Read for the UBI and Increase Your Takeaways
January 10, 2011 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Karen keeps a list of the books she plans to read. She regularly visits the library, checks out her choices and read the books. Months later she can access the notes she made. Obviously, Karen has a system.
In his December-released book, “The Pledge: Your Master Plan for an Abundant Life” author Michael Masterson a serial entrepreneur, advises: “Read less, learn more.”
He tackles many self-improvement subjects including time management, goals, and general happiness. Of all the takeaways, I focused on the UBI, or the Useful Big Idea as a change I could make.
Masterson encourages us to read for only one UBI at a time. He encourages speed reading the book or article to highlight sections pertaining to the UBI. Then, as he explains, you must use the UBI.
Bring it up in a conversation or an email communication within 24 hours. Reference the UBI twice more in the next 48 hours. The system requires a total of three references within 72 hours.
According to Masterson, UBI improves the ability to link and remember useful information. As a result, you read less, read better and read faster.
How many books did you read last year? What UBI did you implement as a result of your reading?
How will you use the information you read today?
Ten tweaks to a smooth launch
April 22, 2010 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
How smoothly did your launch go? Let me count the ways:
1. From idea to completion, you beat every time table.
2. You received consistent and positive feedback.
3. Beta test participants tracked perfectly, meeting deadlines, offering unsolicited additional information.
4. Nothing had to be rewritten.
5. Every design element translated from Microsoft Word to Mac perfectly.
6. No real world changes outdated your information prior to publication. Voila! Perfection.
7. Your benchmark calendar looked lovely with no adjustments, a perfect display tool.
8. Every cost was anticipated ahead of time.
9. You managed your life, your business, and a major launch project easily, quickly, seamlessly.
10. Because everything went so well, you had a number of sales waiting to ring the cash register as soon as your URL appeared in public.
If the preceding reads like a wish list, welcome to my world!
Today I launched a process: The Six-Week Marketing Plan. My 167-page e-book began as a workable idea, continued in spite of itself, and is now ready for public scrutiny.
To celebrate, I’m sharing cathartic diary entries:
August 2009: I re-wrote a marketing plan for my client and decided to walk my talk. (Notebook entry to self: “Simplify branding. Change practice name from Connecting Point Communications to Merrigan Group.)
September 2009: I discussed benchmarks for the transfer of my WordPress site with webmaster and design expert, Maria G. Nozza. She made further recommendations. She also got excited about the completeness of the marketing plan outline.
October 2009: Maria and I agreed to challenge ourselves with a 45-day plan during which we would spend one hour per day to take our own marketing to a new level. The 45-day master marketing plan was born. Meanwhile, work on my site revision continued.
November 2009. I wrote week one, recruited ten “beta” testers to work though each successive week and started on week two. In a moment of brilliance I used the accountability concept to force me to complete each week’s work.
December 2009. Little did I realize the beta group would actually complete their sections (or NOT!) during the holidays. The last three days went out December 21. I called each participant and begged for input, resigning all of us to work through the new year.
Proofing began in earnest. I found myself searching for week 1, revision 8 or some such thing. Didn’t I accept those changes last time? I conducted informal focus groups about the name. We revised everything to Six-Week Marketing Master Plan. What a pain. Too long of a URL. We revised again.
January 2010. I stopped revisions and sent a final Word document to Maria, design diva. (NOTE: In my mind, the website would go live January 15 or so. I was confident when family members asked about the project but I neglected to commit to a date publicly. Connecting Point was still around.
February 2010. The shortest month of the year came and went with no e-book completion. We re-wrote our sales page yet again. On a positive note, Merrigan Group debuted.
March 2010. I concentrated on other projects, avoiding friends who might ask if the website was “on” yet. “Under construction” is a post it note I never again want to see. Maria reported problems with Adobe form fill. Although each form worked on its own, the combo, a large file, seemed corrupt. Step-by-step, the promise of the ebook seemed far from accurate.
April 7, 2010. In a final review, one resource URL in the document could not be found. What happened to www.Spacky.com? We revised again. No luck yet getting Adobe Form Fills to work in the complete document.
April 22, 2010. Launch. Look at our baby! Progress! Completion! I’ve got to celebrate.
Moral of the story: when launching any new product, allow twice as much time as you planned for, no questions asked.
Transform Your Small Business With the Power of Branding
March 2, 2010 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Branding: the process of creating and living a brand’s message, according to soon-to-be-published Brand DNA: Uncover Your Organization’s Genetic Code for Competitive Advantage by Carol Chapman and Suzanne Tulien.
