Posted by Brian Blake on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 @ 10:12 AM
Most of our friends know that at ROBYN, we are focused on honing our marketing skills... And we enjoy sharing what we have learned! To this end, we are thrilled to introduce a side project we've been working on: The 7 Minute Smarketer.
The premise behind the podcast is to sit down with innovative marketers who are experts in different disciplines and give them 7 minutes to make us smarter. The podcasts are hosted on the 7 Minute Smarketer website, which you can hear by clicking the button below...
Brian Blake: Hello, everyone. This is Brian Blake with "The Seven Minute Smarketer." Today our guest is Bill Handy. Many of you probably know Bill or at least have seen his name. He's the co‑owner of H3 Strategic Communications and has over 15 years experience doing just that: developing strategic communications, improving public relations, and social media engagement. Bill also introduced the iPad pilot program to OSU last year. Please welcome Bill Handy.
Bill Handy: Thanks so much for having me.
Brian: So, Bill, we've talked. You know how the "Seven Minute Smarketer" works. The premise is you have seven minutes to make us smarter marketers about your topic or you owe me a beer. Having spoken a couple times before and stalking, I mean following you, on Twitter the last few years, I have no doubt there'll be no exchange of beer today. You're a college professor and you get paid to make people smarter marketers.
Bill: [laughs] I'm sure there's an argument in there somewhere. First of all, I want to clarify for everybody listening... First, hi mom! I do go by the pseudonym "Bill Handy." A lot of people don't realize that. I hide behind that, "Bill Handy," online. I think it's important to have a secret life. So they can find me there as well. You start. Do you have any questions? I mean, you'll listen to me but what's your question?
Brian: I do. Let me get my handy dandy clock started.
Bill: OK. On your mark. Get set. Go!
Brian: OK. We're rolling. Today you spoke with the Oklahoma City chapter of the American Marketing Association and had some great things to say. A lot of it dealt with online social media. Let's just start at the beginning. When a company asks you for help navigating these waters where do you start?
Bill: I wish everybody would ask me that question because it's a real easy entry into what is probably the most important thing to talk about when working with an organization which is research. That's where we always start. Let's really figure out research on the side of what are we truly trying to achieve. People come to you and they say "I want a Facebook page" or "I want a Twitter account" and that's not what they want. They want a solution to something that is currently ailing them like increased sales or reduced expenses. All of these can be leveraged with electronic communication platforms. They're not always Twitter and Facebook. So that's the first thing we need to identify.
Then, we'll start researching and figure out all the different variables that are so critical to the decisions you make with regard to what platforms you land on. The culture of the organization, the culture of the customer base, what their abilities are, what budgets their are. We just collect as much information as we possibly can. At that point, we're still just scratching the surface on research.
Once we get all that information then we can start doing deep, in‑depth research. I wish I could just say "This is the kind of research that you need to do."
Brian: "This is how it's done."
Bill: This is a technical term that I use probably more now than I ever have before in my life, "It depends." I use it all the time. It's true because every variable is different. Back in the old days when you had "Well, I want to reach our customer" there's television and radio and the newspaper, and fliers. If you're really kind of out there, fliers.
Brian: Which one works best?
Bill: Right. Or fax machines. That was the big disruptor of the '80s. So that's where we start.
Brian: OK. You mentioned Twitter and Facebook. I first bumped into you on Twitter about three years ago.
Bill: Sure. Back when Twitter was cool.
Brian: I was going to say back then social media was cool. It was a shiny new toy. That whole toy thing has worn off. This is the real deal.
Bill: Yeah.
Brian: How do you...
Bill: I'm going to stop you for just a second. I'm going to count this toward my seven minutes. This is what my premise is. We've had social media around since 1994. Social media is not new. It's evolutionary, not revolutionary. I would argue that the reason why it became so interesting to people is because media figured out that it was interesting, that it was a way to perhaps more effectively communicate. The reason why they were looking is because media is dying because information is free. So you have this perfect storm to draw attention to why is social media so cool. It's not cool. The premise that it's new or that there's a certain way... It'd be like having an argument over how to use a telephone. Give me a break.
