it lunatics

Sledgehammers vs. Scalpels - The importance of targeting in developing your strategy

Over the past 4 months, I have watched companies try to do everything possible to generate leads and sales as well as cut costs. The Wall Street Journal is running red with story after story of mass layoffs, cost cutting, and losses.  My mailbox, websites I surf, Twitter account, and Facebook is getting slammed with pleas for my business (aka spam) and car dealer are sounding pathetic offering "buy one, get one free" deals for gas guzzling trucks.  Even the government has gotten in the game with bailouts on a massive scale for the financial industry and the auto bailout, state bailout, and even the housing bailout is coming soon to a government near you.

Now comes the call that "social media can save us!"  I am reminded of a simple phase, "Fools rush in..."  In typical knee jerk fashion, many businesses are panicking and seeking lifelines to get them out of the current economic mess.  I am wondering how many people were surprised by the turn of events leading up to the fall 2008.  Common sense would have told you a big crash is coming, so get ready for it.  But instead of retooling their products, organizations and marketing efforts, they put their head in the sand and prayed for better times.

I wrote a blog article a little while back that asks us to focus our efforts on your business strategy and social media.  So, how do you go about targeting your efforts to build relationships on-line.  There are two ways to target:  with a sledgehammer or with a scalpel.

The sledgehammer approach:  I try to get the word out every way possible.  I send out press releases, a post hundreds of Twitter messages with my link, and scream my "brand name" at the top of my lungs every chance I get.

The scalpel approach: I start by know who my target.  Who are they?  What do they care about?  What are their needs?  When are they receptive to my message?  Then I carefully select the approach and the message that meets their need. 

It is really a matter of choosing volume or relevance as the key focus for my efforts.  If I only have X amount of hours a day to get the word out about my organization or company, I need to make choices.  I can generate a lot of links by "screaming the message" but is it effective longer term?  Or I can choose to deeply understand my target and then focus my energy to tailor messages relevant to them.  Less volume, but I think it is probably a lot more effective.

Many people choose the sledgehammer approach because it is quick, generates a level of response and gets you some quick wins.  But at what cost?  Does it build a sustainable brand?  Does it build a foundation of relationship with your target for longer term growth?  Or, do you work to get through this quarter and pick up the rubble of ruined relationships later?

Yes, a scalpel approach to marketing is A LOT MORE WORK.  It also creates the path to longer term growth. On the other hand, it won't matter if you can't stay in business during the short term.

Which will you choose?  Remember, the business you save may be your own.

Death of a Model & Implications to Organizations

Today, many people are mourning the passing of the Rocky Mountain News.  A highly respected paper found itself unable to compete against the shifts in individual in media consumption from a daily/off-line event to a real-time/on-line activity. While the Rocky Mountain News attempted a number of ways to extend its paper to the on-line work, it was a little too late to survive.

I am attending a United Methodist Communication's meeting as part of the Global Council on Communication at Southern Methodist University.  It was interesting to here the reaction of one of the journalism professors to this crisis.  At the core of his message was that news is becoming a deafening noise of clutter vs. a clear signal of the truth.

In other words, he believes that news is becoming trivialized, unverified, and deafening.  The extension of the argument was articulated with a video talking about "Google-zon" produced a few years ago.  Take a watch here...

Why are people ignoring well written papers that are very insightful failing as a business?  Why are people choosing "crowd-written" blogs over "professional journalist" analysis?  I think that consumers have decided that they want it real-time, on-demand, and participative so people can co-create ideas and thoughts.

There is a new belief that we are "smarter together" than one individual or institution on its own.  People want to access information on their own terms and then participate in true dialogue to uncover the meaning together.

Consumers habits have shifted.  The Internet helped accelerate the shift.  How will newspapers adjust?  How does the shift in consumer trends impact your business or organization?

The wave is coming.  Will you surf it or get smashed by it?

