Sizzle! Posts

Who's Tops In Retail?

by Kas Kunz

To keep moving forward you need places you can tap into that keep giving you fresh, new perspectives, and ideas — even solid reminders of what you already know and its importance. One place I've found is on Tom Peters blog, the well known business consultant, who made an impact over 25 years ago with his book In Search of Excellence.

The place on his blog is called Tom's Cool Friends, which are interviews of authors on a wide gamut of topics. It's one of those resources whose value is not apparent at first. It's easy to get locked into a market, mindset, process, knowledge base, etc, it's much harder to change, shift, improve, and when it's best, hold steady. Tom Peters is relentless in pursuing new knowledge and information. These interviews are great snippets into this pursuit and if it's a trigger for you — you can get the book to explore it further.

His current Cool Friend interview is with George Whalin, who in the 1960s opened and managed the first Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. After a number of years in retail he founded Retail Management Consultants. He has a new book Retail Superstores: Inside the 25 Best Independent Retail Stores in America.  

The good news is George Whalin has a blog, Retailer Blog. One post this month I thought of particular value, When Smart Retailers Do Dumb Things!, he writes about the mistakes he's observed smart retailers make repeatedly.

• Expanding into markets far from their home base
• Opening in markets with significant cultural differences from one they've operated in for years

Transparency and Marketing That Fits Your Business

by Kas Kunz

The marketing maven Seth Godin wrote 2 blog posts back-to-back about marketing your business and transparency in business that I think puts them in the right perspective. His posts provide a check and balance to the pendulum effect of one extreme to another.

On marketing your business he writes about finding your own voice for your company and not copying others. The direction for you to proceed is much clearer if you're marketing is centered on the goals of your business. Regardless of how popular a marketing tactic might be, you'll be in a mindset where you determine if it will support your business goals.     

He advocates walking your own path and not following the herd. Intertwined with a company's success and endurance is the culture of the company, which is what makes you unique from any other company. It's the personality, the voice of your company. How is your company culture working for your business needs?

In light of transparency for a company his perspective gives a voice of balance that I think has been missing. He's not advocating cover-ups and misleading employees and the public where your intent and actions don't match, because that always comes out sooner or later with no upside. Here are some of his thoughts which asks the right question, what is the long-term benefit and purpose?

"Does a magician put on a better show if you know how his tricks are done? Do you want to see how your dinner was made, farm to plate? Really?

I look at the transparency issue not as a moral right, but as a business tactic, tool and threat.

Radical transparency often excites people because of the radical part (it's new! it's scary!) than the transparent part. Playing poker with your cards face up on the table might get you some attention at first, but in the long run it's unlikely to help you win a lot of hands."

Checking Your Business Pulse. How Are Your Insides Working?

by Kas Kunz

How often do you stop and think about how your business comes across not in general, but at every point your company interacts with or touches your customer's?

I think about it when I go to the airport and the first contact I have with the airlines I'm traveling on is their porters who handle the luggage. The first thing they point out is the tip policy and how it's forced on them by their airline company.

I think about it when I go into my favorite pet store and I'm greeted with a smile and glad you came in today. Followed up by do you need help in finding a particular item, not a generic can I help you. I think about it when they ask me how I like a particular product, because it's a new item they stock and they want to know how well it's working for their customers.

I think about it when the cashier is friendly and patient when the credit card process is not clear, even though they've probably helped every other customer that day with the same issue. As opposed to the cashier who's impatient and makes the customer feel stupid and they're responsible for holding up the checkout line.

I think about it when I go to the car dealership and the cashier takes your coupon and says next time give it to the service rep so you don't have to wait... instead of making sure the service reps automatically ask the customer if they have a coupon.

I think about it when I call a business and it's handled as an annoyance and the whole tone changes when they realize I may actually be giving them some business.

I think about it when I call tech support, amazed when a tech asks me what the problem is and listens first before they go into a pre-programmed routine that has nothing to do with my issue and willingly stays on the line until they know its resolved.

I think about it when I have a very pleasant exchange with a bank teller and I get a hand written note in the mail thanking me for my business.

Do you think about the individuals that work within your company who are the first or have the most contact with your customer's? What is the value to your business with the type of exchange and interaction they have with your customer's? Do you think about the exchange and interaction your customer front-liners have with others inside your company and the affect on their response to your customer's?

I think about the enormous effort and cost it takes just to get a prospect or customer to call, to walk into your store, to visit your Web site — give you their email address, to check out and try your services, prospects to become customers, customers to recommend you to others, and the impact of just one exchange with them on your business. It's not just about efficiency, cost savings, and profit margins, but the impact the different touch-points with your customer's has on the bottom line.

How to Gain Online Insights for Your Business

by Kas Kunz

I don't think there is anyone at this point who doesn't realize the Internet has forever changed the way business is or can be conducted. To understand the value of the Internet in terms of what it can do for your business, regardless of the market you're in or the size of your business, requires first hand knowledge — participation.

