All posts by davidsoxman

Social Media

You’re Really Not Ready for Social Media, Are You?

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The social media pig

There’s an old saying in the opera business, “Never teach a pig to sing because it will frustrate you and irritate the pig!”

I bring this up as I recently had the pleasure of talking with a company that provides professional services, specifically architecture, which has enjoyed a long history of providing innovative, functional designs and building planning for their clients.  They have enjoyed the luxury of great word of mouth referrals that have meant a continuing stream of business, which has fueled growth and provided good salaries for many employees.

This firm is now at a crossroads.  There is a concern that there are many opportunities, for which they are well qualified, that they are simply not hearing about.  There are deals happening that they aren’t aware of until an RFP goes out and they’re in the situation of bidding for low profit work, and as we all know, you can starve to death answering RFP’s.  They are significantly more successful when they can get involved in the early stages of planning, to be able to influence design and staging decisions in their favor.  What’s more, their pool of referred leads from existing clients is either not providing a sufficient number of high quality leads or that well may be starting to dry up.

Into this situation I introduce their website that is some number of years old, is primarily a static online brochure, is hard to navigate within and doesn’t provide easy ways to capture leads nor to encourage any visitor interaction.  Any efforts at search optimization are minimal at best.

Does any of this sound familiar?

In preparation for meeting with this firm, I was curious to see what kind of conversations from the architectural industry existed in the blogosphere.  Having looked at a number of aggregator sites, and doing some simple keyword search, I was able to conclude that there are ample opportunities for this firm to begin to become engaged in a dialog about their industry and for which they have a passion.  There are questions being raised and design theories being discussed that would enable this firm to present themselves as not only experts, but also as concerned professionals in the advancement of their art.

My biggest mistake was to use the words, social media.  The immediate response was, “Well, we’re not big believers in Twitter and Facebook, we just don’t see how those apply to our clients, what’s more, those involve so much time that the payoff is hardly worth the effort.”  It didn’t surprise me to then hear that the principals of the firm thought their website was just fine, that it was not really all that important and no money needed to be spent there.

I had one of two choices: try to teach the pig to sing or simply walk away.  I chose the latter.

I have found an interesting series of seven B2B case studies put into a well organized ebook by the good folks at MarketSherpa and available at Hubspot.  If you go to page 56 of this ebook, you’ll find a case study of a professional services firm, an accounting firm, who used social media and SEO to build a lead generation machine that drove direct sales.  In fact, they saw their website traffic increase by 68% and generate 10 to 15 leads per month!  The old website generated no leads at all.

You can choose to ignore what is happening in marketing right now.  You can say that it’s just not for you, and maybe it’s not.  But if there is a conversation taking place out there in your industry, and you’re not part of it, then you’ve lost a big chance to stand out.  You’ve also probably missed a great opportunity to grow your business.

Well, are you ready?

All my best,

David

The CMO Outsource

Branding, Communication, Marketing, Public Relations

If I Only Had 24 Hours, I Would……….

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As the spring has now quietly melded into the summer months, many familiar things begin to happen, not the least of which is the appearance of the fireflies or lightning bugs as they are sometimes referred to.  As dusk settles in, these lowly creatures begin their mating journey, coming up out of the grass and immediately signaling their arrival with that yellowish-green pulse of light.  It almost seems as if they are working in concert, as there are so many flying up from the ground and in synchronous tempo, they flash together.  It is sad to know that the male of this species has but 24 hours to find a suitable mate in order to procreate. Talk about motivation!

It is also true with the near perfect hibiscus flower.  This flower is truly one of the most spectacular and perfectly formed flowers with vibrant colors, large pedals and prominent pistil and stamen.  It is a joy to see these large, beautiful blooms, but sadly, as soon as the sun goes down, the blooms of the day fold up and are through, never to open again.  Just one day to show their glory.

What would you do if you knew you only had one day, 24 hours to impress the world.  How would you catch the eye of your prospective customer?  What lasting impression would you leave that would make you unforgettable?  How would you want them to remember you?

Many times when you reach out with your marketing communications, you have one shot, just one chance to leave a lasting impression.  What may seem unimportant or trivial may have a significant impact.  An employee saying the wrong thing or writing a disparaging remark on the wall of their Facebook page could cause unforeseen problems and is all the more reason to have established social guidelines for your employees.

If you had 24 hours, how would you use your special skills to change the world?

If you always have the frame of mind that you get but one chance with a prospective customer, the way you market your company will take on a new importance, it can be an opportunity to have an impact on a life, and be the chance to show your glory.

I’d love to know your thoughts.

David

The CMO Outsource

Branding, Communication

I Am Unique; Just Like Everyone Else

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I recently read an article in the National Geographic about how the United Nations has declared that 2010 be the International Year of Biodiversity.  In conjunction with this recognition, scientists are now using the simple bar code that we all see on packages we purchase and that are scanned, to assist in the classification of the over 1.7 million species already named on Earth.  Each bar is comprised of 600-odd spots that can be filled by any of four different DNA bases, and that two species will rarely have the exact same sequence.  Already they have coded nearly 40,000 species of moth and butterfly and the hope is that they will have 500,000 species coded by 2015.

