Six Important Words

We all have tools to choose from but let's not forget to focus on people. Much has been and will be said and written about the social web; we can't forget the human web.

Business owners and managers may understand that certain tactics and channels will help their business but through research, data, and measurement, we can look at outcomes more accurately.

It takes more than counting beans

Having lots of "likes" on your Facebook group, comments on your Instagram post, views on Snapchat, and a lot of page views on your website without commitment to engage your customers won't magically bring in revenue.

And it begins by engaging your own people. Strong internal customer service happens long before anyone outside your company even cares.

Do you know how you help?
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What Would They Do?

Garbage day is Fridays in my neighborhood. The city rotates recycling weeks between paper/cardboard and cans/plastic and every second week they take perishable items in a green bin. When there is a holiday, pickup moves to Saturday. Your place may have a similar schedule.

According to the schedule, last Friday was a regular pickup day but with the Holidays I was all messed up on whether that affected the schedule. I looked at the other houses and no one had garbage at the end of their driveway. I had to make a decision before heading to my meeting. Was it garbage day or not?

Ignoring Our Gut

I thought I had misread the schedule or missed an announcement. If everyone else had waited to put out their garbage, maybe it was a holiday schedule. I checked the city website again. It didn’t look like a holiday week. I looked outside again – nothing. I decided to go with the schedule and put out the garbage.

We sometimes make decisions based on the behavior of others. It may be a stretch to compare garbage day to business strategy but there is a correlation. In my case, I was looking for others to make my decision and we often do it in the enterprise. Leadership is hard work. Sometimes we allow outside factors influence us more than our intuition.

Price Tag Wins

Seth Godin calls it a race to the bottom. Providing great products and services becomes less important than increasing market share and no one knows who's following whom anymore. In our quest not to be wrong, we miss opportunities.

By the way, the plastic and cans were collected. For the first time I can remember, I was first on the block to put my trash at the curb. Instead of trusting my own decision, I made a conclusion from an assumption.

That never happens in business, right?  

Kneale Mann

image credit: ctv

How Can You Help?

Beyond the Business Card

It's the second question we ask someone after their name - what do you do? I prefer to answer the question - how can I help? In more than 25 years in marketing and media, I have had the unique pleasure and privilege of overseeing the launch of two major market radio stations, working as executive producer of large scale events, consulting media professionals, overseeing promotion and marketing departments, managing multi-level advertising campaigns and assisting companies in the areas of marketing, business development and revenue generation.

We all have tools to choose from but let's not forget to focus on people. Much has been and will be said and written about the social web, we can't forget the human web. When a company is maximizing their internal customer service, their improved external customer service will grow the business.

Business owners and managers may understand that certain tactics and channels will help their business but through research, data and measurement, we can look at outcomes more accurately. Without a strong revenue line, blogging and tweeting isn't enough. Having lots of "likes" on your Facebook group and a lot of page views on your website without commitment to engage your customers won't magically bring in money.

I enjoy assisting business owners and managers with business strategy, marketing communication initiatives and internal customer service to drive revenue.

You may know what you do, but do you know how you help?

Kneale Mann

image credit: rotsu

Call Me In September

Let's Do That Later

It begins with the usual signs. Traffic is a bit more congested on the way to the office in the morning. Ah yes, school is back and the unofficial end of summer is upon us. Depending on your region or level, school goes back on different dates but school is back for everyone as of now. The dog days of summer will soon be replaced by turning leaves and cooler temperatures if you live in a part of the world like I do where four distinct seasons is normal.

Call me in September. Let’s do that after the holidays. Once summer is over we’ll get back to that. We’ve all used them. The kids are back to school, summer vacations are over and we have four months left in the year. I am in no hurry to see or speak of snow (as we get here) but this is more about our focus on what we say we want to do versus what we will actually do to accomplish it.

September is a month of transition and rites of passage. It is a time to remember school summers of yore or the one that just passed. It is the month that turns summer into autumn and projects into deadlines.

As the Halloween displays begin to crop up in stores (I know!) we see a lot more people on the roads and while we drink the last few drops of nice weather let’s have a look at all the stuff we said we wanted to get to in September.

Are You Ready?

Kneale Mann

image credit: toastmasters