To Start, Keep in Mind:

• Key in what the Internet has done via blogs, instant messaging, social networking, wikis, and other online collaboration tools is the ability to have direct contact with individuals — anywhere in the world.
• There are many tools, often free, which enable a group to participate and collaborate together in one space for all to share and see the information available in its entirety.
• To start with online participation does not have to be public, even with social networking.
  • You can start within the privacy of your own company and keep it for internal use only.  
  • You can make it a private collaboration between a customer or a vendor.  
• To begin you need a very specific, simple business goal. The most successful are laser focused, target a specific group, and keep number of participants small.
  • Small group keeps the committee mindset out of the project, minimizes conflicts, and more likely to stay focused on the goal.  
  • Simple goal doesn't overwhelm the group, easier to set guidelines and rules of use, and easier to make adjustments to get it accomplished, based on user input.  
  • Helps to determine which tools best suites your needs.  

Project Ideas:

• Plan and coordinate an event
• Manage a project i.e., product development, product launch, maintenance program, coordinate market research, create a proposal
• Documentation controls of marketing materials
• Collect ideas on market changes in a specific market or product area
• Internal blog of company news, events, ideas

Tools, Free and Paid Versions:

• Blogs
  • Vox.com 
  • WordPress.org 
  • WordPress.com 
  • Blogger.com 
  • MovableType.com 
• Wikis
  • Wetpaint.com 
  • PBWorks.com 
  • Wikispaces.com 
• Social Networks
  • ning.com 
• Online Collaboration
  • Google Docs 
  • Google Sites 
  • Google Apps 

These videos give you a very basic idea on a couple of these tools.

 

 

What are some online tools you've found invaluable for your business?

 

Social Networking, Social Media is There a Difference?

by Kas Kunz

What is the difference between social networking and social media? How do you approach these so you are productive and provide value in turn?

As mentioned in the previous post the first step in online social activities is to listen. By listening you'll discover not only trends and gain customer feedback, but resources you can use in your business, where key players, customers, and prospects "hang-out" online. Listening gives you the places to start and guides you in how to participate to help you to be productive and provide value when you begin to participate in the conversation.

These two videos by Common Craft video productions give you the value in social networking and social media and perspective on what each one provides.

What are some key business benefits you value with social networking and social media?

One Social Media Online Listening Post

by Kas Kunz

You've probably heard or read the first step you take in a social media plan is to listen. Your next thoughts are probably — don't have time, why should I, and even if I want to, how? One place to listen is on Twitter.

The short video produced by Common Craft video productions does a great job of showing you the potential value for your business and how to listen to Twitter conversations.

 

What are some of the insights you've discovered with Twitter Search?

Blessings or Curses?

By Jane Betters

It's been a rough few months for many of us with a business to run. Sales and revenue down, expenses the same or more. Not a good equation! But sometimes numbers don't tell the whole story.

Are you a victim of curses? Have the past nine months made you feel hopeless? Whatever you do just doesn't work and you're mad at Washington, yourself, a difficult client – God? Have you retreated into a cave hoping to just wait out the storm? Do you berate yourself for the debt that's accumulated or past decisions made? Are you thinking about quitting? Do these thoughts help you or your business?

I understand if that's where you are. I've spent a few days there myself! What I quickly found, however, was that I don't like cave life. I didn't start my business to hunker down in a dark hole. So, what to do?

This is a time of opportunity, not despair. 

Yes! I wrote about this some months ago. What a great time to be in business - It's a blessing! How can that be? Well, think about it ~

• Time - that most precious of resources - is now more available than ever to review your business model and make appropriate adjustments. Make extreme use of every slow moment! 

• Finances - Okay, the money is not rolling in, so get creative! How can you reach out with minimal expense to get maximum attention? 

- Is it PR? That's always an option to consider as good PR has an impact far beyond a purchased ad. And how about speaking at groups? That can gain immediate credibility.

- Are you taking advantage of Social Media opportunities? If not, you're probably missing the boat as there are people who don't know about you and your products or services that you can reach through blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn and other similar programs. 

- Do you have an online newsletter that is chock full of GOOD information? Everyone's email is overrun with run-of-the-mill offers and promotions. You have to stand out! Figure out a core need or want that your company supplies and tie it to compelling benefits. Make it about them, not you.

• Opportunities - These are endless! There are more startup businesses for you to reach than ever before. There are more businesses looking for innovative solutions and new products and services to streamline their companies. Find the niche - maybe one you've overlooked or dismissed in the past - and make it your own.

Blessings!

This can be the time that propels your business into a success you never dreamed only a few months ago. And, if you're a praying man or woman, this is the time to ask God to guide you on this quest and turn it over to Him. I'm SO glad I'm not doing this alone!