I didn't mean to interrupt you. I just wanted to clarify that. I think it's an important element to understand. I'll tell you what. Anybody who looks at you and says "Social media is revolutionary" put your hand in your pocket. Watch out. So, that's just my take on it.
Brian: Is that a guru? Is that what a guru is?
Bill: Yeah. [laughs] Somebody with clout, spelled K‑L‑O‑U‑T, I guess, has that idea.
Brian: When you mentioned Twitter and you mentioned Facebook, those are great for some things, not great for everything. So what are the other things? What else are we looking for?
Bill: I guess somebody will probably say, "Well, there's Google+." That's an interesting thing.
Brian: Actually, I have a note here that says "Google+. Go!"
Bill: Talk about Google+. Google+, it's revolutionary. It's going to change the world. Again, I'm going to get technical on you, it depends. Do you want to talk to just your own employees? There's some great platforms to do that. Do you want to talk to them at length where you can capture the information or do you just need a quick way to share information back and forth? We can be looking at something like Yammer for micro‑blogging or we'd be looking at ... I'm blanking on the name. It's a micro‑blogging service that actually collects all the conversations that then become searchable.
Those are the things that, oftentimes, people don't think about.
"I need a way to communicate to my employees very, very quickly." That's easy. Did you need it to be private or public? "I want it to be private." OK. Do all of your employees have the different tools to be able to receive the information? "Yes they do." Do you want to be able to pull that information back later on? "Yes we do."
Well, now we're talking about a completely different ballpark than just DMing all your employees or sending it to some kind of a feed that then gets generated out through Yammer or something like that.
Again, it depends. What are you trying to achieve? I would argue that the moment that we know what an organization is trying to achieve, what the real objectives are, we can identify platforms that are going to be within their budget, fit within their culture, and that can be integrated with the right amount of communications, effective communications, to do that.
I assure you "If you build it, they will come" does not work, except in a great movie. I love that movie.
Brian: It's a good movie. We've had a lot of success with content marketing, working on blogs.
Bill: Sure.
Brian: We shoot some video. We're doing podcasting.
Bill: Yeah.
Brian: You threw out a number in the meeting and it referenced the Library of Congress.
Bill: Sure.
Brian: How much data is being put out on a yearly basis right now?
Bill: Yes. It's 70 exabytes of data. For anybody who's interested, that's about the equivalent of 518,000 Libraries of Congress.
Brian: A half million Libraries of Congress every year.
Bill: Yeah, exactly.
Brian: This year.
Bill: I should say that that was actually last year's stat. I don't know what this year's stat is.
Brian: We're way past that.
Bill: I know. I'm old school. I'm talking 2010, not 2011. Yeah. It's quite a bit of information.
Brian: In that sea of information, how do Smarketers get found?
Bill: Did you say "Smarketers?"
Brian: Yeah. This is "The Seven Minute Smarketer."
Bill: [laughs] So there's smart marketing?
Brian: Exactly.
Bill: I think that this is the interesting thing. The question is, how do marketers get found?
Brian: Right.
Bill: I think the answer to that is they don't anymore. There are things that we can do to help people perhaps trip over them. But in a world that allows for such an easy two‑way communications, I think that a marketer is better off listening. I'll give you an example. This is not a good example but I think we can use it at the moment. I had somebody who asked a question on Twitter. I tend to follow topics, not people, on Twitter. I saw that this person asked a question. I said "I've got an answer for you. Come over here. Go to this link, it's over there." They would have never found that except for that human element of being able to market one to one and because I was listening.
I took care of that person, that company's job for them. I'm not going to do that next time. I'm going to leave it up to them to do that. That's their new job.
I think that's the real question. How is it that marketers start listening more effectively to the needs of current as well as future customers and then respond to them at the moment of need?
Brian: There's a term, an acronym, called ZMOT. It's called the Zero Moment Of Truth. I think that's exactly what you're talking about. It's being there when the customer needs you.
Bill: Yeah. We live in a world of dialogue. I think that's such an important, but often misunderstood, concept. We're always talking. We're always communicating. We do it in a broader range than we ever have before. The ability to be there for somebody is so much easier now than it ever was. It doesn't matter if you're half a world away. I can be there.