Is it possible to bar code your company?  The answer is yes.

There are no two businesses that are exactly alike even though they may be tenacious competitors. The “DNA” that comprises each company can be uniquely identified and categorized to illustrate what its essential “brand” is.

Why is this important?

This is the process by which you can identify the unique strengths that you have that no one else has, and it is those strengths that can then make up the marketing message that you communicate.  Your uniqueness will also be recognized by your community, the individuals in your social sphere who understand and appreciate what it is about you that makes you unique.  They will be the messengers who bring light to your “DNA” and make it known to those who may not recognize your uniqueness.  It is the essence of who you are and the value you bring to the world and it should be identified and brought to the attention of every employee you have, so they can also help in communicating what it is that makes you unique.  It is your differentiator.

Isn’t it time to bar code your company?  The answer is yes and the time is now.

I’d be interested in knowing whether anyone has gone through this process with their company.  Comment below and let me know.

David

The CMO Outsource

Communication, Marketing

Why Blog?

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I get asked this question from many business owners who are contemplating stepping into the social media waters.  How is the investment of time and energy going to turn into more business?

It is important to ask how you can measure a return on the investment because if as a business owner you simply don’t have time to consistently contribute valuable articles to a blog, you will surely need to hire someone to help you.

Here is the answer I give.

First, blogging will not produce an overnight success; it will take time, probably even months of time.

Secondly, you need to have specific goals you want to accomplish.

Thirdly, you should research to see if there are conversations taking place out in social media that pertain to what you do, your skills, your industry, your competition, your passion.  If you find that conversations are taking place, then you must become part of the dialog or you risk being left out.

Blogging enables you to help people who have questions or problems that you can address.  Once you’ve entered the dialog, it is imperative that you are genuine.  Ideally, you become an expert in your readers’ minds and that converts into trust, which as we all know, is the key to making the purchasing decision.

Like any other marketing effort you make, and blogging is just a part of your overall marketing plan, you must measure to see if you are achieving the kinds of results you set out in the beginning.  Tools are available that will give you eyes into what is happening.  Are you getting comments?  Are you having conversations?

Jeff Bulla has conducted an interesting survey on blogging in his article “11 Reasons Why People Blog.” It is very eye opening.

If you have questions or are unsure about whether blogging makes sense for you, drop me a line.

David

The CMO Outsource

Branding

A Timely Referral Can Help Your Brand

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I had reason lately to think about the movie “The Miracle on 34th Street” with the young Natalie Woods.  If you haven’t seen the movie, it is a charming Christmas movie that is a favorite of our family during the holidays.  There is a particular situation that occurs during the movie.  Having been provoked by the self proclaimed Santa Claus, and also because it made brilliant marketing sense, Mr. Macy decides that if there is anything that a Macys’ customer is looking for that Macys doesn’t have, the salesperson is to immediately refer that customer to Gimbles, their most potent competitor.  Well, not to be outdone, Mr. Gimble catches wind of this and promptly gives orders that Gimble customers are to be referred to Macys if they cannot be helped at a Gimbles store.  This back and forth builds as each store tries to “out-nice” the other.

You’re probably asking, oh this is a very nice story David, but what’s the point?

I am a constant observer of what is happening around me, as it relates to how companies market themselves and their brands, and I am usually supplied with plenty of writing material, both positive and negative.

My wife and I were traveling this week and she was in desperate need of a pair of comfortable walking shoes.  We were in a beautiful shopping area in Naperville, Illinois and came upon an Eddie Bauer store.  We were both very familiar with Eddie Bauer and decided to go in.  Once inside we realized there were no shoes anywhere to be found.

An alert young man approached and asked if he could be of assistance.  We explained that we were from out of town and needed shoes.  He explained that this particular Eddie Bauer didn’t sell shoes, but a catalog was available to order them and he offered to help us with that order.

Since it was not feasible to order shoes, we again explained that we needed these shoes right away.  We asked, “Do you know of a shoe store close by?”  His answer was what dumbfounded us both.

In his kindest way he answered, “I am not allowed to tell you.”   It was evident that he was not comfortable with being the messenger of this news.

I am positive he was then looking into two faces with jaws dropped and that speechless, incredulous look of, “okay, well then.”

Needless to say we left immediately.

I have known the Eddie Bauer brand for a number of years and have purchased and been very pleased with the items I have bought, but nothing in that brand experience has prepared me for what we ran across that day, and it has tainted my impression of this store in a very negative way.  In fact, I proceeded to tell a number of other people of our experience that very evening.

You know they say that if a person has a good experience with your brand, they might tell four people but if they have a bad experience they will probably tell ten or more people. Talk about viral marketing!

I have to believe that this policy, clearly articulated by this young man, is the exception rather than the rule. Perhaps the young salesperson was quoting a general policy, not a hard and fast rule that circumstances don’t allow for a modification, for if that is not the case, sell your stock in Eddie Bauer because they will not last.

Have you had any similar experiences you would like to share?

David The CMO Outsource