Marketing

New Site Beta

by admin on April 22, 2009 · 0 comments

Under Construction

As you can tell, my site doesn’t look the same. It is still a bit buggy, and a teeny bit of the design is not how I want it yet. But I know that folks are starting to find it, Google is now crawling it and its popping up again as number one in my vanity searches. Beyond that I will be at Catalyst West this week and know that people I meet will be checking out the site. So here it is, in its not quite yet finished glory.

Poke around and let me know what is still broken. I know of a few things, but would love the help to make sure its great for you guys.

And if you are going to be at Catalyst hit me up on Twitter.

Social Media For Rockstars: The Art of Adaptation

by soverpeck on March 29, 2009 · 0 comments

I had a chance see the guys from Bidwell last week as they closed out their tour at the Glasshouse in Pomona, California. Afterwards, Brian Valdez from Guerilla Union was gracious enough to take us to their offices and studio, give us a tour and let us shoot an interview in their studio.

We talked about the changing social media landscape as more and more options present themselves and how their band is adapting to be able to operate in a world no longer ruled by Myspace. While many tech and marketing sites say that they are already down and out, it seems no one has an alternative platform for bands and concert promoters with any momentum, but as many users do start to spend more time on other sites, smart marketers will adapt. And that is just what Bidwell is doing.

Bear in mind this was shot way after my bedtime. It was fun hanging out with rockstars (or folks without young kids for that matter).

*Disclosure: I am an advisor to North Star Media Group, Bidwell’s current management

Coffee Shop Restrooms and Your Online Presence

by soverpeck on March 26, 2009 · 1 comment

Whenever I go to a nice restaurant and have to use the restroom I am usually impressed at how nice, clean and well decorated it is. They put a lot of thought into making sure it is stocked, well appointed and fits in with the decor of the dining area. Oddly, folks rarely spend more than an hour or two at a restaurant. Fancy Restroom from Flickr

As a freelancer with two young children, I do a lot of work at coffee houses, often spending the better part of a day nursing a cup or two of coffee. They are great environments. Coffee shops tend to have great artwork, creative design, good music, lots of outlets, quick wi-fi and overall just seem tailored towards coworking with others.

But one thing always has bothered me. Their restrooms always look like they belong in a fast food joint or truck stop. One of my favorite shops holds large portions of the toilet together with packing tape. In general coffee shop restrooms are often understocked and show signs of water damage (a generalization only backed up by the fact that I visit several a week in a variety of areas ranging from rich to poor).
Gross Bathroom from Flickr
The reason I bring this up, is that while they tend to really try to attract folks to come in and hang out and drink their wonderful beverage with strong laxative and diuretic properties and yet do not consider how that experience impacts the overall environment.

I mean, really while I may go to a restroom at a restaurant or I may not, I always go at least once sometimes twice at the coffee shop. I alway try to put it off because it is unpleasant. At some restaurants folks come out of the restroom and tell their friends to go check it out!!! Now thats an experience.

So, why in the world am I talking about the CRAPPER so much?

What does you overall web presence look like? Are their parts that are unattractive, unpleasant?

Do you view certain technologies as after thoughts like the coffee shops appear to view their restroom?

How can you turn your gross bathroom into a place folks tell their friends about and want to check out as oppose to avoid?

The Idea Camp: Preliminary Thoughts

by admin on March 3, 2009 · 4 comments

Over the next several weeks I will be posting much less rambling abstract thoughts regarding the Idea Camp, but wanted to let you know why I threw out so many tweets about this great unconference.

Also, for those who could not be there, there is a Vimeo channel up with videos being added every day.

1. There was only one traditional presentation the whole time and it was one given at TED a few weeks ago, so who could complain? The rest was all interview and Q&A in the main sessions. This made the focus more on ideas than on hero worship. Difficult to do when you are sitting a few feet away from some serious thought leaders in various fields. Also made presentations more honest, raw and authentic. Very few canned speeches.

2. By bringing together a lot of leaders from different fields it pushed people out of there comfort zone. Watch the video with Dave Gibbons interviewing John Park from Google and Maxim Karp (sp?) from Yang Dang. I went out with a lot of pastors after that talk. There minds were all blown.

