Cycling for a Crisis

Some people watch the news and wring their hands. Some people watch the news and get involved. Keith Schuman, an investment banking analyst turned world traveler believes that getting involved is a must. 

With a riding partner he met in Lima, Peru, Pieter Schouwstra, the pair formed 4Legs4Haiti and are now in route on a 10,000 kilometer bicycle ride from Guayaquil, Ecuador to the Marina Green under the Golden Gate Bridge. Their goal is to raise money and awareness in every country, village and township they pass through, with 100% of the donations pledged going to Haiti. Their Web site (http:www.4Legs4Haiti.com) makes it easy via Pay-Pal to pledge your donations and keep up with their journey. 

Read the story in the GreenZine... 

Taking it to the streets

Nearly every day I hear from a small business owner struggling with the concept of using social media to market their business. The questions come tumbling: how, when, why, what for?  Inevitably, they feel shy, silly, even stupid as they poke around in the social media "nonsense."

I've been in the advertising industry for nearly three decades, and I admit, I had the same confusion. My Aha! moment came when I realized that social media has changed the very concept of how we reach our customers and how we engage them.

Let me digress. Traditional advertising is an interruption media. "And now, a word from our sponsors..." It claims that, while we have you as a captive audience listening/watching/reading what you enjoy, we're going to interject something we think you also will enjoy buying/ordering/using. The concept worked for a long time.

Aha! Social media is an engagement media. It says: I'm doing this and if you are interested, why don't you join me and we'll experience it together, or at least,  you can tell me about it and I will listen.

I just read an article quoting Don Shultz, a professor of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern. His studies show that only 4-5 percent of our customers make up the bulk of our sales and profits. The other 95% actually cost us. With that kind of margin, why wouldn't you touch this elite group singularly and specifically or "pick them up in a car and deliver them to your door" as Schultz suggests.

I suggest that part of our confusion is trying to stuff the big round peg of social media into the square of traditional media. It won't fit. Shultz suggests we need an overhaul in our thinking. Instead of delivering a message via media to your segment, find the customers and engage them there. (Four rules for media planning coming in the Feburary issue of Biz2Biz) 

Clear as mud?  Here are five ways Biz2Biz will be using social media in 2010.

1. To listen to our peers and community. By staying tuned in to the social media network we can hear what's on their minds. What/who are they talking about? What are their concerns? What are their interests? Where do they spend their time? With our listening ears on, we'll be able to deliver even more relevant content.

2. To introduce our stories and tips to those involved in the business community in Northwest Arkansas. Biz2Biz covers many different topics of business. Not all of them interest everyone the same. If you are interested in the topic, we're just a click away.

3. To find the movers and shakers and shine the spotlight on them. Our business community is full of professionals whose futures are so bright they gotta wear shades. Biz2Biz will spotlight every day small business owners who make up the backbone of Northwest Arkansas.

4. To introduce business professionals to other companies who have a wealth of product and industry information to share. Education is the key to good purchase decisions. With blogs, forums and email we can ask, answer and connect.

5. To expand the role of local entrepreneurship. Google for anything and you'll get a link. It may be for someone on the other side of the world, but it's unlikely it will be someone around the corner.  If 90% of all commerce is local,  90% of our contacts should be, too. That is afterall, where we find our best customers.

Well Hello 2010!

The New Year is a time for resolution. Like the Roman god, Janus, for whom the month is named, we face in two directions at once to look both at where we’ve been and where we’re going.

On a personal level our resolutions are the stuff we share with friends over a glass of champagne. It’s unlikely anyone will hold us accountable, now or later, as they’ve heard them before: our resolutions are our vices and bad habits.

In business, our resolutions are more wide flung. What we resolve to do better as a business affects many– our employees, our clients, and our community. Why not start the New Year with resolutions that steer your company away from its vices and bad habits?

I resolve to follow my strategic plan more diligently. I like to think of this plan as the surfboard I use to ride the waves of the Sea of Enterprise. I’ve created a quiver of boards to ride the right tool over the right wave. But, you can’t ride if you’re not at the beach.

I resolve to delegate more and accept the outcome. As small business owners we often see delegating tasks as the cash register ringing in reverse. The reality is, we can’t do it all ourselves and grow. And everyone brings something unique to the fray.

I resolve to spend more time listening to the stories. This business community is filled with wonderful stories about their experiences. Together we can learn from each other’s trials and tribulations. Together we strengthen the marketplace.

I resolve to share the love. We haven’t even begun to reach all the business professionals and decision makers in Northwest Arkansas.

I like to name each year with a quality I hope to see it bring. (Although it’s infallibly non-prophetic; a divine ’09 it was not!) Here’s wishing you a Perfect ’10.

Business Image Hokey Pokey

...Put your right foot in and shake it all about. Do the business hokey pokey... and that's what it's all about.

Kathryn Lowell of Image Matters in Bentonville and I have been corresponding briefly about image mistakes in the workplace. She's doing an article on the 10 most dreaded faux pas one can make in earning an image in the business world. Kathryn's focus is on the person. As a marketing strategist, I focus on the message. Without a doubt they go hand in hand.

