Inspiring Dialogue

Notes from @shelisrael @dmscott @dspark @dowjones panel on "How Social Media is Changing the Enterprise" #djconvo

Dow Jones & Company hosted on Wednesday of this week what I have to call a special treat. An intimate cast of leading technology brands and social media marketers gathered around an antique wooden conference room table in the Wall Street Journal’s former newspaper Board room to talk new media. How ironic. Here’s the video compliments of UStream (turn up the sound or get really close to the speakers),

 

and below my notes. 

David Meerman Scott, Marketing Strategist, Keynote Speaker, and Author of the hit new book, World Wide Rave; Shel Israel, Best selling author of Naked Conversations and the upcoming book Twitterville; David Spark, Tech Journalist and Founder of Spark Media Solutions; and moderator Daniela Barbosa, Business Development Manager, Dow Jones, opened up the floor to discuss the new ways your employees, the outside world and future generations will communicate and collaborate using “social media.”

“How do you get started? How long does it take to get it right? How do you build a following?,” were a few of many questions Barbosa tossed at the panelists throughout the chat. The first thing is attitude, Meerman Scott responded. People get wound-up in the tools they have to be on. The four ways to generate attention for marketers, communicators or innovators are

1) you can buy attention – advertising

2) beg for attention – PR

3) you can bug people – sales

4) social media - different because you get attention by putting yourself out there on the web and earn attention.

People are coming at social media with one of the other ways, not earning the attention, unfortunately.

Spark says the same thing. People ask for a video and want to know what it costs. Better to see whom the audience is and if the audience will want to consume a story in the video. His four steps are

1) assessment – assess the situation – what do we have, who are the smart people in this room, who are our customers / partners who are smart, where are our connections

2) harness that in our editorial, create our own voice – not begging for attention – we’re being seen as a peer for equal information

3) production – instead of five videos, let’s create one video for multiple outputs and

4) social media is the distribution end – being on Twitter and Facebook is not understanding the business.

People may be talking about your business on a list serve, and no where else…

Israel disagrees with both.

He looks at it differently. Begin by listening and respond when you care to. Social media should not be approached to get a goal. It’s a “telephone,” communications tool. He takes the long view. People are pretty much the same. Earlier he was joking about killing a mastodon as being the dawn of social networking, getting others to collaborate over the shared need to carry away the heavy pieces of meat. One person (obviously) couldn’t do it alone.

What it (social media) does, Israel explains, that previous “social” technology didn’t do is let people interact very quickly, interact online as they do in “real life.” It’s a natural phenomenon that sometimes leads to conversations, sometimes not.

Are you thinking about your 15K followers when writing a Tweet? Israel has “milked the cow” of social media to get ideas for his next books. He’s asking questions to get answers. Israel wouldn’t get all of this help if he were not generous. If you want something, you have to give something that may not give back, he returns.

From a business perspective, how you can give to get, Meerman Scott retorts is, “If you’re interesting, people will want to follow you. If you have a bunch of people paying attention to what you’re saying or what you’re doing, it depends upon what you want to ultimately get.”

Social media is a cocktail party, Meerman Scott smirks. You can be a loud mouth salesperson, an advertiser pasting up banners all over the party, pay a PR person to talk about you, or have interesting conversations with people to see how you can help each other.

The topic is authenticity.

Do you let your PR person blog on behalf of the CEO? How do you get a salesforce into the conversation? Meerman Scott says to think about it, it’s how do you behave. When you’re thinking about guidelines, the lawyers are one viewpoint. You should listen to the janitors, secretaries, etc. as well. Take a look at IBM’s social computing guidelines – publicly available on the web to get a clue on how to do it right within your organization.

Divorce the media from the behavior of communication. How do you teach salespeople to use social media? Israel says not to push the tool on anyone. Salespeople typically need to use social media the least anyways because they are on the frontline, talking to customers all of the time. Social media’s greatest power is bringing that conversation into where it’s being discussed – outside the organization.

It really takes a key person to get the conversation going in social media, Spark says. “How do you teach it?,” Israel asks. What kind of conversation do you want to have? First start listening to the conversation that’s going on, then join in, if applicable. The experience always evolves from start to finish - when executives first start with social media, it never ends as the way it began.

You won’t believe the results you’ll have doing the tiniest things, Spark says. Meerman Scott says it needs to start with the people you’re trying to reach. You should have meetings with your potential customers, if they’re on social media and what they’re doing. Kids are on Facebook, salespeople listen to podcasts because they’re in their cars a lot. Organizations fail in social media efforts because they start from egotistical efforts – it’s all about what they have to offer when it shouldn’t be…

Israel disagrees and points out that it’s “less of an audience target sort of way.” You go where your (potential) customers can be found, does make sense, tipping his virtual hat to Meerman Scott. Though, Dell finds comments, where people say they suck. The first group that won’t change their mind is forgotten, but the others who say Dell sucks -for a reason - are responded to with thoughtful answers that solve those customers’ problems.

Frank Eliason started ComcastCares on Twitter. The brand damage was on YouTube, when the Comcast service person was video taped asleep on the job, but the social media marketing program went to Twitter because that’s where the Company (Frank) chose to connect with the customers. Type “Comcast sucks” into Google and there’s a quarter of a million responses, but there are more than half a million ComcastCares comments on Google too. There may be a group not in a place you think there is, Spark adds. The San Francisco comedians are not grouped together on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else. They have their own private wiki.

And what’s the biggest barrier to social media - fear, fear of the unknown, fear of what the lawyers may say, Meerman Scott says. It does take time to do social media. Who’s going to do it? What kind of time is it going to take? But, it all comes back to fear. Spark adds that if you can’t get business done right now, work on this time to build your reputation. “Does the social media stuff get me business?,” he reflects. Prices for Spark’s services have gone up 200-300 percent since he improved his reputation through his own PR (and social media) efforts.

Quick aside from Terri Molini, Corporate Communications at Sun Microsystems:

You do have to provide your employees with guidelines and a direction to the platform. Companies also have to have a dialog with their employees so they don’t get afraid or get frustrated with the platforms, which leads to adoption of social media - teaching your employees to become empowered.

When a person does something inappropriate in social media, the community jumps on that person, before the lawyers do, because the community doesn’t want one person to screw it up for the rest, Israel adds. Social media is real life.

It’s ok to be a dork or screw up online too. Though, if you make a mistake, and if someone is really angry with you, let it go. It’s ok to make mistakes with social media. Spark covered this topic, the biggest mistakes made by social media gurus, at length on Mashable.

What should you write (blog) about?

Take inward facing information, that’s not proprietary, Spark says. People are looking for the information, and if you get it out there, non-proprietary info, then people will discover and make decisions on purchasing your product. Meerman Scott adds, never write about your own products.

Nobody cares about your products, they care about problems and answers to problems. Once when Meerman Scott blogged, he admitted, a simple blog post got thousands of hits and tons of comments, but when he talked about his new book, no one has responded.

Real estate agents are the worst - rather than talk about the 3 bedroom house on Twitter, they should talk about issues homeowners are facing, schools their prospective homebuyers should live near, etc. Blog posts are all about the houses. Why? Real estate agents should give their audiences give more value.

Social media makes conversations scalable, Israel says. ComcastCares reaches more people than all of the people in the call center. However, if you look at social media as a mass medium model, unless you’re Barack Obama, it’s not going to work for you. In the reverse, if you can collect information from Twitter streams and blogs, from live events - get the bodies in the locations that you want them to be, then you’re golden, Spark adds.

We don’t like marketing messages, Israel repeats. If a person joins a conversation and yells “buy my product,” the people in the room are gone, Meerman Scott adds. We like being listened to. We do like people asking us what we think. Questions like where do you live, what do you do? That is the natural evolution of a conversation. As far as scale goes, Malcolm Gladwell wrote, “little things make a big difference” and you can make a big impact doing little things with social media. 

Open Letter to Social Media Experts

Dear Social Media Experts,

You know who you are - all 4,000 plus and more of you. You are a marketer, public relations professional, hobbyist, developer, integrator, what have you - and you have no place within a marketing organization. So, go out and make one. That was the big take-away at last night's Social Media Club San Francisco / Silicon Valley Chapter. 

There's really no place for you within any organization. The brands aren't sure where to put you - in the marketing or public relations departments. The best you can do is to focus on creating social media "campaigns," right? Wrong.

This is our chance Social Media Experts. Social media can be the glue which finally (and firmly) binds marketing and public relations. And, as Ustrategy's Ravit Lichtenberg pointed out - your social media strategy should also get buy in from other departments as it will impact your organization on a much larger scale than you have ever experienced before.

You know your customers are in control. Your brand is in their hands. Do you fight to make it what you think it should be or join the conversation. The ladder of course. Of course you say? You're still thinking of social media strategies as publicity stunts, marketing schemes, and advertising campaigns? Am I boring you when I remind the lot that we are turning communication into conversation? No, but you don't know what to do, do you?