Get back in the box - Staying focused on your strategy for 2009

I am starting to plan ahead for 2009 and determine what are am even doing in the social media space.  2008 represented a “playground” year when I tried a bunch of stuff out and played in the social media sandbox.  I am now on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, and other social media sites.  I have tried to follow great advice from C.C. Chapman, Chris Brogan, and Mitch Joel among hundreds of others.  My iPod is full of podcasts, and my Google Reader is overflowing.  So how do I get focused?

 

Aaron Strout in his article, “Keeping in a box” outlines the need to focus the social media strategy on business goal and then execute against it.  Think about this simple question, “why am I doing this?”  Aaron was with Mzunga’s marketing department at the time.  So, his four goals were closely associated with his job:  Lead Generation, Brand Awareness, Content Creation, and Education/Sales Support.

 

Get clear on why you are engaging in social media.  Write it down.  Does it make sense?  Are they aligned with your business goals?  Does it help you move forward?

 

Here are a few examples from my life:

 

·        The Abreon Group: 

o   Lead Generation - make connections with as many corporate IT people as possible and form relationships.

o   Thought Leadership via Content Creation - show that I am an expert in helping IT organizations run as a business and provide a reason to believe that I know what I am doing to help others achieve their goals.

o   Stay Top of Mind in Time – Stay in conversation with clients to stay within their “selection set.”

 

·        My Local Church (Elberon UMC): 

o   Community Awareness –Create a connection with the local community so they know what is going on and why we are relevant to their lives.

o   Donor Outreach – As an poor, urban church, we need the support from outside donors.  We need support from people in the suburbs to make ends meet.  We need to help them feel connected to the ministry and what their dollars are doing for the poor..

o   Congregation Support – How do we keep the congregation connected together and informed with what is going on?

 

·        United Methodist Communications: 

o   General Awareness – Conducting marketing efforts to help people understand the United Methodist Church.

o   Educating Congregations – Providing information and education how to effectively communication.

o   Create Global Awareness of Key Issues – The United Methodist Church is focused on global health (malaria, AIDS, etc.) and combating poverty.  Outreach efforts will connect with both its members and the external media.

o   Crisis Management – Be prepared to respond to any particular issues in the media.

 

Once I can get clear on my goals, then I can start to work out the finer points of the strategy.  Who is my target?  What benefits are they looking for?  How can I connect and communicate with them in a meaningful and relevant way?

 

How about you?  What are your goals for the next year?  Have you written them down yet?  Is this the right approach?  What do you do to stay focused?

 

Barriers to Corporate Use of Social Media - A debunking by tweetpr

While scanning through Twitter, I found a very interesting article by tweetpr on "Debunking the Social Media Barriers."  It focused on the 44% of companies who stated they would probably or definitely not use social media in a recent CEO Survey by PRWeek.  PRWeek followed up by asking them what they considered to be the most serious barriers holding them back.

Here they are:

• 44.5% said they consider it lack of relevance to target stakeholder groups.
• 37% said they are concerned about losing control of the message.  
• 28% said they were concerned about return on investment (ROI)  
• 22.5% said they were concerned about lack of knowledge and capability within the company.
• 19% said they were concerned about the lack of knowledge and capability within the public relations, advertising, and/or other marketing agencies the company works with.  

David does a great job in debunking these barriers.  I especially liked his discussion on controlling the message.  Consumers gained their own megaphone with the advent of Web 2.0 and consumer generated content.  Companies no longer control the message; it is a shared conversation with all of us.

So...what reasons does your company, organization, or group use social media to join the conversation?

 

Reflections on Twitter and using proper ettiquette.

I have spent the past few weeks learning how to use Twitter.  It started with a Hubspot webinar on "How to use Twitter for Marketing & PR."  So, I started to build a profile, modify the look and feel of my page, and then starting to follow thought leaders in the social media space.  I then looked to follow those engaged in the different conversations that interested me.

