3 Foundational Steps For Marketing Small Businesses

You’ve got your license, and you’re ready to hang your shingle. But you’ve got to market to customers and drum up business.

Where to start: Brochures? Website? Social media? Nope. While those are all great vehicles, marketing starts with a message.

Step One: Profile the Customer

For many of us, our instinct is to think about what our offering is and how we are going to talk about that, but the best marketing starts with the customer. To begin, write a bio that describes your ideal client. For example, let’s say your specialty is litigation support. Your primary customer is an attorney. What 3 questions will a lawyer ask when making a decision about whom to hire for a job?

Read more and find out what steps 2 and 3 are at Pursuit Magazine (www.pursuitmag.com).

The Gift of Focus: 3 things to make you more effective today.

Having survived the putative end of the world in December, I have moved into 2013 with aplomb only to find myself here on January 3 sitting in a jury lounge. Like many of you, I read my jury summons with dread: would I be chosen? Was it one day or five? How can I plan my calendar if I don’t know?

But today, I found quite pleasantly, that the jury lounge had given me a gift: the gift of focus. As a marketing exec and parent, a typical day finds me flying between meetings, getting kids to do homework, and squeezing in time to exercise. And don’t even talk to me about multitasking–I can simultaneously be in a meeting, instant message, and be creating a powerpoint at any given minute. But today my job was to sit and wait; and so, armed with my computer I sat and got more done than I had in a long time.

It turns out that in a study of 6,000 people, it was found that only 10% of them say they do their best thinking at work. Why? So I did a quick scan of the literature and it turns out that if you look at how the brain works, you get some clues as to why.

1) Multitasking feels good, but Unitasking is better. David Rock, author of “Your Brain At Work” says of multitasking: “It reduces our intelligence, literally dropping our IQ,” Rock says. “We make mistakes, miss subtle cues, fly off the handle when we shouldn’t, or spell things wrong.”  In fact, every study I could find on multitasking indicated that performance at tasks was significantly reduced.

2) Meetings and Interruptions. After an interruption it takes an average of 23 minutes to get back on task. Twenty-three minutes? I hope I’m below average on that one because otherwise with my average interruption time of every 10 minutes, I may never get back on task. No wonder it felt so good to sit in the jury lounge and just work. So if you have the email feature that pings you whenever an email comes in….turn it off; its not doing you any good.

3) Deep focus is like a box of chocolate, when its gone….its gone. Experts estimate that we each only get about 6 hours of deep focus per week. Repeat–per WEEK, not per DAY.  So you need to figure out what tasks require that deep focus and ensure that you are allocating it to them in your week. I have learned that I do my best thinking in the morning about creative stuff. So my mornings have become sacred and I avoid scheduling meetings then unless I must.

Finally, somewhere along the way, I figured out that if I’m really stuck on something, a change of scenery or locale will often offer me the ability to focus again. At least that’s how I justify sitting in Peet’s coffee tapping away on my latest assignment. Focus might have been my best gift this holiday season. And Jury duty? Jury duty was out by 2:30 but the lessons learned on focus will hopefully stick with me a little longer.

Images of Cambodia: The Noodle Maker

Reblogged from The Greenery:

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Is this man poor?

If riches were measured in abs alone, he would be a wealthy man.

The noodle maker runs a simple guesthouse in a remote Cambodian village. He wears only a krama (scarf) as a sarong. Cows and pigs live behind his house. He gets water from a well and showers by dipping rainwater from a large clay pot (as did Chantha and I that night).

Read more… 480 more words

From my dear friend Kim Green and her adventure in Cambodia.

Style and a Little Moore

I stood in my half-empty closet surveying a large pile of clothes I had accumulated since graduate school. The oldest of them, patterned with holes from lab chemicals, were at the bottom, but on top of those were a sprinkling of clothes that hadn’t fit in years and sweaters that were faded and pilled. The few hangers left on the racks looked piddly and forlorn. In 30 minutes, I had a guest coming to see the results of my closet inventory–and I wasn’t sure what she’d make of this….or, frankly of me. I was beginning to deeply regret the impulsive moment in which I’d agreed to have someone come help me inventory and plan my wardrobe.