Case in point. Just as this e-conversation with Kathryn is winding down, I receive a letter – a real, honest to goodness letter in the mail – from a prestigious (or so they claim) business strategy school in the UK. They want me to interview for an executive programme.

Image matters. It took me three times reading the letter to discern the point. Not just because the Brits don't know the value of a well placed "z" or are polite to a fault. In 227 words, which could have been much less, I was being contacted by someone in writing who had been asked to ask me in writing if I would like to call someone to schedule an interview with someone else about talking to yet someone else about their programme which hinted at being about strategy in business.

Breathe.

And there were typos.

I could have gotten excited about the opportunity. I might have called to schedule the interview. Not. In a matter of 5 minutes, this company shot its marketing strategy in the foot. And you can't hokey pokey with a busted foot.

In business, every marketing message you send out – by whatever post – needs to be well crafted, carefully constructed and free of faux pas. Communication is an essential part of business. If you aren't circumspect, you could be poking hokey in your business image.

Copyright 2009 Janie Clark

Get up and get over it

I am afraid of horses. I've been on a horse three times. I've been thrown off a horse three times. It doesn't take a rock scientist (to quote Tara Reid) to suggest that riding isn't my game.

But when I met Theresa Thompson something went afoot. She's aptly in the role of volunteer coordinator for Horses for Healing in Bentonville and compelling in her goal, and before I knew what was happening, my daughter and I were volunteering at their campus every week.

Shucks, I thought. I can do a good deed and get over my phobia, too. And if the Prince of Wales ever wants to take me horseback riding on the beach at Northumberland, I won't embarrass all my kin making it four for four.

The experience has been remarkable. For these special needs children the time spent on horseback doesn't seem like therapy. Though it is. They giggle and coo and amble along six feet off the ground with unmistakable glee. Something about the horses' gait does something remarkably therapeutic for these kids, some of whom don't walk on their own. I'm grateful to share their joy.

It takes three volunteers to give one child time to ride. One leads the horse, side walkers companion the rider on either side, maintaining physical support as we "walk on" around the arena. Three volunteers for every child is a big volunteer load. Not to mention what it takes to feed a horse its hay.

If you think this economy is churning a hole in your company's budget, just imagine what our charities are experiencing. They exist on those willing (and able) to share what they have. I noticed today a wish list of items they need -- which I want to share here, in the hopes some reader out there will be able to give. Contact me for pick up or delivery and I'll take it out to the farm.

Charmin tp, tall kitchen bags, large plastic tubs, brushes, combs, bottled water, insect repellent, duct tape, saddle pads and blankets, bathroom cleaners, big trash can liners, big Avery dots (it's how the kids learn about horse parts), office supplies, WalMart gift cards of any denomination, and horse items of any description.

No, I haven't actually gotten ON a horse yet. I've groomed them, brushed their tails and mane, lathered them up with shampoo and walked along side keeping my feet well out of reach of theirs. I think I'm healing. Polly insists therapy is therapy and one day soon I'm going to get up and get over it.


Copyright 2009 Janie Clark

The exception to the rule

It's not common for a small business of 27 employees to have such a huge impact on a community. Yesterday I met the exception. Cameron Smith (and Associates) is one of the candidates for the Small Business of the Year Award presented by the Small Business Council of the Rogers Lowell Chamber of Commerce. (The award is presented at the Business Expo August 6 during the keynote with Harley Davidson's Clyde Fessler.)

Contrary to popular belief, CSA is not a recruiter for Wal-Mart. They are an executive search firm for the SUPPLIERS of Wal-Mart. And their reach goes beyond Bentonville as they corner the retail executive market in several vendorvilles around the country. The global canvas is probably not far behind.

But back to little ole' Northwest Arkansas population 440K give or take a few, gaining acclaim as one the country's more stable, more suitable, more livable business communities.

Since opening up shop in the state in the early '90s, CSA has directly influenced the local economy in a big way. To date they've brought 1,232 teams to NWA – a number Cameron Smith can rattle off like his SSN. There are 5,434 people in the supplier community within a 27-mile radius and 60K suppliers affiliated with Wal-Mart enmasse. CSA can reach out and touch every one of them in a single click.

Nope, most small business don't wield that kind of power.

I admit. I was impressed.

Gainfully employed and grateful, Cameron (and his Associates) actively engage at the executive level on several mover-and-shaker boards, councils, and outreach programs that affect the lives and liberties of many here in NWA. Single Parent Scholarships (Cameron's mother was a hard-working single parent), Athletic Outreach (AAO), and Street Smart programs that "help them help themselves" match the company's charitable efforts with its core values.

And if the economy stinks, CSA makes lemonade. With a volunteer effort to help the recent layoff victims brand themselves for new employment, CSA caught the media eye nationwide, which caught the eye of CEOs at major retailers nationwide, which started conversations nationwide, which opened doors...

Yep. The exception to the rule.

Copyright 2009 Janie Clark