Archive for the ‘branding’ Category
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Another train leaving the station: apps for specific meetings. Conference planners are getting deluged with requests for these, so watch apps explode on the scene. Why do you care? This will be a game-changer for speakers on the convention circuit. Here’s what apps mean to us:
- Instant attendee feedback on your presentation. Planners hope for higher response rates and specificity in attendee comments.
- Instant buzz for your presentation. Apps will aggregate social networking tools, spreading the word fast on your presentation. This is a double-edged sword. Bring your “A” game and be prepared for quick responses.
- Longer lead times. Approval from Apple can take up to three weeks; current thinking is to create and launch the app at least three months in advance. Prediction: this will force speaker selection decisions to be made far in advance, as planners will use programming to promote the event. This is good news for those of us who customize our talks.
Our next best step: start strategizing now about how you are going to participate with apps — what info can you contribute and how you will immediately respond to the inquiries and buzz. Build a timeline and tactics to promote your presentation and add value via apps. Experts predict apps will be standard within a year or so. Don’t wait on this one…
Tags: branding, experts, Marketing, positioning, speakers, Speaking, strategy, technology, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, August 25th, 2011
I talk a lot about applying your expertise either to a cause or a problem. Here’s a great example from the business to consumer files..
With their “Date Drive” project, Volkswagen in South Africa got a lot of press (and a lot of takers) by loaning a new car for first dates. The engagement was all over this campaign: you had to apply by answering eight questions, then you had to give feedback about the experience afterwards. The result: this cool chart that proves once and for all that a hot car can make you more attractive.
How to apply this idea: take conventional wisdom and then set out to prove it. Use plenty of humor. The marketplace loves an experiment, especially when there’s something in it for the participants.
Many thanks to Vicky Likens for passing this fabulous project on.
Tags: branding, Marketing, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
I believe our best learning happens outside our environment. That’s why I’m fascinated by this study about the retail industry. Hit hard by the economy and buyers looking for bargains (sound familiar?) retailers are our canaries in the mine shafts.
If anyone has reason to be worried, it would be the retailers. But they are not. Instead of consumer confidence (last year’s problem), their concern has shifted to consumer trends. They are now worried about what their customers are buying and how to get and keep more customers.
And so should we. Too many of us are still playing defense. We’re so worried about losing that we’re not focused on what our buyers are buying and why. Now is the time to invest in acquiring more clients. In making sure our message is compelling enough to rise about the noise. Let’s go on the offensive. Let’s get our share.
Tags: branding, experts, Marketing, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
Many experts use surveys to create compelling findings for promoting our brand to the media. We bet our credibility on those results. But how can we make sure those conclusions aren’t biased?
My thinking: we don’t intentionally bias the results. According to this Fast Company interview with University of Michigan professor Michael Traugott, poor wording is the biggest culprit. When we use emotionally charged words such as “forbid”, we skew the responses. When we add phrases such as “how about you?” or “do you agree?” we activate our natural instincts to acquiesce to the majority and the authority. Who knew?
Click here for more ideas on how to make your next survey the most compelling yet. Because the truth is usually stranger than the stuff we make up.
Tags: branding, experts, Marketing, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, April 21st, 2011
Heard a lot of speakers while on the Harvard University trip to India. One of my favorites was Dr. Kiran Bedi, former prison warden turned social activist. What got her started as the first woman in the Indian Police Service: being a tennis champion.
How did that happen? Her championship career got her media coverage. She was portrayed as mentally tough and a strong competitor. That brand fit well into the police environment. She looked like a safe bet because people “knew her”. According to Dr. Bedi, “They could check me out”. Talk about juxtaposition.
The moral of the story: your background is important; the media about your background is critical. Key question: what does the media coverage of your background say about you?
Tags: branding, Marketing, positioning, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
One of the biggest differences between the gotta have experts and the nice to haves is how the former drills down and adds new information to a relevant conversation. Exhibit A: a study that looks at how great entrepreneurs think while solving business problems. According to University of Virginia Professor Sara Saravthy, entrepreneurs use a different kind of reasoning than corporate executives.
Saravathy used primary research (academicians are good at that) to learn how these groups come up with solutions. What she found: entrepreneurs and execs start at different points. The entrepreneur started with their strengths and based goals on those strengths; the execs focused on the goal and deducted the best path to get there. Inc. Magazine does a great job of outlining the findings. Check out how she created principles (such as affordable loss) around her findings. Check out her findings on how entrepreneurs are predicting the future and deal with competitors.
My point is not that you have to do primary research. Many high-end experts have not. The takeaway here: drilling down on an idea is not enough. You must turn those findings into dynamics and “against conventional wisdom” ideas so your marketplace can see their situation differently. That’s when you become compelling.
