Makes you really want to work for a living

From the Seattle Times:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004097983_mobilisa29.html

In each country, there is a formal measurement of the level of graft required to operate a business. It's articles like this that make you wonder if it (operating above a minimal level of 'graft') has always been like this in the US (one of the better-ranked countries) or if this is part of a trend (direct 'payments' from companies/citizens to government officials) that is accelerating. And if so, in which states is it the most prevalent? Old liners (NY, Mass, Virginia) or new-growth (Utah, Nevada, Florida, Texas) or a mix? Does the frequency of this type of behavior have to do with the regulatory structures in place in each region, state or locality? (Of course human nature is what is, so for the sake of argument, we'll assume that there is a constant percentage x% in every area who will engage in this type of behavior when given the opportunity.)

Transparency is a key factor in fighting this. By making all (and I mean ALL) spending, regulatory and appropriations bills (and any others dealing with funds) available for public review (in an easy-to-access and search format--google?), this problem won't go away, but it would be easier to at a minimum track WHO's funding whom and what is being approved. At a the federal and state level, often times the spending bills are so large and complex that98% of the general public can't and won't wade through them--so make readable, searchable indexes.

It's sad to see that for a small percentage of revenues, a company can effectively buy government contracts. But, it's the way governments work and as a strategic consulting firm, we always have to calculate that in our clients' planning sessions.

And a Happy New Year
-Shawn

You're outsourcing WHAT?

Businessweek reported that the Miami Herald...

Businessweek says,

The Miami Herald is outsourcing some of its advertising production work to India, the newspaper’s editor said Thursday.

Starting in January, copyediting and design in a weekly section of Broward County community news and other special advertising sections will be outsourced to Mindworks, based in New Delhi.

Assuming that the Herald has done their due diligence, that's another blow against a struggling industry. We're flooded with talented, qualified and experienced (and not-so-talented) layout and design firms in the States. It's a true statement to both the problems facing the newspaper industry and the effective level of global services networking that a rapid-fire production outfit like a major US newspaper would want to, need to and be able to outsource daily production and layout tasks to a firm on the other side of the planet. (Assuming the decision was made on purely business grounds and not a personal vendetta or some other personal agenda.)

It makes a sad day for the US services industry, one in a long, long row of sad days. But to change it, do you really think that design & layout firms in the US will be willing to compete with foreign firms on price? (Yes, there are a slew of business models that still work in the layout & design marketplace, but as each year goes by, they are less and less profitable in the US.)


Happy New Year-
Shawn

Viewing the future through their past

Apple filed for a cashless smartphone-based payment system for retailers ad consumers with the U.S. Patent Office. Apple affectionados and tech-fans squeal with glee. Will it work? Will iPhone users be able to swipe their Apple-toys at the local Starbucks to cover their vente iced cappuccino-whatevers, while maintaining an air of techno-social superiority? Who knows.

To see how this systems, just view Europe, Japan, South Korea, Mexico or any of the other 'high-tech' smartphone or smartcard payment-accepting retailer environments. That's right--Europe, a bastion of tech. development and innovation has been running automated smartcard (touchless) systems for years (visa, mastercard, etc.).

What is the significance of this? Only that it can be viewed within a wider frame of reference, delineating the trend that the US is not, nor has been for a time, the leader in creating and implementing cutting-edge (bleeding-edge) technologies. Want a long-term comparison? The US in 2007 is similar to... England (not the UK) in 1932.


One thing to take away from this (one thing for local US retailers and service providers): be ready for location-aware internet (portable) devices. There are many, many ways for retailers )small and large) to make hay from this 'new' world. Payment, information, sharing/networking devices will continue to grow in popularity and usefullness. Typical example: my nephews last week were looking for Wii games. They hit a couple of the local GameStop stores (Stop? Spot? whatever.) After finding empty shelves, they banged out the map on their iPhones, called around and hit a local store that carried the game they wanted. (They should have done that first, but they wanted to hit the malls.. cherchez les femmes, no doubt.). A retailer running local-specific ads on g'maps could have caught their eye first. etc. etc. etc.


Have a Happy New Year-

-Shawn

When it's time to rock a funky joint...

I'm on point.

It's a very, very old lyric from a mediocre group from the 90's (House of Pain). But, it's a truism that applies to marketing and political management.

Stay on Point.

Stay on Point.

Stay on Point.


Got it? You typically have 7-12 seconds of an individual's attention at any one time. How do you use that mini-clip wisely? Stay on point. Don't deviate from the message that you want transferred to the public. Don't be caught wandering through some logical forest during the 10 seconds that your audience is actually listening.

Reinforcement. Bang the same drum over and over. People will get it and remember it.



