Archive for March, 2010
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
Fascinating research from RainToday.com and Hubspot about how buyers find experts points to one common denominator: prominent brands work. According to 200 buyers (who represent over $1.7B in professional service purchases), the top get-in-the-door tactic is also the world’s oldest: referral from colleagues. Other highlights:
- Personal recognition and awareness (that’s branding, people) comes in at a close third at 73%.
- In-person seminars (66%) slightly beat out industry presentations (62%).
- Internet search was ninth at 55%.
- Rounding out the top ten: industry web site or story.
Moral of the story: good ol’ fashioned reputation trumps Internet activities every time. Here’s the link if you like bar graphs.
Tags: branding, Marketing, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
Posted in Marketing, branding, strategy | 1 Comment »
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
Talk about bad news traveling fast. Mess up a speech, and deal with an avalanche of disparaging tweets in real time. It now has a name: tweckled. I knew there was a dark side to those dang tweets… Whatever happened to going up to a speaker and talking to them face-to-face?
Want to avert that disaster? First, use Twitter to announce your acceptance so you can do some research and get feedback from attendees. Second, check out Jeff Hurt’s blog “midcourse correction.” Very passionate about how associations, their conferences — and their speakers — can stay relevant and focused on the attendees. What I like best: his views are research-based. Very generous with his information. A great insightful resource we experts can use to stay ahead of the curve. He even has a free ebook on how social media will impact meetings this year. Here’s the link.
Tags: branding, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Social media experts can look forward to a killer year. Why? Because Corporate America is throwing major money into their fear that bloggers and face-bookers are out there bashing their brand. So they are tossing ROI (return on investment) overboard and spending money on social media. According to this Marketing Budgets 2010 study, 70% of respondents are decreasing offline marketing efforts and investing in online social media. The make up of respondents are also interesting: a majority of the professional side is BtoB, showing that social media is going beyond the consumer realm. The study not only cites a priority to protecting the brands but also a gap in understanding the power of social media on ROI. That’s where the experts can really make a difference. Look for this topic — determining ROI on social media — to be very popular at industry events.
Tags: branding, Marketing, social media, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, March 18th, 2010
I’ve got bad news for a lot folks out there. This is something people you just met don’t want to tell you to your face. But it needs to be said. Unless you’re famous, the marketplace doesn’t really care about your story. Yes, they will express empathy for about 30 seconds. But that’s not enough to buy your book or invite you to speak.
And here’s the ugly truth about why: there’s nothing in it for them. They can’t help you — whatever you overcame already happened. Sure, they can celebrate the happy ending, but that’s about you, not them. And the surprising reason we tell our long story: because too many of us think that’s the only thing that differentiates us. Wow. That’s sad.
Instead, I have three ways to use your story as a springboard to introduce something more intriguing. And I’m drilling down on those strategies for the next call of the Extreme Mini Makeover series next Tuesday. Click here to register for the series.
Tags: branding, Extreme Mini Makeovers, Marketing, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Check out this excerpt from Fast Company about Dan and Chip Heath’s new book Switch: Don’t Solve Problems — Copy Success. Remind you of something? Yep, it smacks of Marcus Buckingham’s premise of focusing on your strengths. But look at how they packaged this message: first, they used the power of opposites in the title. That gets your attention right there.
Then, they took what we already knew and applied it to a new environment. Then — and I just love this — they named their villain. They called the game by telling us what to avoid — TBU. That stands for true but useless, as in TBU information. Click here to see this magic in action.
I’ll cover these behind the scenes strategies and more in the upcoming call on focusing your message for Extreme Mini Makeovers. Click here to see the schedule and to register.
Tags: Extreme Mini Makeovers, Marketing, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Given the high unemployment rate, you’d think organizations would have plenty of bench strength. Not so, according to 212 large and mid-sized companies responding to OI Partners survey. Findings include:
- 54% of companies in the survey said they do not have enough qualified successors now working for them to succeed their executives and managers.
- Only 32% of companies report currently having enough management successors in place.
What to do? Look within and develop high potential employees already employed according to 72% of respondents. Poaching is still popular, as 40% cite raiding their competitors for new talent.
This is what I call a problem with a price tag. Executive development folks are going to have some fun this year…and so will recruitment specialists, and diversity experts. Design your offerings accordingly.
Tags: Marketing, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
President Obama is looking for money in nooks and crannies. One seat cover cushion he’s lifting: the use of subcontractors. If the budget is approved, the Internal Revenue Service will add 100 new boots on the ground to crack down on the misclassification of workers as independent contractors. The IRS isn’t waiting though: last month they also began a three-year audit of 6,000 companies (2,000 per year). These audits are chosen by “statistical sampling” — aka random selection. The size of the company won’t matter. This is a break from their focus on larger companies with questionable returns.
Who should worry the most? Small consulting companies who do more than advise for a few clients or any one local admin/fulfillment help in their home office. Even if the latter is part-time, the IRS could rule they are an employee. Check with your tax advisor to make sure you can stand the scrutiny. As if we have time for this…
Tags: IRS, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Want to speak at corporate and association events? Then listen up: budgets are back…at 2008 levels. Even the big dawgs — like the insurance industry — have the budget blues, according to a small (100 respondents) study by Financial & Insurance Conference Planners (FICP). The good news: meetings are on top executives’ radar, so killer speeches will be noticed by high-level buyers. The bad news: doing more with less has resulted in meeting consolidations and more pressure on “value.” The new buzz word: prudent search. Translation: even if you offer reduced speaker fees and other goodies, buyers will keep looking for a better deal. So don’t expect your gimme’s to speed up the close.
Bottom line: Everyone — even those who can afford lavish events — are scaling back. Says one respondent: “the days of Bruce Springsteen singing at our event are over.” Bummer…
Tags: branding, Marketing, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Gave a short talk on branding in Phoenix the other day. An interesting question was raised: how do you get full value from folks you hire to help? One person thought that issue was on the vendors. “Be very clear about what you are going to get,” she said.
I agree, due diligence is a smart move. Some folks will say anything to get a client. As someone who both hires and gets hired, I think return on investment rests more on the client. Three questions to ask ourselves before we hold outsiders accountable:
- What is solving this problem worth to me?
- What am I willing to do to get what I say I want?
- And very important in this economy: what resources am I willing to invest in meeting this need? (Over 75% of the incoming calls I get can not answer this question. Seriously.)
Every problem has a price, both in time, effort, and in money. Not only must we be clear on our needs, we also must be willing to implement and invest in what we need. Perhaps the due diligence starts with us.
Tags: accountability, branding, Marketing, value, Vickie Sullivan
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