50 Blogging Ideas for Business

Great post from Chris that I couldn't resist sharing for those trying to kick start your corporate blog.

Now whats your excuse going to be, for those of you suffering from blogger's block?

1. How to get the most from our customer service department.
2. The best way to recommend an improvement to our product or service.
3. Podcast - complete installation instructions in audio and video.
4. What would you like to see in next year’s catalog?
5. Our favourite projects over the coming months.
6. Some tricks that might keep you from needing support.
7. Upcoming coupons and offers for the next two weeks.
8. We want to talk. How should we contact you? Where?
9. Choose our product’s price.
10. Five tips for getting more from your ______ .

    

11. A little bit about us.
12. A walk in our neighborhood.
13. Photos from our community meetup.
14. What goes into our decision process.
15. Video - a tour of the plant, and a day in the life of your product.
16. What it’s like to work for our company.
17. We support these causes, and here’s why.
18. The next two years: how we grow with you.
19. We want to come to work with you (and learn how we can help)!
20. Giving back to the community: our plan.

    

21. What we worry about over the coming year.
22. How we handle your disputes or complaints.
23. Can you recommend a better process for this?
24. Sometimes, we have to say no.
25. Your call is important to us. We’ll tell you how important.
26. We’re sorry, and here’s how we’ll handle things next time.
27. Report from our independent community review board.
28. How to close out your account with us. (Imagine how risky this is?)
29. The economy is piling up costs, and we have to share the burden.
30. Understanding what went wrong.

    

31. Birthday announcements for August. (Imagine listing your customers’ names on a birthday calendar?)
32. Fourteen ways to customize your _______.
33. Why we like our competitor’s product better, and how we’ll catch up.
34. Customer Profile - Sedah D’Abdul.
35. Our fourth annual YOU awards.
36. What we think is unique about us. Do you agree?
37. Communities in your neighborhood, and several on the Web.
38. Your blog posts: Javier Mendoza suggests ways we could improve.
39. Companies to consider when you get too big for us.
40. Why we believe participation pays off.

    

41. Meet our four favorite customer service reps for September.
42. Vendors that serve us so we can help you.
43. Our global plan - Vietnam, Italy, and your back yard.
44. What we look for in our leadership.
45. Video - our new smaller offices downtown.
46. Green is our new favorite color- save energy and money with your _____.
47. How corporate responsibility saved us $3Mil last year.
48. Growing up but staying fun.
49. Your event, our treat.
50. Five promises we’ve kept over the last few years

What Brand Managers Don't Want You To Know

"Past performance is not indicative of future performance"

At least that's what financial planners are trained to say. Mutual fund companies wouldn't dare create any sales literature that didn't have this caveat in the fine print.

Except that it's wrong when it comes to marketing.

Welcome to the halo effect: where global evaluations of a brand spill over into every day judgments.

Have you ever noticed that beautiful people are rated much higher in other categories like intelligence, athletics, and being successful compared to ugly people?

Its how companies like Apple have leveraged their branding power so that every product created (Mac, Ipod, Iphone etc.) are deemed remarkable and worth paying a premium for.
Books written as a "Harvard Classic" can demand twice the price than books without such an endorsement. The same is true in the fashion world. What fits better: designer clothes from Bloor Street, or the no name brand from Zellers?

And the funny thing is: we often don't know when it's happening to us. Are we really buying the product or the brand? Is there really a difference in functionality to worth paying more for?
It's a question brand managers like to blur. And we're often too ignorant to notice.

Consumer empowerment really comes from knowing how you are being marketed to. The next time you are choosing to purchase something or vote for for a politician, ask yourself if the halo effect is operating on you. What story are you really trying to tell yourself? Are you really judging something on it's merit or past performance?

This simple check can save you a lot of time, a lot of money, and even friends that you would have otherwise rejected.

Marketing is Changing (and What to Do About it)

      WHAT'S IN?                                             WHAT'S OUT?

One-to-one marketing               "Dear customer" letters


Permission marketing                 Spam in your e-mail
                                   or regular mailbox

High quality, creative papers        Boring, impersonal or
with a handmade, hand-touched       mass-produced looking
         look                        direct-mail pieces

Community involvement                Thinking your cheque 
beyond your cheque-book.                 is enough. 
    