When you bring together interdisciplinary thought leaders the potential for Medici effect type moments is huge. Would have liked to see more business leaders represented but social entrepreneurs, church leaders and non profit leaders is already pretty broad. Especially when most conferences only provide one of those and no breadth within a given category.

There were engineers, marketers, producers, pastors, consultants, non profit executives, artists, entrepreneurs, and all sorts of other people. Oh yeah, they even let me show up.

3. The huge focus on ideas and implementation made everything super practical and actionable. No esoteric “what ifs” or “if only’s” or idealistic theory.

4. It was affordable. Often times a conference will cater to learners who are virtually identical to the presenters. By putting successful folks on stage and allowing the Not-quite-there-yet’s to come in (by virtue of low cost of entry) it opened the doors for a lot of folks who may not have gone to a typical progressive thought conference in any one of the many fields represented.

5. It was extremely open. Text in questions all throughout. All presenters were out and about during the whole conference. I got to hit the water fountain with Scott Harrison (Charity: Water). Spencer Burke parked next to me in the parking lot. Zack Hunter checked in with his mom (who is a kind of a big deal in her own right) while I was talking to her in the hall. There were no false gods at this conference. Everyone there was there to learn, help, network, innovate.

I would love to talk more as I decompress and get in touch with all the great folks I met and promised some time to this weekend. If you went to the conference let me know your thoughts in the comments. If you have a favorite conference you have been to let me know that too. What makes it special?

From Customers to Friends to Fans

by admin on February 17, 2009 · 2 comments

Close your eyes and visualize your customers using your product or service. What do you see? How do you feel? Can you do it?

What I see with many of my clients is that an exercise like this just feels funny and they are not able to really know what their customers think and feel in their day to day life. What does your product mean to their life? Does it change it? Make it easier?

By learning the answers to these questions we are able to not only focus our marketing message, but also improve upon that crucial customer experience. If your product or service is EXACTLY what your customer needs or wants, then you no longer have a customer, but a Fan and Evangelist.

Of course, the question becomes, HOW???

The answer is fairly simple. Listen, engage, repeat.

Use the tools that are available today. Try out the new ones. Find ways to make THE CONVERSATION part of your daily routine. There are far too many tools to list here today (although I have one in the works), but here is what I use.

Listening

Google Reader, Twollow, Social Too, Tweet Deck, Twitter Hawk, Friend Feed, Google Alerts, Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace (one of my clients in largely focused in the indie music scene),

Engage

Tweet Deck, Twitter Hawk, Social Too, Facebook, Twitter Search, GMail, Comments, Blogging, Phone (I’m a dinosaur, I know), Skype (less and less lately with the advent of…), TokBox.

You will see quite a bit of overlap between the two lists as many of these tools are more like places than tools. When using Twitter, you can be a fly on the wall and watch the conversation, or actively engage in it.

When your customers start knowing you personally they become friends. When they start to love your product or service they become fans.

What do you use to engage the crowd? When was the last time you made a change to your service based on a Facebook post? Would you consider your customers friends? Does your business have any fans?

How to Rock at Customer Service: 12 Seconds

by soverpeck on February 6, 2009 · 3 comments

***Update: Sol actually saw this post and emailed me a quick note***

I like 12 Seconds. I use it, though not as much as I would like. My schedule does not permit me to spend much time doing things online that are fun and I have yet to find a great business use for it, although, others have. All this to say, when my second son was born in January, I went off the grid with regards to video updates.

So when I saw an email from 12 Seconds, I assumed it was just their newsletter and almost did not open it. When I did get around to it though, I was shocked to find a personal email from Sol, one of the founders. As you can see from below he corresponded back and forth about family, time constraints and of course, 12 Seconds. My replies are in italics.

Hello!

I’m Sol, one of the founders of 12seconds. I’m reaching out to you personally because we noticed you haven’t posted on 12seconds in a while. I wanted to encourage you to try out the service if you haven’t in a while because we’ve launched a ton of new features and are now in Beta. The community has grown quite a bit and it continues to be a really special place where people share thoughts, memories and those 12seconds of life that make it beautiful.

Regardless, I appreciate your interest in 12seconds and want you to email me directly if you had any technical problems or if there’s a way we can improve the service. Your participation in our community is incredibly important to us.

This is not a bot and I return every email so please feel free to ping me at any time.
Thanks!

