Is Anything Free?

I often recall the Dennis Miller classic when he referred to the two-for-one deal and ranted that two helpings of a bad deal is still a bad deal. We're often looking for a deal but some get upset if we spend too much time talking about ourselves or our offering. So we want to buy stuff but talking about what we sell is a bad thing?

Time is Not Free

On the social web, you can be shunned if you pitch your wares yet no one I know has a bank that takes Twitter followers in lieu of mortgage payments. Digital media is one way many can grow new relationships along interest silos void of geographic limitations. But that takes time and trust.

Experience is Not Free

I can only imagine the volume of requests some people get but I receive “could you give us your opinion” emails often. They just want me to have a quick look and let them know what I think. It won't take long. My offering is to help with leadership and business development so advice is part of what I do. You wouldn't call a plumber for an opinion on your leaky facet or a lawyer for feedback on a contract. And I'm sure you don't build your business by freely giving away your expertise.

Customers are Not Free

If a large international coffee chain had no customers in any of its thousands of stores around the world, it would be out of business fairly quickly. Zero revenue for a week or two and the largest retailer on earth would be closing stores in short order. If you gave away your offering, how long would your bottom line stay in the black?

Relationships are Not Free

If you're at a backyard barbecue, the conversations range from sports to the economy, the latest with the family to vacation plans. But eventually it gravitates to work, it always does. We spend far too much of our lives working for it not to be a significant part of our conversations. Yet what do we think of the guy handing out business cards?

You are Not Free

You can fill the pipeline with messages and some will bite. Or you can choose to build your human network which takes longer but the rewards are more lasting. This is true for colleagues, clients, leaders, prospects, customers, friends and partners.

Before we look at price, perhaps we need to establish value?

Kneale Mann

image: beyondcliches | original: may 2011

Millions Of Years Of Social Networking

The Future of Now

Centuries from now, humans will be communicating through their transponders imbedded in their mechanically perfected brains about the significance of the social interface contrivance. It will be a new shiny toy. Early adopters will be touting its importance, evangelists will be telling all while the naysayers and late majority will remain skeptical.

There will be much discussion over the fastest and best flying transport vehicles while a strong group of intellectual free thinkers will remain fixed on the importance of connecting on a bionic human level.

Know-It-Alls 

Every brief moment in time brings with it people who think they invented it all. We use useless phrases like “in this day and age” as if nothing we are experiencing has happened before us. How arrogant. How shallow of us to actually convince ourselves that we are the chosen ones who unlocked the keys to human communication.

Sure it’s fun to play with the newest gizmo and spout off on the best way to use that thingamajig but let’s remember that almost seven billion of us want the same things – to be safe, to be happy, to be warm, to be fed, to be heard, to be appreciated, to be purposeful. And over a billion of us don't have that choice.

We're Not That Different

I help companies grow. But my passion and fascination from an early age is what makes people do what they do. Social business and human networks have been around since we've been kicking around this giant marble.

So if you’re stuck trying to figure out what your customers want, ask yourself what you want. Talk with them in a human voice. Allow them to truly interact with you and see what happens.

Now where’s my flying car?

Kneale Mann

image credit: istock

Connecting the Social Consumer

Do you know their opinion?

There is a ton of content and discussion about the social consumer. She has a tablet and a smartphone. He buys stuff online with one thumb tied behind his back. She actually knows all of her 247 Facebook friends. And if you stopped and asked him how he navigates the digital landscape, he might reply with something insightful like, “I don’t think about it”. And companies desperately want her.

He/she is not one person yet far too many companies continue to attempt the homogenized approach to outbound marketing. We need to pay closer attention to our own behaviour when designing messages that we want to use to attract customers.

They is us and We is them

Discussions began a decade ago when the advertising and marketing world began to realize that their slick messaging wasn’t passing the lips and down the throat as easily to a certain segment of the population. This is no longer a group that can be ignored.

The social consumer was often dismissed as a group of tech savvy kids. That is simply not true and it is dangerous thinking. The social consumer is my 74 year old dad and my 25 year old niece. This is a behavioral conversation. We reside on both sides of the counter. I provide you with products and services and you do the same for me. The counter may be a website, smartphone app, blog, tweet, wiki, Facebook wall entry or what some call "stuff we do in real life".