Here's what needs to happen:

1) Business objectives need to be identified and outlined from the top down, from the client, by the client, and for the client. Collaborative programs between client and agency are key.

2) Benefits need to surface from deep within the weeds. Encourage clients to tell you what they think they need and give them options on how to improve their bottom line, give value to customers and get value from customers, build marketing / PR / social media into the whole ecosystem of the organization to meet business objectives.

3) Get to know the culture of your client's company or you will never hit your target - or get a chance to execute your social media strategy. The client has to be happy. And, you know when he/she is, you just do. Tap into what - emotionally - drives them to work everyday and how that translates in products and services to their customers. 

4) Learn from your clients and don't think you know their customers. Ask them. Most companies have done some preliminary or in-depth customer research and have insight into their customers' interests and behavior. Develop strategies which speak to their customers, where they are, giving them what your clients' know they want. 

5) Analyze your results, and analyze them again, and again, and again, over time. Marketing / PR / social media is an evolutionary process, not a revolutionary process. It takes time to develop, mature a brand, and time can change your client's brand, in good ways or bad. Be ready for anything, and stay on top of what is going on...

6) Bring your best game to your clients and don't be afraid to take risks and make strategically sound suggestions. If you're armed with the right data, historical data that is, and you've studied your client's business, you will be able to make creative and intellectual recommendations, setting them apart from the rest.

7) Oh, and, by gosh man/woman, don't start a client thinking that you're going to win an award for your work. Put your eyes on your client. Focus your heart on helping them improve their business. This is NOT ABOUT YOU. It's about what you have learned and how you can apply your background to change or improve your client's business.

We all "get" social media. It's not rocket science. But, what I'm finding is that a lot of us don't know how to or understand that it's important to develop a social media strategy that fits within your clients' marketing and public relations departments, and speaks to reaching your clients' business objectives.

Now go impress those clients.

Warm Regards,

David Libby

Don't Be a Social Media Blow Hard

If I was "Tessie" in Annie, the broadway musical, right now my line would be, "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness." Yep, hope you read that with feeling. Because aside from expressing any vulgarities in this blog post, that's the most passionate way I can communicate that there are a host of social media "blow hards" out there, and I hope you're not one of them.

What's a social media blow hard? You get the tools. You're an expert on everything and anything Facebook, Twitter (and all related tools), FriendFeed, yada yada. But, what you don't get is that without a background in marketing and/or public relations, there's no sustainable program for you, your client or your company. It's all about the tool.

And, it's really not all about the tool I'm going to say that again. It's not about the tool. It's what you do with it, and why. And, in some cases, hopefully more than I can count on my fingers and toes, a good number of you are working with clients or within your company to find ways to innovate beyond the limits of the current social media tools.

SO, there you have it, I said it. Don't be a social media blow hard. Though, I think it's best if I spell it out for you in more ways than one. Here's some tips to avoid being the blow hard in your agency or company. And, you can say I said so...

1) You're the tree, now branch out - You've had a few, five or fifteen years in marketing and PR and don't know what to do next. All of your new hires come with chips inserted into their brains and just get this social media stuff. You think you're obsolete, but your so absolutely unique because so few of you actually get the big picture and can apply that knowledge to executing with social media tools. You just need to branch out. Take a risk. Take what you've learned over the years in marketing and PR and apply it to social media to create sustainable word of mouth campaigns.

2) Get out more often - I know you're bedtime has become earlier as you've aged, but get over it, and get out, go to a select number of social media events, and listen and learn from those who have new ideas and books to share. Don't be afraid to admit (to yourself) that you don't know what the heck that new social media tool is, and take the time to put it all together as it may apply to driving revenue for your clients and increasing the number of personal relationships and brand awareness for your clients (or your company).

3) Get your hands dirty - Don't pass off any social media development to junior staff. Do it with them, and do it yourself. Don't get me wrong. I don't think you should marry yourself to the tactics of the medium, but don't divorce yourself from being that close to it either. You need to be as much in the weeds as everyone else in your organization, and hope that in 6-12 months you put yourself out of a job because you're onto the next great marketing discovery.

4) Oooh, you're strategic - Do the right thing and follow the right people and READ Forrester's book Groundswell and Adam Metz's book There is No Secret Sauce, among many others (which I'm not given' up on this blog post). You have to learn from the best to stay competitive and understand the breadth of what you can do with social media and how best to do it.

And, lastly, if you're a social media blow hard, admit it. There are those of you that excel at focusing on the technology and developing it. If that's what you do, God bless, we need you too. Just don't try to oversell yourself on strategizing and executing on everything and their mother. Sell yourself as part of a larger team, give your clients options and help them map out a plan. Play to your strengths and let others play with you, and focus on building the brand awareness and revenue of your clients or your company!

The Affects of Social Media on Culture

Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Christopher Richards, an old friend and colleague, and founder of slownowdown.org, an idea originated from his post-graduate work on finding a balance between work and life. We talked about his latest projects, slowdown.org and how social media has (and has not) affected the rate at which we run our lives. 

“Coming to America (from England), I was surprised to see how hard American’s worked,” Christopher started. He was really trying to design a life for himself, allowing him to live a creative, more purposeful life. “Time is all we have,” he added. And, quoting “Why We Make Mistakes” by Joseph T. Hallinan, Richards pointedly asked me, “how do you want to spend you time?”

The pressures doctors go through studying to be doctors are extreme. They have to operate on four hours of sleep, Richards continued. But, there needs to be more rationality around it (the use of time). “The Promise of Sleep,” by sleep researcher, William C. Demnent, another reading list recommendation by Richards, has amazing stories about how stupid we become when we’re sleep deprived. We actually lose IQ points when we’re sleep deprived. Chronic stress can also blind you to your unique identity. You might be a good performer, some of the time, but you can forget who you are.

Richards went to art school in England. “I learned that in order to draw, you have to slow down. You see differently. A colleague once talked about how he needs to slow down and, in terms of sensory input, “you’re cut off from the body. What do your socks feel like right now?,” he asked. Nobody knows.

As educational guru, Sir Ken Robinson says: We’re educated from the neck up, and slightly to one side. We value the left-brain only. The right brain gets shut out and depersonalized.

To get back in touch with your creativity, “take a drawing class,” Richards recommends. “You’re slowed down, and paying attention to what’s going on. You become more aware of people, what’s going on in relationships, or just in terms of listening to music, observing if you’re a ‘painter.’ You will have a richer perspective of being in the world, your everyday moment to moment experience.”

“Everything we know is in the past.” Slowing down allows you to view things in a different perspective.”

Richards organically created slownowdown .org through his rich vein of humor, and an idea of play as outlined on Ted.org, by Dr. Stuart Brown. The more we work, the more we identify with work and cling, hang on to that, which is not good because if we’re let go (fired), we lose our identity. We’re kind of doing too much. Slowing down is not doing too much. It’s doing just enough. Like on LinkedIn, we see who has the most connections, but “who (really) cares? There is value to discovering a more vital personal self.”

Time is the real value. Everything needs time. Of course, we need money to get by. You can’t just kick back and be a lazy bum. Slow isn’t about being lazy.

There are a lot of people grasping at the bottom, who are so hungry, panicked, tightly bound, that they cannot be expansive and generous. Even if you have no money, you can be generous. Look at the sales model, where people are put into competitive, grasping environments. It’s not a healthy state of being.

You do have an identity on social media. People who take the time to view a person’s profile can learn a lot. “There is value in social media,” Richards exclaims. People can help one another using social media. There’s value in having a connection. It can be meaningful in many different ways. There are some people who just want to talk about the weather or what they saw on TV last night.

People will choose their level of engagement that suits them with social media. There is definitely a craving for face-to-face interaction. Things run a course of their own. You may be working in your office by yourself, and then you’ve had enough. You want change. You may want to get out and meet some people.

“I see the media as being very democratic.”

There are millions and millions of different viewpoints. In some areas, we have the same values. Social media has opened us up to seeing other people’s point of view. And, it takes time. If you can be doing something better, then do it, like learning a language, becoming better at bridge – like in the 50s when people supposedly had “hobbies.”

Social media may cause people not to have interpersonal skills, he counters. Coming back to slowing down, people used to focus on body language. That informs us, informs ourselves, and is where we began. Knowing the limits of social media is good. There are people out there with addictive personalities who are going to be addicted to social media no matter what. If it serves them, then that’s good. Some people make money on the Internet, others use it as a form of entertainment.

Either way, Richards says, he’s not for or against social media, and he himself is solely focused on having a richer, more satisfying life where he can be free to do the kind of work he finds interesting while also painting, writing humor, and slowly appreciating the world and people around him.

The Long and Winding Road of Social Media Marketing and Public Relations

"What is your social media marketing strategy?," wrote Lee Odden on his Online Marketing Blog, in March 08. I had to mention the date because I think his blog post was ahead of it's time. No, Odden doesn't owe me any money nor do I owe him anything in return. Though, I do owe myself (and you) one thing, and that's perspective on where we are (and should be) with social media today. And, that's where Odden hits the mark.

