Category: a slice of STRATEGY

Pure, unadulterated strategy: marketing, brand positioning, & entrepreneurial wisdom. New trends with staying power. Old standbys with inarguable value.
What to embrace, what to avoid, and what to attempt — with steady discernment.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Don’t put all your brand eggs in one basket

Posted on by Red Slice

Facebook rocks. It really does. And it can be great for your business and building your community. But as I talk about in my upcoming book, Facebook – and social media in general – is just one tool in the branding arsenal. It is not THE tool, nor should you embark on delving into these tactics until you have your brand strategy in place first. Then you will be clear on what you want to communicate via these vehicles.

Lisa Barone from Outspoken Media wrote a killer article about why you shouldn’t abandon your own blog completely to jump on the Facebook Express. You need to use a balanced mix of communication vehicles to communicate and extend your brand. One great piece of advice I once got was that if you ever write a contributed article for another site (or post things in other social media arenas), ensure you also have a record of it on your own site or company blog. This is the best place for you to own your content and police your brand effectively.

How are you using Facebook for your business and how do you balance your own blog with making updates on your Fan Page?

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Is the media or the message getting in your way?

Posted on by Red Slice

The old adage, “Is it the medium or the message?” has never held more weight than it does in today’s marketing arena. You have a story to tell (your brand message) and you have a dizzying array of mechanisms through which to tell it (Twitter, website, blog, ad, events, signage, Facebook….) So when it comes to evaluating success, you have two factors to consider: the message and the medium itself.

 

Seth Godin’s blog talks about how organizations use PowerPoint appallingly these days. Never has a tool come along that seemed so easy to use, but people forgot about honing basic presentation skills before cutting loose on this software. It’s just like blogs or DIY websites – just because you “can” doesn’t mean you “should” or even that you are doing it “right.” You could be doing more harm than good in communicating your message simply because of using the vehicle incorrectly. You have to adapt your message to the medium you are using so you leverage it effectively.

 

In addition, a third layer to consider is choosing the right vehicle to reach your target audience in the first place. So let’s say you have a great message AND you are using the medium correctly – you still might be singing beautifully to an empty room, because no one that needs to hear your message is actually present. This is what happens when you get caught up in the next new shiny thing, and forget to evaluate if your target audience responds to it.

 

Messaging can be complicated. You can’t just assume messages “didn’t work” if they fail, simple because you got no response. Look at how you are using the media first: are you leveraging it fully, are you understanding how audiences are properly consuming the information, and did you design the message to fit the specific medium? Then look at the media itself and if it’s the right vehicle to reach the people you wanted to reach. Hopefully, you put all this thought into it before you embarked on the campaign, but if not, take a step back and look at these factors.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Want juicy brand advice? Check out this pretty book

Posted on by Red Slice

 

FinalBookCover

I think I need to write a book about the process of writing a book. What a ride! Branding Basics for Small Business can be preordered if you email preorder@norlightspress.com with your desired qty. All the juicy advice on building an irresistible brand you can stand – plus case studies & anecdotes galore. Here’s the delicious book cover – thank you to Bridget at TRAYcreative (@TRAYcreative for Twitter folk)

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

The brand book is coming! The brand book is coming!

Posted on by Red Slice

Whew! (Hopefully) final manuscript edits sent to the publisher on Thursday. Now we deal with layout and all of that….can’t wait to get this juicy, practical guide into all my favorite entrepreneurs’ and marketing professionals’ hot little hands. Branding Basics for Small Business: How to create an irresistible brand on any budget should be printed and ready to order online in June 2010. (#brandbook if you want to play along on Twitter). I’m so excited for you to read all the case studies from small businesses all over the country who are doing amazing things with their brand. Check out this succulent little promo video to get the juices flowing. Oh, and I’m starting to schedule radio, podcast or article/blog interviews now, so just let me know (maria@red-slice.com) if you’d like me to speak to your community about creating an irresistible brand.

Branding Basics for Small Business: Book Coming June 2010 from Maria Ross on Vimeo.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

What are your favorite TV shows subliminally telling you to do?