The authors, principals with The Brand Ascension Group, use Meg’s story to develop the premise of branding as an internal function encompassing the core message of a business.
Following a free webinar, “Cashing in on Branding,” Meg becomes a Brand Ascension client to better brand Ecologé, her line of natural/organic body-care products.
With the help of Carol and Suzanne, Meg develops her core brand, working through components like value, style, differentiators and standards. These are the four components of Brand DNA.
Throughout the book Carol and Suzanne make it clear that branding is an inside out process and they present it step-by-step. Even the terminology makes the distinction:
Marketing = the process of communicating and spreading your message. (External)
Branding = the process of defining the core perception of and actioning (through behaviors, systems and processes, and environment) your message. (Internal)
From Meg’s “magic story,” a structured way of getting employees on the same page, to her view of the value of an updated logo, Brand DNA is real. At one point Meg jumps to a conclusion when she sees a glimmer of a solution. We see the disconnect: Meg wants to spending money on an external message before she addresses the company’s internal response.
Brand DNA’s authors are certified trainers in accelerated adult-learning methodologies. It shows. We first see the exercises reflected through Meg’s eyes and we hear her commentary about employee reaction.
The interactive workbook presents a do-it-yourself option, and gives estimated times for each exercise segment. Most businesses could benefit from working through one or two of the activities. In addition, a “consultant’s corner” suggests further questions and actions for any business.
Believable. Authentic. Doable. Those words came to mind as I reviewed Brand DNA. A student of branding, I enjoyed the discussion.
As a presenter who addresses branding for small business, I found myself admiring the cohesiveness of Brand DNA for the local or regional brand on the grow. An acknowledgement of small business pressures provides a healthy dose of reality: working on your business while working in it is one such example.
Brand DNA is an easy, thought-provoking read. It can provide an in-depth, brand-transforming result. In “Afterward” the authors say:
“Remember that branding is a process, not an event, and that this level of consciousness around your brand should continue for the life of your organization, not just by you, the owner, but by all its stakeholders. Clearly articulating your Brand DNA will help streamline many other facets of the business (e.g., marketing, communications, employee hiring, partnering, business decisions, etc.). When you achieve this level, you will see your business thrive!”
Each chapter of the book supports the statement, “Branding starts from the inside out.” Whether you’re looking for a collection of brand terminology, or assessments and or collaborative exercises to address employee involvement in your brand, this book has something for you. Working on branding will indeed affect every other aspect of your business.
Small business owners serious about improving their branding can pre-order Brand DNA at the author’s discount.
(Disclosure: Suzanne Tulien contacted me through my blog and I agreed to review the book.)
Marketing Book for 2010 Entrepreneurs: When Growth Stalls
February 8, 2010 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
“An entrepreneur is someone who can make progress in an ambiguous environment.” –Ries Robinson, chairman and CEO InLight Solutions
Author Steve McKee quoted Robinson in his book, “When Growth Stalls: How It Happens, Why You’re Stuck, and What to Do About It.” The book contains dozens of quotes and anecdotes from people who’ve been there, woven together from the perspective of a CEO confronting his own company’s stall.
Don’t be misled by McKee’s frank discussions about the big five problems: market tectronics, lack of consensus, loss of focus, loss of nerve, and marketing inconsistency. This isn’t just the story of an advertising agency derailed. When Growth Stalls offers research reflecting what happens when product- and service-oriented businesses confront real-life obstacles.
The second half of the book, McKee’s “What to do About it,” continues his meld of common sense advice, research-supported, real-life examples.
I find myself recommending When Growth Stalls with enthusiasm. What makes this business book likeable is the juxtaposition of cliché, commentary, questions and definition. Here are just a few of my favorites:
“Not my fault. Is my problem.” …McKee’s internal advice for dealing with trouble.
“The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”
On branding: Whatever good branding births, poor execution can kill. You can’t starve your brand. (The short-term gain of cutting the marketing budget is more than offset by the long-term problems it creates.)
On marketing:
- Effective marketing communications are 60% about likability: helping the buyer to like what you offer as well as who you are.
- The marketing equation: I choose X. I choose X is simply the way the world of buying and selling works.”
Definition: Fragflation – “As media grow more expensive and less efficient, it’s more difficult every day to seed any kind of identity in the marketplace.”
Question: Are you more opportunistic than strategic in your marketing?
Disclosure: I read “When Growth Stalls” because Steve McKee agreed to speak to MARKETLINK, a series I facilitate for WESST. I recommend When Growth Stalls because it’s relevant for entrepreneurs in an ambiguous environment.