Odden wrote about social media being an "effective marketing channel." I often talk about it as being an "effective public relations tool." Both are correct, but very different in strategic development and execution. One step further, my friend Adam Metz talks about himself as being the "how to guy" (and agency) for strategic creation AND tactical execution of social media. Then there's your "Pink Floyd" of social media, Brian Solis, as Metz aptly coined. The "visionary," talking about the culture of social media. I've also heard Social Media Club's Chris Heuer be very Solis-esque.

So, yes, "There is No Secret Sauce," as Metz explains in his eBook of the same name - when it comes to social media strategy and execution. And, as you've (hopefully not) just realized - there are a lot of different kinds of sauces to choose from. Ketchup is ketchup is ketchup, yet all brands are different, and some are better than others.

I think this is why I had such a hard time swallowing the social media press release. There's no one way of doing anything. Is there? Aren't our approaches based on our respective experiences, and how we were taught to swallow and spit them back out? So, how is it that one document can be the guide for every way that we disseminate information, socially? Maybe it was just meant to be the starting point of the conversation?

Steve Rubel, Chris Brogan, Brian Solis, Jeremiah Owyang, Tara Hunt, Clara Shih, Adam Jackson, yours truly (some of whom are mentioned on Odden's blog post above) are all not the same person. Every one of those "experts" in this economy are going to do quite well, if not doing so already. Why?

Social media is new. It's like the film business was in the 20s. You could take big risks, experiment, identify some stand out talent, and make big bucks. The real question is who will be standing on the long tail, 6 months from now, maybe even 5 or 10 years from now? I have to point back to Odden. I'm not suggesting that we should add yet another expert to the list, but have to give you a virtual slap upside the head - and remind you (and myself) that social media IS AN "effective marketing channel."

I reminded a client's social media developer vendor of this in a meeting when I said, "It's not about the technology." He disagreed. Sure, the technology enables us to do great things. But, we create the technology for a purpose, not the other way around. Well, we're supposed to. Twitter got lucky.

And, if that technology doesn't exist, we can create it. That's the power of companies like Gigya, and why it is still around, and growing. It innovates to serve the purpose of its client's marketing and public relations objectives. Not the other way around.

So, who will be left standing? It will be the “digital agency” that isn’t afraid to let its marketing and public relations heritage shine when developing social media strategies and integrating them within their overall marketing and public relations programs. Oh yeah, and being able to execute on that doesn't hurt either. Most folks fall down over their ideas, and trample themselves. But, I digress...

There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of social media “experts” out there which know how to drive social media strategies and tactics for clients, but so few who can actually take those clients – on a road trip with their marketing and public relations programs to show their clients' customers the benefits of trusting their brands, now and forever.

See you on the road…

How to Build a "Circle of Influence" in Social Media

Working in "Hollywood," we had celebrity clients who had millions of fans, some who had thousands, others who had hundreds, and a few who were relatively unknown. All had one thing in common - all created a "Circle of Influence." Every star had an audience who surrounded them, supported them, and were loyal to their celebrity's craft because in one way or another, that famous person touched each fan in a very personal way. What each personality had in common was an uncanny, in some cases trained ability, to believe in their character, their purpose. And, that is the cornerstone of building a "Circle of Influence" in social media.

I've heard social media experts talk about being "down to earth," "helpful to others (not just for their own commercial good)," and focused on "listening, not always talking" in conversation. Those are all tools, some inherent in who we are and other traits which we can learn. But, the act of being "nice" or "genuine" can not bare fruit unless one believes in themselves and what they have to offer.

It's that foundation, that passion, that drives visionaries to tirelessly focus on what they can do to reach their end goal. It's that studying, that dedication, which helps us connect with others, build community, and work hard together toward a common goal. That is the power of social media and how you can build a "Circle of Influence."

I'll even go as far to say that the size of your circle will vary depending upon what you believe. Some people believe in some things (and people) more than others. It's just natural. And, you don't need to have thousands, even millions of people in your circle, to be influential. I would, as a matter of fact, advise you to be careful not to attract too many people as you may then cause them by nature to believe that you have a social responsibility to be the pied piper within your circle of unconnected fans.

It's a rare superstar who can manage that level of influence because to be everything to everyone all of the time is to be no one at all, but to appeal to the masses at a great cost. The cost of not connecting with those who are actually connected with each other - and to you - through a common purpose, whether they know it or not.

It's also important to take calculated, strategic risks within your circle to challenge your followers, make them think, encourage them to participate, allow them to attract others, become part of the conversation, and grow with you.

We have great influence over our peers if we take responsibility for our actions and act morally within our cultures and societies, of which many are not even the same across the United States. We need to tap into what we really believe and stop thinking about how we can influence others because of how many people we can attract. We need to stand up for who we are even if it means letting some people down. 

I'll say it again. We can not be afraid to take risks. We need to believe in who we are and what we do to create a "Circle of Influence." It's just not good enough to be a nice person. We have to have a great product too that many can believe in whether you're the product or it lives on the web. 

Either way, it needs to live within you.

We Don’t Know Enough about Our Customers

“We don’t know enough about our customers,” kicked-off Andy Allbritten, 28 year veteran of international high technology and customer services experience with companies such as Oracle, PeopleSoft and National Semiconductor, at the East Bay MashEX in Pleasanton, CA. The event was hosted by yours truly, and Chris Symank and David M. Lu, financial advisors, respectively. Below are my notes from the event.

I hope you learn something, I did (a lot).

“Most businesses don’t even know who their customers are,” Allbritten continued. “Traditionally we used our sales teams to gather customer info, but after the initial sale it stops. Then someone calls for support – and we don’t know enough about them; who they are and what they need.”

Allbritten followed talking about how some  companies don’t match up who calls the help desk versus who is paying for it. Others don’t even know which products some of their customers own. Keeping track of what a customer bought and what they’re entitled to is even challenging at some of the best tech brands out there today, he added.

“Real business intelligence is knowing what your customers have bought and what they’re really using. You want to know what you can sell back into your customer base versus what they already bought from you.”

Allbritten resonated when he exclaimed, “In these tough economic times, you need to market and sell into your customer base.”

For retailers, discount cards are a great way to capture information about your customers. You can spend money to market and use it to capture information. You can also create services to market back into your customer base, assuming you know what your customers purchased and what they are using.

Unless you have comprehensive information about your customers it’s very hard to sell back into your customer base. With a new product, you need to know which person in your customer’s organization to market to. You know who purchased the product, but is that person the point person for what you’re selling now?

It’s important to “understand who the real customer is,” added Allbritten, “and creating services and products that serve that customer’s needs.” Customers can also provide you with great feedback on your competitors, and what they’re doing.

“You have to get the details,” says Allbritten.  An example is “The ‘customer hierarchy’.” How is the business of your customer structured? Who owns who? Has your client’s company been bought or merged?

Who is the customer? The person that approves the products, uses the products, pays the bill – it’s all of the above. In terms of measuring satisfaction, who are you going to ask? Knowing all of the people involved is important.

Customer data goes bad at a rate of 3 percent a month. If you’ve got less than 90 percent accurate data then it’s hard to make decisions on your business. People look at data clean-up efforts, but it’s not a one-time thing – but an on-going process to keep clean.

In providing support to customers “Problem solving should start immediately,” Allbritten continued.

“I’m not a fan of moving support offshore, unless the product is designed offshore and they know it well.” One company wanted better support and waited for the Australian support team to come online to solve their problems because those support teams were “better” than the people in Santa Clara.

If you are making major changes or going through an acquisition it’s critical to put together a communications plan. You can prevent from losing any customers by knowing who the customers are and communicate with them through email, direct mail, web sites, the “portal” and what every it takes.

Where do you gather information? Excel unfortunately has become the everything and anything solution, but is better than nothing. Companies also use CRM, ERP, FMS and SFA and other systems to manage customer data. Pick one place to store  customer data and integrate it all together. No one in the SMB space needs to buy software – because software as a service (SaaS) does a great job.

“What’s your single source of truth, for your customer data” was Allbritten big take-away message.

Customer data needs to be linked together, even if all of the systems are integrated together. And, what are some customer data common mistakes? According to Allbritten…

1. Don’t use an IT asset management system as a CRMS
2. Don’t use a trouble tick system as a CRMS
3. Don’t use sticky notes as workflow
4. Don’t use Excel as an SFA or customer database long-term
5. Don’t wait to address the data problem
6. Don’t think it is just a sales’ problem
7. Don’t interact with a customer without information
8. Don’t ignore the issue 

You can also provide incentives for the customer to update their own information through a portal. Customers don’t always update their information with the information you need, but the incentives will help.

What you SHOULD DO is to:

1. Create a process to capture and store customer data
2. Continually cleanse your data
3. Implement a real SFA system
4. Implement a real CRM system
5. Use SaaS offerings if possible
6. Do image contracts if possible – get rid of those dozens of boxes filled with paper contracts
7. Think globally / customers do
8. Automate product data capture
9. Create a “single source of truth.”

