birdfeed

Finally! Some good news for the over forty crowd

2010-02-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

Sure, you may be younger, better looking, and able to run faster, but there is growing evidence that us old fogies can outthink you. (No doubt these new studies were conducted by, analyzed by, and reported on by someone in the over forty crowd who stands to gain-- or at least feel a little better about themselves-- because of the results.

According to Barbara Strauch, deputy science editor and health and medical science editor at The New York Times and author of The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind, there are some tangible benefits of all those years we've survived.

According to Strauch, "Results of long-term studies show that we actually grow smarter in key areas in middle age which, with longer life spans, now stretches from our mid 40s to our mid to late 60s."

"In areas as diverse as vocabulary and inductive reasoning, our brains function better than they did in our 20s. As we age, we more easily get the "gist" of arguments. Even our judgment of others improves."

And this is vitally important, especially in the increasing complex environments in which we work. Turns out that we've trained our brains to overcome the natural decline that comes in some cognitive areas with aging.

"It's true that by midlife our brains can show some fraying," she says. "Brain processing speed slows down. Faced with new information, we often cannot master it as quickly as our younger peers. And there's little question that our short-term memories suffer. It's easy to panic when you find you can't remember the name of that person you know in the elevator, or even the movie you saw last week."

"But it turns out that such skills don't really matter that much. By midlife our brains have developed a whole host of talents that are, in the end, just as well suited to navigating the modern, complex workplace. As we age, we get better at seeing the possible. Younger brains, predictably, are set up to focus on the negative and potential trouble. Older brains, studies show, often reach solutions faster, in part, because they focus on what can be done."

Seven ways to reinvent yourself from Seth Godin

2010-01-13T13:01:00.000-08:00

Admittedly, I'm a fan of Seth Godin. Of course, most marketers are. The interesting thing about Seth and the dozen or so books he's written is that each and every one follows a similar style:

Identify the paradigm
Demonstrate why and how it's broken
Present an alternative
Challenge you to either accept or reject his thinking

But the last piece of the puzzle is what you do with it. If you reject it, it's up to you to set out to prove you're right; to demonstrate through your own successes that his view might be myopic. Of course, if you accept his thinking-- which nearly always means that you'll expect more from yourself-- well, then, you have the challenge of actually going out and doing something new, something different, and often something terribly risky in order to demonstrate your faith in the new World According to Godin. There's no pass. There's no easy way out. You either do or you don't, and then the work begins.

He recently released a brief manifesto (freely available) titled "Brainwashed" that deals with the way that we've all been trained to be trainable. How the 'system' has been working to make us cogs in the machine because the machine needed as many cogs as it could get. It's probably no surprise to you that the machine ain't what it used to be, but the system is still spitting out as many cogs as it can, much to the detriment of our economy, our future, us all.

So, what to do? Godin offers some salient and cogent advice: reinvent yourself. Here's how.

Four Key Leadership Tips from Gordon Bethune

2010-01-05T05:47:00.000-08:00

New York Times writer Adam Bryant recently had a conversation with Gordon Bethune, the CEO of Continental Airlines from 1994 to 2004. In it, Bethune shares some insights on leadership and management, including some real gems. Among them:

Treat people, no matter their role in the company, with respect
Always share the stage
Hire the best people, give them autonomy, and hold them accountable
Communicate openly and often; and always tell the truth

Toward the end of the article, Bethune is talking about being visible to employees and showing a real interest in them. He relates this story:

The best compliment I ever heard happened one Christmas. I always went out to the airport on holidays, and always made sure that I was there and I’d thank people for giving up their holiday to work. We’d go down to the break room. I’d always eat down in the break room where the food was being passed out.

I went to sit down at this big long table with these two guys, and I said, “Anybody sitting here?”

And one of them said to the other: “I told you he’d be here. Give me my $10.”

He had bet that guy $10 that I’d show up.

If you're interested, you can read the rest of the interview at the New York Times.

