Teaching vs. Doing
February 21, 2012
Like most of us, I started out my working life learning. I was hired by a TV station to be the new weekend producer and after one weekend of training with the previous weekend producer – who was now the 11pm producer – I was on my own. It was the kind of job that went by you like a freight train on fire. But – you learned.
The next thing that happened was I “did”. For many years, I wrote, ran tapes, edited stories, assigned reporters to cover stories and managed the “children”. I was a doer. Next thing you know, I am teaching. Teaching the next weekend producer who came in when I was promoted. And so it goes.
Each of us are a combination of doers and teachers – which one do you like best? If you can zero in on which makes you the happiest, perhaps this is a bit of knowledge you can follow – right into a new career.
Are you a teacher or a doer? If you’re a doer, you’ll probably charge by the hour – if you’re a teacher, you’ll charge by the lesson. Think about it.
Market Where Your Clients Are….On Their SmartPhone.
February 14, 2012
I sat at the bar last weekend and watched as the two hundred or so people who were watching the communal festival known as the Superbowl were also watching their cellphones. Constantly. They were doing all sorts of things on the phone – some were emailing, some were social media-ing, and some were searching for information. The one thing they all had in common: they were never more than a quick grab into their pocket or purse away from their little buddy, the SmartPhone.
Is it any wonder that it takes people only 24 minutes to report a lost phone, but it takes them 24 hours to report a lost wallet?
On your phone at this very minute: all your phone numbers and calendar, your music, your email, your LIFE.
It is only a matter of time before everything as we know it – the Internet, TV and all communication – collects on your Smartphone. This is the one screen that is completely personal to you – and don’t think marketers haven’t been staying awake figuring out new and better ways to connect to you via SmartPhones.
There are apps, short code or SMS texting, QR tags and pretty soon, something called “near field communication” will enter the fray. NFC is designed so you can pay for things just by tapping your phone on a receiver “nearby”. You can also be communicated to via GPS navigational and information gathering techniques. For example, you are walking by a Starbucks and up pops a coupon for $1 off your favorite breakfast sandwich. Pretty (scary) good, huh?
Well, mobile marketing isn’t just for the big guys anymore: there are plenty of opportunities for small business owners to get in on the mobile trend. For example, there’s a company called VizConnect out of Boston. They provide a platform where you can upload a video (let’s say an offer for a local restaurant combined with a cool video cooking tip), connect it to a QR tag you generate right there on their site and use it on printed material. After the informative video is over, it dumps you on to a “call to action” page where you can do a variety of things: share the offer with friends via Facebook or Twitter or other social networks, you could RSVP to an event via a mobi-site (mobile-friendly website) or connect to another type of web link to sign up for a new cooking class offered by the restaurant – or get into an exclusive “for invited guests only” club that will offer you more money saving coupons. Pretty cool, huh?
Well, even cooler — after you print out that QR tag, you can CHANGE the video. Yup. Imagine printing out a couple of QR tags on a few t-shirts for staffers. On the t-shirts, print the line: “click here for today’s free offer” – and everytime you change the video or link or offer, it’s changed on the t-shirt. Pure AWESOMEness, indeed, and a great tool for small businesses looking to get into the SmartPhone marketing game.
The “secret” to your most successful marketing
January 17, 2012
What is it they say? “There are only seven stories in the world and Shakespeare wrote them all”. Are there any new stories or have they all been told? Boy sees girl, boy chases girl, boy catches girl, Bruce Willis steals girl. You know…the standards. If we are all doing the same things – how can they be different?
For example, if I am a carpenter, I learn my trade and the accepted methodologies. But after a while, I begin to learn from my own experience as well. I start bringing myself to the task. I may even have my own way of doing, changing, improving on what I do and this body of knowledge and skill called “carpentry”. It may be technically the same as other good and accomplished carpenters, but I bring that unique piece to the table to make it just — well, completely unique.
In the big picture, this is how a craft evolves. In the more immediate, more personal picture – this is called a key differentiator of the first order. These bits of “special” you bring to the carpenter world are what your perfect client will become attracted to – and ultimately what will be responsible for the most important growth of your business. Bar none.
mary jo cranmore