What Matters Now E-book
December 15, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
“There’s nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.”
Texan Jim Hightower made that comment. William C. Taylor, co-founder of Fast Company used it to illustrate the need to be the most of something in his essay.
Get the What Matters Now free ebook coordinated by Seth Godin and read more. Seventy writers. One-word titles for each essay. Prepare to change the way you look at 2010.
All profits from the Squidoo lens go to charity. 
Spread the word. Vote for your favorites.
Personally, I liked 1% and More and Excellence and Neoteny.
The Hightower quote caught my eye because a client talked about the middle of the road using a similar illustration from Karate Kid.
We waste so much energy and time thinking about what we “should” do. I’ve already emailed her the link.
Neoteny. What a great theme for 2010.
Use Tags and Categories Effectively
December 9, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
The category “winter clothes” includes everything you need to brave freezing temperatures and wind chill: coat, hat, boots, gloves, scarf. Each of the items in a “winter clothes” category could be a tag.
Making information work for you can be as simple as finding the right analogy.
Tag characteristics:
- You write tags after you write a blog post or an article
- Tags can micro-group postings, helping eliminate clutter
- Tags help search engines catalog your site
- Tags organize related information – for you and for others
- Tags use known names, for the most part
- Short words make the best tags
- Tags are listed at the bottom of posts on a blog
- Tags can also show as browse-able tag clouds
- Tags categorize information
- Tags can be categories
Category characteristics:
- Categories organize related information on your website or blog into common labels
- Most blogs use 20 or fewer categories
- Categories can be unique names or long phrases chosen by you for your website
- Categories do not necessarily help SEO
- Categories generate a page of posts on a website
- Categories are NOT tags
Those of you who know me and read the ProfitMeister blog know I pride myself on walking my talk. In this case, I started assigning tags yesterday. Yes! Another small victory for the technically challenged. Onward.
Trust – Igniting Relationships That Work
September 7, 2009 by Mary Ellen · 1 Comment
Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Teal Book of TRUST: How to Earn it, Grow it, and Keep it to Become a TRUSTED ADVISOR in Sales, Business, & Life got to the top of my reading pile recently. Once complete, I wondered why it took so long.
The Little Teal Book gives as good as it gets. For example, the book itself works on the premise of building trust.
- There’s the color. Teal headlines, chapter titles, points of emphasis and reversed out quotes showcase content.
- Small red accents add emphasis throughout the book and a red ribbon bookmark further coordinates.
- A few color cartoons make statements underscoring content particulars.
- The slick pages feel good. I found myself enjoying holding the 5” x 8” book. In fact, I was glad I had it in hardback rather than on the Kindle.
- These small and consistent considerations contribute to the overall impression of the book as “trustworthy.”
When it comes to “gets,” the Little Teal Book of TRUST asks more questions than it answers. A dozen subheads under section one listed questions to ask yourself. Examples reveal elements of your trustworthiness from how you were raise to who you choose to associate with.
In his conversational style, Gitomer offers questions to ask yourself as you seek to discover who your trusted friends are, or how to make a relationship of trust blossom. He discusses trust from the perspective of what it is and isn’t. He simplifies the subject by offering diverse and relatable examples and actionable ideas.
I suspect that Gitomer’s topic is not a comfortable one for many. Self-examination may be one reason. For another thing, he makes no secret of the fact hard work is required.
“You can be on the road to becoming a trusted advisor at the highest level, IF you do the HARD WORK to get yourself there.”
Although many parts of the book gave me pause, it was the forward that offered positioning:
“This is not a book that fits in one pigeon hole or another, and it’s not a book to be read by only salespeople or only customer service people – this is a book to be read and studied by everyone who thinks trust is important to gain, more important to keep, and most important to honor. You included.”
I’m suggesting he add, “Social media enthusiasts included.”
In a medium where speed and quantity seem more important than quality, social media mavens may need to rethink how they build trust.
Problem or Solution? Which do You Choose?
August 14, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Do your conversations have a common theme? In the past few days I’ve listened to some people repeat the same conversation. For instance I’ve heard yet again…
- The continuing saga of a business owner with a less-than-perfect website that doesn’t get better on its own;
- Ongoing reports from a client who is getting ready to approve and release copy for a brochure;
- A not-for-profit board with no money whose members discuss the future expenditures with which they’re confronted;
- A volunteer who complains about the lack of appreciation as she continues the thankless job of organizing information;
- Discussions about lack of communication due to vanishing targets: people who suddenly don’t respond to voicemail or email;
So, it’s hardly a surprise that a newsletter from Early to Rise caught my attention. When you have an ongoing problem, the root cause may be your “elephant tether” according to Bob Cox.