Sol
–

Sol Lipman
Founder, 12seconds.tv
sol@12seconds.tv

follow me on 12seconds!

http://12seconds.tv/channel/sol

follow me on Twitter!

http://twitter.com/thesolster

This e-mail was sent to you from 12seconds.tv because you have an account registered with this e-mail address on our website. Should you wish to delete your account or remove yourself from our mailing list, please do so at http://12seconds.tv/mail_remove.php.

Hey Sol,

Thanks a ton for reaching out. That is so freakin’ cool that you take the time to do that.

Love 12 seconds and want to get back into it, just been crazy busy lately. Wifey just had a baby and we have a toddler already. She is still super exhausted and having trouble lifting the toddler. Keeps me from being too involved.

Would you mind if I posted the contents of your email in a blog post about how incredibly awesome Sol and 12 Seconds are?

Hey Scott,

You’re more than welcome to post the contents of our correspondence. I know what it’s like to have a toddler – I have a 10 month old right now! It is very tough on our wives, isn’t it?

Hope you’re well and feel free to come back on 12seconds when you have time.

Thanks for writing me back,

Sol

Congrats on the kid. Mine are 2 weeks and 2 years.

Send you a 12 second video with them on it soon.

So what can we learn?

First, exceptional customer service gets real marketing results results. Between my blog, twitter, facebook, linked in, etc. I have around 3000 readers, mostly who are early tech. and social media adopters (ie. likely 12 Second users). By reaching out for customer service, Sol is receiving targeted, free, unsolicited marketing.

Second, he is positioning himself as an approachable, real person. His staff and the public will grow to appreciate this as the company grows. No one wants to work with or for a primadonna.

So go ahead and forward this post on to your friends and tell them how cool Sol, 12 Seconds, and GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE is. And while your at it let me know if you have used 12 Seconds for fun or work and what you think.

You can follow me on 12 Seconds here, and Sol here.

Adventures in Missing the Point

by admin on February 3, 2009 · 0 comments

Social Media as a means of marketing oneself and/or one’s business is a relatively new field. More and more are realizing the benefits, but recently I saw this comment (identifying info removed) on a post related to social media marketing.

Good point, but I also wonder how many of us SPEND too MUCH time in social media. A real estate blog — ********.com has a community of about 100,000 agents. They get points (awarded) for how often they blog, and invite others to join, etc. Some agents have more than 86,000 points or more and I am often left wondering WOW — if they spend that much time blogging, why the hell aren’t they out there selling real estate.–

It seems that those who extol the virtues of social media marketing still have a ways to go in explaining how profit, sales and productivity are improved.

Positive Reinforcement for Work, Home and the Dog Park

by admin on January 30, 2009 · 8 comments

A blast from the past…

Animal trainers, management consultants and psychologists all seem to agree that positive reinforcement (or operant conditioning or Whale Done or etc.) is the best way to deal with people. And yet we still scream at employees, spank our kids and choke our dogs.

Pavlov, Dale Carnegie, Ken Blanchard, BF Skinner, they all recognize that by rewarding correct behavior and redirecting incorrect behavior we can sustain radical long term change. And judging by the cultural influence and sales volume of these thinkers, we know what they said has merit. So the question is, “Why do I consistently focus on the negative in my staff, family, spouse, dog, friends, tiger, etc.?”

The answer I think lies in our inability to deal with our pride. Someone does something incorrectly, we freak out and chew them out. Later we remember that we were supposed to have reaffirmed them as a person, showed them what it was that was expected and helped them get there. Then praise progress and celebrate success. Not only is this more effective than our natural reactions, but it also feels better for the giver and receiver. Better relationships are formed. When people like you, they are much more likely to do what you want. Earn their trust, respect, friendship, and you do not have to struggle in this area.

Why I Ceded Control to a Stranger (and how you can get others to do the same)

by admin on January 3, 2009 · 10 comments

Tomorrow morning my wife and I head to the hospital in anticipation of a planned c-section for the birth of our second son, Micah. Because of this, I have been thinking back a lot to a post from a couple years ago, when my first son was born. Below is the post.

My son, Jedidiah was born in January of 2007. He spent his first 3 weeks in an intensive care unit. The first couple days were very scary. There was a lot of uncertainty regarding the future. Since then he has made a remarkable and full recovery. He is a happy and healthy little boy full of energy with a short attention span (I wonder where he gets that from? Do you like turtles?).