Getting things done with OmniFocus and Things

2010-01-04T05:33:00.000-08:00

Better organization skills have become an absolute necessity in today’s hyper-busy, multi-tasking, squeeze-every-last-bit-of-productivity-out-of-every-last-minute world. Organization has also become a huge industry, with everything from books to products to personal coaches who will help you devise strategies to improve your workflow. Perhaps the most important key to high productivity relates to the initial method you use to process all of the incoming information that crosses your desk (and your mind) on a daily basis. A process that has become even more difficult to manage thanks to that burgeoning email InBox. How you compartmentalize and process all of these bits of information can be the difference between being buried and actually getting things done.

[Learn more »]

What matters now?

2009-12-16T14:05:00.000-08:00

I came across this little ebook today and thought I'd do my part to pass it along. Here's a brief introduction from Seth Godin:

"Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O'Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some important people riffing about important ideas here. The ebook includes Tom Peters, Fred Wilson, Jackie Huba and Jason Fried, along with Gina Trapani, Bill Taylor and Alan Webber.

Here's the deal: it's free. Download it here. Tweet it, email it, post it on your own site. I think it might be fun to make up your own riff and post it on your blog or online profile as well. It's a good exercise. Can we get this in the hands of 5 million people? Please share."

Download the free ebook, "What Matters Now."

Make travel more rewarding

2009-12-16T11:51:00.001-08:00

Here in Indiana, it’s December. Which means it’s cold, gray, and wet outside. Naturally, our minds because to turn toward warmer climes and distant shores. Or maybe just Ft. Myers. Either way, winter in Indiana is a great reason to travel.

[Read more]

Free shipping could make (or break) your holiday sales

2009-11-06T05:40:00.000-08:00

According to Shop.org's annual eHoliday Study conducted by Big Research, retailers are increasing looking to the Internet to boost lagging sales. Among the efforts getting the most attention: increasing or enhancing their presence on social networks, improving site functionality, and creating enticing discounts.

Some nugget-sized statistics:

60% have updated their Facebook pages
58% are using Twitter
65% are blogging and using RSS feeds
45% have improved shopping cart functionality
44% improved site search
42% added or improved cross- and up-selling
40% added or improved ratings and reviews
37% featured sale pages

Consumers expect to shop online 30% more

Free shipping will be a key strategy: nearly 80% will offer some sort of free shipping and almost 60% will offer free shipping with no attached conditions.

It's clear that online retailers are considering every tool in the arsenal to help drive sales. We're seeing similar efforts with our clients. My favorite item might surprise many of you: almost eighty percent of online retailers expect sales to be at least 14% above 2008 levels. But maybe not all that surprising, as almost 30% of consumers plan to devote more of their holiday budgets to online purchasing this year. The motivation? Compare prices, get free shipping, eliminate hassle and avoid the crowds.

One simple key to improving (nearly) everything

2009-10-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

Harvey Mackay, owner of Mackay Envelope, is widely known for his books and speaking engagements on sales. In his weekly column, he recalls the Broadway musical "My Fair Lady" to make a point:

In the Broadway musical "My Fair Lady," Professor Higgins has driven his prodigy Eliza Doolittle to exhaustion teaching her how to speak proper English. The professor shows little acknowledgement of her hard work, even when her pronunciation improves markedly.
Later in the play, Eliza is again frustrated when her would-be sweetheart Freddie talks about his affection for her in romantic phrases– but keeps his clumsy distance and doesn't kiss her.
"Words! Words!" Eliza explodes. "I am so sick of words! I get words all day through. First from him, now from you! Is that all you blighters can do?"
Then she admonishes him: "Don't talk of stars burning above; if you're in love, show me! Tell me no dreams filled with desire. If you're on fire, show me!"
There is a profound lesson here for sales people, as well as lovers. Or, for that matter, for anyone trying to persuade someone to their point of view. An old proverb says: Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. But involve me, and I'll understand.

There's a profound lesson here for marketers, as well. He goes on to suggest that the four Ps of marketing–product, price, place, and promotion– should be supplemented with a fifth: personal, as in make it personal.