But...
This doesn't help you if your message is crap. Sorry. Crap is crap is crap. Crap repeated a gazillion times is still crap. Crap based on lies is still crap. Crap that doesn't stand up to a 3rd grader's questions (aka. typical newspaper reader's functional reading-level) will be exposed as crap.


Still.
Be on point.

Always.


-Shawn

Christmas - and Baseball

Good morning all, and Merry Christmas!

This one's for my dad--and for all the baseball nuts out there. Yesterday Rob Neyer (of ESPN and SABREmetrics fame) posted this link. For anyone who's ever wanted to know the effectiveness of the four major pitches, give this article a review. Hardball Times reviews the fastball, slider, changeup and curve. Well worth a 10 minute read.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/fastball-slider-changeup-curveball-an-analysis/


Enjoy!

-Shawn

7 Errors (and a Merry Christmas to you, too)

On Christmas eve, as many of us wrap things up for a few days, here are a few thoughts to keep in mind for the new year:

First, know how your customers think. Obvious, but study after study has demonstrated that understanding HOW your customer think, not just WHAT they think, is the number one weapon you have in getting your message, the correct message, to your customers at the right time during their decision process.

Second, next yer will be rough--especially in the south-east. Prepare for it. By the year's end, there MAY be a turn-around in the general services and manufacturing sectors, but as we in Florida are tightly tied to construction and the housing industry, the next 8-12 months will be tough ones. Plan and prepare accordingly.

Third, here are the 7 common errors that we make in reasoning: (from lifehack.org)

a) Confirmation Bias
The confirmation bias is a tendency to seek information to prove, rather than disprove our theories. The problem arises because often, one piece of false evidence can completely invalidate the otherwise supporting factors.

b) Hindsight Bias

Known more commonly under “hindsight is 20/20“ this bias causes people to see past results as appearing more probable than they did initially. This was demonstrated in a study by Paul Lazarsfeld in which he gave participants statements that seemed like common sense. In reality, the opposite of the statements was true.

c) Clustering Illusion

This is the tendency to see patterns where none actually exist. A study conducted by Thomas Gilovich, showed people were easily misled to think patterns existed in random sequences. Although this may be a necessary by product of our ability to detect patterns, it can create problems.

d) Recency Effect

The recency effect is the tendency to give more weight to recent data. Studies have shown participants can more easily remember information at the end of a list than from the middle. The existence of this bias makes it important to gather enough long-term data, so daily up’s and down’s don’t lead to bad decisions.

e) Anchoring Bias

Anchoring is a well-known problem with negotiations. The first person to state a number will usually force the other person to give a new number based on the first. Anchoring happens even when the number is completely random. In one study, participants spun a wheel that either pointed to 15 or 65. They were then asked the number of countries in Africa that belonged to the UN. Even though the number was arbitrary, answers tended to cluster around either 15 or 65.

f) Overconfidence Effect

And you were worried about having too little confidence? Studies have shown that people tend to grossly overestimate their abilities and characteristics from where they should. More than 80% of drivers place themselves in the top 30%.

One study asked participants to answer a difficult question with a range of values to which they were 95% certain the actual answer lay. Despite the fact there was no penalty for extreme uncertainty, less than half of the answers lay within the original margin.

g) Fundamental Attribution Error

Mistaking personality and character traits for differences caused by situations. A classic study demonstrating this had participants rate speakers who were speaking for or against Fidel Castro. Even if the participants were told the position of the speaker was determined by a coin toss, they rated the attitudes of the speaker as being closer to the side they were forced to speak on.

Hope this gives you a leg up during the next year.

-Shawn

Saturday Survey - Media and Consumers

I ran across this earlier this week and wanted to share it:

Survey Reveals Communicators Are Out of Sync With the Way Consumers Use Media

Short Text Ketchum and the University of Southern California Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center find that advice from family and friends is the No. 1 source that consumers turn to when making a variety of decisions, according to a survey that examined the use of more than 40 media channels in the U.S. and BRIC countries. Body Text Consumers Rely Most on Personal Experiences and Experts When Making Decisions Contact: Robyn Massey +1-646-935-3911 robyn.massey@ketchum.com New York, December 10, 2007 - The way communicators dispense information is out of sync with the way consumers use media, according to Media, Myths & Realities, a comprehensive survey of media usage among consumers and communications professionals conducted by global public relations firm Ketchum and the University of Southern California Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center. Advice from family and friends is the No. 1 source that consumers turn to when making a variety of decisions – ranging from purchasing consumer electronics to planning a vacation – and advice from an expert rates highest when making medical decisions and purchases based on a product’s environmental impact. Despite the strong evidence that friends, family and experts play a key role in influencing decisions, only 24 percent of communicators report having a word-of-mouth program in place. Another indication of this communication gap is the differing reliance on company Web sites. Communicators rank their companies’ own Web sites as the most effective way to share corporate news or issue a response to a crisis, but consumers rank company Web sites sixth and seventh among places they turn to for corporate news and crisis response, respectively. Other Key Findings U.S. consumers are more skeptical of nearly all media outlets. Another key finding underscores the fact that while U.S. consumers are using more media sources than ever before, they are less likely than they were a year ago to take the information they receive at face value. Consumers rated all media sources, with the exception of cable network news, as being less credible than in the 2006 survey. While local television news was seen as most credible, it dropped from 7.4 last year to 6.9 on a scale of 0 to 10. Celebrity endorsements ranked last, at 3.7, down from 4.7 last year. Cable network news ranked 6.8, compared to 6.4 in 2006. Media preferences are more personalized than ever. The study reveals that 22 percent of U.S. consumers use social networking sites, up from 17 percent in 2006, and 19 percent of consumers use blogs, up from 13 percent. Among consumers over the age of 55, use of blogs and social networking sites more than doubled. At the same time, use of most other media outlets slipped from a year earlier. Search engines continue to be a gateway to consumer choice in information, with 60 percent of U.S. consumers using them to find and select the news and other information they want to receive. The trend toward more personalized media is even stronger among “influencers” – the 10 to 15 percent of the population who initiate changes in their community or society through a variety of activities – with 35 percent using both social networking sites and blogs and 72 percent using search engines. Takeaways for Marketers Treat audiences as groupings of individuals rather than faceless masses. Rather than rely on the reputation of a media outlet to carry your message, relate to the public by creating content that is relevant, authentic, and engaging, and motivates consumers to share information with like-minded people. The opportunity for communications professionals is to help provide context, rather than sheer content, and give consumers more of what they are seeking. Quantity of media impressions should not be the sole focus of a campaign – media should be used as a vehicle for reaching stakeholders in a way that is meaningful or useful. Put word-of-mouth and search-engine-optimization strategies in place or miss out on tremendous potential for audience reach and sales. In addition to advice from family and friends being the No. 1 source that U.S. consumers turn to when making select decisions, search engines (such as Google, Yahoo, Cadê, Yandex, Baidu, etc.) rank No. 1 or 2 among all media channels in overall usage for BRIC countries and No. 3 in the U.S. among influencers. Be wary of the communication flavor of the month. Be sure to stay on top of the latest research and avoid becoming reliant on any single communication technique regardless of how new or exciting it may seem. For example, usage of podcasts is registering in the single digit range with the exception of the 18-24 age group, which grew from 8 percent to 13 percent. A company’s own Web site should not be the primary choice when communicating to stakeholders. While a company Web site provides communicators with a high degree of control over their message, consumers often turn elsewhere for information. About the survey The survey compares the media usage habits of 1,229 adult Americans (including 200 influential citizens, or “influencers” – the 10 to 15 percent of the population who initiate changes in their community or society through a variety of activities) and 500 communications industry professionals. The sample of 1,229 U.S. consumers was oversized to ensure inclusion of 300 Hispanics and 200 influencers. In Brazil, Russia, India and China, 300 consumers and 200 influencers were surveyed in each country. The definition of an influencer was consistent for the U.S. and the BRIC countries, allowing for cultural and political differences within each country. The survey did not include communications professionals in the BRIC countries. The survey was conducted through online distribution between Sept. 30 and Oct. 5, 2007. About the University of Southern California Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center The USC Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center (SPRC) plays a major role in the continuing evolution, professionalization and expansion of the public relations discipline. A unit of the USC Annenberg School for Communication’s Public Relations Studies Program, the Center’s mission is to advance the study, practice and value of public relations by conducting applied research in partnership with leading industry groups. About Ketchum A communications innovator, Ketchum ranks among the largest global public relations agencies, operating in more than 50 countries. With five global practices – Brand Marketing, Corporate, Healthcare, Food and Nutrition, and Technology – and specialty areas that include Concentric Communications (experiential marketing, events and meetings), Ketchum Entertainment Marketing, Ketchum Global Research, Ketchum Sports Network, Stromberg Consulting (change management and workplace communications) and The Washington Group (lobbying and government relations), Ketchum leverages its marketing and corporate communications expertise to build brands and reputations for clients. For more information on Ketchum, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC), visit www.ketchum.com.

To view this report in complete form, visit: http://www.ketchum.com/node/1131




_______________________________________-

To Summarize: be more target group specific. Don't rely on a web site as your primary communication channel. Direct networking, word of mouth and SEO are three highly-impactful methods of reaching your customers.


Have a great Saturday,
Shawn

Friday Afternoon - Information

If cash flow is the lifeblood of a business, information is its sensory input. Obvious, right? Not always. How many times have you met with clients who 'knew what their customers want.' No iffs, ands or buts. They won't allocate marketing dollars for research and are convinced that because they've been in their marketspace for years, they have the pulse of their customers.