Brian: Love it. Well, it looks like we're out of time.
Bill: I know. And you owe me a beer.
Brian: I owe you. That's exactly it. You're certainly off the hook. Bill, thanks again for joining us.
Bill: My pleasure.
Brian: I look forward to seeing you online again soon.
Bill: Or listening to me or hearing me or reading me... Thanks so much.
Brian: That too. Thank you.
Posted by Brian Blake on Mon, Feb 20, 2012 @ 01:50 PM
Every brand wants to connect with its target audience in a way that is both meaningful and memorable. For City National Bank & Trust, something as simple as a little red piggy bank has made all the difference.
The piggy banks are being sold at all 35 of the CNBOK locations across the state, with proceeds going to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The piggy bank is the vehicle to make the connection. What is creating the energy is the cause it represents… And people are responding to this.
“We’re making a concerted effort to show that we are part of the communities we serve,” said De Roin Motah, Marketing Director for CNBOK. “The piggy bank campaign was a test for us. We had NO idea how popular it would be!”
Popular is an understatement. De Roin was confident that 50 piggy banks for each location would last throughout the month of February. He was wrong. They sold out in one day!
February is “Savings Month” at City National Bank, so the piggy banks provide a great way to support their message. It’s the connection to the good cause that is making this campaign so successful, though.
“We have participated in good causes such as Governor Fallin’s ‘Feeding Oklahoma’ campaign, but this was the first time we sold something to raise money,” said De Roin. “This has been the perfect combination of the right item for our message and the right cause to connect with people.”
When De Roin realized they needed more piggy banks, he called his friends atROBYN Promotions and said, “We need more… QUICK!” Within just a few days, thousands more piggy banks were shipped to ROBYN where they were unpacked, sorted into the correct quantities for each location and shipped directly to each branch… Before the deadline!
Pick one up through the end of the month at your local branch for just $4.50. Not only will you get a really cool piggy bank, you’ll be helping a great cause.
Posted by Brian Blake on Thu, Feb 16, 2012 @ 05:34 PM
As you evaluate potential company store suppliers, be sure to find out if they can help the numbers guys with their reports. The more buy-in you get from your internal team, the better your results will be.
When we talk with potential online company store clients, their focus is usually on managing marketing collateral, printed materials, promotional products, etc. to serve their sales and marketing folks. Granted, a company store is an exceptional tool for that purpose, but before you jump into a program, we suggest you get your Accounting Department involved.
Why accounting? With the ROBYN Company Store Solution, we offer a variety of standard and customizable reports that not only track usage and orders, but can be designed to match and/or flow into your current accounting system. Many companies offer standard web reports showing you that 500 XYZ Pens were ordered last month. More sophisticated systems might even sort the orders by location.
ROBYN’s standard reports show who ordered what; when it was ordered; where it was shipped; how it was paid for; who approved it… And virtually anything else you would like to know about the order. Plus, the reports can be designed to flow seamlessly into your accounting software for tracking marketing expenses.
And, while we will run these reports on a regular basis (monthly/quarterly/annually) and send them to our clients, they also have the ability to run these reports themselves as well for real-time answers. Pretty cool, huh?
Make sure your entire team is well served by your new online company store… And they will make your store a success.
Find out more about with our 30 Second Snapshots of Online Company Stores!
Posted by Brian Blake on Mon, Feb 13, 2012 @ 03:10 PM
When a musician’s tour is called “The Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour”, a strong mental image of the band and their fan base comes to mind. Connecting with them, of course, is always a marketer’s challenge and it takes a pretty creative mind to develop a campaign that hits them in all the right spots. The smart folks at SMG Marketing at Chesapeake Energy Arena have done just that, though!
Starting this weekend, these fantastic coasters will be making an appearance at honky tonks throughout the metro and as far away as Stillwater and Norman to promote Eric Church’s March 8th concert at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Printed in bright 4-color process ink, these coasters will be seen by country music lovers when they are in the right frame of mind for a show like this.