Posted on by Red Slice

We all know about product placement as a way to cut through the ad clutter and still enable content providers to attract marketers. This is when they embed the product into the actual show, like Coke strategically placing branded cups at the judges’ table on American Idol or Cisco’s video conferencing equipment playing a crucial storyline role on CSI.  The other day, I even saw one of the most blatant (and frankly, tacky) ones on Bones: two female characters are driving along and the passenger says to the driver, “Do you have kids?” The driver says no, and the passenger asks her why she has a Minivan. The driver says, (paraphrasing) “Oh, I love my Sienna. First of all, I’m an artist so there’s room for all my stuff. And I don’t even have to struggle with parallel parking anymore, which I hate.” I’m sure the show’s writers cringed and felt like they needed a shower to wipe the cheesiness off of them after writing those lines.

But I’m okay with product placement if it allows us to enjoy good content without having to pay a lot for it. Subsidizing content development with advertising  is a better alternative to me – I always find it funny that people want something for nothing in this world. And seriously, product placement goes way back: remember, “soap operas” are so named because of the early days when soap and detergent companies would sponsor them.

But the newest thing is “behavior placement:’” sending softer messages through TV content so that advertisers can then have a more receptive audience to their message. This WSJ article talks about how NBC Universal plans a week of programming across their networks that emphasizes healthy eating and exercise or environmental responsibility and the shows’ storylines address this behavior in some way. For example, “The Office” had a storyline about Dwight being a “Recyclops” superhero as he humorously and overzealously encouraged the office to recycle.  A Telemundo show had a character whose job was to recruit people for the Census – an important message to the Latino community, which is usually undercounted. And “Top Chef” promoted buying locally grown foods by having competing chefs prepare a meal using only organic and local produce and ingredients. Some behavior placements are more subtle, as when a plotline on NBC’s new show, “Trauma” involved someone reporting an emergency from their hybrid vehicle or when Bravo’s “Millionaire Matchmaker” featured a client who owned an eco-friendly clothing line.

As NBC Universal coordinates these themes across their shows during certain time periods (like Green Week), they are then able to attract advertisers who benefit from those behaviors. For example, Soy Joy, a health food manufacturer, or carmakers pushing Hybrids. They can even offer special ads with characters from the shows, as Kenneth the page from “30 Rock” did for Pepsi’s Sun Chips brand who had just launched a compostable bag: they produced a skit with him that will run during a commercial break.

The networks know they can’t be too pushy or preachy or they risk alienating their audience. And if the behavior makes sense in context and maintains the show’s flow and integrity, that is cool with me. “The Office” producers say they had been thinking about doing this with Dwight’s character even before the network came to them and ordered “an environmental storyline.”  But what are your thoughts? Would you rather pay more for programming development devoid of such tactics? Or are you fine with a few ad messages here and there if it results in quality programming at a decent price for you?

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

C’mon baby, light my (entrepreneurial) fire

Posted on by Red Slice

How’s your cashflow and your mojo? Does your vision match your reality? Does your brand match your soul?

Danielle LaPorte can help you answer these tough but important questions so you can make your business dream a reality. I’ve loved her brazen and authentic style ever since we first met a few years ago on a client project. I’m thrilled to talk to her in today’s Ask the Expert about her new digital experience for entrepreneurs: The Fire Starter Sessions. As she says in her witty and wonderful way: “It’s an e-book meets video transmission of acumen and love.” Whether you’re in the early idea phase or a well-established rut, Danielle wants to light a fire under your….aspirations.

THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS is: Worksheets that help you draw conclusions, quick videos with motivational punch, connections to current thinkers, practical smarts, and frank wisdom — THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS is packed with inspiration that you will put to use. Danielle has worked with 462+ entrepreneurs in her 1-on-1 Fire Starter consults. For CEOs, coaches, artists, retailers, bestselling authors — from site design to big dreams — Danielle’s strategies combine passion with pragmatism to get to fulfillment and cash. And she’s also got nuggets from A-list marketing strategists, pro-bloggers, experts and creativity coaches.

RS: Hi Danielle. Tell us a bit about you and what White Hot Truth can do for business owners?

DL: I’m part strategist, part philosopher. Someone once said I’m a cross between Deepak Chopra and Janis Joplin. Kinda fits. I write about self realization, and I jam with entrepreneurs in my 1-on-1 "Fire Starter Sessions". And after working with hundreds of entrepreneurs to help them rock their careers, I decided to launch "The Fire Starter Sessions" as an online program.

