for us."

That's what I call "planting the flag".

What Can It Mean4You

When you look closely at what happened with Martin's Downtown, it comes down to a few simple, practical and logical steps.

First Martin recognized the problem. Next, he evaluated an option for addressing the situation.Third, he analyzed the impact of starting a promotion and decided to move forward.Then he kicked it off and began the process of building it up.Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he stuck with it.

"Half Priced Burger Night" grabbed on and stuck. The evidence of his work is easily seen on most Mondays in Downtown Roanoke. While you may initially shy away from addressing your troubling situation, you'll ultimately be in much better shape if you stare it down and deal with it. Then when you make your decision - move forward and make it happen.

September 2013

This month Bruce C. Bryan shares a picture of... an empty building.

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Why Did He Post a Picture of an Empty Building4Me?

When I arrived in Toledo, Ohio in 1997 as a sales manager at an ABC owned TV station, the top local advertisers in the market were primarily established, well-known retailers. Many in the Midwest would recognize the names that perennially appeared on the rankings - Lion Department Store, Home Depot, Value City Department (and Furniture) Store and a significant local grocery chain called Food Town.

Food Town (their former marketing office is pictured above) was a progressive advertiser engaged in the community and a major player in the local television marketplace. Now, the building is empty and their operations are ceased. The owners decided to go a different direction. I drove by it earlier this month and remembered working with them. Shortly after my arrival in 1997, Lion was bought out by a larger chain and their TV spending disappeared. Home Depot started buying network commercials. Both Value City retail outlets closed their operations... you get the idea.

No one would have forecasted the demise of all these anchor advertisers - in such a short time. No one.

Making It Hard2Budget

It's a basic principal of business. Companies want (and sometimes need) to achieve specific revenue budgets.

No matter how well (or not well) your clients are doing, your company expects to see results. Client closings, cutbacks, or shifting in the base of their business are mere hurdles your company must overcome. You may be sitting at your desk in the fall of 2013 thinking about your 2014 budget. Start by recognizing there is nothing certain. If you're in charge of revenue - review your client's trends, patterns, and potential issues. Then be sure you're focused on replacing the money that is likely sliding away at some point during the year. Don't make the mistake of counting on your top clients always being your top clients.

It will help you prepare for the coming change and respond better when that (often discouraging) news arrives.

August 2013

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This month B2C Ace Artist, Aaron Kelderhouse, takes his first crack as a guest columnist.

Brand2Capture

It's your identity. It's your way of sharing yourself with the world - who you are, what you do, why you do it. It sets you apart from everyone else and brings you to the forefront of their mind every time they come across it. It's your brand and whether you realize or not you do have one. Question is, are you controlling it or does it control you?

Often when someone thinks of "branding" they think of a logo... colors... a style of font. The truth is, while that may be where your branding begins, everything you do, or don't do, contributes to your brand. How you interact with customers, the type of environment you do your work in, the way you answer the phone, how organized your files are kept... like it or not it is all part of your brand.

A company that has a strong brand not only has a well implemented look and feel to their graphics, but that same look and feel is consistent with how they do business. Maybe someone has a nice, simple, clean logo but every time you interact with them they seem out of control. Or perhaps they have created an ultra-modern image for their company, but all their invoicing is done on a dot matrix printer.

The point is an organization's brand is only as strong as its ability to deliver.

Brand4Yourself

Your brand creates a perception from the inside as well. In the same way that your brand helps others know who you are and what you do, it reminds you and your team who you are. At times in the business of "doing work" it becomes easy to lose sight of your goal and forget what it is you are really trying to accomplish. Your brand should be strong enough to remind you what it is that sets you apart and push you toward continuing to do those things. It should be something that boosts the morale of the people you work with and rallies them toward that common goal.

In the business world there are countless things out of your control. Your brand shouldn't be one of them. As you make decisions be sure they line up with your vision. Treat your customers and partners in ways that are consistent in this vision. Surround yourself with employees that support the overall vision, not with people who frustrate it. And yes... absolutely have a great logo that conveys your image, with colors that compliment it, and a font that reflects your story.