If you’ve acquired a company or merged with another, move quickly to integrate data quickly. You can use that information to communicate with customers – fast – to tell them what’s happening. You also really need to reward the forums and bloggers who are helping you support your customers.

“A simple definition of a satisfied customer:

• those who pay their bills on time
• buys more from you
• and tells others to buy from you

that’s what really makes up a satisfied customer.” 

Once you have customer information, measure it for profitability. Sales sometimes sells a lot more software than customers use aka “shelfware” or customers take a long time to implement the software purchased a long time ago. But, if you know what your customers bought and how they’re using it, your company could offer advanced customer service to take better care of those customers, helping them with what they already own beyond what your customer is using today.

How are you measuring customer profitability? Costs of attaining new customers is very high - do you know which customers generate the most profit? Can you shed the others? What are your floor prices? Are you billing everything owed?

Almost everybody needs to be supported. Most CEOs & CIOs will not buy software without support. It’s important to understand an agreement gets renewed. When we put in the proper sales process for selling services, you can get renewals at a 95 plus renewal rate and have a much more “comforting” financial projection. You are the trusted advisor and partner – not the vendor – the person who is part of the vision of your customer’s company.

How well do you know your customers?

Andy Allbritten is Founder and Principal of AE Consulting. In the fall of 2006, Andy Allbritten founded a consulting practice focused on providing international operational and organizational analysis to executive management of global enterprise software vendors.

Mr. Allbritten has provided services that have ranged from global pricing recommendations to analysis of global support, services, sales, IT, and development. He identified for one client over $10m in incremental revenue and cost savings. Mr. Allbritten’s clients have included Hyperion Solutions, iSOFT Group Plc and IBA Health Plc. Engagements have been in the US, UK, the Netherlands, Germany, India, and Australia. 



Prior to founding AE Consulting, Mr. Allbritten was most recently Ingres Corporation's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Support and Services. With more than 28 years of international high technology and customer services experience, Mr. Allbritten joined Ingres from Oracle, where he was Group Vice President of Worldwide Support Services Sales & Operations. Before that, he was Managing Director/ Group Vice President of Support Services, Worldwide Sales & Operations at PeopleSoft. In this position, he was responsible for PeopleSoft’s worldwide customer services organization, the global maintenance line of business and tiered services programs that accounted for $1.4B -- half of the company’s annual revenue.

He also held several other leadership positions within PeopleSoft, including Vice President of Worldwide Customer Services, Vice President/CIO of Technical Operations and Vice President of Business Operations for PeopleSoft eCenter (a hosting business), and Director of Corporate Pricing and Licensing. Before that, he spent 17 years at National Semiconductor in various operational management and production control positions. 

Mr. Allbritten has a bachelor’s degree from Santa Clara University and a master’s in business administration from the Anderson School at UCLA.

The Power of Social Networks Panel @SocialMediaClub Event, Part 2

Here's my take from the 2nd part of the Social Media Club event at Duarte Design on The Power of Social Networks. Panelists included were Clara Shih, who wrote the Facebook Era; Tara Hunt, who wrote The Whuffie Factor (it came out today!); Adam Jackson of 140 Characters; and John Hagel.

The focus is on trust, Heuer leads. The rise of the celebrity culture, and the difference of strong vs. weak relationships. We need to be building the strong relationships. Isn't trust at the center? "Strong and weak connections are essentially important," states Hunt. That's important for our personal growth. We all had to build social capital from ground zero, doing good deeds. Oprah has an arsenal of "whuffie" aka likeability and brand trust. Now she's speaking at a conference on Twitter. "Expert," Heuer yells.

Oprah is the Godzilla in the Twitter City. All of sudden the context gets changed, and all of a sudden the bar is raised. Mainstream media is disrupting social media, Heuer adds. How do we express that better? Doing it from the Facebook perspective, the Facebook profile started with a trusted source. People are willing to give it up to get something back in value, Shih states. 

This is where I LOST my Internet connection at the event and LOST the next two paragraphs – so you will have to read Hunt’s book “The Whuffie Factor”…

The behavior of people on Facebook is not really to buy. Search is focused on intention to buy, Shih states. As we move off of Facebook, we are going to web sites where people do have an intention to buy. Ads are only shown to people who we know want products, people who are prime targets. Facebook is “hyper targeting” Shih continues. What’s really powerful is if a 13 year old girl shops for a camera and is shown age appropriate products.

Should we strengthen the weak ties? There is strength in the weak ties, Hunt says. In our strong ties, people that “have my back,” will help me move, I can cry on their shoulder. Reciprocity is important. You can ask a weak tie for a favor or an introduction for a job.

Final thoughts…

Your weak ties – your business relationships – is where most of your business will take place. Your friends and family are just that, friends and family, but not the source of your income. Facebook is more casual and more personal, because of the online identity template. Shih cold called people through her Facebook profile because it gave them context on who she was before they decided to buy her book “The Facebook Era.”

Business is not the be all end all, Hunt adds. Business and the personal has crossed over a lot. Her life does not revolve around how much she can leverage her personal relationships. Success has come to her. The most important thing is a friend who can bring you soup (when you’re sick). That’s what these social networks are all about.

Heuer adds, we have a different impression of the world around because we are consuming personal media from each other. We’re not consuming it from big media. Big media cares about the big numbers.

“People ask me if I should have a personal and professional Twitter?,” Jackson adds. How do I get the real big numbers in followers? If you’re going to go online, don’t be a big conglomerate, but “human.”

Hagel finishes, trust is a hugely broad concept. There’s a notion of situated trust. My doctor can give me good medical, not fashion, advice. The power of social networks is around talent development and learning, we have to holistically get to know people. The personal and professional need to be integrated - most of us compartmentalize each other. It’s important to create a presence and visibility. I worry about these tools which Facebook is using which “compartmentalize” our lives, Hagel said. 

How do we bring it all back together again and create trust?

The Power of Social Networks with John Hagel III @SocialMediaClub Event, Part 1

"Most people really don't care about privacy," started John Hagel III  at the Social Media Club's The Power of Social Networks event at Duarte Design in Mountain View, interviewed by Chris Heuer during a fireside chat.

What people really want is value. The point is getting value is getting value in terms of conveinence, and that which relates to you. Facebook isn't really an infomediary. The real potential is to become an advisory of what we're not aware of in terms of connecting with people and becoming aware of the right products.

Most of the social networks are having trouble harnessing advertising. Advertising is still seen as the panacea. The business model is advertising, Hagel adds. He's skeptical of advertising as the way to build a business on the Internet. It's "blasting them with your message" and marketing is more about attracting, getting people to seek you. Advertising will take different forms. The real necessity for businesses online is what is the value business can provide to customers, and what value will they really perceive as best for them.

"The Internet is at odds with the desire of the business world," Hagel was quoted by Heuer. 

Overall, the tendency is to focus on short term profits. Moving too quickly can undermine the long-term profitability of relationships. You really have to be focused on building the relationships, before you address building the business that relate to the relationship.

It's going to take a lot of lost money to drive home the message that if you're in it for short term profit, it's not the place to be. The Internet is a black hole for most large companies, Hagel continues. Metrics are tied to sheer numbers for impact, and eventually the lesson will be learned once they lose enough money.

There's a fundamental shift in society, from a world of push to a world of pull. What we're focused on, Hagel says, is how you're dealing with an uncertain world in a world of pull. How do you pull the resources to you which fulfill your needs. Search is the archytype of that. How do I create opportunities for me to be presented with opportunities and things that I didn't even know about. Most executives just say that's luck. 

"I think there's an opportunity to shape serendipity," state Hagel. 

Another level is achieving our most potential. How do you create environments where you build things and create things and build new knowledge in that process, so we all get better faster working collaboratively in these kind of environments.

"Not only how do you survive, but how you thrive?"

Most companies don't measure return on retention. Financial measures tell you how you did in the past. What you have to focus on are operational metrics which give you a view of the future. This return on attention is really critical, both from a customer viewpoint, 1) what am I paying attention to and 2) what am I getting in return.

How about return on information? How much time is a customer giving a company information? How much value is the customer getting in return for the information that he/she provided. The user needs tangible value for the information given, which builds trust. It's a return on information for the customer and vendor.

@SocialMediaClub Talks Big Issues Affecting Social Media with @briansolis @cathybrooks @chrisheuer

Cathy Brooks and Chris Heuer talk about the big issues affecting the social media industry today. This week, they are joined by Brian Solis to discuss his take on Social Media Club's Question of the Week #6, Is social media a popularity contest or is social media about genuine relationships? His blog post on Ashton Kutcher and CNN's race to a million twitter followers was a great exposition of this topic - "The Race to 1,000,000 Followers Sends Twitter and Social Media into Relevance and Irrelevance." You can listen to future radio shows by visiting http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Social-Media-Hour

Here's what I caught from their conversation...

"Things are changing toward the human," Brooks says. Are we learning to be better communicating using tech and how does that translate in the real world? Solis says that social media is opening new communication for many. Some haven't found their cadence or rhythm and others have. Some use social media to broadcast and self promote and many have used it as a way to pay it forward, spotlight others and for "good old fashion relationship building."