Personalized, anticipated,           "Take a number..."
relevant service           

Long-term branding              Short-term product movement

Customer retention                Customer churn and burn

Marketing to consumers who     Focusing all your marketing
care about your product;      efforts on the mass consumer.
who can easily spread your    People that hardly care about
message to others               you; who are only with you
                                 because of price.

Notice how the selfish top down approach to marketing was so yesterday?

That's because consumers are fed up of being told what to do. They
don't believe the lies anymore (and they are lies).

Think of it as dating. Would you randomly go up to someone in a noisy bar, interrupt
what they doing, and shout to them why you're such a great person?
Throw in alcohol, drunken behaviour and selfish idiots; you can
see why online dating has become so popular.

Despite what the cynics say, the ideas listed above aren't fads. Far from it.
Think of them as a return to making people feel human again - like the good old days when you knew who you bought from and the story behind it.

And that my friends, making certain people feel good about themselves, is what it's all about. By delivering anticipated, personalized, and relevant results, you are on the way to
remarkable marketing.

The Problem With Marketing Today

and decreasing brand loyalty,
" lower return on traditional advertising,
" a noisy and cluttered marketplace,
" poor ROI,
" poor sales conversions,
" websites that don't get traffic,
" social media not living up to expectations,
" no one paying attention to your product or cause...

Is all because we have too much choice.

Do the math: more products/services/competition for attention are being introduced in greater numbers every year. Yet time in a day has remained the same - 24 hours, that's all you get, and 8 (for most people) are spent sleeping.

People don't believe in products, services, or causes that don't match their world view. It's why targeting the masses doesn't work like it used to. It's why when creating a new product, marketing needs to be at the decision table along with R&D, not regulated to just promoting it afterwards. It's why going after the "who" over the "how many" is much more effective to cut through the noise and attention deficit people.

Creating products for the masses that no one really cares about is a great way to get lost in the shuffle.

Creating products that people want (think market research), that are so remarkable your target audience feels compelled to tell their friends. That's a great way to build brand loyalty, and solve all the other problems above.

There and endless mediocre products to choose from, but very few that edgy, worth paying attention to, and charging a premium for.

Changing the Boxer: Apple Vs. (now) Seinfeld

Your not supposed to be changing the fighter halfway through a showdown, but Billy has never been one to play by the rules.

Microsoft is teaming up with Seinfeld as reported here in response to staggering sales while getting a beating from Apple with it's "Mac vs PC" campaign.

Basically they're paying Jerry Seinfeld a cool 10 million to refresh Microsoft's "boring" brand in the wake of Apple's success with personal computers.

The article goes on to say Microsoft has hired one of the most prestigious ad agencies Crispin Porter + Bogusky, to reinvent their brand. There is one quote in the article that really takes the cake:

“Given Crispin's track record, it's tough to argue with the choice of agency – unless, of course, you don't think Microsoft's problem is one an ad agency can solve.”

This is EXACTLY the problem with Microsoft and companies that think throwing a little (a lot?) of dough to solve a communications problem, is all that's really needed.

Ironically an analyst (in the same article) hit the nail on the head:

Microsoft needs to keep focused on improving products. The biggest factor in Apple's success in the past few years has been its ability to get people into its stores with products like the iPod and then entice them to buy computers and more

Remarkably products get talked about. Improving the product, and narrowing your focus on core strengths is far better marketing power than any stand up comedian can provide.

And that's exactly what Microsoft needs. More innovation, less spin.

Ever had to reboot Windows Jerry? Let the new round begin.

How To Do Public Relations

Well we all know how not to do public relations thanks to Greyhound. Here's a great example of Maple Leaf Foods handling a public health nightmare properly.

Key takeaways:

1. Responding quickly with helpful information lots of great information, front and centre on their website about what products are affected, symptoms of the disease, and where to go for further information. I still can't find information on Greyhound's website on this matter. Did they think people wouldn't look for it there?

2. Protecting your brand instead of legal liability - Maple leaf Food has decided that legal issues can wait. Right now ensuring no one else gets sick or dies is top priority even if this means taking an hit in the short term. Greyhound on other hand, was too consumed about the liability of it's actions (or inaction) to really care about future customers.