It all started when–for the fifth day in a row–I exclaimed to husband, “I can’t find anything to wear” and later that day at work there were two semi-slurs on my sense of style. Something had happened over the last couple years of working, getting my MBA, having kids. I’d gone from someone with a deep love of art and design to someone who was….well, rather frumpy. The fact that I hate to shop was probably not helping any. So when someone suggested that I meet Ella Moore, someone who had a knack for assembling a stylish and functional mix-n-match wardrobe…I took the leap.

The 30 minutes I spent waiting for her to arrive, I began playing a tape in my head that went something like this: “Why on earth am I doing this? I should just go get a few more collared shirts and pants. This is either extremely shallow or extremely fake….who does this? I am just a simple person from rural New York……maybe she’ll forget and it won’t happen.” Yet as a surveyed my disaster of a closet, I knew that I was curious to see what she’d say.  When the doorbell rang, I grasped the door handle tightly and I opened the door like a determined soldier.

The woman that I met on the other side of the door is someone who had a spark inside her unlike anyone I’d ever met before. She lit up a room with her smile and devoted her time to uplifting people. She believed kindness was catching. Truly, she helped me figure out how to remake my wardrobe in the most efficient and stylish possible way (merrilyn-style, that is). But She wasn’t just about style. She was about finding yourself and paying it forward. This whole style thing was her medium for entering your life.

One of my favorite stories about Ella posted in the blog “Given Breath” begins:

“One February 1, 2011, I received and anonymous note informing me that for the whole month, I was going to be showered with love.

Just because.

Sure enough, each day thereafter, for the whole month of February, I would walk out to the back patio and discovered a carefully wrapped gift for me. Imagine! For a whole month!”

That was Ella. A whole month of small gifts to shower someone with love.

(Read more From Given Breath.)

A year ago, Ella passed away after a courageous fight with cancer. She left a husband and two small children. And a wide base of those–including me–who were touched by her life and her strong belief that kindness is catching. It’s true that my wardrobe improved thanks to Ella’s help but style was only the beginning of her gifts. To remember her and carry on her legacy, some of her closest friends founded the non-profit “Moore Love.”

What will be your legacy? Ella’s was style and a little more.

Link

This post was inspired by my anticipation for the airing of “Half the Sky” on PBS Oct 1-2.

About a year ago, my sister Kristin and I were discussing her most recent work in Africa and the contrast between her life in Manhattan and Ghana.”Ever see the site ‘First World Problems’?” She asked. “The first few days back in NYC feels like even the nicest people are whiners from that site.” For those of you unfamiliar with First World Problems, it is a site that collects quotes of the ridiculous, shallow and everyday nuisance things people complain about–examples:

“I accidentally gave a homeless man a Euro coin. I was going to use that on my trip to Vienna next week.”

“The pressure to have an opinion about the Avengers movie is like a physical weight on my back.”

“Our nation’s parks and wildlife preserves are woefully underequipped when it comes to Wi-Fi signals.”

Nice first world problems to have–not exactly like the street child in Afghanistan about to starve or the family afraid to leave their house due to violence in Syria. And much as I read them tongue in cheek, I must confess that in my comfortable little world, I too am inclined to “first world-isms”. Famously last week I burst out with “Why do all these devices have a different charger! I have to carry one for every electronic gadget I have!” My husband peered at me over his magazine…”You do see the irony here, right?”

<Grimace> Yes, I do.

So it occurs to me lately as I am reading some of the articles on women in business that maybe–just maybe, we need to acknowledge what is a first world problem and what is a third world problem in advancing women.

First world problem: “Women hold 16.1% of seats on boards of directors in Fortune 500 Companies”

Third world problem: “140 million females are living with the after effects of female genital mutilation.”

I do not by any means wish to trivialize the obstacles that some women have faced to advance in the American workplace. If you are drawing that conclusion, then hear me out a little further. What I am saying is that educated women in the first world have an obligation to do two things:

1) Educate yourself on what will propel you forward and what holds you back. Have the ambition and bravery to breakthrough. Even if it makes people uncomfortable. Even if some people tell you that you are a bad mother. Even if people call you a bitch. It’s a first world problem, ladies.

2) Recognize that no matter how held back you feel, there is a woman somewhere who was forced into marriage at age 12, who never learned to read, or will spend all day just to get water from a well. It is your obligation to look back to those women and lift them up, even as you are break through to another level in corporate America.