Heuer adds, "The more we use tech, the more we write, the more we Twitter - being forced to get those big ideas down into a Tweet have helped my writing skills." But, are you thinking in a 140 characters? Everyone is different, Heuer says, but, seriously, there are folks who don't even have a high school education and they're using these tools to communicate to friends and family. "We're expanding our overall media literacy."

Today's NY Times, front page of the science section, on "What are Friends For?" Brooks reads that friendship trumps friends and family. Now we're connected again to friends from high school, we're re-connected with our 9 year old friends. "For the most part," Solis adds, "I've used social networks to create relationships around social context, talking with people who share the same interests and passions." Consumption is an art of curating, an "attention dashboard - I still pick up the phone to communicate with family and friends."

"Social media is based on respect," Solis adds. Even if you have opposing views, you have an opportunity to express yourself, and you can walk away with different impressions and beliefs. Brooks says that a lot of her followers don't necessarily agree with her views, but follow her anyway.

Solis talks about the "race to a million" - @aplusk (aka Ashton Kutcher) wanted to have a million followers first on Twitter, to beat @cnn - and @oprah gets involved. Initially he was put off by the competition. Celebrities don't need to get that many followers to fund a charity. Ashton's video expressing the power of the experience was a good video. "You are going to be judged by your last 20 Tweets." Whether or not, these types of competitions might inadvertently change the culture of Twitter. It could change Twitter into a popularity contest, that is juvenile.

We have to talk about intent, Heuer adds. Though, celebrities are just now experiencing Twitter, and getting as excited as we did when we first came upon the tool. "Can you imagine if Princess Di had social media at her finger tips?" Another good reason for Oprah to join the social media fray. Interested to see if she will carry her brand onto Twitter.

We in tech are in a bit of a vacuum. But, actors like Ashton and Oprah are old school media types, Brooks said. Are they going to absorb us into the old school media world or are we going to drag them down into the weeds with us. "Can the statusphere save journalism?" Solis asks (as blogged about in TechCrunch). Instead of trying to get people to come to them, why not go to where the people are and build a community that represents them and get them to follow you. It's a great way to build a community around what you stand for, finishes Solis.

Five Ways to Influence Perception

Yeah, I can't sleep. I wasn't tired when I laid down. Oh well. Messing around with the iPhone I found a TypePad blogging app. The app was easy to download, and so my amazing thumb is softly caressesing each shrinking word. The challenge is what to blog. 

I took most of last week off and kept the iPhone handy so as not to feel too much out of the loop. Most of my time was spent with my nuclear family and the extend(eads) on both my mother's and wife's sides. What was the great takeaway? Public relations only works if you achieve how you want to be perceived. 

Family is the master at spinning the truth. Doctors call it denial. Others call it protection or if put on someone else, projection. Though, whatever the label, and however it gets sliced, some believe that the truth really doesn't matter as long as the perception is believed to be true. Here's my top 5 ways to get across being perceived, as you want others to, truthfully. 

1) Have a story - no matter what age, people love being told stories. And, the more believable as it pertains to your shared experiences, the better. 

2) Say it with heart - stare off into the distance, shed a tear, say your story with heart. If you don't believe it no one else will. 

3) Be consistent - keep the story plain and simple (and short) and make sure it's the same one you're telling everyone else. 

4) Get others involved corroborate your story with others so factual events bring truth and meaning to your story. Ask others to contribute as that adds another notch of credibility for your story. 

5) Dont lie - if you lie it will come back to haunt you because a good story is told over and over and eventually someone will catch on. 

Perception is simply another way of viewing the same situation. Very few of us ever see anything in the same exact way. Colors are different, even sounds. But if you choose to share your way of thinking with another then they may come to perceive your way as their new way of thinking on any truth be told given subject.

Keanu Reeves Where Art Thou?

I've got the next greatest idea for a sci fi film and need to find Keanu Reeves. It's about a guy who, for decades, adds to his social networking profile through blogs, social networks, micro blogging, and other unheard of tools, only to find - two hundred years after his death- that he wasn't real at all, but only a network of interlinked web sites and social media tools. Scary, huh?

I was reflecting with my wife on the fact that it's unlikely that our children will know the names of and identities of our great grandparents, if even we do today (which I don't). Yet, my great, great, great grandkids, and beyond - assuming my kids have kids - will be able to "Google" or find me through some "WayBack Machine." Anything is possible.

As a matter of fact, I may (or my kids may, which is more likely) be able to sit down with their great great greats to do the search, assuming that our society can find a way to regenerate our cells at such a rapid rate that will cause us to age over 80 years, maybe even more. We've all seen those classic cars, still on the road, maybe not with wooden frames, but still on the road.

This is not science fiction. The possibilities of what we can achieve are limitless, if we don't kill each other first. Oh, and for those of you that want to follow Keanu Reeves, click here...even if it's not his "official" Twitter site.

Digital Engagement: The Book - by Leland Harden and Bob Heyman

If there's one thing that we share, and can not decrease or increase, it's a matter of time. Time is a constant. If you tell me you do not have enough time to go somewhere to eat, drink, sleep or read - Digital Engagement: The Book, then you just don't know how to manage the time you have, and are wasting time when you could be gaining knowledge.

There are some things that are definitely worth doing. And, besides the natural have to dos which keep us healthy, reading Digital Engagement will keep us informed as if we were digital experts from the very beginning. It's an unusual book in that it takes a person back and sets the stage for how that person can leverage - in the present - search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, and all of the Web 2.0 tools you need to compete in the digital marketplace.

The book, written by Bob Heyman and Leland Harden gives hands on advice on how-to "capture customers and build brand loyalty," in plain English. Don't believe me? Get a sample of it for yourself here or read a digital engagement expert's opinion on the subject. Either way, the book is a must have for any wannabe digital marketer who wants to get real world advice in case study form from many of the top brands of today like Toyota and Tommy Hilfiger, among many others.

Purchase a copy on Amazon here to learn how to engage customers online - or risk missing out on what you think you know...and don't!

Microsoft Online Services Available Worldwide

Furthering its commitment to deliver communications and collaboration software as enterprise-class services, today at CeBIT 2009 Microsoft Corp. announced that the Business Productivity Online Suite, part of Microsoft Online Services, is now available for trial to businesses of all sizes in 19 countries. In addition, Microsoft will release Microsoft Office Communications Online, for instant messaging and presence, and the Business Productivity Online Deskless Worker Suite, an extremely economical e-mail, calendaring and collaboration service for the occasional user.

That paragraph above was taken directly from the Microsoft Online Services press release. Why am I blogging about it? Aside from being one of the chosen bloggers to cover Microsoft Online Services in the U.S. and overseas, I think it's important to mention this announcement now because the move - for big and small companies - to any online services today will be a significant savings to their bottom line tomorrow.

“These services open up new possibilities for businesses to control costs while continuing to enhance the productivity of their employees,” said Stephen Elop, president of the Microsoft Business Division. “Customers can save between 10 percent and 50 percent in IT-related expenditures as a result of deploying Microsoft Online Services.”

And, those companies are not alone. Palo Alto Software shared that one of its Email Center Pro customers realized a 50-percent gain in email sales conversions by using the company's online email response management and distribution service for small businesses. HerbalBuddy.com, a top distributor of Herbalife products in the United States, was faced with a big work flow efficiency issue. Its previous email management system left the company uncertain whether or not customer inquiries were slipping through the cracks, an especially harrowing realization in the midst of an economic downturn. The bulk of its business is handled online and accessibility to customers is vital to its success.

HerbalBuddy.com chose to work with Email Center Pro, which centralized the customer and business email messaging effort and made it transparent to the entire organization. Messages sent to addresses like info@, sales@ and support@ are now accessible to multiple users inside one common interface. Once in this central location, users apply a host of collaborative features that truly differentiate the service.

A few days ago I hired a new employee and spent about two hours taking her through Email Center Pro. On her second day she performed flawlessly in the service. It was refreshing.

"We are at least 50 percent more efficient than before we started using Email Center Pro" said Daniel Lewis, HerbalBuddy.com Senior Partner. "The service has simplified things, streamlined our work flow and made us more profitable. In an (economic) time when you want to capitalize on every sale that you can, especially given the importance of the holiday retail season, Email Center Pro ensures that you're not missing out on any customer interactions."

Microsoft's Exchange Online and SharePoint Online are available for trial in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Organizations worldwide will be able to trial and purchase the entire Business Productivity Online Suite, including Office Communications Online, in April.

In addition, Microsoft is committed to providing opportunity for a global ecosystem of partners that will sell, customize and provide consulting, migration and managed services for Microsoft Online Services customers around the world.

The Deskless Worker Suite, including Exchange Online Deskless Worker and SharePoint Online Deskless Worker, will also be available to organizations in the 19 countries. The Deskless Worker Suite is a low-cost solution designed for users who don’t have access to messaging and collaboration capabilities today.

