taking time out...

we're so busy all the time, completely connected to our technology. in fact, we and/or i, sometimes forget to take time to relax, exhale and recharge....

i like photography and consider myself a student attempting to get better at it. today i thought i would share one or two of my favorites for a moment of daydreaming. for me, that time usually equates to generating cool ideas....enjoy...

bonuses are more effective than raises....

here's an interesting article at Science Daily on the subject of how to increase employee performance, possibly even retention....

this site and article are highly rated by Guy Kawasaki

disruptive community....

imagine you live in a small town of less than 10,000 people...imagine further that you're the economic development director and you are supposed to generate interest in the region regarding business and tourism with essentially little or no budget except for those programs that have been in place for decades.

wouldn't it be interesting to have access to a team, solutions and ideas that could generate serious new returns for your area. and what if, the majority of the investment for all of those solutions could be paid for by another governing body? wouldn't you as the ec-dev director be interested in at least sitting down for a coffee to find out more about it?

well if you are someone in the position i describe above, you live in Alberta and want to generate new interest in your region...contact

everything web 2.0...

a complete list as described by Mr. Bob Stumpel...great resource, nice job Bob...

it's official, customer service IS important...

take a look at this commentary on a recent study by University of Michigan Professor Claes Fornell

this whole thing almost seems laughable and yet there it is, what i've been saying and what i've built an entire framework around. MANDATE AMAZING is all about creating AMAZING customer experiences and AMAZING employee experiences...so all skeptics pay close attention...now that academia has stepped up and proclaimed it you can now believe it...

sarcasm aside, motivating your employees to treat your customers like royalty isn't always the easiest thing to do...and i believe it starts with hiring the right people...be picky, be patient and hire maturity rather than a warm body...this will take organizational discipline and it will pay off in the long run...this is a choice.

continue to hire stumps that run at the first sign of real work or you can take more interest in this process and match the right people, levels of character, personality and skills with the job and culture, this will translate into less issues down the road, ultimately less turnover and better customer service results.

lot's to read today...

marketing is tough to get right. master these details to increase your results.

just because you've managed to ensure that you've grown past a logo to an actual brand and that there is a consistent message on your marketing collateral and corporate documentation, or that you actively network and follow-up on all leads doesn't mean your marketing work is done...

the key now is to ensure you truly understand your the habits of your prospective customer in everyday life.

many consider demographics and statistics when constructing a marketing strategy and that's great. let's dig deeper. how many of you relate to the habits of the human being behind the stat?

let me explain. many will be familiar with a little bit of software called a "cookie." this software tracks your internet surfing habits. i personally find this annoying, so i use BPS Spyware Remover Adware Remover to get the removal job done. let's talk about human interaction rather than software, let's talk about spending time with people and taking a serious and genuine interest in learning about tendencies, habits, trends. let's talk about the emotional wants and needs within that community. remember these customers, clients and consumers are actually people and human beings first. if you want to market to them effectively so that you actually sell something in the end...you need to understand them on a much deeper level, this also includes your online marketing effectiveness. get out of the office or your cubicle and go meet them, learn from them, respect them...

remember mel gibson wearing pantyhose, lipstick and waxing his legs in "what women want"? sort of the same idea...thank-goodness i don't have any prospective business relationships with large cosmetic companies or to follow my own advice i'd have to do the same thing as mel...(that gives me willies just thinking about it)

so often we experience marketing that demonstrated the company in question had little if any real deep understanding as to who they were dealing with. the timing was inconsiderate, the message was boring and fell short in terms of emotional impact and relevance. speaking of relevance for example, if you would like a different way to spend a friday, go to my radio show at fusedlogic radio, you'll laugh, cry and be amazed...

hidden subliminal message: (take a deep breath....and repeat after me (3) times...my business can't survive without fusedlogic. i will listen to the fusedlogic radio show and read the fusedlogic blog several times a day. there's no better source for business advice and ideas than fusedlogic. i must hire fusedlogic, i must hire fusedlogic, i will call them today...

i assure you that my intent above was to be joking and a bit sarcastic as there was nothing hidden or subliminal about that message...and yes my sense of humor is out there. still the result was that i most likely still got you to read the above statement and you repeat my company name fusedlogic (6) times...why? i'm illustrating the point, that humor, mystery and honesty are important to just about every one...how important and in what order of importance will be what you need to learn.

this overall issue is especially important if you're in politics...why do you think a few years ago, campaign managers were concerned about the blogosphere and now they're also watching and leveraging youtube? that's because it's at the leading edge of where the voters are expressing opinions on the wannabe leaders and their platforms...because politicians already get out to shake hands with voters, in their case, they have to become more deeply connected and aware by paying attention to web-based communities. the message is the same, just remember to be flexible in your approach.

get out of your marketing comfort zone and spend real time with your target, get to really know them in their world and for goodness sake LISTEN to them...constructing your message will be easier and you'll be more effective at identifying concerns. concerns that if left unchecked, will cost you copious amounts of dollars in lost revenue and lost marketing budget as well as the intangible loss of brand credibility.

simple small business example: if your target market is the business professional/career executive. you may want to identify where these folks may stop for a morning coffee during the drive into the downtown core. there are most likely several coffee shops, you start with the starbucks or second cup drive-thrus...they're targeting the same customer profile in this example, rather than the blue collar tim horton's

to take action, identify the top 4 locations from the four corners of the city, then on a rotating basis plant a mobile ad vehicle or similar solution displaying your concise message for consumption as they wait in line to grab their morning java...further define your message based on gender, age and wealth profile. to be really aggressive and depending on your product or service you may want to pursue a strategic alliance with these companies...

learn the habits of your target and you'll increase your marketing return on investment, an investment most companies cannot afford to get wrong too often, if at all.

want to know if this works...just ask cranium about their sales success related to their spot on starbucks shelves...