But that’s not all. These savvy marketers know that country music does not equal “backwoods hick”, so they have also printed a QR code on the coasters. When patrons pull out their smart phones and scan the QR code with their QR code reader app, they are taken straight to the Ticketmaster page for the event where they can purchase tickets on the spot. Talk about fully utilizing the Zero Moment of Truth!
Stacey Aldrige, Event Marketing Manager, worked with Church’s promoter and ROBYN Promotions to put together the guerilla marketing aspect of their campaign. “We did a similar campaign when Dane Cook came to town a couple years ago,” said Stacey. “We watch the trending of our Ticketmaster sales very carefully, and they spiked when those coasters went out. I expect to see the same thing with Eric Church, too!”
Posted by Brian Blake on Fri, Feb 10, 2012 @ 02:49 PM
You’re probably familiar with the basic aspects of a company store, such as the ability to showcase your promotional products so that outside sales reps, satellite offices or even distributors can order company approved merchandise. But what about those discerning individuals who want a close-up view of the item before they order
The ROBYN Company Store Solution offers this fantastic Zoom Product feature. By clicking on the magnifying glass and dragging it around the product’s image, the user can see all the details of the product, which makes the decision to order a snap.
Just one more way ROBYN makes your online company store a great source for your marketing needs.
Check out our other 30 Second Snapshots of Online Company Stores.
Posted by Brian Blake on Mon, Feb 06, 2012 @ 03:46 PM
Even in Oklahoma, not many people would use these three nouns in the same sentence. Then again, not many organizations are like Infant Crisis Services.
Mission:
This organization doesn’t just talk about helping babies and toddlers… They live it! Last year, Infant Crisis Services provided help to over 14,000 babies and toddlers in Oklahoma City. From formula and diapers to shampoo and clothes, the organization works to provide temporary assistance to families in need. “We help them get back on their feet,” said Amy Spielberger, Public Relations Coordinator.
Of course, it takes money to provide these life-saving products to the kids, and what better way to raise money than to throw a party? Not just any party, mind you, but the 2012 Boots & Ball Gowns Gala!
This is the fourth year the annual event will be held at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and includes an evening filled with dinner, drinks and dancing… Plus a very special guest: The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond.
The organization has already sold 700 tickets to Saturday night’s event, but Amy says there are a handful of tickets still available. If you are interested in attending, call her right away: 405-778-7613. Or, click here to send her an email.
As a way to keep their cause on the attendee’s minds long after the event, Infant Crisis Services worked with ROBYN to create these clever branded toothpicks with their slogan, “No baby should go hungry.” What a fantastic way to reinforce their message!
If you can’t make the event this weekend, but would like to help, ask Amy about the Teen Associate Board’s auction at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club in April. Or, you can always swing by one of their three metro locations to drop off supplies.
Please share this message with your friends by clicking one of the icons at the top of this email. Infant Crisis Services does great work and can use your help to spread their message.
Posted by Brian Blake on Tue, Jan 31, 2012 @ 02:45 PM
Distribution is one of the most overlooked aspects of a company store, yet certainly one of the most critical. After all, if you’ve poured countless hours and thousands of dollars into your branded products, what good is a company store if distribution is not accurate and expedient?
Below is a checklist of options for shipment through a ROBYN Company Store program. Think through whether or not you want to offer next-day and same-day shipments. Be sure to also review the list of questions you should ask yourself and your vendor to ensure an efficient process for distribution.
Distribution Options
- UPS Ground
- UPS 3-Day Select
- UPS 2nd Day Air
- UPS Next Day Air (by 8:00 AM delivery)
- UPS Next Day Air
- Fed-Ex
- Fed-Ex Saver
- International
- Truck
Questions to ask yourself:
- Do we allow all employees the option to ship materials via air?
- Will we need International service?
- Do we have a preferred shipper?
Questions to ask your vendor:
- Does your vendor commit to a 24-hour turn-around on all inventoried items?
- Will they send tracking numbers with each order?
- Do they have experience nationally as well as internationally?
- How do they monitor errors made on shipments?
- How do they manage returns?
- From what part of the country are they shipping your products?
