marketing

Struggles of Change

Posted on by Kelly aka LadyOTrout

You Mean I have to learn something ELSE?

If you just go down through the entries in this blog you can see there are gaps.  Some BIG ONES!  And of course for a lot of reasons:

1) I am busy with work life.

2) I am busy with home life.

3) I CAN’T THINK!

Strategy?

When you own a business or have a demanding job, it is easy to get trapped in the major task that must get done- NOW.  Then the next day there are several more things that have to be done – NOW.  Then months of things having to be done NOW.   In the meantime, family, friends or unplanned disasters occur.

It is even easier to get trapped in thinking about bailing out the boat as opposed to the best way how to bail a boat.  Sure you may have a dixie cup handy, but perhaps if you can take a minute, you may look up and see a big bucket that is within reach that really gets the job done.  The challenge is  being willing to “look up” and see something outside your peripheral vision that makes the difference between bare survival and success. Winning!

Seth Godin and Chris Brogan

Seth Godin is a famous guy with cool glasses that I listen to and read a lot. Same with Chris Brogan. (Chris doesn’t wear the Godin glasses but he is very cool.)  And each have an amazing gift in seeing things from the 20,000 foot view.  And not only do they see it, they can talk about it in a way that I can relate to-even if it takes a while.  And for me, it has, you know why?

Because I am busy bailing out the boat with a dixie cup!

Seth talks about” Tribes.”  Chris talks about “Community.”  Even before I realized how disconnected to our “Communities or Tribes, ” all this free media available to us, is making us.

10 Years Ago

There was no Facebook for Business, no Pinterest, no Twitter, websites were mostly brochure style and few blogs.  As businesses we were not competing for all the places people were hanging out online, because they weren’t mostly, Netflix and YouTube were fledglings. What hasn’t changed is people have the same 24 hours then that they have today. And they didn’t have smartphones!

Then using traditional methods was OK.  We still reached people using print, tv, radio.  Since then,  we got access, free access to all these media opportunities, kind of a “roll your own.”  And so did our customers and clients.  And in the meantime, we had to learn how to use all this free media.

Did We Get Lost?

In this struggle to learn technology and multiple platforms, while trying to run our businesses, did we lose focus on what we were ultimately trying to do?  Find and communicate with our customer?  Our existing customer, the new one? Where did they go?  Or better yet, where did WE go?

 

Throw Your Hat Into the Ring

Posted on by Kelly aka LadyOTrout

If you are a business owner, fine tuning is always helpful.  It is easy to get stuck into the grind of it all.  I know that I often get so immersed in the day to day of operating, making sure my software is updated, returning calls, networking, etc.  I oftentimes get so wrapped up, I fail to think about my company as an outsider.  Where I want it to go and what my part is in moving it in that direction.

Brain Space
When I am in “tactical mode,” helping customers with their business processes,  I have difficulties thinking big picture on ideas for my company.  And being in innovation and looking for “that special” thing for someone else, there is never a shortage of new technology to try out or learn about.  That part of my brain is always RED HOT, it is easy because I am in it all the time.  I am no neuroscientist but I would venture to guess that my PLANNING part of my brain is different than my tactical part (and I am not even going to bother googling it.)

As a Marketer at heart, (been at it in one way or another for 30 odd years – yikes!).  I love planning.  Planning allows for contemplation of what has happened (or what we did), what we think is going to happen and what we plan to make the best of it.  It also is the place in the company that gets everyone together to decide “What” and “Who” we are as a company and “What we WANT to be?”  Those things don’t happen in Accounting, Sales or HR they happen in Marketing.

Thinking Differently

Think DifferentI am fortunate that I teach Social Media as well as Marketing at Husson University at the New England School of Communications.  I say that I am fortunate because for about 30 weeks a year I get to teach courses on things that Marketing people need to be doing at their companies.  Sure I may have to pick up the mail and make a bank deposit, follow up on Sales calls or client requests, but I am constantly reminded of what needs to happen in Marketing.  That I need to stay connected to that world, to the media in person, on air or through social media.  There are a host of other things that I am reminded to do, because I teach these courses and the feedback from the students is priceless and very helpful to me.

Volunteer
It is possible there may be a way that you may be able to do some work that puts “Planning” on your calendar. Maybe Junior Achievement, Adult Ed, Brownies or Cub Scouts- anything that makes you prepare a presentation of some type that gets you from thinking about your day to day and more into your “Day After Tomorrow.”

*thank you Creative Commons and Apple for the use of their image.