Tag: marketing - Page 57

There have been many lessons I have learned this year; some the easy way and some the hard way.

The past six months have been exhausting. It has tested me in ways that I never imagined possible and at the same time, made me realize a few things about myself that will help shape the person I am moving forward.

I have learned:

It’s no secret; marketers are driven by the satisfaction of when the product we are promoting sells.

But how often do we pause to consider the impact that product is having on the world - the people, the wildlife and the environment around us?

Everyone at some time in their lives has felt that their world has curved in. Things become heavy, dark and almost impossible to keep afloat - but there is light at the end of the tunnel, if only we all can see it.

It's how we handle these experiences of difficulties that show our real character and ability to be resilient in the face of adversity now and in the future.

The Wolf of Wall Street was in many people's opinions a celebration of the bad life - drugs, sex, expensive toys, opulent homes and super expensive suits.

As we watched on as Leonardo DiCaprio spruiked, "The way I look at it, their money was better off in my pocket," many of us couldn't believe that world existed quite like that. But it does. And it's right here on our doorstep too.

There is one thing that employees can learn from a Navy Seal that will be life changing - and that is to make your bed every morning to perfection. By completing this task, according to Navy Admiral William H. McRaven, who gave a talk to 8000 graduating students from the University of Texas last month, you would have completed the first task of the day.

I watched the video of his speech that clocked up 1.7 million views in 2 weeks on YouTube a few weeks ago and was inspired.

Of his 10 Life Lessons From A Navy Seal, here are 4 that resonated most with me:

1. If you want to change the world, start off by making your own bed. This makes perfect sense to me as once you have completed this task, it is easier to complete others. It also signifies that its the little things that we all have to do in our lives that at times we may see as pointless, that are instrumental in helping us achieve our goals.

2. If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle. You cannot do it by yourself no matter how good you think you are. Working as a team can help you accomplish things more quickly and effectively, keeping employees accountable to each other and increasing motivation to achieve the end goal.

3. If you want to change the world, don't be afraid of circuses. This means that you should not be afraid of failing and the repercussion of that. There will be times where you fail and as McRaven says, it will be painful, discouraging and will test you to your core. The ability to get through this and know that not only have you come through to the other end, but there will be more circuses in the future, will make you stronger and more determined to succeed.

4. If you want to change the world, don't ever, ever ring the bell. Giving up means you won't have to have any more circuses and it will give you immediate relief from the pain or challenges you may be facing, but if you do this, you will have the same situation pop up over and over again in life and you will do the same thing - ring the bell. It is impossible to succeed if you keep ringing the bell.

Who would have thought that a blog titled "Why married women are more successful" would receive 47,284 views in less than 24 hours, 525 likes, 550 comments, 467 Facebook likes, 2,371 shares on LinkedIn and 74 retweets on Twitter? I did. And that's exactly why I wrote it.

I am a new author on LinkedIn and I know a thing or two about blogging and going viral. If I just write about marketing, at most, I will get between 1,000 and 10,000 views over a week. If I write about something personal - more. But if I write about something that people have strong opinions on or that hits a raw nerve - the sky is literally the limit.

Meet Ronan Farrow; the son of actress Mia Farrow and filmmaker Woody Allen. He’s also a journalist, lawyer and former U.S. government advisor. In his position many would have submitted to nepotism and explored the bright lights of Hollywood, but not Farrow, the 26-year-old is busy using his business acumen and social capital to change the world around us.

Ronan Farrow is a Social Entrepreneur, the hungry breed of Generation Y philanthropists. They are a group of marketing and tech-savvy movers and shakers (typically, PR pros) that find innovative solutions to solve the world’s most pressing social problems, and Farrow is just one of them leading the way. Here’s a look at four other social entrepreneurs shaping the way we look at business, and its ability to shape our future for the better:

Midwest Medical is a leading provider of facility programs that provide ASC or Outpatient Surgical Centres with Sequential Compression Devices and sleeves.

As the company has continued to grow and prosper, they launched into the US market the revolutionary Venowave Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) device DVTlite. With this addition to their range of products and services, Midwest Medical realized that their business was going through an evolution and during the tranformational phase required a rethink of how their brand would look and feel going forward.

Yesterday, I spoke at Cebit 2014 on sales process automation.

It was an interesting topic because so many Australian companies have yet to realise just how much more efficient their sales process can be through sales automation and the ROI in terms of revenue acquired because of having an effective sales process automation system in place.

Collaborating CRM, marketing automation, workflow automation and email marketing, sales process automation is one of the most important areas for businesses to focus on in 2014. 

I’ve got a not-so-secret weapon to reel clients in.  It’s called marketing automation.

You walk in to your favourite shop and immediately, something beautiful captures your attention.  You need it, you want it, it would be just right for you.

Summoning all of your courage, you walk over to that breathtaking prospect and begin your introduction.  And no, I’m not talking about a man, or a pair of Jimmy Choos -  I’m describing something else that makes my heart beat; engaging with a potential new client; that instantaneous allure of a new connection.  And I’m not going to lie; you must approach business like you would a date.

Yes, I’m encouraging you to flirt with your customers.