ROBYN Promotions is based in Oklahoma City, OK... Smack dab in the middle of the United States. With three major interstate highways crossing through the city, we are situated in an ideal location to garner quick shipping times and some of the best rates to any location in the country.
Check out our 30 Second Snapshot about Company Stores:
Posted by Brian Blake on Fri, Jan 27, 2012 @ 09:56 AM
Most of our friends know that at ROBYN, we are focused on honing our marketing skills... And we enjoy sharing what we have learned! To this end, we are thrilled to introduce a side project we've been working on: The 7 Minute Smarketer.
The premise behind the podcast is to sit down with innovative marketers who are experts in different disciplines and give them 7 minutes to make us smarter. The podcasts are hosted on the 7 Minute Smarketer website, which you can hear by clicking the button below...
Bobby Lehew: Well, hello, everyone, welcome the Seven Minutes Smarketer. This is Bobby Lehew. Whether you are a small business, a solo entrepreneur, or you manage a large marketing department, this is the fastest place to get caught up on tools and techniques to make you a smarter marketer. Today, our guest is Brody Dorland, the chief marketing officer with DivvyHQ. And today, we're going to talk about developing a content strategy. Welcome to the program, man.
Brody Dorland: Thank you.
Bobby: Glad you took the time to do this.
Brody: Appreciate being able to do it.
Bobby: Yeah, and you know the premise...You have seven minutes to make us smarter marketers about this topic, or you owe me a beer.
Brody: Yes.
Bobby: You can tell we're serious, because we have the chapstick root beer flavor, right?
Brody: Yes.
Bobby: So, OK, I'm going to set the timer, and we're talking about developing a content strategy. Actually, I love this topic, because, we were talking about this a minute ago, I think content's where it's at. Google just changed their algorithm again and this is all about fresh content. So, Brody, make us smarter, man. I'm starting the timer.
Brody: Sure. So, businesses today, as you said, with Google Panda, SEO in general, marketers need to be creating great content, fresh content on a regular basis, and putting that out in all of the social spaces. And web content, making their web offering, their content offering, very focused, and specific to the types of buyers that they're trying to target. So when a buyer comes to a website, if they find a company on social, Facebook, Twitter, whatever, the content does what it should to move people along, either in their buying process, their research process, that kind of thing, so that they can make a good buying decision. So, we work with clients every day to help them develop that content strategy. We have a specific process that we've developed over the years. We call it the publisher method. And it's really about helping companies think like publishers.
We're actually taking a lot of things from the traditional publishing industry, editorial processes, putting a publishing team together, and forcing the issue for companies to sit down and plan their content specific to the types of buyers they're going after.
Bobby: Quick question. Before they get to that phase, they've actually got to take a really serious look at content as an important part of their business now.
Brody: Absolutely.
Bobby: I mean, it's almost as if, I wrote an article called "Content Is the New Cold Call." They've really got to embrace that as a new type of salesperson.
Brody: Love that concept, yeah.
Bobby: Right.
Brody: Absolutely. So, when you're creating strategic content and putting it out in all of the right spaces where your buyers are doing research or, certainly on social, with peer recommendations and everything. When you've seeded content out in the right places and the content itself is right on target, then, ultimately, you're going to benefit from that. Google's going to find it, so your search engine optimization, your search rankings are going to benefit from that. Then, when they find it, hopefully, that content leads them into some sort of sales cycle or marketing funnel, that type of thing.
So, yeah, we help them set all that up. Then, what does their ongoing editorial planning need to look like? That's where DivvyHQ comes in, an actual tool that helps them plan things on a regular basis and work with their team more effectively.
Bobby: Now, you guys work with some very large brands. Do most of the companies that you are talking with and working with, do most of them have trouble coming up with content?
Brody: They actually don't normally have trouble coming up with content ideas. But having a better process, where you get everybody in a room on a regular basis, throw out content ideas and then figure out how it fits best within their marketing machine, and where to put the content, how to focus it towards certain buyers, certain keywords. When you have a good process that helps to set all that up and facilitate it in a really organized way, then that's when they really start being successful.
Bobby: This goes back to appropriating the proper amount of time to content.