I learned alot during that time. Medical terms, how to sleep for 12 minutes at a time twice a day, how to hold a baby on a respirator and iv’s, lots of interpersonal relationships skills, so on and so forth.

But I also learned something about leadership and the art of influence. In the midst of all that chaos, the doctor never seemed stressed, and still seemed to genuinely care for my son and my family.

As I reflect back on the three weeks in the hospital, I only remember being asked one single question. Everything else was told to me. Not in a pushy forceful way, but in such a way as I understood the unspoken, “It is whats best for your son, I’m the expert.” The doctors and nurses told me what they were doing, what they hoped to accomplish, and why. All of this was not presented as options and price was never even mentioned. (Later when I recieved the bill I nearly had a heart attack, but then heard my son laugh and realized that it didn’t matter.) Budgets were not talked about.

I never questioned the doctors. They said this is what is happening and I believed that they were making the right decision. I trusted them not with an arbitrary decision, but with my son’s life.

The question remains, why? Why would I let a stranger make some of the most important decisions I have ever been faced with? Why would I entrust my son’s life to someone who to this day I still could not tell you his name? And more importantly, why can you not command that same respect from those whom you lead, your clients, even your coworkers?

The answer I believe lies in the doctors demeanor from the moment I first met him. Confident, caring, concerned. I knew he was the expert even though I had no evidence. Some of you are already complaining, but Scott, he’s a doctor I’m just a _______(fill in your career here). But, that misses the point, I never saw his medical degree, I don’t know if he was a resident, a fellow, the chair of the dept, or a nurse practitioner. I know he presented himself as a the one who had the answers; answers I desperatley needed.

So what did I learn from this? I learned that a genuine desire to help people, coupled with a sincere belief that I can help people, along with a dash of ability to help those people, will give me unlimited opportunity to lead, influence, sell, persuade, teach…You should get the idea.

How to Grow Your Organization Today

by admin on December 23, 2008 · 0 comments

Brian Solis has a great post over at TechCrunch. It is very long and I know if I twittered about it, many of the folks who needed to see it most, would probably FEEL they did not have time to read it. So I am putting the most important part here and adding a few thoughts of my own (in italics).

My clients, folks who read my blog regularly and those unfortunate to sit near me in any social setting know I VERY FREQUENTLY talk about most of these themes. That being said, I think now, more than ever, small businesses need to really make sure that they are working on best practices and not cutting essentials in a foolhardy attempt at costcutting.

1. SEO – Customers actively use search engines to find relevant solutions. Keyword and organic search optimization is an inexpensive and effective means for gaining strategic presence.

No, don’t go hire an SEO firm quite yet. But do focus on setting up outposts and comment on blogs. This is a quick and simple way to boost oranic optimization. Also, read up on SEO, meet experts on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. By implementing a few quick tips you can make sure you are who your prospects find when they search for your product or service.

2. Blog Relations – It’s not just about news and pitching the A-List, creating a consistent and visible brand requires the inclusion of the authoritative, peer-to-peer blogs that your customers and influencers read for information, help and perspective. Oh, and be wise about using embargoes.

Getting to know others in your space and in your customers space gives you great opportunities for promos, learning, more organic SEO and you may even make some real friends in the process. It never hurts to share some link love. As Guy Kawasaki says, “Always be Linking.”

3. Media/Analysts – Reporters and analysts cover your space and by simply writing about your company or product, they can position you as an option among your customers; especially when they’re researching options to validate decisions.

If something truly newsworthy happens at your organization, let the media know. Otherwise work to provide value to reporters in your space. Social media has a funny way of rewarding the TRULY helpful. Just ask Chris Brogan.

4. Direct Sales – Some of the most successful companies right now are concentrating on direct outreach to the decision makers instead of hoping to influence them from the sidelines.

One huge disconnect that exists (although social media is beginning to help with) is between the Sales and Marketing departments of most organizations. These folks should be practically one in the same, should be talking daily, and should be collaborating on just about everything.

5. CRM – Building a customer-focused business saves money and increases revenue. Focusing on customers and empowering them improves business processes, product development, and also offsets marketing expenses as “involved and participatory” customers transform from a cost-center into an active surrogate sales force.

