Being Social Should Not Be New

As the marketing world grapples with all the new social media tools available, I think we should take comfort in the fact that at a strategic level, being social should come natural to good business people. At its core social media is just about allowing people to engage, share and profile their thoughts effortlessly.



From a business perspective, we need to understand the tools and how our customers are using them, but the strategy should remain simple - engage with people when you have something to say and it's something you think they will really want to hear. Don't abuse the entry they will give you into their network. Different consumers will demand different levels of engagement, so again take the time to understand the people that are critical to your business. Understand how they engage with social media and how they want you to engage with them on it. It is not about having a twitter account and a facebook page. It is about knowing when to engage and having something relevant to say them.



Many marketing service firms are exploring the social media marketplace for businesses. Take the time to meet with one and begin to learn how it may help your business out. Don't be afraid at first to just get into a learning phase and track what people are saying about your firm and industry. Keep engaging on-line to a later date, when you are truly ready to get into a meaningful discussion.



Remember you are successful because you know how and when to socialise with people. This skill will transfer to the social media world as well. If you are patient and engage when you have something to say that you know will be relevant to your customers, research tells us that you will be welcomed and shared amongst their network of peers.

Gain Insight Or Perish

While the title of this blog seems a tad "over the top" as my Aussie friends say, the point should not be lost that if you do not have anyone in the organization that is constantly, and I mean constantly, uncovering insights about your marketplace and your industry then your organization is set up to perish. Are you listening to what is being said about you on twitter or facebook? Are you following global trends in technology, demographics, economics, regulatory horizons, environment and lifestyle? Do you know how these ever changing trends will impact your business today and tomorrow? The attached link to a McKenzie consulting piece is a quick short read that I fully support. Their five global drivers over the next decade one could argue but in general they are great starting points for business leaders to consider and follow.

Simply put, if you are not dialoguing with your stake holders and consistently monitoring your market and industry, how do you expect to be making the strategic changes that are differentiating and relevant.


Click on the link and enjoy the insight.

www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Global_forces_An_introduction_2625

Wake Up Time Again

Several months back I wrote about business in Western Canada needing to change their future global thinking from the mindset that trade goes across the Atlantic ocean and south to the USA. I mentioned that we need to think of Asia Pacific as the "near west" not the "far east" as generations before us did. The growth of many Western Canadian businesses comes from developing markets in Asia not from past models of the 20th century. To act as a rallying cry for the next generation of businesses, three days ago Michael Geoghegan, chief executive of HSBC, delivered a speech at the American Chamber of Congress in Hong Kong that I believe any business leaders must read.

Mr. Geoghegan recently moved his office from London to Hong Kong to visibly send a signal that the western-centric mindset of global business needs to change. The following is the close of his speech and I attach a link to the entire speech at the end of this blog.  This is a sober look at the business world going forward from someone who has a front row seat. Do yourself and your partners a favour - read it.


"To recap, we have already entered a new phase for the global economy. We will see a new set of dynamic economies: the CIVETS joining the BRICs. We will see the rise of a new middle class and the emerging-market millionaire. We will see trade routes continue to shift in direction. We will see emerging markets' financial centers come of age. All this spells the continuing decline of the Western-centric mindset. All this marks a new beginning for the way the world does business. After three months back here, I am more convinced than ever that this is the decade for Asia's economy."


http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/29/hsbc-ceo-asia-china-india-markets-economy-michael-geoghegan.html

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The Pause That Refreshes

Many of us may know the famous Coca-Cola line a few decades back ..."the pause that refreshes". While this is still very much rich strategic territory for Coke today, the term I believe applies to how all businesses should be looking at the downturn in the past few years.

I have said in past blogs that this slowdown will be viewed by smart business leaders as a time to retool and strengthen not only product portfolios but corporate and brand positions as well. For those readers who enjoy a life line to the oil patch, you may find the attached video clip from McKinsey and Schlumberger's CEO Andrew Gold worth the three minutes it takes to view it. (The entire 6 clips take about 30 minutes if you are interested.)

Mr Gold's line of "This pause gives you an opportunity to get places where you think you've lost it or you don't have distinguished products and services.", proves that even the traditional oil field service industry need to look at business and reposition itself for the environment of the day.

Enjoy the clip.


http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/McKinsey_conversations_with_global_leaders_Andrew_Gould_of_Schlumberger_2572?pagenum=1#interactive

The Last Ad Agency On Earth

Today I came across a promotion video for an upcoming conference on the latest thinking in the marcom world. It is a short clip done by Saatchi & Saatchi Canada, and it is done very well. If your agency acts like this one did then you have not been listening for the past 5 years and move now to save yourself.


Besides the great execution the point is clear which makes the piece even better. Pull your head out of the sand and engage with your customers. If your agency isn't driving this for you then change the agency.  Video link is below.

http://vimeo.com/10251808

The Power Of Good Presentations

I am a big believer in presenting well. I also know that presenting well takes a pile of time and patience. If you have great information but cannot get this information into the minds of the audience, then all you have done is waste your time and theirs. Nancy Durate runs a very cool design firm that helps people deliver impactful presentations. I follow her blog now and then and her latest on the poor presentation style of Microsoft's Steve Ballmer is a little reminder that no matter who you are, you can always get better at presenting.

The link is below and the survey in the blog that deals with the content in Ballmer's Windows 7 release is worth noting so you can do the needful for your own presentations.

Enjoy the read.


http://blog.duarte.com/2010/02/steve-ballmer-could-make-more-money-if-he-presented-well/

CIO's Are The New Brand Leaders

There is a growing school of thought that if you don't have the IT brains of the organization at the brand table then you are falling behind. The growing importance of digital marketing and e-commerce to the success of a complete 360 brand experience is no longer in question in my mind. If your transaction engine does not exude the brand persona of the online and offline marketing communication programs then your corporate brand strategy will fall apart. More and more transactions are occurring on the websites of organizations and these transaction engines and online catalogues are branding touch points that are most often the domain of the CIO not the CMO.

So, the link I have included to second survey by McKinsey on the role of IT in the corporate world tells us, the new normal is the CEO and CIO getting together from the start on key strategic issues. I go one further and say the CIO needs to be part of the entire brand discussion with today's CMO's.

Click on the link to see the survey.

 https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Business_Technology/BT_Strategy/IT_in_the_new_normal_McKinsey_Global_Survey_results_2473