Brody: Absolutely. And the right team members. People that might have certain specialties and how does their specialty or capacity fit well within the overall content team to get it done on a regular basis?
Bobby: Now, you're used to working with large brands. What would you say to the smaller entrepreneur or smaller marketing professional that doesn't have a huge editorial team that they can work with?
Brody: Sure, well, they can still go through the same type of content strategy process, figuring out the different types of buyers that they're focusing on, and then, figuring out the frequency to which they need to be creating content. Then, forcing themselves to sit down and plan on a regular basis. Once you get that plan together, the frequency to which you're doing blog posts, email newsletters, social media stuff. You get that schedule, your daily, weekly, monthly execution list and then, you just go do it. Get it done.
Bobby: It does get easier. It is hard, especially when you initially start, because I've been blogging for several years, creating content, and it just starts out very difficult, but then it does smooth out.
Brody: Absolutely. You can learn little tricks. Let's say you're on the phone with a client and they ask a question. OK, how can you spin that question and your answer into a piece of content? Because there's probably multiple people out there that have that same question.
Bobby: Right.
Brody: Yeah. So, turn that into a piece of content.
Bobby: I tell folks all the time, you probably have great stories crossing your threshold every day, you just need to start to learn how to recall those, how to capture them.
Brody: Yeah, and people get caught up in their business too much. They're in the trenches and they don't think about the everyday questions that come back and forth, and what do buyers want to hear about? What are the features and benefits of your products and services? How can you spin those into nuggets of content that you now push out via your different spaces?
Bobby: That's awesome. Brody, we ran out of time, but, man, you definitely made us a smarter marketers, and I really appreciate you taking the time to do this.
Brody: Well, thank you. Glad to be here.
Posted by Brian Blake on Mon, Jan 23, 2012 @ 03:25 PM
Each year, Star Building Systems brings their 27 District Managers to Oklahoma City for the annual three-day Master Sales Plan Meeting. At the center of all their reviewing, forecasting and goal setting is their core message that they are carrying into their 86th year:
We build relationships with our builders.
One of the ways Star Building Systems continues to build these relationships is by sharing useful promotional items with their customers. They know the value of keeping their name in from of clients and prospects. What’s really unique, though, is how the corporate office handles these promotional products.
Each of the District Managers is given a generous budget to purchase promotional items that will best serve his own market. To make it even better, though, Star Building Systems works with ROBYN Promotions to pick out a nice selection of items (such as pad folios, custom usb drives, mousepads and shirts), then shows them to the DMs while they are in town. All 27 DMs order the products on the spot and the Star Building Systems’ marketing team submits a bulk order to ROBYN (which usually garners the largest volume discount available). Talk about efficient!
Of course, this is a company that is known in the metal building industry as a leader. The technology they developed for their builders to be able to quickly and accurately quote a price for a building has truly set them apart. This type of innovation has fueled their growth from their humble beginnings in 1927 when they built toolsheds next to oil derricks to the current multi-million dollar buildings their contractors erect throughout the United States and around the world.
“Building relationships” is a fantastic motto for a company that makes metal buildings. However, it’s also one of the most important aspects of each of our respective businesses. How are you building relationships with your clients and prospects? ROBYN’s creative team has some great ideas. Maybe we can help!
Posted by Brian Blake on Wed, Jan 18, 2012 @ 03:13 PM
Most of our friends know that at ROBYN, we are focused on honing our marketing skills... And we enjoy sharing what we have learned! To this end, we are thrilled to introduce a side project we've been working on: The 7 Minute Smarketer.
The premise behind the podcast is to sit down with innovative marketers who are experts in different disciplines and give them 7 minutes to make us smarter. The podcasts are hosted on the 7 Minute Smarketer website, which you can hear by clicking the button below...
Brian Blake: Well, hello everyone. Welcome to the 7‑Minute Smarketer. Whether you're a small business, a solo entrepreneur or manage a large marketing communications department, this is the fastest place to get caught up on tools and techniques to make you a smarter marketer.
I'm your host, Brian Blake, and I'm here with my co‑host, Bobby Lehew. Today we're talking with Libby Gill, the CEO of Libby Gill & Company. Welcome, Libby.