Four out of five dentists recommend

After years of conducting mind numbing focus groups, callout research and group discussions, I can safely say we lie, or perhaps better stated, we stretch the truth when asked our opinion. We mean to be truthful but often have trouble remembering what we had for lunch. So when asked how many servings of vegetables participants have in an average week, they may respond with a slightly higher number than reality while lowering the number if the inquiry is about servings of alcohol.

Eckhart Tolle says the past is our impression of what may have happened. The social consumer is too busy creating their own experience to count beers and broccoli.

Survey says

We can now capture information from stuff that is actually happening versus our collective recall as with the focus group strategy. Nothing is 100% accurate but placing your hands over your ears and eyes and hoping it will go away is unwise strategy. A decade ago you may have been able to do that, it is not a theory anymore. We are all becoming the social consumer whether you believe it or not.

There are free tools and proprietary solutions such as analytics and digital audits that can help manage the data. The ideal situation is a combination of both. Excuses like "we don't have time" or "we don't see the value" are no longer good enough.

Are you investing in your social consumer?

Kneale Mann

image credit: gartner

Ideas are Cheap

Think Pink

Mary Ash was born on May 12, 1918. When she was six years old, she had to look after her ill grandfather while her mother was the working to provide for the family. Throughout her life, Mary’s mother had a huge impact her, and she attributed her spirit to her mother who encouraged her with the words, "You can do it." When Ash passed away in 2001, her company, Mary Kay Cosmetics, had over 800,000 representatives in 37 countries with total annual sales over $2 billion.

Dude Gets One

On February 23, 1965, Michael was the new son to a stockbroker and an orthodontist. He was an inquisitive kid who was always tinkering with something. At only eight years old, he applied to take his high school equivalency exam. By the time he was fifteen, he was making money with his investments in stocks and precious metals. In 2010, Dell Inc. made $61.49 billion in gross revenue and $2.63 billion in net revenue. And Michael Dell’s personal wealth is estimated at $14.6 billion.

Square and Fresh

Dave never knew his mother. She died five weeks after his birth and he was adopted a week later. At just twelve, he got his first part-time job at The Regas Restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee. When he was fifteen, he got a job at Hobby House Restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His father informed him that the family was going to move and he decided to drop out of school and stay. He spent the rest of his life working as an advocate for adoption and education. At the time of Dave Thomas' death in 2002, Wendy’s sold millions of Old Fashioned Hamburgers a year in over 6,000 restaurants.

Secret of Success

We love the stories of hard work and success. And it’s easy to look at these examples and think these people always had clear vision and knew they would find success at such a high level. The truth is, it takes a lot of help from many others in each case to realize the dream. There were mistakes and victories. It’s easy to look at the numbers.

Seth Godin says that most people fall short because it’s easier to fail small. It may be our fear of failure. It could be our fear of success. Perhaps it’s our fear of the unknown. But it doesn't matter when the idea resides in theory where nothing can harm it.

Got any ideas? Ready to share them? Yeah, me too!

Kneale Mann

image credit: istock

Does The Social Web Work?

Leprechauns meet Unicorns

People often ask if the social web is effective and like most questions, it can garner the response “it depends”. There’s a fantastic post by Peter Shankman that has been getting a lot of attention this week that sums up how some feel about people who try and sell you a bill of goods about social media.

Far too many people have decided to call themselves an expert. I am not a social media expert and neither are you. So quit it. Digital media is growing exponentially so it's only natural that thousands are trying to cash in on the rush.

Limited Time Offer

The social web will not work if you stand on a pulpit hoping others gather around your wisdom. It will not work if you deem yourself larger than the others around you. It will not work if you think you know more than they do.

People selling you ‘blog in a box’ or ‘gain a thousand followers a day’ solutions are no better than the 3am infomercial. That stuff has nothing to do with media and is not social. And it certainly has nothing to do with business or people.

Be Human

The social web works if you do. It will open doors, if you open them. You will meet incredible people you would never have met otherwise, if you unfold your arms and take the time to meet them. You will be introduced to business opportunities that may never been presented, if you present yourself with decorum and professionalism.