Tags: conversations, experts, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, January 6th, 2011
I’ve been preaching for years about using labels to describe who you are and how you work. Saw this in full force last month at the TEDWomen Conference. My favorite examples:
- Three sisters redefined chamber music with a stellar and innovative performance. They call themselves “artistic hackers”.
- PhD student calls herself a “Social Roboticist”, and her work “an intersection of robots and entertainment”.
- An agricultural expert calls herself a “scientific farmer” who specializes in “food security”.
The common theme: two words that usually don’t come together create a mental picture that makes us want to see more. And this technique can describe anything — from who you are to your solution. The key: create juxtaposition. The more you meld unrelated things, the more compelling you become.
My question for the New Year: how will you describe your work?
Tags: branding, Marketing, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
Here’s a chicken or the egg question I heard recently: Let’s say you are just starting in the “selling what I know” business and have a limited budget. Is it better to invest first in a strong brand, knowing that you will have less for marketing tools or to invest first in marketing tools and work on the brand later?
The answer: it depends on how willing you are to bet on yourself. For those who are scared, it feels safer to “just get out there” and hope for the best. Why? Because it’s less confrontive to invest a little bit of money, step back and say “ta da! Look at that pretty web site”. If the market ignores you, you haven’t lost your nest egg (yet). You have enough money to pay for another website, or hire a publicist for three months. If that doesn’t work, you still have enough money to pay living expenses while you write a book filled with strategic gibberish. You can go on like that for a year or so before you run out of money. Then you can sigh and say “well, I tried” and get a job. This is how experts go broke $1,000 at a time.
Remember the old story about frogs in boiling water? They died because they didn’t jump out in time. The water wasn’t hot enough until it was too late. Newbies (and those veterans at a crossroads) put themselves in hot water all the time.
If you are not scared, you’ll make the bold move and bet on your brand. Yes, it is intangible, and no, you won’t step back and say “ta da”. What you have is a secret weapon — that can be used for free.
Think about it: when you know how to describe your work, you can change how you talk to buyers. And that changes the buyers’ reaction to you. Those conversations didn’t cost you money; only your time. That’s how you build a business — one client at a time. When you get one or two clients, then you update the marketing tools — using new money. Sound good? Here’s the dark side: this works only if you have the guts to place that first bet. On your brand instead of marketing tools.
Many of us are at a crossroads. The market has changed and we know we must change with it. How we make that change depends on how much confidence we have in our work.
Tags: branding, conversations, experts, Marketing, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, September 23rd, 2010
Change management has been on executive development’s radar for some time now. What’s next? One word: complexity. Also known as operating in volatile environments. I call it Execution 2.0.
IBM’s study of 1500 conversations with top executives has fascinating insights. My favorite findings (and predictions):
- This problem is not going away soon; in fact, the problem will accelerate. Execs see one-of-a-kind challenges emerging that won’t be solved with current thinking. Result: Watch for more work in innovation. Execs will be forced to experiment, so credible experts can get away with promoting new ideas. (Key word: credible. Positioning your background is now a priority.)
- More than half of the CEO’s doubt their ability to manage this complexity. What this means to you: the combination of a big problem and awareness that they can’t solve it alone means this will be a budget line item with some zeros in it. The most important thing for getting selected: get to the real buyer, not the underlings. This is going to be a free-for-all; the big boys are already all over it. Watch for the market to get real crowded, real fast.
- Many see revenue growth coming from new avenues. This is great news for marketing gurus. Facilitators will benefit too from more meetings with customers, as their input is being used to differentiate products and services.
Bottom line: there are plenty of places for experts to play here: both soft skills (such as creativity and customer relations) and operations (key word: dexterity).
This report has great intelligence to plot your next move. Many thanks to Barry Wishner for the heads up on this study. Click here to read for yourself.
Tags: branding, experts, Marketing, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, September 16th, 2010
One well-known consultant has got the reputation for taking truth-telling to a whole new level. The problem: the market has turned against his abrasive style. He was last seen hanging out in the woods somewhere.
What’s going on? We’re now in the Age of Respect. It’s no longer fun to get verbally beat up by those who think they know better than us. Buyers see right through this, correctly labeling this style as “big me, little you” syndrome.
Here’s a clue: if you have to say “I’m saying this out of love,” we all know that you are not.
What’s hot now: passion with a purpose. You can be forthright; you just can’t be insulting about it. And yes, I have more to say on the subject. Click here for my latest video.
I’ll cover other market dynamics that impact our signature style this Tuesday at the next Extreme Mini Makeover call. Click here to join me.
Tags: branding, Extreme Mini Makeovers, Marketing, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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