Libby Gill: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Brian: Glad to have you here. Now some of you probably know that Libby is a PR genius. She's a best‑selling author and an internationally respected executive coach for some very big names. I just want to toss a couple out here. Not that I'm name-dropping, but I think it's a good way to set the stage.
You might be familiar with Sony, Universal, Turner Broadcasting, Dr. Phil, Microsoft, Nike, Pfizer. I could spend our entire time today naming these companies. Let's just say that you know your stuff, and we're very excited to have you with us.
Libby: Well, thank you.
Brian: Before we get too far in, I want to check in with my cohort in crime, Bobby Lehew, who is manning the controls today.
Bobby Lehew: Yeah.
Brian: We're going to set the clock for seven minutes. And you know the deal, right, Libby?
Libby: I do. I've got to talk fast and give you some smarketing tips.
Brian: That's right. If you can't make us smarter marketers in seven minutes, you owe us a beer. And I'm pretty confident that I'll be buying at happy hour today.
Libby: [laughs] I'll do what I can.
Brian: [laughs] You're considered by many to be a branding expert, and branding is one of those catch words that is sometimes really hard to define. So can you tell me, what do you mean by "branding"?
Libby: It really is. And people I find tend to either oversimplify it or they overcomplicate it. It is really just the articulation of your brand value. What is it you're going to do for me and how are you going to do it?
Brian: You had some great points in a speech that we just saw you give. Can you hit a couple of those real quick? I think it was five of them.
Libby: I did. OK. You've got to have what I call "sticky language." You want to create a whole brand language around what you do. Obviously there are certain things... People go right to the "Oh, we provide results." Well, excuse me, but duh. Who is in business not to provide results?
Brian: Exactly.
Libby: "We have integrity." Oh, really? The rest of you are felons. I mean, you know, it's just so silly. You have to be very specific. And I tell people to find the specificity and the universality. In other words, in this big world of lots of problems that marketers solve, what is it that you specifically do and how do you do it that makes a difference?
Brian: Right. I like that. I'm going to jump to the next thing here, and that's this word that you also used, that's "unstuck." In fact, you wrote a book called "You Unstuck" that kind of gets into overcoming your fears to achieve your goals. I know many of our listeners own small businesses, so marketing is just one aspect of their realities.
What would you say to them about getting unstuck?
Libby: The most important thing is you really have to have is a plan, because a plan will take you past fears. So you do what I call the "CSE method." You clarify the vision. What is it you're trying to accomplish? What do you want?
And to make it simple, think of it in terms of "What do I want this quarter, this week, this year?" Bring it down to earth. Then simplify it. What's not the hardest way to get there but the easiest way to get there?
And finally you've got to execute. You've got to move forward on that plan. To me, the best way to do that is to have something that holds you or someone who holds you accountable.
I have an accountability partner. We talk to each other every Monday and Thursday. We go through "What's on your short list for the week? What do you have to get done? What are your challenges? What are your fears? What are your concerns? Where do you need more information?" Just having that other person to report into makes me get stuff done.
Bobby: That's great. Libby, you've had so much experience working with teams. How does that apply to teams? Same exact principle? Are there any different dynamics? Because I know we're dealing with a lot of large marketing departments and you've got a lot of experience with that.
Libby: Well, sometimes a team can be... The bigger a team the more obstacles you have to work around at times. So you can't let the hierarchy or the politics get in your way. You have to stay very much focused on "What is the end result?"
And another really important thing with teams is you've got to understand your own value. What does the value of your personal brand bring to the team and what does the team bring to the organization? So your brand is all about value. It's always looking at "What is the value that I myself provide?"
Bobby: That is great.
Brian: That is great. Speaking of teams, that's a nice segue into leadership. I know that you coach executives. That's one of your fortes. And I'm fascinated with the various styles of leadership. What skills or strengths do you encourage executives to use themselves?
Libby: Well, of course communication to me is the crux of everything. But a lot of it still goes back to personal branding. I think to be an executive and a senior executive, there is a kind of executive presence, a confidence, a skill level, an ability to inspire and motivate people to act, that comes with that.