So, how do you navigate this massive swirl of conversation?  I found myself a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of conversations going on.  I feel like it is like an ocean of conversation.  There are many undercurrents of conversations.  Some form into waves that can be seen from the surface.  You can pick what to pay attention to and what waves of conversation to ride.

But, how to ride the wave?  I was on twitter today and found a great post (that was publicized by a tweet) that helps provide an everyday context on how to think about and use twitter...a dinner party.

Read the Blog Post "Twitter as Dinner Conversation" by Chuck Westbrook on how to properly interact in the twitterverse.  It provided a lot of good tips on when to direct message and how to reply and equate it to a dinner party that we have all experienced.  It helps provide some basic help in how to interact in this new space.

Have fun in the mass dinner party!  Feel free to follow me on twitter at @eseiberling.

Can Obama's Campaign 2.0 turn into Change 2.0 for America?

After last night's historic election, I am taking a moment to reflect on my hopes that this campaign can change how we create change in our schools, our communities, and yes, even our government.  I found the choice at the polls a difficult one.  For me, it came down to a simple question ... who can rally the American people to create a better country?  It isn't the government, or policies, or laws that make the U.S. and the world a better place.  It is the power of people who make a difference every single day.

Yes, I voted Obama.  Here's why?  Over that past 21 months, I have watched with interest as Obama leveraged the best in social media and grassroots organizing to cast a very compelling message and mobilize millions through social media.  It empowered the disenfranchised and gave people hope.  Do I agree with many of his policies?  No.  Do I think he has the best experience?  No.  Do I think he can change the tone of the country?  Absolutely.

The Obama campaign changed the dynamic of politics by creating real conversation again in politics.  I watched the election on TV, web, Facebook, and Twitter last night.  The reaction and real dialogue was amazing.  Both McCain and Obama supporters having real conversations about the direction of the country instead of yelling at one another.  People expressing hope.   We have watched the advent of Campaigning 2.0.  

But can this continue?  Can we turn this into Change 2.0?  Can we turn this amazing Obama campaigning methodology to assist non-profits to fight malaria?  Can we start making real strides on the war on poverty?  Can we get focused on what really matters in life?  

Let us pray that the Obama presidency will continue to rally change beyond getting out the vote and make a real difference.

Your thoughts?

Keeping the team focused in an economic downturn

I was reading my RSS feed when I came across a great article from bNet.  bNet is a mega-blog (my own term for a massive compliation of blogs and content from lots of sources) for business folks to get advise on everything from hiring Gen Y, to how to apply Web 2.0 applications for business, to leading your team through change.

Today, I found their post "How to Manage Your Team in a Downturn (and Come Out on Top)" enlightening and helpful with my own team.  Here is the intro...

Layoffs have truncated staff; cost-cutting measures are threatening projects, and morale is in the toilet. From the manager’s perspective, getting the most out of employees in this kind of environment can seem like a Sisyphean task. In fact, it’s a perfect opportunity to rejigger processes and fix what’s broken — and managers are uniquely positioned to do just that. Here’s how being candid with your employees, rewarding them in creative ways, and enlisting them to help make hard decisions can not only keep your team motivated but pull your company out of its slump.

It provides meaningful and tangible steps to help your team stay focused on what needs done and how to do it.  Read the article by clicking here...

Why can't IT and business managers get along

Why can't IT and the business get along and work together to deliver value?  I am often called in to help facilitate conversations between the Information Technology organizations and the Business Units they support.  Many times, I am a organizational "marriage counselor" trying to help them communicate with one another instead of talking "past one another."

So why do smart, business-focused, professional people struggle to work together?

1. Lack of common goals.  Business people focus on top and bottom-line growth.  IT people focus on Service Level Agreements (SLAs), requirements, and in-process metrics.  But how do they drive one another?  Most IT organizations cannot articulate the value they create, so they become a commodity in the eyes of the business.

