Shannon's thoughts on marketing, public relations, social technology, entrepreneurship and other things

"It" is due on Friday.
You say "it" will be done by Noon on Wednesday.
You turn "it" in on COB Tuesday.
You're a superstar!

Really?

One of the dilemmas with the "under promise and over deliver" concept is in the execution. If it becomes a regular way of doing business, then stakeholders will raise their expectations, as you have surpassed every milestone by leaps and bounds. Isn't that what you wanted to avoid in the first place?

Nugget of Knowledge: You want to manage expectations to your benefit, not your detriment.

It is a good idea to prepare realistic timelines and set achievable goals. Be sure to check your calendar, check your calendar and check your calendar before agreeing to any project timeline.

It is a good idea to give yourself a little cushion to complete the project. Adding a little extra time in your project workflow allows for the unexpected, especially if you are dependant on other people for their parts of the project.

It is a good idea to strategically to beat deadlines. Demonstrating your eagerness and diligence to a new client or customer can go a long way to securing future collaborations and partnerships.

It is the best idea to be forthright and on time, not too early and never ever late.

What do you think?
How do you manage expectations?

Necessity
Work?
I don't have to work.
I don't have to do nothing
but eat, drink, stay black, and die.
This little old furnished room's
so small I can't whip a cat
without getting fur in my mouth
and my landlady's so old
her features is all run together
and God knows she sure can overcharge-
Which is why I reckon I *does*
have to work after all.
--Langston Hughes
Montage of a Dream Deferred, 1951

As Langston wrote 60 years ago, there are very few "have to's" in life; however, in business there are a great number of "need to's."

You need to market your business.
You don't have to have a Facebook page (Gasp!).

You need to find your customers.
You don't have to have a Twitter account (Get out!).

You need to generate revenue.
You don't even have to have a website (Blasphemy!).

There are a number of "old school" marketing tactics you can employ for your business. None of them are better or worse than any other, all of them require different levels of commitment and resources and all have been successful in one form or another. It is a question of which one(s) will work for you, not which one(s) you have to do. 

Some "Old School" Marketing Tactics

• transportation advertising (signs on buses and at bus stops)
• posters, flyers and postcards
• radio, television and print advertising
• movie advertising
• newsletter and program advertising
• referral and word-of-mouth
• incentive programs
• sponsorships
• networking
• billboards
• promotional items
• tradeshow exhibitions

These are a few methods for getting your message out; however, the best marketing campaign is the one that works for you in meeting your business objective. Before you begin expending valuable marketing resources, consider the following:

What is the goal of my marketing campaign?
Do I want to generate revenue, increase brand awareness or intimidate my competitors?
What marketing tactics are my competitors using?
What are the direct (capital) and indirect (time) costs?
Who is going to manage the campaign?
How long will the campaign last or run?
How will I know if the campaign is working?
What do success and failure look like?
Is the campaign going to reach my target audience?

However you decide to market yourself, remember, the only silver bullets are time and consistency.

Social media marketing is the shiny new toy. Everyone is doing it, trying it and seeing how to make it work for them. Your president wants you to bring in a social media expert to help the organization understand and utilize it to increase the bottom line. A good consultant will tell you it is important to listen to customers. A better consultant will show you tools to monitor what your customers are saying. A great consultant will work with you to take what you hear and use it to improve your organization, product and brand.

Consider some of these marketing insights for your brand and how to use them:

• Who are your best customers, biggest fans and most fervent defenders (brand advocates)?

Action: Reward their loyalty, invite them to be a Brand Ambassador or part of your Product Advisory Council*

• Are you marketing campaigns reinforcing your brand?

Action: Adjust your marketing strategy to support the brand promise

• Are your product development decisions based on what you hear your customers say they want?

Action: Give your customers what they are willing to pay for, not what you think they need

• Who are the movers and shakers (aka influencers) in your industry?

Action: Find your E.F. Hutton and put her/him to "work" for you

• What are your competitors doing and what do people have to say about them?

Action: Fill the gap of satisfaction for their customers

• What insights can you glean around product satisfaction, product management and product development?

Action: Start discussions to garner information

*If your organization doesn't have a loyalty program, consider implementing one.

Nugget of knowledge: Having conversations with your audience, getting to know your clients and ultimately building relationships with your customers is invaluable for long term success.

United should've listened:

Social media marketing is more than setting up a blog, updating your Facebook status and tweeting your organization's latest news. Doing those few activities are only the beginning to truly delving into social marketing. The organizations that "get it," understand the key concept of listening. They listen to their customers...all of them.

• What are your customers saying about your brand and products?
• Where are your customers saying things, which sites, platforms and technologies are they using?
• What are your customers saying to each other about your services?
• How does what they are saying about your brand compare to what they are saying about your competitors' brands?