People can be very good managers. They can direct traffic. They can get things done. They can manage other people. But to go beyond that and truly be a leader, you've got to find every ounce of that personal brand, that executive presence, and bring it out and put it in front of people.
Frankly, it can be very scary. But when you get to the point where you've decided you're willing to take the risk, people are either going to applaud or throw tomatoes and you don't care which one. Then you've got a shot at really bringing out that real leadership style of your own.
Brian: I love seeing the difference between manager and leader. I think a lot of times they're kind of confused, and there is a definite line between them.
Libby: Yeah. Managers ‑‑ I think Peter Drucker had the great line about it, that, let's see, managers... Oh, I'm not going to remember it right. But basically, leaders are the ones who set the vision and managers are the ones who make sure the vision is carried out. That's essentially what it is.
Brian: Yeah.
Libby: And there's a different between getting things done and articulating a vision that inspires everybody to grow beyond what even they think they're capable of.
Brian: Very good. You also mentioned the Kaizen model or method?
Libby: Oh, it's just the word Kaizen. I call it the Kaizen concept.
Brian: Concept, there we go.
Libby: Right.
Brian: Can we talk about that a little bit? I thought that was great.
Libby: Sure. Kaizen is a combination of two Japanese words, "kai" meaning "change" and "zen" meaning the word we're familiar with that literally means "good." You put those together and it's "change for the good," or "incremental improvement."
I think people are so daunted at trying to be better, to be bigger, to be bolder, all of which I'm in favor of. But we don't necessarily get there by setting this huge, lofty vision that can often shut us down. That's one way people get stuck.
But you've got to be able to set that vision and then take it apart, put it in those bite‑sized pieces so that you are always looking for ways to improve. When I speak and do presentations, I change it up every single time. I can't not.
It's not only studying the organization but what is it that really makes people take action? What is it that inspires them to leave the room and do something? It's the same for any business. How are your systems? How are your operations? How's your sales path? All of those things.
I look at what I'm not good at. And I'm not a great systems or operations person. So that's what I'm constantly looking to shore up. I can think of a million ideas. Getting them done can be the downfall. So I've always got to look at ways to build that.
Brian: I think that's a great message for marketers, in setting goals that they can achieve and then even taking it one step further.
Libby: That is exactly...
Brian: We like to call that "turning it up to 11."
Libby: There you go. And it never stops. It's once you hit 11, then you've got to hit the next 11 or 12 or whatever comes after 11.
[laughter]
Libby: But it is that constant sense, and it's not radical changes. I will often do an initial coaching session with someone where we're looking at different areas of life and business on a 1 to 10 scale. I'm a big believer in making intangible things numerical.
[phone rings]
Libby: Better take that call!
[laughter]
Brian: I know.
Libby: Turn it up to 11! Never stopping!
[laughter]
Libby: But once you see that you're at a two in your, maybe it's your leadership or your brand presence or your sales... I'm not somebody that likes to pick up the phone and call people so I've got a little bit of that call fear. I'd give myself about a three on that. I don't have to ramp it up to a 10 but I've got to ramp it up to a 4.
Brian: Right. That's good advice.
Libby: So that's the incremental improvement. Ramp it up a notch. Then after you've done that, you've hit your 11, ramp it up another notch.
Bobby: There you go.
Brian: That's great. OK. I'm getting the sign that we're about out of time. Is there anything else you want to get in there at the end here?
Libby: Oh, that was the sign? I thought that was your callers calling in!
Bobby: Bad alarm.
Brian: The conga drums.
Bobby: It should have been like a beer opening up.
Libby: Yeah, exactly. I think it's just really look at those ways that you can connect with your audience emotionally. Hit them where they live. That's the most important thing to do, is really give them something of value that's relevant to their lives.
Brian: Well, thank you so much for taking the time to join us today on the 7‑Minute Smarketer.
Libby: My pleasure. Do I owe you a beer?
Brian: Without a doubt, I owe you a couple.
Bobby: That's right.
Brian: And I want to thank you for listening today. You can learn more about Libby Gill on her website libbygill.com. Have a great day.