2. Lack of a common language.  Anyone who has ever called tech support knows that IT speaks a different language.  They focus on specifics, details, and functions.  The business focuses on broad objectives.  It is the battle between "my PC doesn't work" (outcome) and "your hard drive is 95% fragmented."

3. Lack of frequent interactions.  Many IT departments collaborate with their business unit partners to gather requirements and then disappear to deliver the solution.  Many decisions get made that the business managers may not understand the full implications to their business,

So how do we fix it?  Get a organizational counselor?  Run a great IT marketing campaign with pretty pictures on why IT is the greatest? Tell the business they're wrong?

It takes time an effort to bring the Executive Suite, Line Management and IT in alignment.  It takes real dialogue and understanding.  It requires looking at multiple perspectives.  It takes hard work.  You may need some outside help to work through the issues, but it can pay huge dividends in the end.

Are you willing to put in the effort?  Can you afford not to?  Failure to do so will result in more budget cuts or calls for outsourcing in these economic times.

Make sure you are cutting the right things.

As I watch the Dow continue to tank, there is a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt for all of us.  Our retirement funds are taking a beating and our companies are frenzied, worrying about the bottom-line.  As many companies start slashing costs, I would ask a simple question, "are you cutting the right things?"

Many companies turn to cutting travel budgets, headcount, and other expenses to make their quarterly numbers.  While I agree that this is prudent, I would ask, "are we counting the long-term cost?"  When we cut travel, what is the cost to collaboration.  When we cut people, what is the cost to the people who are left (both psychologically and physically).  When we cut buying software upgrades (or keeping everyone on the same platform, what is the cost to interoperability.

I am not saying that these cost cutting measures are bad; I would just ask us to count the cost.  If we know we cannot travel, how can we improve collaboration without meeting face to face?  How can we use those desktop tools (LiveMeeting, Instant Messenger, SharePoint) that have been collecting dust on shelf to meet the need?  What is holding us back?

Here comes the kicker...maybe you need to spend money to drive adoption of new ways of interacting to save bigger pots of money in the long run.  You might even be able to use this period of uncertainty to create a new culture which can help you save money when times are good.

Jon Kotter and Dan Cohen, authors of The Heart of Change, say the first step to initiate change is to "create a crisis."  We already have one.  What are you going to do about it? 

Are we asking the right questions?

I have been working with a number of companies and organizations over the past couple weeks and a recurring theme keeps coming back. A number of the organizations I work with are trying to determine their future direction. Today, Fortune 25 companies and non-profits alike are seeking to see how to be relevant in the 21st century. What strategies will help us survive and thrive? But is this the right question?

Our questions determine our focus. If I ask, "how can we cut costs?" or "what's wrong with our department?" then guess what you will focus on? Our focus determines where we explore. Our exploration determines where we end up. Asking the right questions is absolutely critical to move ahead. So, I would ask, "what is the right question for our?"

For example, "why is the United Methodist Church in decline?" would create very depressing discussion about the increasing age of the congregations, the age of our buildings, the outdated models, etc. But is this the right discussion? Would we be able to get the church further ahead? Or does it turn into a group therapy session?

Would a better question be, "What United Methodist Churches are growing and why?" What themes can be identified? What strategies can be identified? What situations is this relevant? Doesn't this create a better conversation?

The same goes for businesses. Think about Information Technology departments. Instead of asking, "how do we cut costs?," why not ask the question "how can we create tangible value for the organization?" The cost discussion focuses on what to eliminate, while the value discussion to create new ideas on how to act differently to drive BOTH the top and bottom line.

The same process can be used for the marketing environment, the presidential debates, and how we relate to our families. We are in interesting times. With the financial market meltdown, the presidential elections, and increasing globalism, we cannot get stuck in the process of looking backwards. We must look ahead to new ways of thinking to solve these problems.

Questions create conversations. Conversations can take us to new places. The new media world allows us to create very broad conversations with diverse people.

A simple question can change the world. So, what is on your mind?