I love the Chinese proverb “Women hold up half the sky” because whether in the board room or in a small tribal village, studies show that gender equality is good for all those concerned. Those companies with the highest numbers of women on their boards (highest quartile) had an average of 53% greater returns on equity than those in the lowest quartiles. Likewise in the third world, allowing women to hold up half the sky holds great returns–simply allowing girls in Kenya to complete secondary school is estimated to bring $27 B to the economy over their lifetimes.

My sister will head back to Africa again soon, blazing what I hope will be a fearless academic trail and one that makes a difference as we both, in our own way, try to hold up half the sky.

For more information and also the sources of all statistics:

http://www.halftheskymovement.org/

http://www.girleffect.org/

http://www.catalyst.org/

Commitments and Convictions

Last night I read a statistic that stopped me in my tracks: the average parent spends 4 hours watching tv and only 6 minutes playing with their children.

Can’t possibly be true, can it?

But as you pause to think about it, ask yourself if your commitments reflect your convictions? Your legacy will be in where you spend your time and your money. A couple years ago I realized that I spent more on childcare than I do on my mortgage. You know what? I actually saw that as a good thing because my #1 priority was to make sure my kids had a safe and enriching environment.

It’s pretty easy to get caught up in other obligations, other expectations and lose your day. But I’ve learned I must be vigilant to not make a habit of it. Convictions are simply an academic exercise without commitment of resource.

Be Gretchen

“Be Gretchen.”

 

This is one of my favorite lines from my most recent read, “The Happiness Project.” One of the first resolutions that Gretchen Rubin makes in her yearlong quest to increase her happiness. It stems from her recognition that she spends a lot of time thinking that she should like something or be some way….when it is really not her natural way.

Why do we have this idea that normal is loving big parties and dancing and living life large? Why do we portray normal as extraverted? In the past week I’ve read three things that made me ask this question.

 Frankly, I blame television.

Introverts have a rich inner life or love quiet moments in the garden. Let’s face it, this does not make good tv. For the past 50 years, we have been inundated with narratives that revolve around extraverts….to the point where I hear introverts everywhere saying “I know I’m supposed to like parties, but I really don’t.”

Stop trying to be normal and be who you are.

About 2-3 times a month, I have a young woman come to me asking, “how do I know what I want to do?” And here’s what I tell them:

-Stop listening to the voices that tell you the safe thing you are supposed to do and like

-Look at what you do when you don’t “have” to do anything

-Look at what you did when you were a kid

-Recognize the things you do that make you the most energized.

Be you. And it will become clear.

Don’t take my curmudgeons away.

My grandfather wrote countless letters to the editor. He cornered the pastor after church with pointed commentary. He dominated dinner parties with his political views, talking over everyone else, pretending it was his slight deafness and not his personality that was the cause. When people saw him coming across the room, they often turned and marched not so subtly in the other direction.

As I was reading Flipboard the other day, I was waxing poetic about the beauty of algorithms that served up just the news that I wanted to hear.  I thought about all those dire warnings of the futurists saying that one day we would all pay for vacations that allowed us to turn off our electronics….and I chortled gleefully, “not me! With social search and automated news mashups, I’m going to win the war of the information glut.”

And then like an errant thread in a sweater, I unraveled my glee with the thought, “Wait a minute. There seems to be an inherent danger to only being exposed to news that you WANT to hear.”

The best ideas, the sharpened wit, the honed argument….all of these come out of an atmosphere of diverse ideas if not dissent. Consider the following:

• The collective intelligence of teams has been shown to be higher with more diversity
• Companies with more diverse boards (that include women) have a higher profit margin
• A key part of high performing teams is their ability to avoid group think by accepting that conflict and challenge is a good thing if handled well.

As we embark upon this adventure that we call social search and seek to implement intelligent agents, don’t forget to keep a few curmudgeons in your news and social circles. You may not always agree, but you—and your causes—will be the better for it.

Social Media Doesn’t Sell Products, Good Marketing Does

As I went to the supermarket this weekend, a sign proclaimed “Like us on Facebook”.  The first thing that popped into my head was “why on earth would I do that?