Posting, updating, tweeting and connecting is no different than robocalling, direct mailing or advertising if you aren't listening to what your customers are saying via Twitter, Facebook, blog comments, etc. Otherwise your organization is just pushing out information you think your customers want via different channels.

Social media marketing requires listening to your customers, responding, listening, responding, listening, responding and so on and so on. Does this process sound familiar? It is called a conversation. Yes, organizations must engage their customers in conversations; it is the essence of social media marketing. However, conversations are only the beginning of the process. The goal is to develop relationships with your customers as a way to solidify brand loyalty.

A few things to remember as you begin to have conversations with your customers:

A sub-par product is a sub-par product, regardless of how wonderful your blog is --> be prepared to receive the good, bad and ugly about your brand
Once you open the listening floodgates, you can't close them --> be prepared to manage the conversations
Social media probably won't be *the* marketing silver bullet for your product --> be prepared to integrate your traditional and social marketing tactics

Nugget of knowledge: Remember the three P's, plan for success, prepare for the unexpected and produce your best work.

Is your organization a good listener?
Does it have processes in place to hear and respond to your customers?

It's all about the search:
Brand generated content + Customer generated content = getting Found.

via elliance.com

Fashion gurus have told people for years to accentuate the positive, translation, highlight your best features and down play your less optimal ones. This adage can guide you through business as well.

• If you enjoy public speaking, then why hasn't anyone heard you?
  
• If you like building, fixing and doing it yourself, then why are your neighbors calling strangers?
  
• If you get excited telling stories, then why are you an accountant?
• If you have an eye for fashion and love shopping, then why are you stuck behind a desk?
• If you have dreamed of owning your own business, then why does someone else give you a paycheck?

Tens of thousands of manufacturing and corporate jobs have been lost over the past year, and the economy is puttering along at a snail's pace. This is the time to step up, step out and use your creativity to accentuate your positive. There is a market for whatever product or service you have to offer, and you don't have to do it alone. It's time to accentuate your business positive:

1. Elongate your neckline with v-neck tops: Talk about what you want to do...to everyone. You will find encouragement, support and future customers are all around you.
2. Know your particular body type, be it petite, slim, long/short-waisted: Do research to learn about the your new industry. There are websites, blogs, newletters and listservs available for you to peruse.
   
3. Invest in well-tailored suits and properly fitted shoes: Get advice from others in the field. Seek out people who are where you want to be, some may offer advice, council and possibly serve as mentors.
   
4. Slim your body by wearing one color head to toe: Preparation and planning will serve you well in your new endeavor. Take time to choose a business model, write a business plan and find funding.
   
5. Accentuate your greatest assets, your mind and your spirit with an attitude of gratitude: If you believe it in your heart and can see it in your mind, then the only thing left to do is to do it.

You are the one, today is the day and you look fabulous...get started!

Marketers often speak about controlling their brand, which by definition is out of their control. In the most layman of terms, a product's brand is the individual and collective thoughts and feelings of said product's customers --> the product's brand is what people think and how they feel about it.

The most marketers can hope to do is influence what their customers may think of their brands. Marketing and advertising professionals have become experts in observation, research and human behavior, allowing them to give consumers what they want, when they want it and how they want it. On the other hand, consumer's believe they have the power to get companies to create, change or discontinue products through the use of or withholding of the almighty dollar. This begs the question, who controls a product's brand? The reality is closer to marketers and consumers share brands.

Social media is causing paradigm shifts (and some mild heart attacks) because of brand transparency. This phenomenon is causing fear and trepidation in the hearts of most traditional marketers and a false sense of bravado in consumers. For marketers, consumers used to call or write letters when they had complaints. Now they can blast brands on blogs, ravage products with scathing reviews and flog your flagship endeavors on Facebook. Brands are at the mercy customers, and truth be told, they always have been. The difference is customers now have a way to express and disseminate their discontent to hundreds, thousands, even millions of others almost instantaneously. For consumers, brands can easily share their cases of consumer abuse, exaggeration and fabrication to self promotion and gain. Brands and products can now go the offensive, telling their side of the story, heading off the firestorm of consumer ire before the clouds even begin to form. And while the axiom of "the customer is always right" may have been the governing principle for 20th century customer service, seemingly the pendulum is swinging back to center, where consumers and brands share responsibility for fulfilling the brand's promise.

As marketers learn to release their brands, they gain real time engagement, communication and recognition with their customers, all of which can improve the brand as its advocates take part in its success. Companies, C-suites, agencies and public relation firms should remember, consumers chose their products and services, they want brands to succeed, and working together, they can.

Additional resources:
What is a brand?
What is a logo?