Did you know that elephants are trained to stay where they are by tying a rope around one of their massive legs and attaching it to a peg in the ground? Can the peg and rope really hold back an elephant? Absolutely not!
Then why does it work? Because elephants grow up believing it will. Maybe they tried pulling away when they were young with no success. Maybe they were injured by their action. After enough failures, they stop trying. They no longer test the restraint, and confine themselves when tethered to the rope.
During the course of my life and career I have run into many people (and no doubt will run into many more) who are holding themselves captive with their own “elephant tether.”
I’m reminded of the adage: are you part of the problem or part of the solution? Which do you choose? Or, did you even see the elephant in the kitchen?
Net Promoter Question Sets Social Media Foundation
July 27, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
“How likely is it that you would recommend [name of company, product, service] to a friend?
This, the net promoter question, offers an easy evaluation for social media. Fred Reichheld, author of “The Ultimate Question,” the book that started the net promoter movement, divides customers into promoters, detractors and passives. The calculator process he describes is based on a simple 0 through 10 score.
Promoters (score 9-10) are loyal enthusiasts who will keep buying and refer others, fueling growth.
Passives (score 7-8) are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive offerings.
Detractors (score 0-6) are unhappy customers who can damage your brand and impede growth through negative word-of-mouth.
To calculate your company’s Net Promoter Score (NPS), take the percentage of customers who are Promoters and subtract the percentage who are Detractors
In Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, Dave Evans and Susan Bratton discuss the fundamental value the net promoter question. As they point out, the social web demands an active presence.
Social media is about influence. Your social efforts begin to pay dividends when your friends tell their friends, and so on.
Where a traditional campaign can be presented in terms of ‘millions reached,’ a social campaign is typically presented in terms of a ‘thousand influenced.’
It all comes back to the key question: “How likely is it that you would recommend [name of company, product, service] to a friend?
Bridge Social Media Skills with Clara Shih’s Book
June 10, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Reading up on social media? Consider: The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better Products, Reach New Audiences, and Sell More Stuff by Clara Shih.
This book gets high marks from me and variety of others. (See the fan page.) It’s realistic, clear and on target. Shih’s advice is consistent with good business strategy, i.e., everything needs to relate to your customer. She explains the why behind her comments, thus making it more helpful for business owners who haven’t yet climbed on the bandwagon. Here are just a few examples:
When someone new becomes interested in engaging with your brand, the barriers to do so on Facebook or MySpace are very low. Instead of having to visit a new Web site and sign up with all their information, people can just go to your community page and join with one click. Very few brands can sign up 150 million of their own registered users. (YouTube, with 100 million, is the only one I can think of that even comes close.)
Social networking sites give people a semipublic forum surrounded by friends where not everyone has the same interests and affiliations.
Especially in today’s crowded marketplace—the average American is exposed to over 3,000 advertising messages each day—social distribution from customer to customer rather than from vendor to customer is by far the most affordable and effective way for brands to stand out. Among the social networks, Facebook has been the clear leader in social distribution.
Facebook News Feeds, which broadcast members’ recent activity to all of their friends, have transformed how messages spread by automating social distribution of information. What would have been isolated incidents before become highly publicized updates on Facebook.
The new mantra is don’t advertise to people, advertise between people. Recommendations and referrals from known and trusted friends can be powerful influencers of purchase decisions.
Facebook Friend updates have made word-of-mouth marketing easy, thoughtless, and automatic. Every time anyone on Facebook updates a status message, writes on a wall, sends or receives a gift, RSVPs for an event, makes a comment, becomes a fan, or plays a branded game, people find out.
Instead of requiring me to provide a proactive update or endorsement, Facebook enables word of mouth to be passive.
The challenge for small businesses who plan to implement social media may well be the commitment involved. It’s not a campaign. Some of the business objectives Shih suggests considering include:
- Conducting market research
- Improving customer satisfaction
- Promoting additional products and services to existing customers
- Expanding into new markets
- Recruiting new employees
- Establishing or evolving your branding and positioning
Shih suggests picking two or three goals, prioritizing them, and developing your strategies and decisions from there. In addition, she acknowledges other social networks besides Facebook and suggests you look at the one(s) appropriate to your product/service. An index at the back of the book provides resources.
If you’re not already in the social media fray, The Facebook Era will solidify your resolve to get there. If you’re there, this book can help you define your strategy and hone your message.
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