The worldwide availability of the Deskless Worker Suite will offer customers an affordable e-mail and collaboration solution for occasional users. By providing a cost-effective subscription rate (currently listed at 2.56 euros or 2.01 pounds per month per user), the Deskless Worker Suite will make it possible for organizations to give all employees access to the same messaging and collaboration systems. Today, in organizations that have deployed e-mail, more than 40 percent of employees do not have e-mail.*

The Deskless Worker Suite will be available for trial and for purchase worldwide in April.

A growing number of companies across the globe, from small businesses to large enterprises, are already adopting Microsoft Online Services, which were first released in the U.S. last fall. Today, Microsoft announced that pharmaceutical multinational GlaxoSmithKline will deploy the Business Productivity Online Suite, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Communications Online, Office Live Meeting and the Deskless Worker Suite, to its employees worldwide.

“GlaxoSmithKline has more than 100,000 employees, hundreds of business partners, and locations around the world, so effective collaboration is critical to our business,” said Bill Louv, chief information officer, GlaxoSmithKline. “We have chosen Microsoft Online Services because it promises to deliver a simple intuitive Information Workplace that should not only value to the company through simplification, but provide an improved user experience and ultimately create a more productive GSK.”

“The move to Microsoft Online Services will help GlaxoSmithKline cut operational costs by an estimated 30 percent and create a variable cost model that will provide increased flexibility in the future,” said Ingo Elfering, vice president of Information Technology Strategy, GlaxoSmithKline.

An executive Q&A video with GlaxoSmithKline’s CIO is available.

A GlaxoSmithKline executive blog is available on the Microsoft Online Services team blog.

Top 25 Blogs on Social Media

http://www.web-strategist.com/blog

http://www.chrisbrogan.com

http://sethgodin.typepad.com

http://darmano.typepad.com

http://www.micropersuasion.com

http://www.conversationagent.com

http://www.webinknow.com

http://www.briansolis.com

http://www.pr-squared.com

http://www.scottmonty.com

http://www.beingpeterkim.com

http://www.mpdailyfix.com

http://www.livingstonbuzz.com

http://moblogsmoproblems.blogspot.com

http://blog.guykawasaki.com

http://www.scobleizer.com

http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com

http://www.twistimage.com

http://www.jaffejuice.com

http://blog.holtz.com

http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com

http://www.adliterate.com

http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com

http://www.craphammer.ca

http://www.conversationalmediamarketing.com

in #gratitude

A man was heard complaining in an airplane recently that his wi-fi wasn't working, as told by a comedian Louis C.K. The comedian retorted, "What's he complaining about? He's flying through the air!" So often we take life for granted, and are not grateful for the people and things that we have in our lives. 

The stock market may be dropping, the housing market may be collapsing, the retail market, and many others, may be crumbling, but there are people and things that are not. The trees are still growing, the flowers are still blooming, and I'm sure if I thought about it long enough, I could lengthen this list beyond reading. 

People don't want to lose weight until they think they are fat. Cars are not fixed until they are broken. Parents don't help children who are not sick heal. The streets and bridges are not repaired, for the most part, until it is noticed that they are fallen apart. 

Yet, people who think they are fat, do work hard to lose weight. Broken cars do get fixed, Sick children are healed by their parents. Old roads and bridges are repaired. It is always darkest before the dawn. Yet, how many of us are looking out of our windows, searching for sunshine? 

Life will get worse. Bad things will happen. People will die. Homes will be lost. Money will be stolen. This we all know. What we don't know is what will come from our own gardens, unless we plant seeds, cultivate the soil and watch it grow. And, we know that to grow a beautiful garden, we need to grow it together. 

We need each other now more than ever. We need each other's support. Each other's love. Each other's ears. Last week #caroline went running and missing in Chicago. On Twitter, her relative @adamcohen wrote "can't say soc(ial) media directly helped find her but it gave family & friends comfort & support". 

We are all in this together. This we know. 

Let's help remind each other what we're grateful for by visiting Twitter and typing in your 140 characters of gratitude including #gratitude so others can do a Twitter search and be reminded of how great it is to be alive, healthy, supporting and supported, loving and loved.

Here's the Louis C.K. video via David Spark's Spark Minute:

Hey, Let's Be Careful Out There

Sgt. Phil Esterhaus (actor Michael Conrad) didn't say it first, but on the hit 80's TV show Hill Street Blues, "Hey, let's be careful out there," was one of the most memorable quotes his character sang, as his officers were exiting the briefing room for their daily duty. As you exit your conference rooms, I would err the same caution, when thinking about how to execute your marketing ideas.

There's a lot of great ideas out there. I was listening to Anna Farmery's interview of Jay Berkowitz and started thinking of the implementation of marketing ideas, not just the ideas themselves. While I thoroughly enjoyed both podcasts, I got concerned that marketers (authors) like Berkowitz are creating "pixie dust marketers."

I know the goal of his book, blog, Twitter posts and everything else pushed out into the media sphere is to draw new consulting business and speaking opportunities, just like are mine, but are we also birthing new kinds of marketers who get some "great ideas" and fire them off onto the web or through a social media tool, then wait for a quick hit from their existing or new audience, rather than focus on building their brands and business?

I'm noticing that small technology companies are writing commercial "comments" as responses to blog posts, replying to people on Twitter just to push their wares, launching Facebook fan and group pages just to see how many people they can get into their hands, and so on and so on.

The big brands have the dollars to build marketing strategies and social applications. But, the little guys are either DIY or need to hire a Berkowitz like expert to make an ROI impact. I think the time is coming when marketers like myself and Berkowitz stop pushing marketing one offs to the web and create a series of how-to paid webinars or series of workbooks that actually help small businesses grow, holistically.

As it becomes easier for any small business to market to their audience online through multiple non social and social applications, too will there be a need for professionals to transform into teachers and guide those small businesses on best practices and better marketing performance to drive the overall health of their businesses.

Don't get me wrong. I like all of the ideas and have learned a lot from Berkowitz and like marketers, but also caution small businesses to be careful out there when trying to execute on the unknown and without a long-term plan.

Making Social Media Work (for your business to business marketing)

If it isn't obvious to you yet, social media is becoming a great new avenue for speaking to, and with your customers. But, what about the businesses that want to connect to one another through social media. Sure, there's plenty of mass market social networks attracting and connecting business users like Facebook and LinkedIn. And, there's niche players including the AdHoles, and many others, that bring together the best and brightest in their respective industries. Though, search far and wide, and you'll be strapped to find the results of many marketers who have launched successful business to business social media campaigns. Are they just not talking?

Mary Sullivan, Co-Founder; Product Marketing; Leader, Clean Technology Practice, of KickStart Alliance pointed me to this article in Social Computer Magazine that highlights 130 social media marketing examples from major brands. In the article, Sullivan noted, there were only three brands which are using Facebook for business to business marketing including Ernst & Young – Careers; Forrester Research – Fans page; and HSBC - Business Network for Entrepreneurs.

To be quite frank, I believe there are quite a few good examples of B2B uses of social media, it's just that very few companies are publicizing them. All of the brands mentioned above are active on Facebook. Anyone can go there, type in certain keyword phrases and find three or more active B2B campaigns. What's missing?

Facebook is only one of many social media applications. Forget about Twitter not being able to monetize itself and use Twitter to monetize your business. Establish relationships through commenting on blogs, more than you just writing "great blog post" to someone who you know could benefit from your product or services. There's an ocean an opportunities amassing if you know where to float your boat, and how to do it. Here's some ideas to get your started:

1) Choose Your Battle - First set out with what you want to accomplish. What is your objective? What is your position, messages? Who do you want to reach? Answer all of these questions, on paper, and you'll be further ahead than your competitor who's just started another Facebook group page.

2) Grab Those Weapons - Like I said, there are far more tools out there than Facebook, just visit FriendFeed and look at all of the "services" you can add, then start exploring. Choose your tools wisely, matching them to what they can do to help you achieve your objective and those which will connect with your network. It doesn't have to be anything fancy.

3) Fight For Your Right - Stop trying to commercialize your wares, and start fighting for your right to join the conversation. Relate to your peers. Become an active voice in your community, even if you're not the loudest voice. Earn their respect, and in time, yes, none of this can be achieved overnight - and you will both prosper. Remember, it's a relationship you're building, not a bullhorn, so both parties need to benefit.

4) Go Niche - Stop trying to boil the ocean. I know what you're thinking. We can't all be the next Google. And, I'm not saying that you will not become the next Google. I'm saying, be focused on tackling one audience, at one time, or at most three, and gradually climb that ladder. One of the biggest challenges with social media marketing currently, is its mass appeal. B2B or B2C marketers all want a big piece of the big pie, because they think it's there for the taking. The reality is that an underground, grassroots marketing campaign in the B2B sector could expand your efforts beyond your wildest dreams, assuming it has all of the right ingredients, at the right time.

5) So Happy Together - Don't assume your PR team is going to run YOUR B2B social media campaign solo. You know your business better than anyone, and it's your voice, even if developed with a PR team. Once you've outlined your campaign, chosen your tool(s), and are ready to execute, then sit down with your entire marketing team, and those internal executives involved, and divide and conquer.

