Creativity, Innovation – Making the Mind Struggle

Innovative Thinking – Often viewed as the center of business and technology innovation, the U.S. has done such a great job of implementing formula education, we’ve damaged our ability to think creatively and develop innovations that have become the mainstay of our industries. Labor Day in the U.S. is a fading concept. Less than 40 percent of the working population is actually doing what can be called physical labor. The rest are doing data manipulation, handling content tasks. So, we guess most of us have to take a break from thinking. Jeez…we know people who do that all the time!!!! The improbable idea was triggered by an article by a friend, Rob Enderle, on the 4th of July when he suggested taking a freedom break from technology. You know, no email, no IMs, no microblogs, no text messages, no social site postings. Gawd, that sounds like a stupid idea. But he reflected on his youth. You remember, when we simply laid on the grass, stared at the sky and let our minds create all types of cloud images – a sailboat, a beautiful girl, a horse, a bird, an old man, anything our minds could conger.

Relax, Imagine - Folks probably thought you were just goofing off when you were young; but then, staring up at the clouds and conjuring up action, romance, far-away places was a constructive way to exercise your creativity.  It may be time to go back to those days.  Kids today don’t have much of a chance to do that. Their earbuds are plugged in.  Messages are coming/going on their mobile device.

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Discount Party Store is an amazing company that is growing at a fantastic rate as a result of high demand. As such, they are offering major business opportunities to individuals looking to boost or begin their business portfolios. They offer full training, ongoing support, and financial assistance as part of this comprehensive package. Now is the time to capitalize on this opportunity to get ahead in your business career. Be sure to ask for additional information below.

About Discount Party Store
Discount Party Store is a growing company with huge potential as a result of the philosophy behind the business itself. Developers will go to suppliers and actively negotiate lowest possible prices before sending the inexpensive and yet high-quality merchandise to the stores under the company name. As such, those stores can then sell the goods at discounted rates while making an incredible profit at the same time. The company has been around since 1992, having found that this business concept worked incredibly well, attracting people in search of bargains!

Discount Party Store can save consumers a great deal of money, which is why the company is looking to expand. Its market demand has grown exponentially over the past few years. The dollar-store niche market has few competitors that can hold a candle to Discount Party Store, mainly because of the high quality of their products. You could certainly make your future buzz with excitement if you become a Discount Party Store owner.

The Life Of A Discount Party Store Owner
If you take advantage of this opportunity, you will own and run your own Discount Party Store under the brand. However, there is a certain level of independence vital to expanding your entrepreneurial horizons.

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When you are trying to build your company brand online authenticity is important. We have seen many poor practices promoting businesses in the social sphere which actually have a negative effect on the brand. Social media is not social advertising. Yes, of course you can advertise on sites like Facebook and Linkedin, but as a web user its well identified. This usually happens when businesses are trying to drive web traffic to their corporate site using key word spamming. There are many reasons why you should promote your business on the web but the other edge of the sword is that folks are watching … and they will out you, if you don’t play by the social media rules. The key strategy when using social media to promote your business is to provide information that is relevant to your target audiences. At its core we recommend education based marketing, the principle of which is to teach and provide content. This builds credibility for your brand without being to overt with your goal of selling more stuff.

The success formula is to be visible on the social networks that are relevant, be credible by providing great content and information and be available to interact with your audiences. Once you do this, prospects may contact you to do business. After all, in marketing the key word is top of mind. Social Media keeps you top of mind and if you do a good job, people want to do business with people who are credible.

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 Twitter trends are changing all the time… some we love and some we hate.  I asked my tweeps (twitter followers) for ‘uncool’ twitter actions.  List below of mine + suggestions.

Uncool:
1. Auto-following.  Grow your tweeps organically! Just so much cooler.  Follow people through friends, by keywords & content.  Go for quality, not quantity.  Quantity will happen naturally.  This is a general theme in coolness…  (I know you agree @2ammarketing )

2. Auto-messaging.  There’s nothing more irritating than the “Thanks for the follow! I look forward to your tweets” msg… especially when they are tricky and make you think the message was personalized.. not cool.

