Tag: business - Page 19

I get it... women have been left to the way-side in corporate and in life for many years, and now they are in a time where they can shine and take center stage with all the fanfare attached.

However, are we really that desperate to blow our own trumpets? Do we really think we are better than men? Do we really need to be all over the media saying how wonderful we are or at least think we are - just because we are women?

I am a woman and feel incredibly fortunate that I was born this way. In fact, rather than shed a tear for the glass ceiling, I am swinging from the rooftops thanking everyone who cares to listen for the fact that I am a woman and have been given many more advantages as such than my male counterparts.

It's that time of year where companies are back hiring new recruits.

As someone who is always too busy, I have left the on-boarding to our previous CEO and Area Managers, with my role being minimal other than an introduction.

However, like most entrepreneurs, January is a time to re-think your business in every way; finance, recruitment, human resources, marketing, sales, products/services etc.

This has given me an opportunity to see just what is going on and I have to say, we have some gaps. As a marketing and communications based company, Marketing Eye plays a pivotal role in communicating a company's brand and culture to employees of our clients. We develop and design on-boarding manuals, podcasts, corporate videos and interactive presentations on the company, people and history.

What I have realized is that we are not dissimilar to a mechanic who never finds time to fix their own car. 

With that, off came the gloves and I rolled up my sleeves to have a better insight into our on-boarding processes. 

Here are some clever best practices that we teach our clients and implement on their behalf:

THE INTERVIEW

• When writing an advertisement for a position, include a link to your website which talks about the company culture and the type of person that will fit in. This is great for the applicant and even better for your company as it sends people to your website and drives traffic and engagement.

• Ask applicants to like your company on social media. If they don't want to do this, then they are definitely NOT interested in your brand, culture or the future promotion of your company - so strike them immediately off the list.

• When an applicant comes for an interview, ensure that someone from your team rings them the day before, introduces themselves and talks to them about a normal day in the office. It's a great way to give the applicant an idea what it is like to work for your company and also shares with them an insight into the culture and type of people that they need to fit in with.

• Do something clever to get the applicant to remember your company like sending them an inspirational email with a famous quote. Ensure that it is written on a picture to give your brand  a "lift"

• On arrival at the interview, give them an iPad with a presentation and video of what it is like to work for your company and what type of people perform best. 

• In the interview, present your company like you would present the company to a client. Then ask for the applicant to talk about themselves; share insights that do not come across clearly in their CV's and ask them to explain why they think that they would be a good fit.

• When they leave, give them a company brochure and any literature related to your company that may be of benefit to them.

It's a catastrophe in the making. Already you have eaten one extra scoop of ice-cream that you really did not need, and the vino - well, it was just there and it had to be drunk.

New Years Resolutions are renown for being thrown in the bin and rightfully so, because few of us really commit to them for longer than a day or two. In fact, statistics show that New Years Resolutions are not kept with only 8% of people keeping them past the first few days according to Times Magazine.

When you try and tie a behavioral change to a specific date, you tend to rob yourself of an opportunity to fail and recover and many who believe that they will change, and fail, tend to believe that they have to wait another year to try again. It's a weird psyche that many of us share.

This year is my year. I am dedicating it to achieving everything I ever dreamt of and more. There is no second place and certainly no throwing in the towel. Instead, I am committed like never before to achieving all of my goals and ensuring that I live life to the fullest encapsulating all my dreams in one forward movement into the future. 

I am not getting any younger - and neither are you may I add, so there is no time like the present to get off my fairly ample bottom and put those trainers on with that Nike exercise outfit that has been gaining cobwebs and start the race on high speed with milestones every day of the year, that need to be met.

"Onwards and upwards"

It doesn't take much to realize that 2013 has been the biggest roller coaster of my life. While I have had many wins, I have had equal losses that have been harder to swallow than I would have liked.

Building a business isn't easy. In fact, it is damn hard. You get on a roll and then one thing happens and it crashes downward until somehow you find the strength that you didn't know existed, then you pull it back in line and then start all over again, hopefully learning from those mistakes and taking the business in a slightly new direction albeit one that has the same end result.

Late on Wednesday, Maikayla Desjardins (aka #24yrold), a marketing consultant at Marketing Eye Atlanta gave her weekly pep talk to the team. In her talk, she encouraged them to take Friday off and enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend, coming back to the office on Monday all fresh and ready to achieve our company goals for December.

Then, out of the blue, she said, "I want to kick-ass in December and to do this, I need all of your help. I need for you to take the next four days to think about just one thing that we can all do in December that will improve our sales performance and ensure that we achieve our goals."

I can't help wondering what I did to deserve to be continually packing things up and moving but somewhere along the line in the past year or so, it has been something that has become almost second nature. So much so, that I don't think I had time to unpack everything.

Four hours of checking to see if I have everything, and packing up my most valuable possessions, I am finished. My dog is looking at me scared about what possibly could be next. Moving still isn't something she is use to and I realized early in the piece that it is what brings her the most fear. For that matter, it does the same to me, however my New Years Resolution this year was to put myself in "uncomfortable" situations and I have certainly lived up to that.

There is one thing we all know for sure about business as we go into the future:

The way your business wins in the future is very different than the way it has won in the past

Just when we think we have got it 'sorted out' something else comes along and again, small businesses fall behind the eight ball.

If I look back on the past 20 years or so, business has changed dramatically. 

• Globalization is changing the way we work, play and learn
• Technology affects every element of our lives and being
• Employees have become the single most important part of any business
• A person can no longer just blunder into business and expect to survive
• Old business models and paradigms have changed and will continue to do so
• Connecting with customers doesn't come just by word of mouth, a strong sales team or advertising in the local newspaper
• People have changed.

There are so many things that have and are shaping our world and with that businesses are now required to make changes that not only impact their businesses but also the way their employees, community and stakeholders view them.

Today, as I was making a post on Facebook with one of my marketing blogs, I noticed a headline from one of my friend's wives: "I lied to my child."

Apparently, as I read further, she had lied to her child by saying that she couldn't wait until her 5 year old started school, when really she knew that she would miss her dearly and would prefer for her small, adorable young daughter to continue to stay home.

There are many types of lies, but statistics show we all tell several lies per day, often without realizing it.

Lying is so common, yet for many of us including me, it drives us crazy.

I realized on the weekend that I have been fooling myself. In my mind, I have told myself that everything is fine and as it should be - but the reality is that it isn't. There are things that are not being done or are not going ahead at the rate I would like them to - and that's just my personal life. 

In business, its a huge mistake as a small business owner to not be on your game. I put things that pop up, to the way-side - and pretending that they never happened. Constantly, make other things priorities over things that should be at the top of the list and I still don't trust my gut instinct - because if I did, my life would be easy.

We are all in this game to win; whether it is creating a lifestyle business, building an international empire or making huge profits. 

JWT in Atlanta hosted their second CLEVER : Ideas made kinetic breakfast seminar this week with leading mobile marketing expert, Brent Hieggelke of Urban Airship as keynote speaker.

The presentation on "How 10 Brand Leaders Are Redefining Their Customer Relationships" talked to the crowd of about 30 or 40 people on how important it is for marketers to take mobile marketing seriously.

According to the invite;

"Mobile now sets the bar for brand relevancy, and Urban Airship is leading the shift from interruption-based marketing strategies to personalized, invitation-geared messaging."

Brent Hieggelke, a man that clearly knows what he is talking about, pulls from years of research done by his firm on best-practices for employing digital wallets, apps, location data, and targeted customer insight to drive meaningful, and profitable, brand engagement.

"Top power brands aren't just building consumer connections, they're redefining the context."