3. Acting Courageous in the face of a difficult situation - the article profiles marketing experts who agree Maple Leaf Foods is stepping up to the plate above and beyond what is normally seen. On the other Greyhound couldn't be bothered to leave the comfort of their own offices to provide a brave public face.

Despite the seriousness of this problem, Maple Leaf Foods has really done something that most companies can't fathom: demonstrating that they care.

Needs Vs. Wants - Blurring the Lines

- In life there are very few things that we need to get by: roof over our head, clothes on our back, food on the table, and companionship from loved ones and friends.

Everything else is want. Wanting to be connected 24/7 via a blackberry or cellphone. Wanting to have nicer surroundings, newer nicer clothes, and to subscribe to the latest fashions/trends.

Yup those are wants. Sometimes we have a hard time distinguishing between what we actually need vs. what we actually want. You can thank marketers for this.

Since the 1950's marketers have taken advantage of your attention, trust, and purchasing power and used (questionable) tactics to win your heart, soul, and wallet. Mainstream ads were very effective to depict what "normal" people do and what you should do to be normal.

The tobacco companies were notorious for promoting their cancer causing brands to insecure and vulnerable people so that they could be normal. And yet to this day, they still won't admit their product is addictive

The proliferation of the suburbs (thank you Don Mills, Ontario) is another great example of this. While people may have always yearned for more space, with access to urban amenities it took Levitt and Sons to consolidate all these wants for livability, and market them as a "modern need". It's no secret that many of our modern needs have huge social and environmental side effects that most do not fathom about, as marketing and consumer behaviour has traditionally focused on the "now"

It doesn't have to be that way anymore.

The moment you are able to discern between "nice to have" and "must have" you have created thinking style that threatens the core strength of a mass marketer. Marketers would rather you do things right (it's why big cities appear much more fashionable and culturally vibrant) than doing the right things (it's why Stephane Dion is having a hard time as Liberal opposition leader)

The 21st century belongs to the consumer and their decision making, largely due to arrogance in marketing. But this doesn't mean you should be selfish, or acquire materialistic items just for the short term high.

In a knowledge based society, where everything (except for your mind) can be outsourced, ideas and creativity will matter. These are things no marketer, person can take from you, and will provide a much more fulfilling life than any material good will ever.

New marketing isn't about materialism. Its about spreading ideas, creativity, celebrating diversity and creating relationships instead of a one night stand. It's why I am so passionate about marketing and communication when most have a disdain view on the profession. New marketing seeks to correct this. Breaking down traditional thinking barriers and fostering an interdisciplinary approach; whereby geography and psychology matter just as much as business and statistics. That is the essence of effective marketing: focusing around the customer instead of business cliques.

Lastly, new marketing is about making a clear distinction about needs and wants - call it ethical marketing if you will. While human beings will always have unlimited wants, and quite a few needs, the solution to those problems isn't necessarily to fill it with short lived materialistic goods.

When interview a plane crash survivor, they almost always tell you their lives have changed, mostly for the better. They usually cite new things: family being more important, having fun being more important, and not wasting your life on trivial matters that really don't mean much in then end.

For some it takes a near death experience to realize this. Others can grapple this notion much easier and earlier in life.

For you, I hope this post provides an inspiration into whats really important in your life. It's not too late to change your thinking.

4 Critical Steps of Social Media

1. Identify and create a community
2. Deliver consistent and clear messages that authenticates your experience or brand.
   
3. Offer a place for your target audience to interact & comment.
4. Make it easy for your audience to spread your message.

Have you notice two recurring themes?

Authenticity and Consistency. You can't have one without the other, and it's one of the many secrets to new marketing. Don't server-crashing traffic right away, this is after all about brand building and long term relationships.

Following those goals outline above will put you ahead of many other business/not for profit bloggers who are still trying to get their head around social network and new media.

Less Is Really More

How much time do you have to communicate your message?

With thousands of new brands being introduced every year, competing with time starved individual's attention - not very much.

Eric distills this idea quite well: communicate your value proposition quickly and clearly.

It's a sad but revealing truth that people don't care about your idea. They are too busy putting out their own fires and dealing with efficiencies in their day, to really pay attention.

This is why permissive marketing is such a better option than interruptive marketing. Create an idea that's worth talking about, easy to spread to others, and you will be surprised to see people actually care about you!

Branding 101 Show

Shameless promotion yes, but a free prize to those who want to learn more about marketing.