Now, go make new friends!

Got Laid Off? Build Your Own Business. Yes, Yes You Can...

The Christian Science Monitor did a great piece on "Building Your Own Business" this January 09. In it Ron Scherer covered entrepreneurs recently "axed" and starting their own gigs. You wouldn't know it by watching the news, but more than 75 percent of the U.S. is small business owned and operated. I thought it would be helpful to highlight some new entrants to the small business market as well as give you, Joe Public, ideas on how you can start your own small business. Yes, yes you can!!!

Take Adam Metz, former Director of Social Web Strategy at the famed mid-size public relations firm LaunchSquad. He branched out on his own last Summer, and has since started the BrokeAss Gourmet blog with fellow popular scribes Gabi Moskowitz, Laith Hassan and others. While the blog hasn't "officially" launched yet, the party is set for this Thursday, February 5, to celebrate the launch of BrokeAss Gourmet, the food blog that will help you cook a special budget-friendly meal for that special someone. (They know you're broke so stop by, and they'll hook you up with a free beer and some well drinks - for the first 40 people). You can attend by visiting this link for the details: 

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=59755829048&ref=ts

Another serial entrepreneur who never ceases to stop - and that's a good thing - is Shannon Pedder. Her sites Brand Creative, home to many hard to find promotional products, and Success Freedom Team United, a green initiative, were both inspired by her passion to help others. Success Freedom Team United, in particular, is for any business person who wants to collaborate on green projects.

What's it take to start a new business? "Two days," says Pedder. That's how long it took her to develop and launch Brand Creative, after being laid off from a like company. Today, she has many clients and, like most of us, is climbing up hill during this recession, though continues to remain upbeat, focused and confident that her business will continue to grow, and that she will benefit from the work, life balance. 

"How's it done?"

"Don't you work more hours when it's your business?" 

"Where do I start?" 

These are all questions that I have encountered over the past 8 years I have run my own public relations consultancy, Two Pins PR. Here's some ideas for you to chew on, if you want to start your own business.

1) Execute on Your Idea: Most wannabe entrepreneurs I meet are only "wannabe" because they're afraid to execute on their idea. Other people have done something similar things. Nothing is knew. There is a resource of information online. You can also learn from others, not steal, and build your own business. Nolo Press is full of resources that help small businesses get started.

2) Plan: It's plain and simple people, well, the idea is, not the planning, unless you're using a tool like Business Plan Pro from Palo Alto Software.

3) Share the Wealth: Bring others into your idea, and ask them to help you get it off of the ground, if as advisors or as consultants. I realize you may not have the resources to pay anyone from the get go, but you can offer them free product, or give them stock options in your business. Most folks I've met like Guy Kawasaki are just happy to help you find more information about your business sector.

4) Have Integrity and Work Hard: This goes without saying, I hope. But, I had to say it anyways. Successful business coach Steven Kiefel, who I would also recommend speaking with, starts with integrity and hard work, and nothing less to help many small businesses expand beyond their dreams. Without those two values, most businesses never get off of the ground, because the people behind them don't.

5) Market Your Business: A lot, actually too many, small businesses I meet with are taking my free class at the San Francisco Small Business Administration because they think that they can DIY when it comes to marketing and public relations. Though, rather than try to be a jack of all trades and master of none, it's better to leave the marketing of your business to the experts who have successfully marketed to many, like the folks at Precision. Buck and the gang have been pushing out promotions to the public for over 30 years.

And, most of all, believe in yourself, and others will too. Now, go start that new business!

5 Ways to Change Your Belief System

Your belief system has a great effect on how you run your business and how others perceive how it is run. Everything from the marketing to design of your business communicates your belief about the product or service, and people behind it. I'm not talking about exuding confidence or tossing around catchy, yet outdated, "we rock" terminology on a web site homepage. 

It's as simple as this: what do you believe?

A belief system can comprise of a religion, life stance, world view, philosophy, ideology, methodology, and so forth. It's that foundation you're standing on. What do you believe about it to be true? Is it real? Does it support you? Are you standing strong or waiting to fall. Those are your choices. 

Some may argue that to believe in what is not true is false. Yet, whose to say that our beliefs can be labeled as true or false. Is Coke "The Real Thing? Will Nike make you "Just Do It"? Those companies surely think so. Why can't you? Because the masses do? In your case, the masses don't, yet. However, you can convince the masses to believe in you and your product, service and people.

What does it take for you to create a belief system that people can believe in? Author Kurt Vonnegut wrote, "Be well. Always look on the bright side of life." My mother used to sing "Smile and the world smiles with you." Here are 5 ways you can change your belief system:

1) Let Go of Fear - Surrender to the invisible monster! There's nothing there, yet you're scared of it anyways. Face your demons. Write down what scares you and why it scares you, then you'll see what really scares you is that which you can NOT control.

2) Develop Optimism - Get an empty glass and fill it up half way with a great drink. There, your glass is no longer half empty. You filled it up, if at least half way. That's better than walking around with an empty glass. And, if you do, walk around with an empty glass, and watch others want to help you fill it up.

3) Change is Good - Ugh, how many times have you heard that? Depression like times exude creativity, opportunities and time to renew again. A forrest fire that is burned is set to grow again, even in greater size. Take advantage of the time and build something. Partner with your peers and help others help themselves, and they'll help you too.

4) Forgive, Don't Forget the Past - It's time to thank Mom and Dad for always being there, and move out of the house. You're still stuck in it mentally, if you can't get past it emotionally. Mom and Dad are gone. You're still here. You're a growing, living being. Being of a new generation, you have new opportunities Mom and Dad didn't have, and thus have a different belief system, even if some of what they taught you is still the same. Yes, you will turn into your parents. So, do something, before you're gone. Expand your horizons. Your kids will turn into you too.

5) Believe in God - Yep, you just have to. If not God, than some other kind of "Higher Power." Because life is mostly out of your control. You do your best everyday and, in many cases, can not control the outcome of your positive actions. Take action in praying to someone or something that helps you let go and surrender to what you can not control.

And, most importantly, believe that you are worthy of changing your belief system, and believe in yourself.

 

PR Strategies for 2009

In this video I talk about what PR strategies could be good for start-ups in 2009.

You Can't Market a Product That Sucks

 

This is my first attempt to go from blogging to vlogging - video blogging. 

You can also find the full transcript below:

In my mind, and having watched many high tech start-ups become high tech giants, the product is number one. Whether you’re battling a bull or bear market, at the end of the day, if your product isn’t good, no one will want to adopt it, long-term.

And that’s the name of the game. Ask most entrepreneurs and they’ll tell you they’re ultimate goal is acquisition, not to build a lifestyle brand. Most also have VCs hanging over their heads expecting big returns on their money.

What’s a start-up to do? You know you’ve got a great product, but don’t know how to bring it to market. Then there’s the exalted companies we all want to be, the YouTubes, Googles, salesforce.coms, Facebooks, etc.

Are those company anomalies? I don’t think so. Those are 4 companies in your lifetime that “broke out” and there are many more that will break out over the next 25 years, maybe even over the next year. The difference between those companies and yours is that an event happened.

In 2006, YouTube announced 100 million videos were downloaded by users, then NBC sued. YouTube broke out. Salesforce.com announced profitability during the recession of 2001. Salesforce broke out. Yahoo walked away from search, and Google re-invented the category. Google broke out. Facebook opened its platform to businesses and anyone aside from just students at colleges and universities. Facebook broke out.

Don’t look outside your window right now for an event to take you out. And, don’t look inside your coffer for the next great publicity stunt. Neither is mutually exclusive. The internal opportunities within your Company need to match the external market conditions. Sometimes you can control them, and sometimes you just can’t.

The key is to lay out which opportunities you may be able to leverage in the coming year – profitability, new product, new service, new big hire, and to tie it with what you know may or will happen soon such as new policies from the presidential administration, an upcoming report from a major analyst firm, an event taking place at a major conference, etc.

Imagine that you’ve got a successful product that allows companies to attach an online suggestion box to any and every project in production. Aside from being caught up in the gloom and doom of being interviewed about recent company layoffs or the struggling economy, you could tell a reporter how your burgeoning company is helping corporations influence their employees to make positive change.

And, remember, you can’t market a product that sucks.

What are Start-Ups Doing Right Now, or Planning to Do in Q1 2009?

Aren't you wondering what other start-ups are doing right now, or planning to do in the first quarter of the year? They're not going to tell you. How can you find out? You're probably guessing nothing or something big, but the truth is, you just don't know. 

Speculation is dead. 

Creativity is waning.

Start-ups are going back to the basics. 

But, don't take my word for it. Listen to what I'm being told. Since the market collapse, we've pitched many start-ups, listened to their marketing ideas, read their draft plans, meet with their CEOS, and this is what they had to say:

1) Planning for Q1 - One start-up we met with said they're leveraging inexpensive resources such as surveymonkey to question potential customers, asking them pointed questions about how they are using social media. The start-up plans to announce the results of the study in Q1, post presidential inauguration.