I'm with you as you search for the answers to make your business thrive. I'd love to hear from people who've found these months a time of blessings and what they've done. Maybe you even ended one business and went an entirely different direction! Please share your journey with us and encourage those who are just now peeking from their caves to step out into daylight and new opportunities.

Perception. Emotional not Rational.

by Kas Kunz

When you look at your business from within and make decisions based on internal perceptions only you miss out on a very important factor — customer perception.

You can make business decisions based only on the numbers, but customers don't perceive or buy things just by the numbers. You cannot always track the intangibles, but they still affect your bottom line. First and foremost whether it's business to business or business to consumer the driver to buy is emotion. The rationale for the purchase comes later.

When you decide to outsource your support for cost cutting measures only did you take into consideration how that distances you from your customer? What are the motivators for the third party provider? Does it match with your customer's expectations with your business? Will they continue to be your customer? What is the cost of getting a customer? What is the cost of losing your customer?

If you decide to close an avenue of customer communication on the Internet, because of cost or lack of internal support and time do you just abandon the project and leave it like an abandoned building? What perception does this give to your customers?

When you decide to cut back your advertisement, how does this impact your visibility in the marketplace? How does this impact the number of inquiries or leads? Maybe a better approach is to change where and how you raise your visibility in the marketplace?

Here's some interesting research just published by eMarketer.com.

 

What perceptions are you unknowingly giving your customers?

Company Growing Up, Are Your Competencies?

by Kas Kunz

Starting a business from scratch, growing a company, turning around a troubled company, maintaining success with inevitable upturns and downturns in the market or running a multinational company requires different skills. What does it require at each of these points in its existence? How do you market to achieve the different business goals?

Business growth and maturity — developing marketing intelligence is not something the business does by itself, but is intricately tied to the individuals who make up the company. Everyone is responsible for marketing — whether it's internal or external. What is done within the company always impacts the customer.  

Marketing is not something that is done once or periodically — it's always part of a successful company. It takes the business goals — defines what needs to be done and how they need to be implemented in order to be achieved. For a company to continue as a viable business a culture of learning, development, and growing competencies are always in the marketing mix.

Brought together in this video are two well-known individuals that have grown up in businesses started from scratch that grew into multinational companies, which have been part of major technology evolutions in the business world. No matter what scale of business you want to be involved in or achieve, as you watch and listen, imagine all the changes they made in their competencies as their businesses grew up.

What's up in the World of Blogs and Connections with Social Networking?

by Kas Kunz

This past week eMarketer.com published an interview excerpt with David Tokheim, the General Manager at Six Apart Media who are the creators of the blogging service TypePad, Movable Type, and Vox. One trend brought out is both blogging tools and social networks are making it easier to connect between the two. When you post on your blog such as TypePad you can publish through to your Facebook and Twitter — which means you don't have to use multiple systems to connect your various online activities. Other insights from the interview:

"Mr. Tokheim: We're seeing a lot more women blogging, a lot of mommy bloggers. They have a different dynamic than what we've seen from tech bloggers in that most of the moms have multiple blogs. They work with different networks like BlogHer, as well as Six Apart Media. And there's a very strong community around what they're doing.

eMarketer: What do you think is driving the spike in mommy bloggers?

Mr Tokheim: Two things: I think it's awareness, or word-of-mouth, and blogging platforms have become easier to use.

One of the reasons that technology bloggers were some of the first bloggers is that they were tech-savvy and able to write code, which you needed to do in the early days of blogging."

In the same week, Anita Campbell, the Executive Editor of Small Business Trends shared her insights on a recent 2009 Women and Social Media Study by BlogHer, iVillage, and Compass Partners released April 28, 2009.

3 Findings she highlighted from the study:

• Interesting Finding #1: Social Networks Like Facebook Get the Most Usage
• Interesting Finding #2: Blogs Wield the Widest Influence
• Interesting Finding #3: Women Look to Blogs for Business, Politics, Cars, and Technology

"Depending on the nature of your business, it might be worth it to focus on Facebook or MySpace — if, for instance, you are in the entertainment business. But for most things, such as if you are in B2B business or selling technology, blogs could give you more influence."

Read Anita Campbell's excellent post for more of her input on these findings.  

More from the Study:

• Women are twice as likely to use blogs than social networking sites as a source of information (64%), advice and recommendations (43%), and opinion-sharing (55%), while they are 50 percent more likely to turn to social networking sites as a means of keeping in touch with friends and family (75%)
• U.S. Female Internet Population 79 Million
• U.S. Female Active Social Media User Population 42 Million
• Age range in the study 18-77 years

For details of the methodology and to delve into the insights of the study Download the PDF Survey and read their press release.

Large, medium or small doesn't matter when it comes to the Internet, the services and connections it enables impact everyone's business. How do you see these market insights being integrated with your business goals and objectives?