I was recently featured on Blogtalkradio doing an interview on branding, what it entails, and how to brand in the new century. We only had 15 minutes so we couldn't go too far in depth of any particular topic, but still a great overview of the importance of branding an organization or oneself.

Check it out and let me know what you think. Special thanks to Khaliph Young of Ojoin.com for hosting the show.

3 Myths About Pricing

1. Pricing Your Products to Cover Full Costs will Make you Profitable

This idea works on the notion that people make thier consumer decisions in a vacuum of knowledge. Nothing can be further from the truth than with the proliferation of the internet and water cooler conversations. You should instead determine your target customer's perceived value of each offering. After all it's the market that ultimately determines if your price is worth or not. One should determine if you are selling commodity (average) or extra-ordinary (niche) products. This will determine your volume distribution, and whether you will be focusiong on the "who" or the "how many"

2. Pricing to Grow Market Share will Make you Profitable
Market share is determined by the value of your offering and subsequent message. Mass marketers often get caught in this trap, trying to sell thier products to everbody. Finding a specific share of the market that you can profitaby serve, is much more effective in the long term. Yes this involves a bit of business planning - but don't let that scare you. Writing things down can be a great motivator to actually accomplishing your goals.

3. Pricing Your Products to Meet Demand Will Make you Profitable
There are plenty of busineses willing to compete on the lowest common denominator and go bankrupt in the process. Resist the urge to join them in their russian roulette pursuits. Instead of competing on price, try to find ways to add value to your product to justify your price. Dynamic pricing (think multiple pricing tiers) can help give your customer different levels of opportunity cost of doing business with you.

Despite what many Economists think, price is not overriding factor to purchasing behaviour compared to quality and other benefits. People care more about the pre/post sales support, delivery (on time), shipping, and what emotional bonuses you're willing to put into the relationship.

In short, instead of cutting prices, add value, and do it at every stage of the relationship. Don't wait for your audience to complain or react. Be the proactive leader, and champion your cause. Doing the right things is far more important than doing things right - especially with with early adopters/innovators.

Start with that, and your customers may end up marrying you!

Caring Is Contagious

...And it starts with you.

Sean has a great article here about reciprocity.

If you want to be loved, start showing the love to the people you want affection from.
Its a great marketing strategy, and doesn't have to cost much other than your time.

Colour Me Confused

Whats in a colour?

Some colours make us feel warm and fuzzy while others leave us feeling stark and cold.

Waterloo Regional Police force recently introduced a paint job for all its cruisers:

Police cruisers are also getting a new look. Traditionally, cruisers have been plain white with red and blue stripes. The new cruisers are two-toned in blue and white -- something (Chief) Thomlison said will make them more visible.

The problem with the new paint job is simple:

Two toned police cars work great as authoritative highway intercerptors, but do little to improve the community policing the force is trying to build.

The OPP gets away with this, as they police cold, stale, and (sometimes) dangerous highways. Authoritative colours work well in this case as immediate compliance is the message. It also helps when your force's traditional colours are black and white.

Community policing requires a different approach, a more subtle blend of law enforcemetion with crime prevention. Trying to perform copycat marketing with the OPP is likely to fail.

Colours play a larger role in our decision making than we like to believe. After all it's all part of the story and lens we view society through. Making sure the colours you choose integrate well with your message, is a great way to build a strong brand. Copycat marketing is not.

Reaching Below the Belt

If you thought the Greyhound tradegy was vile, just consider the marketing strategy PETA was going to leverage, off the death of Tim Mclean.

Yes, emotional and controversial ads breed attention and discussion. However, you have to ask yourself if this is the attention you wish to convey? At what point does your consdcience and ethical side kick in and realize you are in essence profitting off someone else's tradegy?

PETA has clearly demonstrated their extreme poor taste in marketing, and lack of sensitivity for tragic deaths. This is why when one markets, you have to approach marketing as if your mother or father is watching. You must look at ALL side effects of your message and heavily consider current events.

In the online era, everyone can become a critic (or supporter) of your brand. Past loyalts is no longer a given for continued loyalty, and I think that PETA will lose much loyalty from current and future supporters.

Don't make the same mistake.

The Secret to Great Marketing...

...and customer service, sales, communication, or any other functional business area is to:

Under Promise and Over Deliver!