I couldn't agree more. Across the marketing continuum, we're seeing an ever-increasing move to make products and communication more personal. And, in this case, it goes beyond just personalizing a message with a first name or embroidering monograms. Mackay continues:

Plenty of products out there can have a name or monogram stenciled on, from jewelry to towels to furniture. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. businesses offer some level of personalization for their products. And this trend is certainly not slowing due to our ego-centric marketplace.
But to really hit close to home, I'm talking about making things personal by helping people understand how they will be affected. Showing people what a product or service will mean to them. Taking the pitch right to their level, so that it seems the product is made for them and no one else. Because in reality, it is.

How can your products adopt this personal approach? How can your messages take the listener into consideration and truly make it all about them? How can your sales efforts follow this same success strategy? The solution is simple, and it's the one thing we're all designed to do: Listen. As the old saying goes, you have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Use them in proportion to one another.

For more from Harvey Mackay, his last three columns are always archived online.

'Why is my site not showing up for... ?'

2009-10-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

If there is one question, as a Search Engine Optimization professional, I hear more often than not; it's that one.

Nearly each time I start a SEO project, someone from within the organization comes forward with keywords and phrases that they believe everyone is using in search engines to find their product and/or service. After performing their own "field research" they soon want to know, from me, why links to their site do not show up when using those terms in the major search engines.

Generally, the cause can be narrowed to one of two oft-repeated keyword request fallacies:

The ultra-broad or
The extraordinarily specific.

The ultra-broad keyword request.

There was once a client of mine that produced fire door paint. Soon after beginning a comprehensive search engine optimization project he asked me; "Why do we not show up on the first three pages for the term "door"?". I said; "Well, it's because you don't manufacture or sell doors". He replied; "Yes, but aren't there a great deal of people searching using that term? Don't we want to be in front of them?". I told him; "Though that seems to make sense on the surface, the competition for, and diversity of individuals using, that term is immense, containing all of those individuals looking for door-knobs, door hinges, door stops, etc.. The percentage actually looking for fire door paint is relatively small and thus we wouldn't really be going after those most likely to become your customers. Our time (read: money) is surely better spent going after well-targeted potential customers wouldn't you agree?".

Fortunately, he did agree and now enjoys several high-profile listings for similar, yet targeted terms and no longer attracts those searching for example- pet doors.

The extraordinarily specific keyword request.

Another client wanted to know if I could manage it so that they show up favorably for the term "Western Montana Physician Medical Network" (again, pseudo-corp/search term). I replied; "Sure, it's possible- but why would you want to?". They said; "Because it describes us." To which I replied; "Yes, it does, however, you can see from the research that there is no evidence that anyone uses that phrase in search engines. It's not likely to do you any good.". I continued, "Wouldn't you rather show up favorably when users search for; "Billings Doctor Network" or "West Medical Group" each of which are used more than 100 times per month?".

The answer was of course- Yes, followed by an increase in quality traffic that continues to convert to this day.

Each of the above are what I refer to as "vanity terms" and make no mistake, their appeal is easy to understand. It's also easy to understand a clients confusion as it relates to their "importance". Refreshing however, is a client that comes to accept the futility of them on my advice. It's very satisfying not having that questions like that come up again and being able to focus on the real goal; conversions.

Greetings!

2009-09-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

As a man of relatively few words, it is with a dash of reluctance today that I make my foray into the world of blogging. It's not that I resist advances or changes in technology and communication mediums (Easily demonstrated by my having entered the interactive world as long ago as the early nineties) It's just that I happen to be one of the rather humble masses that believe they have little to offer in the way of the written word.

That said, It's been said that what I do write often helps people understand the sometimes difficult concepts familiar to yours truly and, admittedly, I do get a great deal of enjoyment out of doing so. Heck, that alone may very well become my driving force and inspiration, as much of what I do is not completely understood by those for whom I do it.

So, does that outline a plan for me as a new blogger? No, not really. It does, however, lend purpose to my predictably verbose future ramblings- and perhaps that is enough.

All right, well.. Here's looking forward to just that. Cheers!

-Jim Champer (JECJ)

Paint-by-Numbers or Blank Canvas?