3. Wearing your heart on your twitter sleeve.  This goes for Facebook too!  This is the internet.  Be smart.  Don’t diminish the credibility of social networking by crying through your keyboard…. uncool.

4. PDA twitter pics. Thanks @akroupa  for this one.  Get your own reality show instead. Tonsil hockey on twitter=  Not cool.

5. Extreme self promotion.  We all know twitter can help you make money, generate leads.  It’s OK to promote your product/service/personal brand as amazing as it is… but throw in some additional stuff.  Don’t spam your own content. Not cool.

6.  Telling the world you brushed your hair.  Again, it takes away from the credibility of social networking.  Use twitter to learn more and share.  Unless you are an A-lister and people actually care what cereal you had for breakfast, don’t tweet about it.  Uncool..

7. Taking credit for content that’s not yours.  This is why tweeps invented the RT.  Give credit where credit’s due…. otherwise, the post is uncool.  I credit the 13 Dont’s for this.

8.

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Social media is the fastest growing medium to market your product and communicate with your audience.  And when it comes to branding your product it just might be the simplest and cheapest way to create awareness to potential clients.  Marketing is changing and it’s not always about selling something, at the end of the day it’s about creating and working on relationships.  But if you’re new to trendy online media activities, the following is sure to help you get on the right track to take advantage of what is right at your fingertips and a click away to branding success!

Types of social media and what they can do for your company:
Blogs and forums
Used to gain new/returning business by participating in discussion forums and blogs. Become a source of information by sharing knowledge and answering questions.  Demonstrate your value for clients and potential clients.

Facebook
Creating Facebook groups attract interest and develop loyalty.

Online press releases
Make your website easy to find in search engines.

Online video
Posting videos on YouTube and on your company’s website can bring people onto the site and engage existing visitors.

Twitter
Using Twitter regularly to create and reinforce connections and to spread word of mouth about your business.

Common Concerns:
Lacking time to learn and use social media tools
The best strategy is to pick one or two types of social media and focus on doing those well.  Have several employees share the updating duties on the company blog or contract a company outside to help with updating.

Question the ROI?
Do you wonder if you will ever make any real business from using these social media tools?  Remember, it’s about making valuable connections and relationships with other credible business people and clients.

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If you search for information on Case Studies on the Internet you will find quite an array of different types, from academic proofs of concept to legal case studies. For the purposes of Media Relations we will define it this way: “A short (500 word) description of the application of your product or service with an actual client”.

Case studies can be used as you would any company collateral, except that it is infinitely more powerful than your other documents. Whereas other documents are in your “voice”, a good case study is in the customer’s “voice”, which always has more credibility with media and other customers.

In fact many times when you send out a Press Release or conduct a Media Pitch the media will want a case study to learn more about how the client is using your product or service. They will also want to know if the customer is willing to be interviewed, so when you are gathering information on the case study make sure you have the express permission of the customer.

Finally, ensure that your case study solves a general business problem (makes money or saves money, saves time, etc.) and use a consistent format for your case studies. It makes them easier to grasp -and also easier to write.

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Trade shows are a wonderful opportunity to enhance your brand. Every chance you get to be in front of your target audience and/or the media is a great opportunity.

Trade shows help level the playing field for smaller firms – even small companies can usually afford attractive displays. With creative marketing and booth design, small businesses can actually appear as substantial as larger corporations.

Most companies choose trade shows as a marketing vehicle for a number of reasons including generating sales leads, enhancing your image and visibility, reaching a specific audience, establishing a presence in the marketplace, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of your marketing efforts, personally meeting your customers, competitors, and suppliers and prospecting for new customers.

It is a wonderful way to introduce new products and services, demonstrate your product in ways not possible with other marketing channels, recruiting distributors or dealers and educating your target audience. Trade shows also offer an opportunity to share your expert status by taking advantage of speaking opportunities.

If prospects or suppliers feel good about interactions with your staff – they will tell others – creating a buzz about your company. Usually, your sales and/or technical staff will man your booth and meet prospects. Delegate someone to manage the lead tracking system. Your sales and technical team need to focus on the visitors to the booth.

