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.

You promised your spouse, children and most importantly yourself, this year would be different. You bought color-coded post-its, markers and a universal calendar; you took time between Christmas and New Year’s to plan the process out and a few unexpected “off-the-calendar” engagements have derailed your system. You have been in 2011 for less than 45 days and you’re already feeling defeated, ready to give up.

Not to fear, these are some simple, time-tested tips get you back on track.

1. Check your calendar first
Before you set the meeting, accept the invitation or volunteer to lead the committee, check your calendar first. There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying, “I have to check my calendar first.” The goal is to avoid double-booking, which costs additional time when you have to reschedule or send a regret.

2. Manage your time
You are in control of your time, do not let your time control you. It is okay to say, “no,” “not now,” or “maybe later” to some things. You do not have to do everything and be everywhere. Wonder Woman hung up her lasso in 1979.

3. Remember the necessities
Take time to breathe, eat and use the facilities. Every square on the calendar does not need to be filled. You want to avoid scheduling yourself so thin that you don’t have time to get proper rest, eat healthy meals or listen when nature calls.

4. Priorities set the agenda
Align your schedule with your professional and personal goals. Your top priorities should drive your schedule. If your goal is to blog more, then your schedule should reflect time for writing, or if your goal is to lose weight, then your schedule should show time to work out. If the activity or event doesn’t make the calendar, how important is it?

5. Go to your happy place
This will keep you sane in the midst of the storm. Make sure you have time for you, even if it is a walk to the corner where you can take a deep breath and visualize your happy place. These mini-mental vacations will reduce stress, lower blood pressure and bring a smile to your face.

6. Support local small businesses
Outsource those pesky time-consuming, tedious and non-essential jobs. You can hire people to do almost anything from dog walking and housecleaning to proofreading and design work. If hiring someone isn’t an option, consider bartering for services or sharing services with neighbor or colleague.

Remember what you told yourself, you can be organized, productive and still have a life…as long as you make time for it.

It is August and a lot of people are vacationing this month. The process – having passion and a purpose, doing proper planning and careful preparation – to execute an enjoyable time away from work, traffic, email, et al is the same process for launching a new venture, be it a business, a blog or personal improvement.

Passion
You want to go to a place about which you're passionate. You will end up spending a lot of time and money getting there and enjoying yourself once there. It is a place that brings a smile to your face when the thought of it crosses your mind. The same holds true for your next venture, the mere idea of it gets your mind racing with ideas and your spirit excited with anticipation. Your enthusiasm about the project is contagious.

Purpose
You know exactly why you're going on vacation. You need time away from "those people" and "that place" to relax and rejuvenate. This is time for you to reconnect with yourself: your body, mind and spirit. Similarly with your venture, there is a reason you're heading down this path. You dream about it or wake up in the middle of the night with ideas. There is an unction in your spirit to do it, if you don't who will, if not now, when?

Planning
You have done the research: you Googled, purchased guidebooks and talked to family, friends and colleagues. You know exactly where you are going, how you’re getting there, where you’re staying and what you're doing. You know how much it is going to cost and you know it is going to be fabulous. For your new venture, you have researched the industry, your competition and the gaps in products or services you can fill. You know the big players in the field, the up-n-coming and where you want to fit.

Preparation
You saved the money and made the lists: to do, packing, emergency numbers, etc. You put in for the time off and you set your email and phone to the out-of-office auto-replies. Likewise, you have secured capital, the domain name, P.O. box, phone number and business cards. You’ve put a support team in place and set-up your home office.

Now…GO!...DO!...BE!

The amount of time and level of consistency you put into something is directly proportional to your results: part time effort will get you part time return.

• It is with time and consistency that children move from crawling to walking;
• It is with time and consistency that small savings become golden parachutes;
• And, it is with time and consistency that businesses grow from start-ups to household brands.

How many articles have you read on the concepts of passion, determination, focus, etc.? Two often over-looked concepts are time and consistency. They are the little talked about twin towers of power for success. This principle rings true throughout every area of your business, lead generation, sales, marketing and so on.

In marketing, all of your activities require time to work and consistency to build brand recognition to generate a response, be it sending direct mail, attending networking events or buying advertising. Doing any of these activities once, or even sporadically, won't net you the results you want. Direct mail has be to sent multiple times of year to be effective, you have to introduce yourself to people a few times to be remembered and your advertising will be a waste of money if not regularly repeated. And social media can be a waste of your most valuable resource -- your time -- if done hurriedly and irregularly.

• Blogging requires time and consistency to build and maintain a readership. It takes time for readers to find you and trust what you're posting.
• You must consistently blog in order to become a reliable and dependable source of information.
• It is better to not have a Facebook page, then to have one that is out-of-date, rarely updated or neglected, as it can go against the brand you are building.
• A Twitter stream filled with re-tweets, entries selling your services/products or other unengaging messages, such as quotes, will get a lot of bots following you.

You get the point: time and consistency are your allies, use them to grow your brand and better your business.

Additional resources:
Michelle Tennant Nicholson, chief creative officer, Wasabi Publicity: Using Social Networks To Get Publicity
Bonnie Landau, Simple Web Toolbox: Collaborative Blogging For Those Short on Time