I apologize for the lack of sticker shock, but sometimes brevity in marketing is all that is needed.

If Steve Jobs can do it, then so can you.

I'll blog more about this later if anyone would like me to expand on this....

Why You Can't Buy Attention Anymore

Here's a good example of traditional marketing at work, that didn't work for Tim Hortons when they introduced their Slow Roast Beef Sandwich. New earning reports are out and things are looking for beefy for Canada's #1 brand:

Beef sandwiches were a hot commodity in the second quarter, and Tim Hortons got in on the action with its Slow Roast Beef offering.

It faced fresh competition, as McDonald's Canada launched its Angus Burger and A&W introduced its Sirloin Burger for a limited run. (All carried the same $4.99 price tag.) The A&W offering was popular - and led to a quarterly same-stores-sale increase of 9.1 per cent. Tim Hortons' sandwich, however, didn't last very long, despite heavy marketing

Now do you think introducing more sandwiches to the menu is going to boast sales when your real specialty is coffee and doughnuts?

How bout throwing endless marketing dollars to interrupt people, screaming pay attention!?

Line extension can work for some brands, however it doesn't work for most. This is why playing to your core strengths is so important. And why A&W has succeed with the Sirloin burger, after all they are in the beef business and that's what their target audience is looking for.

Do you think Tim's existing audience really thinks about sandwiches, let alone beef sandwiches when they have their caffeine/sugar fix? Not to mention the sandwich is way over priced ($5) for such a small portion. This isn't fine dining folks, portions = value.

When you attempt to promote a premium product when you are a value based chain, and then believe heavy marketing is all you need to be successful - you've got a serious problem.

Stick to your coffee and doughnuts Timmy, you'll do so much better.

What If You Were Blind?

Would looks matter? Would brands matter? Would you feel compelled to go buy the most fashionable clothes to look good, even though you can't see what you look like?

What if the whole world was blind? How would marketing change? My guess is that we would focus more on smell and touch, to maintain the livable experiences we call life.

It's an interesting concept to ponder because we base so much of our marketing messages on how we look and act, compared to other people.

Eyesight is something we take for granted. I hope you don't do the same, when creating your marketing plan.

On How Not To Do Public Relations

I don't envy Greyhound Canada's position they are in

What happened in recent days on a lone road in Manitoba was absolutely sickening and appalling. But that doesn't mean you can stick your head in the sand and wait for the sensationalism to die down.

I have blogged before about the terrible responsiveness and (lack of) service that coach companies provide, but this one really takes the cake.

So how did Greyhound respond?

1. Did not offer a local spokesperson to be physically present for questions, and instead redirected all calls to their American office for interviews.

2. Read from a scripted response that contained no new information and was a waste of time.

3. Displayed no lack of emotional sincerity in the tone of their response.

4. Posted no information or new releases on their Canadian or American website

5. Did not conduct a press conference to reiterate their physical involvement in this tragedy.

The RCMP is also on the hook: taking too long ( a full day) to notify the next of kin, with the victim's family only finding out their son was killed, via the media!

Good public relations is essential in marketing your organization's brand. What Greyhound should have done was:

1. Taking responsibility for lack of security on buses - this is different from accepting blame. The public respects an organization that accepts responsibility
   
2. Respond quickly - This means physical presence on the scene and immediate availability to media. Greyhound's message did not seem to be sincere, nor did it reflect who they were trying to convey the message to
3. Communicate very clearly what has gone wrong - this means no buzz, weasel words, or overly rhetorical speeches. If a grade 6 kid can't understand it, re-write it.
   
4. Communicate what you are doing about it - offering assistance to passengers on the bus is a normal step, but what are you offering to reassure future passengers?
5. Describe the steps you are taking to ensure it doesn't happen again - Calling a situation an isolated incident does you no good when you already have a history of problems.

And most importantly: consider an apology, if an apology is warranted. If the public is satisfied with your efforts in rectifying the problem, they will most likely forgive and move on.

Giving the severity and virility of this event, I don't know how easy it will be to move on...

Rest In Peace, Tim Mclean

Attention is the New Currency

Just ask this guy

I have stated many times before and I'll say it again: the noise and distractions are only going to get louder

Sometimes common sense is really common courtesy. How much are you willing to pay attention?