This isn’t just the Customer Service department or the Sales Team’s job. This needs to be Company Wide. If someone writes about a bad experience on a blog there is no reason they shouldn’t get 100 different apology letters (obviously an exaggeration) and attempts at writing the situation. Everyone should be taking care of the customers. Happy customers tell one person, unhappy customers tell 10 people, so you had better work at turning your customers into Raving Fans

6. Participate – Social networks are much more than mere time killers. Participating across the social communities where you’re customers and prospects are active and vocal provides a looking glass into their thoughts, requests, opinions, dislikes, and recommendations. It also provides you with priceless opportunities to combat negative perceptions while also positioning your company as a resource.

Obviously we talk a lot about this here. Jeffery Gitomer says (A LOT) that all things being equal people want to work with their friends. Active participation in social networks allows for YOU to connect with your customers and prospects in a real and meaningful way, not unlike friendship. This has to be looked at like building friendships, not selling per say, not marketing per say. Putting a friendly human face to your brand or product is an amazing differentiators in a sea of competitors as well.

7. Thought Leadership – One of the best ways to demonstrate thought leadership is to actively share your thoughts where they count. Contributing articles and posts to industry publications, forums, and blogs increases visibility and unobtrusively contributes to your sales strategy by helping customers find you.

By establishing yourself and your brand as the gold standard in the industry, folks have no choice but to come to you first. How many of you remember when we didn’t call them PC’s but IBM’s or IBM’s compatibles or clones?

8. Blog and Blog Comments – It may seem trite or perhaps even worthless, but I can guarantee that finding the time to host and contribute to a blog that demonstrates the expertise of you and your team is priceless. People are looking for information and direction, not just from your blog but others as well. Go where they are and offer counsel, contribute to the dialogue and establish trust and authority in the process. Why wouldn’t you position yourself as a resource for your customers or prospects? Too busy you say? Empower your staff. Contract outside experts to contribute to creating a one-stop-shop for insight and direction—just be transparent about their involvement. It costs less than you think to build a community around your product, or at least what it stands for.

Very similar to number 7, so here, here! Do it.

9. Network in the real world – Participation isn’t solely relegated to online networks. Opportunities to meet and cultivate relationships in the real world are abundant. Meetups, industry events, groups, unofficial lobbycons associated with your favorite events are continuous and more valuable with your involvement.

Oddly enough, while many decry online networking as inherently antisocial, more and more people are hosting meetups in the real world based on connections made in the virtual one. Knowing the right people and staying in touch with them has whole host of benefits. From job searches to expert advice, from buyers to sellers, one never knows how a relationship can later benefit you, so invest and cultivate many. Who knows, you may even make a REAL LIFE FRIEND.

10. Involve Your Community – Save money and time by involving your customers in the development process of your new and iterative products as well as your go to market strategy. Alpha customers are often ready to assist with the validation of your business model and also the honest feedback associated with your product benefits and features.

There are tons of smart people out there who want to help and be a part of your success. Crowdsource your next big decision. I guarantee it will be an enlightening, interesting and helpful process.

11. Websites are not Just Web Pages – Your Website must make an emotional connection with visitors, while also conveying stories and value propositions that specifically capture the attention of your customers – otherwise, all of your hard work and investment of time and money in sales and marketing campaigns will generate traffic, but lead to a dramatically reduced conversation ratios.

Great content is key. Provide lots of values to your readers and customers will follow. Also, spend some time on your site. How easy is it to buy? To connect? To contact? To learn? Not easy? FIX IT!!!

12. Innovate – Always learn and improve everything in order to stay relevant.

Find blogs in your space. Read them. Beyond that, find relevant blogs that might not be in your space. Most marketing blogs are read by marketers. If you own a store don’t just read the store ownership blogs. Read the staffing, logistics, marketing, leadership, etc blogs. Learn how to do everything just a little bit better and see the PROFITS role in and your job get much easier.

–

By making little changes everyday, innovating, learning and implementing, connecting, you can, even in today’s economic climate, grow exponentially.

What are you going to do today to grow tomorrow? What did I leave out? What are you doing to weather the storm, outsmart the storm, profit from the storm? Am I a gigantic moron? Why?

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