An executive should be in attendance, just in case media opportunities arise. Often, the media visit the booth and want a quick word with a representative of the company. You do not want an untrained employee speaking to the media – it can be a disaster. Booth staff should know what to say if media want information and should offer to contact the person best qualified to answer questions.

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If you have not considered a PR plan as part of your business strategy we have included a few key benefits for your consideration.

Make a commitment that this year will be a growth year. Pick one or two important goals and execute. Spend at least one hour per week working ON your business not IN your business. You will not believe the difference it makes!

The Benefits Of A Good PR Program
A well run Public Relations program has multiple benefits and can have a far greater impact than other marketing methods because it carries a message of implied endorsement by the media. When stakeholders read, see, or hear the editorial or news coverage it creates a credibility factor unmatched by any other promotional strategy.

Here are few benefits to consider:

Higher Valuation
When you gain visibility – you gain credibility – This credibility creates a good will for your brand. This brand value is reflected in a higher valuation in private markets and in the public circles with shareholders for both private and institutional investors.

Access To Capital
As institutions are always searching for investment opportunities, when you “rise above the noise” you will get more interest in your business.

Shareholder Visibility
Many organizations go through peaks and valleys in their business over time and when the publicity machine is working well, you gain the attention of past, current and future shareholders.

Attract New Customers
Wouldn’t it be great to have clients knocking on your door for a change? The visibility you gain to this target audience has a direct correlation to revenue – if more doors are opened by your PR program – more business will be gained.

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Do you often watch your favorite news program and think, “I have a great idea for a news story – but I have no idea how to reach the media or get it covered in the news?” Have you tried to send email or telephone pitches and media releases, but think they might be ignoring you? Don’t get discouraged! Keep trying – and think about some of the tips we’ve listed below. Television coverage might be a bit more challenging to achieve – but when you do, it pays off 100 fold! As a matter of fact, one of our PR Mentor clients saw an increase of 500% of visitor traffic after her appearance on TV!

Having been on both sides of the camera, the one true thing that applies no matter who you are or what your company sells – the media needs good stories. Most stories are pitched poorly, they aren’t visual enough for the person reading it to see why it should be on TV – and, because they don’t grab the reader’s attention – are often lost in the blizzard of faxes and emails that bombard newsrooms everyday.

So, here are five steps to increase your chances of getting covered that even some public relations professionals don’t know.

1. Be visual. Reporters tell stories with pictures. Television reports are ALL about pictures. If there are no pictures – there is no story.

Even the most non-visual story can be made visual if you’re creative. What about a real estate agent promoting their services and expertise about the booming real estate market – boring right? An “imagine yourself hosting in this home” party in a beautiful house for sale by the agent – with caterers and a four piece band – with interested potential buyers roaming around the house, getting a feel for what it would be like to live there. Now that’s creative – and visual. (A great marketing tool as well!)

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Ah. the story idea, the lifeblood of PR companies. But as PR professionals we are paid (in part) to dig deep for those ideas that the media will find interesting and newsworthy.

What do small businesses do to find those ideas? Here are a few things you can do to find the story idea that is “fit to print”.

Firstly, remember that timing is everything in this game so scan the newspapers every morning to look for ideas that might work for you.

When you find a story of interest, make a note of the writer of the story as well as their contact information. Add this to your database along with a few points about the story.

Scan the papers with a few things in mind and try to come with something we call “a story angle”.

Look for a story angle that might be applicable to the Industry you are in, or a regulatory angle, political, cultural etc :

A potential story line for an on-line back up service might be a regulatory angle – since there are requirements for certain types of businesses to maintain records for a certain period of time. If information is lost then you run up against these regulatory issues.

Use that information to write a letter to the editor or craft a media release or conduct a media pitch.

As you are building these ideas (and it is an ongoing process) think about your target audience. If you are scanning one of the major dailies – you may take that idea and pitch the local paper as it may be challenging for a small business to get the attention of the major newspapers.

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Does every company have a brand? Does every company need a brand? What do you think of when you hear the name of a company? Does it conjure up positive feelings or negative ones? What is a brand? What makes a good brand? How do I get a good brand name when I don’t have the resources of a Tim Hortons or Bell? Let us explore a few of these areas to demystify the world of branding.