2) Launching partnerships - Another start-up said they're planning to hold and "launch" the announcement of a newly formed partnership in early Q1 to attract a new audience, also running contests on those partner sites with content from their site as part of the promotions.

3) Product launch - Pushing a product launch out to late Q1 was what a start-up told us is a good idea because it gives them enough time to get past the holiday hangover and find out what's up in the new year. The product is nothing like they have ever announced before and it will enhance their overall offering.

4) Building social media programs - Hey, I'm not talking about hiring some wanna be social media PR guy or agency or just hitting Facebook looking for folks who have an interest in bacon, if you're selling bacon salt (great marketing BTW), but seriously engaging with a social media strategist like Adam Metz to build out a small or big social media program, which is what a former consumer heavy weight said he was doing in advance of his web site launch. Build the base, he told us, make it go viral, if there's such a thing, then turn on the PR.

5) Throwing an event - One of the teams we met with had a short roster of very influential staffers, and was convinced they could create a quick and dirty party around their offering, invite some very key players and put their company on display, with good food and drink, of course. After the party, the staffers would take who they met, and use the phone and Internet to build a relationship with each and every person. Smart marketing.

6) Taking it to the street - One of the prospects already had more than 70,000 users - with very little PR and no marketing. In Q1, they want to take that number to the street and tell their business story, using it as a tool to basically, well, tell their story. No other like solution can match that power, and once their prospects get wind, that company will win, and win, and win, and win...

So often we PR people chronicle our successes as case studies on web sites, or in the next great book, but I think it's as powerful to inspire and let start-ups know what others are thinking of doing now or in the future, minus their company names, to get your juices flowing.

The Mother of Re-Invention

It was nineteen ninety something and I was drunk off of my arse. It couldn't be helped. I had just finished walking Marion Ross ("Mrs. C from 'Happy Days' fame) down the red carpet at the Golden Globes, and dinner was no longer being served. Miramax, Paramount or Disney - I honestly can not remember - generously realized I hadn't been fed, and got me a drink. Hollywood. 

A few whatever I was drinking later, the event ended, and I stood up, bumped into Jean Luc Picard, you know, the Captain of the Star Trek Enterprise, and Madonna. I shook Jean Luc's hand (Patrick Stewart) and nearly fell all over him, not drunk, just a huge fan. I spun around and stopped the "Material Girl" from leaving the building. 

Madonna wasn't shocked, very happy actually. She had just won a Golden Globe and previous to that, gave birth. Our eyes met, she said "Hi," and I said, "Congratulations." 

"Thanks," she replied. 

"For everything," I countered. 

Turning around, she gave me a big sister to brother like smile. 

I'll never forget the glow in her face, and how sobering that moment made me respect the marketing of Hollywood. Madonna didn't look anything like she does today, nor what she did years before. I'll add in that she was beautiful in person, more so than what I've thought of her in lights, and her sincerity rang through. 

But, what gave me pause, the most, was that she, once again, had re-invented herself. As the performer had no identity of her own, only that of the audience who she knew would want her. I've often wondered what she's really like. How could any star of that magnitude really know what she wants when people are always giving things to her, hoping that will become her flavor of the month?

And, in parallel, we have to raise a glass to her fans. Some have matured away from her music, while others have either grown with her or have gotten to know her. One person, even one Company, like Microsoft, has generations of fans. So, it's with no great surprise that Microsoft launched its Microsoft Online Services, and will not cannibalize its software business. The same way Madonna didn't cannibalize her fans.

There are a countless number of large technology companies and small ones to boot who have re-invented themselves, even yours truly, a number of times, to speak to market conditions. And, as these are extraordinary times, many I am finding are doing just that. Changing as the market is changing.

Now, there's a difference between a person or company which either becomes a chameleon just to fit into the "social media" space to get hip with the times vs. someone or a company which genuinely has a vested interest in what it can provide its fan base. Not to say that a person or company can not chameleon itself into an olive branch approach and grow beyond its current offering, but its current, and always "core" offering will never go away.

Madonna still makes great music. Whether she's the "Material Girl" or "Material Mom," her music has evolved, yet retained the same quality and charm, even if you don't like it today. Another good example, from the music world, is Van Morrison. He too has made great changes, and been a successor of changing times. 

I'm sure we could make a game of it, thinking of the many musicians, companies, people and more which have morphed over time, yet still retained their core. In the 80s PriceWaterhouse had a thriving entertainment practice in Los Angeles, yet ask anyone at the senior level, and I'm sure they would still tell you that their core offering, in the day, was accounting forensics.

I've also often heard tech executives fear change. Change is good. Change doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. It depends upon how change is planned. If it happens suddenly and there is no plan in place, then it can be harrowing, but also recoverable. I think the most important point, if any, in this post, is that to have re-invention or change, one must learn to let go.

Madonna let go of the fact that her old fans may not follow her new style, she had to. But, she relished in the fact that her new fans would. And, as loyal as her old fans have been, many have followed. It is with that kind of strength and focus, was she able to pull off such a planned victory both in the way she has released successful album after album, and gone on tour, even in her later years. 

I take off my hat to you Madonna, as the mother of re-invention, and hope one day that we may meet again.

Dead Simple Research

I've read a lot about how to promote blogs, PR for social media, and the list goes on.  PR people tend to jump onto anything that's new so not to get stuck, labeled as "generalists" or "traditional PR people" (immediately I'm thinking a cool glass of wine should accompany my keyboard, as if to refine myself akin to smoking an old cigar taking me back to the pre-Internet era).  

It's been a good 6 years since I've really "acted my age," and practiced this craft as I did once, pushing press releases through fax machines twice the size of a server able to stomach terabytes of information today. Though, I owe it to myself, and the craft, to take a step back - as I always lament to our clients - and detail the practical use of PR as a tool that supports marketing, not as a foghorn screaming blind alerts into a cloudy world.  

In this first series on the practical use of PR, I will address research.  It's often overlooked, and quite frankly underestimated as one of the most important facets of the profession.  While the rest of the world points to Google, PR people - in experienced circles - are laden with overly priced half baked solutions or "free to register and use," only for half of an experience when purchased isn't twice as good.

Bacons now Cision used to be thick green soft covered Yellow Pages directories of media outlets and those who write, produce for them.  The books were truly the bibles.  They were divided into outlet type, genre, editors, reporters, producers with detailed information on every page.  The only challenge - not worried about in those days - was that the data got old, fast.  There was no Internet update, just "appendixes" mailed and taped or stapled into the back of the books.

Researching publications was a costly endeavor.  We had dozens of magazine subscriptions, and a pass around rate which would have nearly doubled any circulation count, if all of the agencies participated in BPD reports, those that gave the market an accurate look at a publication's advertising tallies in numbers of distribution and ad dollars.

But, I digress.  It's no better to teach history on a blog, than it is to discuss the age of a good red wine.  Just drink it, swallow and move on.  The history lesson in itself bears the appreciation of an age now lost where PR took time, people were less impulsive more calculating, strategic and in a sense, were more accountable for their words when it graced the logo embossed page of an agency's letterhead.  Today most people would probably know a PR person's name before their Company, in this brand defragmented area of push email.

Research, thank goodness, has only benefitted from the Internet.  The key is to recognize when it can be used to your benefit.  The benefit of helping you not invent the invented, but fine tune your work. Cision comes to mind.

As I mentioned, Cision - the once green book goddess - is available online.  It's not perfect, but is a quick resource for any PR person looking up the contact information for a reporter.  Notice I wrote quick.  Looking for a contact?  Log into Cision, pop that person's name into the database and viola, there's your name, title, address, email and a sometimes spot on description of the person's background and how to work with him/her.  What's missing?  The holism of research.

Here's the blessing and curse of the Internet. It's fast, easy, convenient - yet, rushed, not detailed and over the top stuffed with print, online and bloggers who all "cover" the subject you or your client are pitching.  What's a PR person to do?  Blast a message to them all? You would surprised to learn how many PR people still take this tactic.

The key is in the broad strokes of research.  I think the word research is one of the few, including ice cream, where it conjures up the thought of many things combined or a selection of choices.  In other words, Cision is only one part of the solution.  And, while it offers many parts of the solution, as noted above, it can, and never will, absolute the fact that a PR person still has to read a journalist's articles (yes, plural) and find out if he/she wrote about you or your client - or anything related for that matter - in the past.

Easy, right?  Then why do so few PR people pass on it?  The issue is a complex one, but my psychotheraputical guess is that 1) while I want to say that most are lazy, they're not, they're needy, and want quick results fast both to influence their ego and their boss or client and 2) don't have the skills to think beyond writing a pitch and pitching the press.

It's not a lot easier said than done and will take the know how of a seasoned PR professional to put the pieces of the puzzle together from speaking with their client or executives all the way through to pitching the reporter.  There's a lot of in between work that ties it all together and while it may seem like a lot of work, it's really just dead simple research.