RS: What is this deliciously explosive online experience all about and who is it meant for?

DL: If you’ve got the entrepreneurial spirit – this is for you. You: are likely sitting on an empire of content, product, services, and prosperity that needs a spark — or blow torch — to take you to the next level. You: want to rock your revenue streams and do meaningful things in the world.

RS:What one big mistake do you see entrepreneurs making over and over again that stymies their success?

DL: They take for granted how much they really have to offer. So many people are experts, tribe leaders, teachers – swimming in their own knowledge. A lot of what I do is about showing them the value and potential of their natural strengths and experience.

RS: The White Hot Truth brand is especially authentic and attractive. What intentional decisions did you make about your brand early on and can you give us an example or two of how you live it out in practice?

DL: "Especially authentic and attractive?" Why, thank you (insert batting eyelashes.) When I went solo to start White Hot Truth I vowed that I would never dummy down, I would never shrink from my spiritual or intellectual power, I would only put out material that I felt was useful. So far, so good.
Even though I’d been "blogging" for a long time, when I launched White Hot Truth it took me about three months to find my truest voice. I thought I might write about style…but, nope. Relationships… nada. I let myself feel what I really WANTED to talk about, not what I thought would sell. And that’s made all the difference to not only deepening my creativity and quality of work, but the quality of people who are shown up for it.
Passion has a way of doing that.

Details:

DIGITAL FIRE STARTER SESSIONS…a digital experience for people with the entrepreneurial spirit.

Pre-ordering opens April 7 with a special sneak peek chapter. Worldwide release is May 12. The program is $150, with $5 from every purchase going to The Acumen Fund or WomenforWomen.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Danielle sparking up The Fire.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

View your brand from the outside in

Posted on by Red Slice

How does this DaVinci quote relate to your brand?

“Every now and then go away and have a little relaxation. To remain constantly at work will diminish your judgment.Go some distance away because work will be in perspective and a lack of harmony is more readily seen.” (Leonardo DaVinci)

While I love this quote for its important lesson about balancing work and play (yes, talking to you, Mr. “Look how dedicated and important I am that I have not taken a vacation in 6 years” guy, which also translates to “I’m going to have a heart attack before I’m 50”), it’s directly related to your business and brand as well.

We are all so into our businesses. We know every little nook and cranny inside and out, and more importantly know our own intent and motivation within our own heads.  We often forget that customers or prospects interacting with us for the first time (or 2nd or 3rd…) don’t have all that “background reference.” We confuse them with meaningless acronyms and jargon that only we understand because we see it every day. We think we are explaining things well because WE know what we mean, but we’re not. Or we forget to communicate the basics because we take for granted that, “Everyone knows that.” Um, no, they don’t.

The Heath brothers, who wrote one of my fave books, Made to Stick, call this the “Curse of Knowledge.” This applies to brand because we forget to put ourselves in our customers’ shoes and view ourselves from the outside in. We have too much info about our own brand and business and it blinds us. Do my visual elements – logo, color, website design – communicate what I really want to be saying, or have we fiddled with it so much over the years that it is now meaningless and generic?  Does my description of what I do make sense to someone who has no inkling about this industry?

Sometimes, the best gift I can give clients is one of objectivity. The less I know about them when we work together initially, the better. Within those first few days, I can give an honest assessment of what it’s like to read their messaging and see their brand with fresh eyes. And I can point out what their brand is actually communicating, despite their best intentions.

I urge you to find objective eyes to audit your brand and messaging every once in awhile and make sure you are on track.  Only when you have some time away from something or distance from the source can you see the forest for the trees and find the holes in the story.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Telling a story with a label

Posted on by Red Slice

Love this post by Seth Godin about how simple things like labels and packaging can help further your brand story and customer promise. This is what I mean by finding a unique way to tell your story in every customer touchpoint you have. Some people may just slap a functional label on their product or put it in a boring box. But get creative and find a way to carry your brand promise through to the way the item looks when people see it on the shelves or get it in the mail.