Firstly, let’s define a brand. Brand is what people think about when they hear your name – it is the perception of your company in the market. Brand is more than a logo, it is more than a tag line, it is more than a well crafted advertising campaign. A brand is what you stand for and it is how you are perceived in the marketplace. You do not really own your brand. You own the logos, the copyright etc… Your brand is what the market thinks of you based on your brand and related activities. It is ultimately how you are perceived.

Does every company need a brand? Every company is a brand whether you are an auto body shop or a Twenty-Million dollar enterprise. You may never have focused on your brand; you may have spent your time on building a solid reliable business with excellent service and great clients. But now you have to grow. What do you do to get to the world outside your immediate customer base? How do you differentiate your offering? Of course you need great strategies and solid tactical approach to executing on those objectives, but how do you facilitate that effort? This is where your brand becomes extremely valuable. Still not convinced? Think about these three questions:

1. Did you ever lose an account where you had the better value proposition? Maybe you were beaten by a better brand?

2. Do your sales executives tell you “no one knows who we are”? Maybe they spend a lot of time on ineffective prospecting.

3. You rarely get leads “because the prospect has heard of you”.

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My wife and I were at Target in Niagara Falls NY this weekend buying up the store (as usual) and we came across a good buy for a blender (50% off). We didn’t really need one, but since our son is always making protein shakes we thought at this price it was a good idea since it had a smaller footprint than our current mixer/blender, which takes up too much of our counter space.

As luck would have it (not) the store only had the floor model left and they could not sell that to us – still not sure why… But we knew of another Target store up the road in Amherst and we would check them out to see if they had the model we were looking for.

Lesson one: Maybe the associate could have offered to call the other store to see if they had that model? Never offered, but we were in a good shopping mood, so we didn’t ask.

Lesson number two: We were in a good shopping mood – spending money is good for Target, right?

On to the Amherst store…. When we arrive we head straight to the kitchen appliance section, and as luck would have it we find three in stock! Oh wait, its 10 bucks more, must be a pricing mistake? We use the customer service phone and an associate meets us in less than 60 seconds as promised (very good).

When the associate arrives we point out the issue and she tells us that unfortunately each store has their own clearance items and reduces the price based on their local inventory.  Seems like a plausible explanation except… lets see, same company, same exact product, location within 10 miles of the other store, but a different price? I don’t want to tell Target how to manage their inventory or profitability, but it doesn’t make sense!

Now its only 10 bucks, I could have paid it and moved on with a nice new blender. But I just could not believe that they would allow us to walk out of the store unhappy.

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When you’re frustrated with marketing and you just need customers fast, here are some simple and quick things you can do to bring new customers in.

1.    Talk to your past clients – Have you kept in touch with your past clients? Maybe they’re looking for your products and services right now. Drop them a line (either by phone, email or post) just to see how they’re getting on. When you’re looking for customers fast, your past clients are often a great source of leads.

2.    Analyse what’s worked in the past – Write down a list of your current and past customers and next to each name, write down where this customer came from. Be specific – if it was a networking event, which one; if it was a referral – who sent it to you? Analysing your marketing in this way should give you a very clear idea of which marketing methods are working for you and which are not. Then you can go out and do more of the methods that are working for you.

3.    Offer your customers something special in return for referrals – I’m sure in your business, you’ve had at least one referral in the past and when you need customers fast, referrals are a great quick source. Approach your current customers and past ones and offer them something in return for a referral – it could be a free e-book with quick tips; a bottle of wine; discounts of your future products and services. Try it, you might be surprised.

4.    Go where your customers go – If you’re stuck for marketing ideas and want to find customers fast, one of the best ways is to look at your customers and have a think about where they would naturally congregate i.e. it might be at conferences; at the gym; on Facebook etc. Wherever it is, make sure you’re in these places too – you’ll meet your target customers very quickly and then you can start talking to them about what you do.

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“Life as a priestess to the virgin goddess Hestia isn’t all that hard, the most important rule is to know who you are.” – Leah (Xena Warrior Princess, TV Series)

Thanks to the one billion (each) consumers in China and India, the world economy is bouncing back. Good, but … We tend to overlook the world’s best market influences…the 3.25 billion females.The truth is, we need to understand them a little better.