Only to find out that after 6 months of well-planned marketing campaigns, you're not hitting your goals, not drawing in the customers, not stealing marketshare, not boosting profits. Oops.

If you've got a good client, you can go back to them and convince them that they need to execute customer polling/research/feedback. They don't know what they thought they knew (even if YOU knew it to begin with).

Part of any management system is the monitoring and feedback loop. For any system or process to succeed, you need to track, monitor and oversee the ultimate results as influenced and effected by your strategies. The 'bottomless well' customer who throws millions at strategies without a care of the results is either a: political or b: destined for chapter 11 or c: surviving not by their skill but by luck (for which there is something to be said). To justify your value to your customers, you have to be able to demonstrate that you're moving them closer towards their established business goals. That means tracking and monitoring, followed by strategy and tactical modifications when the results (after sufficient time has passed) are not what was planned or expected.

In short, the more information that you and your customer have about their clients, the stronger your strategies will be and the happier your clients will become. (There's a book in here somewhere... or fifty.)

I bring this up because we had a customer who wasn't generating our expected returns on one of the strategies that we had recommended to them. They were following on our recommended tactics, timing and management, but the results just weren't there. A review of the system showed that the message was reaching the targeted audience, the audience still had a need for the service, but the end-customer just wasn't doing what we expected. Upon review, we implemented a client polling and tracking system for a short run and found out that our initial base needs-assessment (supplied by our client) was significantly off-base. We were able to change the message in the campaigns to address the correct need and, blammo!, we started hitting our numbers. It helps to work with good clients.


Have a great weekend-
Shawn

December Thoughts

Working in December is unlike any other time of year. Everyone's gone, leaving early, distracted, spending time wrapping up end-of-the-year details and finalizing (should have been done BY December) their budgets for next year. Getting in last minute appointments is tough and getting signed contracts is even tougher.

But some words of advice. 1. Don't put anything off. Do right now whatever you can to get in front of your customers and leads.
2. Be patient. Most of your customers are swamped. They'd like to meet with you but often can't at the usual times. Be prepared to have late dinner and early-breakfast meetings. We had a meeting last week with a customer at a local mall--she spent her lunch hour shopping for her children's Christmas gifts, and we accompanied her. It was distracted time but it was time well spent.
3. Be thoughtful. It's a cliche but bring cookies, cakes, desserts, small munchies and, if all else fails, wine to your customers. Make sure that you're legally covered (i.e. that it can't be interpreted as a bribe) but the feeling of goodwill that you engender with your customers goes a long way--and plays up to their feeling of indebtedness to you as well as their 'liking' of you.
4. If all else fails, lock in signature meetings right after January 1st. We have 2 setup for Jan 2md and Jan 3rd. It shows the customer that you're willing to work with their schedule and needs, up to a point, but that you're serious about getting the sales closed and meeting their needs.

A word about Christmas parties. Personally, I'm a family guy and enjoy nothing more than spending a (not-so) quiet evening with my wife and daughter. Professionally, Holiday Parties are a blessing/hazard of working in the modern era. Chin up, work the room, be professional in a relaxed manor and don't (DO NOT) button any of your customers. Smile and enjoy the evening.

Have a great Thursday.

-Shawn

Presidential Donations

Here's a link to the national donations registration for the 2008 Presidential Election. Interesting reading, and unsurprisingly it's the big lobbies that are spending with abandon.
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/select.asp?Ind=A02

In the end, it's really about funds to pay for the 'white hat' marketing to convince the voters that 'your guy (or woman)' is the 'best' candidate for the job. And to pay for the 'marketing-related activities'--voter registration and voter-drives (busing in voters, buying them dinner, etc.) , sponsorship activities, voter research, etc.

Of course, there's always the tried and true 'black hat' method: research up a list of the recently deceased and have them vote. A review of the New York voting records from the last 1960's demonstrated conclusively that practice works. Intimidation, losing returns, confusing ballots, payoffs as raises or contracts, the list goes on and on.

To paraphrase Groucho Marx: I'd never want to belong to a club that would want me for a member.


But, it's not all doom and gloom. The internet lets news organizations report and publish: voter lists, donations lists, scandal lists, registration requirements, candidate histories, etc. It's up to the individual voters, it's their right and responsibility, to do the research and vote for a candidate that they think will enact policies that are to their long-term benefit. The information's out there for the public to review (this isn't Stalinist Russia in the 1930's).



-Shawn

Updates for the New Year

Starting January 1st, we will be updating on a tri-weekly basis for 6 months. We'll be bringing you the best of current and established business strategies, marketing studies and customer management industry-best practices. It's Web 3.0 and it's not just aggregation but improvement based on synthesis.

See ya when the champaign runs dry-

-Shawn