2009-07-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

In the April 2009 issue of Inc. magazine, Bo Burlingham interviewed Jim Collins (author of business best-sellers Built to Last and Good to Great) about the current state of entrepreneurship. There are several great insights, including this about the definition. Collins said, "I see entrepreneurship as more of a life concept. We all make choices about how we live our lives. You can take a paint-by-numbers approach, or you can start with a blank canvas. When you paint by numbers, the end result is guaranteed. You know what it's going to be, and it might be good, but it will never be a masterpiece. Starting with a blank canvas is the only way to get a masterpiece, but you could also blow up. So, are you going to pick the paint-by-numbers kit or the blank canvas? That's a life question, not a business question."

The follow-up question was about risk, when Burlingham asked, "It has to do with your ability to handle risk, no?"

Collins replied:

"Not risk. Ambiguity. People confuse the two. There's lower ambiguity on the paint-by-numbers path: very clear but more risky. The entrepreneurial path: very ambiguous but less risk. Of course, the truth is that it's all ambiguous, anyway. If you think you can predict the future, you're crazy."

So, the question for you is, are you trying to create something good, or are you working on a masterpiece?

Four keys to great public speaking

2009-05-08T06:07:00.000-07:00

Nick Morgan, founder of Public Words, Inc., is a former Fellow of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and one of America's top communication and speech coaches. He's penned a new manifesto with for keys for turning any public speaking engagement into an opportunity to change the world. (After all, isn't that the point?)

Morgan thinks most speeches are awful because:

Speeches are awful because speakers make it about them instead of the audience
Speakers don't take their audience on a journey
Speakers don't rehearse
Speakers think about their content but not their body language

He then offers simple, practical advice that I wish everyone would read, take to heart, and put to use before they stand before us and subject us to "Death by Powerpoint."

[Download "Before You Open Your Mouth: The Keys to Great Public Speaking"]

How David beats Goliath (more often than you think)

2009-05-07T05:15:00.001-07:00

Underdogs win a lot more often than you think. Malcolm Gladwell explains how.

We're all familiar with the story of David and Goliath, where David stood before the giant of the Philistines and survived to tell about it. For forty days, Goliath had been dispensing soldiers with relative ease, until David came along. David rose to the challenge and, at first, girded himself with a helmet and mail and sword. But David recognized that waging this battle using conventional warfare would be suicide against Goliath. So he changed his strategy to take advantage of this strengths.

Malcolm Gladwell, in an article for The New Yorker, argues that this simple act of adjusting strategy is the key for weaker opponents – the Davids – to win against foes that greatly overpower them. He tells a compelling story of Vivek Ranadivé, who took on the job of coaching his daughters woeful basketball team, a bunch of “little blond girls” from Menlo Park, daughters of computer programmers. He says, “They weren’t all that tall. They couldn’t shoot. They weren’t particularly adept at dribbling. They were not the sort who played pickup games at the playground every evening.” Yet he was able to take them from obscurity to a national championship by changing the way they played: Instead of playing to the strengths of opponents, the adopted a relentless full-court press strategy and crushed the better-abled competition.

Gladwell suggests successes of this type aren't all that uncommon. In fact, political scientist Ivan Arreguín-Toft recently looked at every war fought in the past two hundred years between strong and weak combatants. The Goliaths, he found, won in 71.5 per cent of the cases. Thinking about the original David, who took off the heavy, unfamiliar armor and picked up five smooth stones, Arreguín-Toft wondered, when the underdogs likewise acknowledged their weakness and chose an unconventional strategy? He went back and re-analyzed his data. In those cases, David’s winning percentage went from 28.5 to 63.6. When underdogs choose not to play by Goliath’s rules, they win, Arreguín-Toft concluded, “even when everything we think we know about power says they shouldn’t.”

Which begs the question, what should you be doing to change the game to play to your strengths?

[Read Gladwell's article, "How David Beats Goliath"]

Swine Flu Primer

2009-04-27T05:46:00.000-07:00

I was involved in several conversations over the weekend with folks from Harvard Medical School and Staywell Consumer Health Publishing about the current swine flu outbreak. It's becoming increasingly clear that this epidemic – now found in Mexico, the United States, Canada, and Spain – has broken through to be called a pandemic.