So many companies have gotten caught up in the social media buzz that there’s almost a feeling that all that matters is that they have a social media presence. But companies, like my supermarket, that enter social media without a plan to engage an audience have forgotten that social media doesn’t sell products, good marketing does.

Funnel Based Marketing has been the classical way to think about marketing and I have found still provides the best ROI, albeit with a few tweaks in the new digital age.

Digital Age Tweak #1. Social media is an amazing channel for awareness.  In the old days of mad men it was all about the print ad, but many brands are finding that social media trumps the print ad, particularly for the 20-35 age bracket. The trick is in designing an interaction that will engage your target persona and in ensuring that you sustain an ongoing conversation. Social media is not a one time event like an ad production is

Digital Age Tweak #2. There is way too much noise happening now and it is really difficult to rise above it. Smart marketeers are starting to recognize that content marketing plays a huge role in getting above the noise. Content marketing is based on providing information that is relevant to the user and may not be product-centric. Because you have spent time gaining credibility with the user, he/she is now open to your persuasion marketing. A great example of a company that did this well is River Pools and Spas.

Digital Age Tweak #3. Think Omnichannel and immerse yourself in the customer journey. Potential customers no longer interact with a company via a single channel. They interact with sales and service people, the website (via multiple devices) and may even visit a physical store. Understanding how each of these leads a potential customer from awareness to purchase and how they interact is key in the digital age.

A company who has really revised their marketing strategy for the digital age is Nike, even dropping their spend on TV and print advertising by 40% over the last three years. Why? Their key demographic has given up television to hit a variety of online communities. Great example of how they’ve change their approach is the 2010 World Cup Campaign “Write the Future.” The campaign started with teasers that built a loyal online community base. Then the ad, featuring soccer stars imaging the riches that come with winning the world cup, debuted on facebook, creating a viral sensation. Digital and social media are channels. Without a good marketing strategy that targets customer behavior…well, they do no better than the old fashioned methods.

Link

3 Things You Can Do Today To Innovate Better.

There’s a lot of buzz going on out there about innovation. Harvard business articles are dedicated to it, 75% of CEOs say that innovation is at the top of their agendas. Yet companies struggle to innovate and employees complain about the pervasive fear of new ideas. Innovation strategy is not enough. You need nitty gritty tangible actions and tactics to make innovation happen. Here are 3 of my favorites.

1) See the world (and your customer) with new eyes. Stop asking your customers what they want. Asking the average customer what they want is a sure way to create product incrementalism. I do not disparage the importance of incremental improvements to products as product extension can be a smart way to remain competitive or refresh a product. Tide with Bleach probably sells millions of dollars as an example of a product extension. But if you are talking about radical change, surprising differentiation and true innovation, it starts with deep insight. The best way to do this is to go observe people in their everyday lives. Watch where they are inefficient, anxious, frustrated. You will get deep insight into problems and needs that they have that they may not be able to articulate.

2) Create sparks. “Chance” said the scientist Louis Pasteur, “favors the prepared mind.” Likewise, ideas favor the prepared mind. Sit in your cubicle and stare at the same reports all day and chances are you won’t think much beyond them.  Exposure to different disciplines and types of thinking is what prepares a mind for creative thinking. Collaborative groups of diverse groups of people are likely to have the most productive brainstorming session. (A recent paper in Science suggests that diversity and intelligence of the group alone is not enough, how the group engages to ensure all diverse voices are heard is a key factor in output). “Diversity is good” we say….but here’s the secret of why.  Exposure and diversity widen the solution space and lead to more creative solutions.

3) Fail faster. I first heard the phrase “fail faster” from pharmaceutical researchers. The idea was that if they had a number of candidate drugs to test, the sooner they could eliminate the ones that wouldn’t work, the more focus they could put on the ones that did work and get them launched faster. The same phrase should be used for ideas. Kill the bad and the mediocre to focus your time on the great ideas. I have had great success with rough prototyping in doing this. Making a few prototype ideas out of cardboard, string and markers that looks like a kindergartener made it and then sticking in front of people to watch them interact with it…..well, you will know in 2 seconds if the idea will work. And because they are ugly and rough, no one is afraid to tell you the product won’t work. Rough prototypes are the best tool to fail faster. As Edison said, “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”