Why? Well, the “female economy” will drive $5 trillion in incremental global spending during the next several years. More than 1 billion women work worldwide. More than half of college students are women. Women control more than half of the wealth in the US.So maybe we should have them participate a little more in the industry processes. Of the recent Fortune 500 list of CEOs, only 16 were female.

Load Bearers
Only 16 women were the best qualified to run a major corporation when 484 men did such a lousy job of managing their businesses?Man, even these 16 weren’t “worth” as much as their male counterparts!Sure, we have our tokens – Carol Bartz, at Yahoo; Ursula Burns,  at Xerox; and a few others.Referring to Ms Burns as a token is really a disservice.This straight-talking boss became the first black female CEO on the Fortune 500.  In addition to strengthening a company that’s still rebounding from near bankruptcy, she does her own shopping. That’s leadership by example!

It’s difficult to believe that there aren’t more prepared, enabled, willing to be industry forces, market changers. A recent report by Booz & Co recently noted that more than one billion fell into the not prepared/enabled categories.

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10 Minute Manicure is an excellent franchise that has consistently won awards for the opportunity that it offers, and now they are looking for suitable businesspeople to join the franchise. They offer third party financing assistance if you need it as well as training and support to get your business career off to a good start. Applications are accepted from Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina at the moment, so please request further information to avoid disappointment because these opportunities are in high demand right now!

About 10 Minute Manicure
10 Minute Manicure offers a service that taps directly into the modern lifestyle. Very few people can afford to spend an hour in the salon these days because there is so much to do. As such, 10 Minute Manicure makes it possible to do exactly what the name suggests – have a 10 minute manicure.

10 Minute Manicure is a fantastic concept that has been around for some time now and taps into the heart of the health and beauty machine that generates billons of dollars every single year. They offer high quality services in a quick and easy individual session. Outlets are located at airports, retail areas, close to office buildings, and in other similar locations that are easily accessible and readily available when you have 10 minutes during lunch or after work to fit a manicure in. As such, anybody wanting a manicure but without the time to book into a salon can have one on their terms, and that means a lot where the business is concerned.

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1-800-WATER DAMAGE is a recession proof business that is highly in demand and currently has brand new opportunities available for individuals looking to join a major franchise to improve their business prospects. There is some third party franchising assistance available and ongoing training and support, so why not grab this excellent opportunity to establish your own highly profitable business? Applications are accepted from all states with the exception of California and Virginia.

About 1-800-WATER DAMAGE

1-800-WATER DAMAGE is an established franchise with a hugely reputable brand name. Known throughout the United States, it specializes in water damage restoration and thus is in demand as a result of global climate changes and natural weather conditions. The increasing levels of water damage to homes and businesses alike through natural means and accidents has led to the phone number becoming one of the most recognized around today. When called in, they actively work to dry out homes and business premises within just a few days so people can get back to their normal daily routine without experiencing any major setbacks.

Most 1-800-WATER DAMAGE customers are insured, meaning that their policies pay for the work to be done, so recessions and economic hard times have absolutely no impact on the business As an emergency service, they are called in to limit further damage and use modern technology to remove any damp or standing water that has arisen. As a franchise, 1-800-WATER DAMAGE has become incredibly successful with a number of accolades being awarded in recent years.

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CTi – Concrete Technology is offering qualified candidates the opportunity to own a dealership as a direct result of the company’s plans to expand its highly successful business. It offers significant levels of profitability, complete training and support, and the opportunity of a lifetime to get you started in business.

About CTi – Concrete Technology
CTi – Concrete Technology was founded in 1991 in Florida’s Tampa Bay area. The company specializes in concrete restoration and beautification. As the leading company in its field, and certainly the most popular, they are in high demand. In fact, word of their services has spread so quickly throughout the United States that they are in the middle of a full national expansion.

The products on offer at CTi – Concrete Technology are of such high quality that their reputation grows stronger every day. Many people choose to avoid hiring expensive contractors to replace their concrete patios and similar worn-out areas of their home, so they turn to CTi – Concrete Technology. With affordable products that also exhibit great beauty, there is no need to go anywhere else. As such, available profits within this opportunity are unlimited!