Indications are that most of the cases that have spread beyond Mexico's border, like the school in Queens, NY, or the cases across Spain, have been the result of travel to and from specific regions within Mexico. But with the introduction of NAFTA years ago, the amount of business travel to Mexico has increased greatly and we can expect these cases to continue showing up across the country.

At this point, while the death toll in Mexico climbs, the US health care system has been able to deal with the disease. How long we can control both the severity and spread remains to be seen, of course, but there are some can do to prepare and prevent swine flu from hitting home.

Harvard Medical School offers an overview on their site of things each of us need to know, as well as a more complete Special Health Report covering swine flu in detail:

[How to protect yourself (and your loved ones) from swine flu]

[Get the Swine Flu Special Health Report]

Jessica G. asks, 'Please disregard my previous email(s)...'

2009-04-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

So this morning I received an email from Jessica G. at Donatos Pizza informing me of the April specials for Donatos catering. I didn't recall ever asking to receive this information, but hey, things happen right? I glanced at it and trashed it. A few minutes later I got another one. And then another. And another. At last count, I had received the same message at least seven times. Ooops. Looks like someone is learning how to use their new email software (at my expense.)

Then I realized that the messages actually included in the To: field all of the intended recipients, and there were *a lot.* Some names I know and recognize, others I don't, but I got that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach thinking about all the mail I would likely get from this hackneyed inclusion. (Best practice tip: Never send an email to several people unless you put the recipients in the blind carbon copy [BCC] field.)

A couple hours went by, and then I got this gem:

From: Jessica G.

To: (Me and everyone else on the original list)

Subj: Recall: April Specials from Donatos Catering

Jessica would like to recall the message, "April Specials from Donatos Catering".

Oh, Jessica. Poor lass. I feel your pain. How many of us have wished, at one point or another, that we could recall an email we'd previously sent? Unfortunately, the Internet (and, in many ways, life) doesn't work that way. Generally, once you hit "Send" it's sent. I suppose you could try calling each of the recipients and asking them to "Please disregard the email message I sent to you and hundreds of other people seven times this morning."

In the end, however, you're probably better off just forgetting it and hoping that the rest of us do, too. I hate to think of the ill will that was created toward Donatos Catering by this unfortunate turn of events, but people generally have short memories and will (eventually) forgive and forget.

(So you should probably stop sending me the message about recalling your message. Three times is enough.)

Web Review: Vimeo Shows Off Creative Pedigree

2009-03-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

Most people are aware of video-sharing site YouTube. In fact, it would be hard to have missed its meteoric rise as a household Internet name. But there are other sites out there providing similar services, some of which are just plain better.

In this article, I explore the world of video sharing online and call attention to two sites you should know about: Vimeo and blip.tv.

[Read the article]

[Visit Vimeo]

[Visit blip.tv]

Web Review: Uncrate great stuff

2009-02-04T12:30:00.000-08:00

Uncrate is a blog that provides a daily email digest featuring the absolute best in random stuff for men. Think cars, watches, clothes, gadgets, books, food... if men will like it, the best of it is found on Uncrate.

[Read the review of Uncrate]

[Visit Uncrate]

Great (and slightly) random things from 2008

2009-01-04T16:44:00.000-08:00

I can't help it... I see these compilation and retrospective lists (things like "Top 20 Viral Videos of 2008" or "21 Worst Business Bloopers of 2008") and while I don't think that I'm all that interested, I feel compelled to read them. May be some sort of psychological fear of missing out, I don't know, but I thought I'd create a list of my own for the final Indianapolis Business Journal article of 2008. (Though, as it turns out, it's actually the first article of 2009.)

Anyway, here goes:

See the "Great But Random, 2008" list.

Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar

2008-12-19T14:50:00.000-08:00

It's been an interesting week. I had the opportunity to have a heart to heart with a friend and longtime client yesterday who asked for a little more... A little more attention, a little more time, a little more responsiveness. Our conversation reminded me how difficult it can be to manage growth and expectations at the same time.