When someone asks if all this will work, my answer is simple. Many of the rich relationships I have gained in the last few years would simply not have happened without reaching out to people all over the world through many channels. They became clients, colleagues and friends because of the human connection, not the channels.

Will the social web work for you?

Kneale Mann

image credit: lesseverything

Relationships: Not About The Tools

Friends Are Not Free

I often recall the Dennis Miller classic when he referred to the two-for-one deal and ranted that two of crap is still crap. We are often looking for a deal, yet many get upset if we spend too much time talking about ourselves or our offering. So we want to buy stuff but talking about what we sell is a bad thing? Confusion ensues.

In the social web, you can be shunned if you pitch your wares yet no one I know has a bank that takes Twitter followers in lieu of mortgage payments. Or as Chris Brogan has infamously said, “my kids can’t eat a hug.” Making a living is a good thing and digital media are where we can gain relationships along interests not limited to geography.

Your Opinion is Not Free

I can only imagine the volume of requests some people get but I receive “could you give us your opinion” emails often. They just want me to have a quick look and let them know what I think. However, part of my business is business intelligence and ideas. When I inquire about budget, the request often disappears. Perhaps you can relate.

If a large international coffee chain had no customers in any of its more than 17,000 stores around the world, it would be out of business fairly quickly. Zero revenue for a week or two and the largest retailer on earth would be closing stores in short order. If you gave away your expertise, how long would your bottom line stay in the black?

Finding Customers Online is Not Free

If you're at a backyard barbecue, the conversations range from sports to the economy, the latest with the family to vacation plans. But eventually it gravitates to work, it always does. We spend far too much of our lives working for it not to be a significant part of our conversations. But how welcomed is the guy at the party handing out business cards? You can slam the stream with messages and some will bite. Or you can choose to build your online human network like you build your real life human network which takes longer but the rewards are more lasting. This is true for colleagues, clients, prospects, customers, friends and partners.

Respect each other, value your offer, revere their experience and measure the room. Rich human relationships aren’t born from unsolicited sales pitches, they take time. And over time you can get to know some special people. I am often blown away by the generosity of people I first met online.

Are you missing opportunities to build human relationships 
in your quest to build your business?

Kneale Mann

image credit: weblogcartoons

Google | Grad School to Scale

Are People Important?

Much has been written about human business in the last couple of decades. Companies have attempted to make their work spaces more enjoyable and compassionate. Some have workout areas, flex time, child care and even some allow you to bring your dog to work.

I attended Carleton University’s Spring Leadership Luncheon and A.D. Dunton Award Presentation in Ottawa yesterday. It was great to see some people I hadn’t seen in a while and meet a whole bunch of leaders in Ottawa from all walks of business.

From Ottawa to Google

This year’s A.D. Dunton Award recipient was Dr. Shona Brown who is the Senior Vice President of Business Development for Google and former Carleton grad. She is very sharp and very funny. She talked a bit about her career and journey but gave us a snapshot of life at Google Campus in Mountainview, California.

Some highlights:

If you want to work at Google, be prepared to jump head first in to the team mentality. Very few decisions are made by a single person but rather by committee. Dr. Brown calls it controlled chaos. That includes when you are hired.

Your Ideas Are Encouraged

Brown confirmed that Googlers can devote 20% of their work time developing their own ideas. That’s one day a week or as she outlined, most block off a week here and a week there to get away from their day job to flush things out.

If the idea is strong enough, they may get one or two colleagues to help take it further. If the idea gets to the next step and through some stringent hurdles, resources are applied to see where it can go.

No Hiding

She added that Google is “a well financed graduate school to scale. It looks for passionate critical thinkers and hires smart generalists."

Often, senior management at Google gather staff and field open and tough questions. As Brown says “There’s no ducking”. If you build an open collaborative space, the bosses can’t hide in their office

Always In Beta

Google is a huge company that lives in beta but does not do it void of the bottom line. There is constant experimentation and in that, spectacular failures. Dr. Brown said one issue she wishes her company would do better is shutting down ideas that aren’t successful. The downside of living in beta.

What human things can you apply to your company that seem to work for one of the largest tech firms on the planet?

@knealemann
Helping you integrate all you do with all you do.

photo credit: google