Why CTi?
CTi – Concrete Technology has advantages for dealership owners that go way beyond the cutting-edge technology and high-quality products they have at their disposal. Selling their product line is easy, given the sheer beauty, but there are additional rewards that should attract you and prove too tempting to resist under this amazing opportunity, such as:

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If you want to build loyalty for you and your organization, your products and your goals, you have to constantly refine your leadership talents. Whether you’re working at the retail, distribution or manufacturing level; the development of a successful team means you must bring forth the extra effort and support required today to compete in a tough, aggressive, ruthless market. Examining, evaluating, improving your skills is a tough, dirty job.

For example, after three months of developing and discussing a special group of prospects in your best salesperson’s territory, they still haven’t been contacted–even though everyone agrees that the goal for the quarter is to expand new business.

What do you do?
More likely than not, you lay down the law …tell the salesperson that by the end of the week, you want all of those prospects contacted and a report on your desk. On Friday afternoon, your salesperson turns in his/her report and has opened three new accounts. The job was done…it was done on time.   But was it good leadership? Some will say yes, because sometimes the end justifies the means. Others would contend that it wasn’t good leadership because results were achieved in an undesirable manner. Successful leadership would have resulted in the salesperson wanting to do the job at hand to support the entire team, rather than being forced to do it.

So is there a “right” kind of leadership?
It’s not “right” to take over responsibility that should properly be assumed by another member of your organization.  When you do that, you lower his or her self-esteem. It’s not “right” to issue edicts.  The total scope of the program should be discussed with the individual involved.

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Late one evening at home the telephone rang. “Mr. De Rycker, this is Robert Lowe. I have dined this evening with Harold Naideau, the European president of AVON Products. Avon banks with our Westminster branch in England. He is looking for a general manager to start an Avon operation in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. I have recommended you. He will be in touch with you tomorrow. Please keep me informed.”

This call was manna from heaven. After six years of increasing profit contributions to the Gimbel group, and increasing income rewards, an ominous threat had appeared on the horizon. It was rumored in the market that De Poorter, a Belgian wall-to-wall carpet manufacturer had plans to open a sales office in New York. The Gimbel carpet department had regularly placed substantial orders with De Poorter. It was to be feared, if this rumor was verified, that the Gimbel buyer would henceforth place orders directly in New York. This would render our role in Belgium redundant.

To make matters worse , a rumor was next picked up in Holland. Our main bicycle manufacturer had similar plans to operate a New York sales office. Were we to lose these two manufacturers’ business, our profit contribution to the parent group would be severely hurt. No amount of pro-active marketing could offset such a gash in our flanks. I had been mulling over this problem for some weeks, and could not come up with a suitable solution to counter this menace. A declining profit contribution to the Gimbel group would inevitably result in a static income. Not an acceptable prospect. The unexpected call from Robert Lowe announcing a possible new position opportunity could not have been more fortuitous.

I met Mr. Naideau the following afternoon in the Hotel Amigo foyer. He was the most positively minded and energetic man I have ever met. In the half-full-half-empty-bottle story, for him the half-empty bottle did not even exist.

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You are thinking about selling your business. You may have uncertainty, angst, worries, trepidation, fear, unknowns, and sleeplessness nights.  I believe you are not alone. My approach as a business broker in Florida is from a perspective of a former long term business owner.   I truly feel some of the feelings I experienced as  a business owner are very similar or the same of the business owners I work with as a business broker.  While at this stage of my professional life I am “sitting on the other side of the desk” I feel I do understand the concerns, fears, thoughts of the person on the other side of the desk.  There are many qualified experienced business brokers that are not former business owners and these quality brokers bring various valuable perspectives and experiences that benefit their clients.   My choice to pursue my “2nd career” as a business broker comes from my recognition as a business owner of the value a business broker can bring.

1. If I sell my business do I have enough to retire?
2. What will I do after I sell my business.?
3. What will happen to my employees?
4. What will I sell my business for?  Is it enough?
5. How do I handle all the “little situations” that are part of most any business prior to selling my business?

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