When I received this story from my sister today, it was yet another reminder that we *all* play a role in delivering exemplary customer service... all we have to do is do it. No one can make you serve customers well. That's because great service is a choice. Best-selling business author Harvey Mackay tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point:

I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing I noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for me.

He handed me a laminated card and said:

"I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement."

Taken aback, I read the card. It said:

Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

I was blown away. Especially when I noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside: spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, "Would you Like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf."

I said jokingly, "No, I'd prefer a soft drink."

Wally smiled and said, "No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice."

Almost stuttering, I said, "I'll take a Diet Coke."

Handing me my drink, Wally said, "If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today."

As we were pulling away, Wally handed me another laminated card. "These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio."

Then he advised me of the best route to my destination for that time of day and let me know that he'd be happy to chat and tell me about some of the sights or, if I preferred, to leave me with my own thoughts.

"Tell me, Wally," I asked the driver, "have you always served customers like this?"

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. "No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.

"He had just written a book called "You'll See It When You Believe It." Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck; be an eagle! Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.'

"That hit me right between the eyes," said Wally. "Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cars were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more."

"I take it that has paid off for you," I said.

"It sure has," Wally replied. "My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today; I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action."

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the cab driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

[Note: Thanks, Nancy, for trusting us enough to have that conversation. And for reminding me that the Rare Bird's success has been due in no small part to soaring like eagles, not quacking like ducks. -Jim]

Focus on the message to survive the recession

2008-12-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

"Cutting your marketing budget to save money is like stopping your watch to save time."

Charlie Williams

As my old boss used to say, "cutting your marketing budget to save money is like stopping your watch to save time." It seems to be common knowledge among both business owners and marketers that a recession is the absolute worst time to cut your marketing budget. While knowing what not to do is important, it's better to know what you should do.

To help, a recent Knowledge@Wharton article offered some helpful advice that's worth considering: "The first reaction is to cut, cut, cut, and advertising is one of the first things to go," says Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader, adding that as companies slash advertising in a downturn, they leave empty space in consumers' minds for aggressive marketers to make strong inroads. Today's economy "provides an unusual opportunity to differentiate yourself and stand out from the crowd," says Fader, "but it takes a lot of courage and convincing to get senior management on board with that."

But as Wharton marketing professor Leonard Lodish points out, weakened demand causes the cost of many of these services to go down. "If your company has something to say that is relevant in this environment, it's going to be more efficient to say it now than to say it in better times," says Lodish.

Most interesting, however, is recent research that demonstrates just how powerful this economic downturn can be for companies that take advantage of the environment. According to the article, "a McGraw-Hill Research study looking at 600 companies from 1980 to 1985 found that those businesses which chose to maintain or raise their level of advertising expenditures during the 1981 and 1982 recession had significantly higher sales after the economy recovered. Specifically, companies that advertised aggressively during the recession had sales 256% higher than those that did not continue to advertise."

Some key concepts for success:

Craft messages that reflect the times and explain how you can benefit the consumer
Without dwelling on the economic conditions, realize that certain products require a straight-up approach; be authentic
Focus on a goal-oriented message that helps people plan for the future
While some can craft messages based on price, choose value instead
Luxury products should appeal to emotion, highlighting the escapism, emotional release and comfort in difficult times
Regardless of the tactic you choose, stay true to your brand

Other gems await... Be sure to read the entire article for more.

Succeed in business: get the equation right

2008-12-01T05:30:00.000-08:00

"I now get as much satisfaction from the challenges of keeping my restaurant fresh and exciting as I did from cooking. It is now more than twice as busy as it was and growing at 20% a year–teeming daily with regulars and newcomers."

Jonathan Rapp

There are enough gems in this short two-page article to keep any business owner churning through possibilities and thought for some time, but the one that grabbed my attention may be the simplest (and should be the most obvious):

Start with what the customer wants and go from there.

This BusinessWeek article is about New York restaurateur Jonathan Rapp and his journey building a sustainable enterprise in the small town of Chester, Connecticut.