While some packaging ideas do indeed cost way more than others, cash-strapped businesses can still get creative and find a way to present their products in a delightful way that actually furthers their message to customers. Use color, intriguing words, or other ideas to stand out. It’s not about money, it’s about creativity. But it’s also about clearly knowing what your story is so that you can convey it effectively.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Brand building vs. random tactics

Posted on by Red Slice

Somedays, I feel like a salmon fighting my way upstream. No matter how many books are written, no matter how many posts Seth Godin writes, no matter how many times our own lives are touched by organizations doing it right…people still want to think brand is the same thing as a logo or advertising. They still ask me as a consultant or others like me, “Just tell me what marketing programs I should do to help me get more sales.”

I’m working on my book, Brand Basics for Small Business, and I’m trying to define brand and give smaller organizations a tool to craft their brand strategy so that they can then figure out where their audience is and what is the best way to reach them with the right brand message. The book is not about, “Do this and you’ll increase sales” because I can’t possibly know that for each reader and every company is different. But a reviewer suggested I sprinkle pithy tactical tips that don’t apply to all businesses. Sponsoring a county fair might work for a small local cupcake business, let’s say, but not for a small start-up tech company selling software to other businesses. We need to get rid of the stereotype that all small businesses are local and charming. Tech start-ups, consultancies, financial planners, manufacturers of ball bearings  – these can all be small businesses as well.  Small does not necessarily equate to “Main Street.” It just means they have way less employees, take in way less revenue and have way  less budget and resources than “enterprise” companies like Apple, Walmart, or GE

Anyone that tells you a blanket statement like, “All small businesses need to do (insert tactic) to be successful” is just lying to you. Your business has to figure out it’s own brand, mission, purpose, desired image and ideal audience first before you can figure out which tactics to pursue. I’ve talked about this before, but it seems the fallacy still lives. Too many of you are performing “random acts of marketing” and just praying something sticks as you throw money away, or you’re taking the advice of someone who gave that same advice to 6 other businesses that are completely different from yours. Strategy before tactics. Always. Don’t just sponsor a booth or start a Twitter account because someone told you to, or some other company did it. First, craft your brand strategy and make sure it makes sense for your goals and your audience.

Brand can be your guide. But you have to draw the map before you can start following any directions.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Why I (heart) joy…and BMW

Posted on by Red Slice

BMW

Photo credit: orangewheels.co.uk

What a treat to unfold my WSJ the other morning and have an 11×11 object fall out.  It looked like a color brochure, printed on heavy stock, and folded into squares.  The top square said the following:

We do not make cars.

We are the creators of emotion.

We are the keepers of thrill.

We are the guardians of one three-letter word.

JOY.

Intrigued, I unfolded it to reveal a gorgeous  4 foot by 3 foot poster ad for BMW.  One one side, each square held a wonderful vignette of people interacting with their car, with captions like “Joy is maternal” and “Joy is youthful”. Others read “Joy is who we answer to”, “Joy can be counted” and “Joy is timeless.” They interspersed what can only be described as “car porn” in some of the pictures, showing BMW’s latest models that are nothing short of breathtaking and modern.

This piece exemplifies all the best things about good brand marketing:

1) It’s believable: I really do believe BMW’s claims that their loyalists find joy in driving their cars, and that they find joy in making beautiful machines.

2) It’s credible: Hey, it’s BMW. They are no slackers.

3) It’s benefit-driven: They focused on a mission and an emotional purpose of eliciting joy in their customers. They focused on the thrill of driving a great car, not just the features and gadgets.

4) It’s differentiating: Others might be out touting fuel efficiency and safety these days, all noble, important benefits for many audiences. But instead of singing the same song, this piece caught my attention because it only tried to do one thing and did it well: it tapped into my emotional thrill for a gorgeous car

4) It’s gorgeous: Truly, the piece was visually stunning and also in line with BMW’s brand and what I would expect.

5) It’s unexpected: It didn’t show up in my overwhelmed in-box or as just a normal full page ad in the WSJ. It literally fell into my lap.  Could get annoying after a while if to many people start doing this, but for now it just made me pay attention.

6) It had a call to action: There was a 1-800 number on one of the squares to call for your nearest dealer. Not all brand advertising has to be as esoteric and abstract as perfume ads, ya know. After all, they want to sell cars.

Well done, BMW, well done. You caught my attention. And ironically, just when my husband and I were debating whether we would buy a Mercedes or BMW if we had a choice. Were you eavesdropping?!