He left New York thinking his experience and reputation would be enough to succeed in the small town. He quickly learned otherwise. Says Rapp: "By Year Two, the trouble signs were too numerous to miss. Numbers were declining for both customers and revenue. There was a persistent drumbeat of criticism of virtually every aspect of the restaurant, except the food. No matter what we did, we couldn't shake the perception that we were too expensive, too “New York-y” (a nasty epithet here), and on top of that, had inconsistent, aloof service and a menu that was too limited."

He thought of selling, but after running the numbers realized he had nothing to sell. Quitting was also an unfavorable option, so he chose to take stock and try to turn the enterprise around. "I realized that I had the equation backwards," said Rapp. "I was making decisions based on what I wanted. In our own minds, we were the best restaurant around—but the fact was, we weren't connecting with our customers." Marketing Guru Seth Godin is fond of saying that you shouldn't create a product and then find a market for it. Instead, you should find out what the market wants and then create that product. This sounds like sage and obvious advice, but Rapp's story illustrates how easy it is to overlook it in practice.

So he fired his 'talented chef' that wouldn't adapt, formed a focus group of customers, and really dug into the community vibe of the small town. Specifically, he:

Remodeled the restaurant to be cozier and more comfortable (less New York-y, to be sure)
Began asking his customers what they wanted from a local restaurant
Changed hours to be more accessible to when customers wanted to be customers (opening for lunch and dinner)
Began communicating with customers on a regular basis to let them know what was happening in and around their 'community' restaurant
Began collaborating with local artists, businesses and even other restaurants to create events and to reinforce their image as a member of an unique, thriving village.

But the best idea may be the purest, something Rapp calls "Dinners at the Farm." Dinners at the Farm is "a summertime series of outdoor dinners that we put on in the fields of local farms. The food, 100% locally produced, is cooked from scratch on our bright red 1955 Ford fire truck kitchen. Each dinner benefits a local agricultural nonprofit. Over the past two seasons, we have donated $28,000 and purchased over $50,000 worth of food and wine from local producers. More than 150 guests show up on any given night."

The short article is worth the read.

Hold on to your hat... and maybe everything else

2008-11-19T09:10:00.000-08:00

From the "Isn't It Obvious?" news desk comes a story about the retail outlook for holiday sales:

Web retail spend has lowest growth rate since 2001
Signaling a difficult holiday shopping season ahead, online retail spending last month rose just 1% -- the lowest rate of increase for the segment since 2001, according to data from comScore. "I think it's clear that consumers have less disposable income and as a result, ecommerce is going to suffer," said comScore senior manager Andrew Lipsman. "I think it's safe to say we aren't going to see growth rates anywhere near to what we've seen in past years."

The story actually appears in the Wall Street Journal and requires a subscription to read in its entirety, but the rest of the article probably seems obvious.

Web Review: train your brain with FitBrains

2008-11-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

Look, we all lose brain function over time and there's nothing you can do about it. Or is there? Research suggests you can not only slow down the degradation that comes with getting older, you can actually expand your mental skills; even while you age. FitBrains is a tool to help you do just that.

[Read the review of FitBrains]
[Visit FitBrains]

Sneak Peek: Harvard Health

2008-10-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

For the past few months, we've been working on a very cool project for Harvard Health, a joint venture between Harvard Medical School and StayWell Consumer Health Publishing. In a nutshell, we're completely overhauling their entire e-commerce system, including overall site design, merchandising, administration and functionality.

Additionally, we're working with their Texas-based fulfillment company, Strategic Fulfillment Group, to provide a direct connection between our custom e-commerce platform and their fulfillment functions. This will allow seamless integration for customer access, order history, order & payment processing and insertion. All things that weren't possible in the previous iteration (built by another company.)

The image here is a sneak peek at the new site design which should be coming online in about a month. More details to follow...

Web Review: Hulu.com helps you love TV again

2008-10-13T12:22:00.001-07:00

Seems like I'm hung up on one-word domains... This month we take a close look at Hulu.com, a joint venture of NBC Universal and News Corp provides ready access to a wide array of TV shows and full length movies. Think DVR in the cloud and you've got it.

[Read the review of Hulu]
[Visit Hulu]