The Engaging Brand

Show 316 - How to measure happiness

Show 316 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen for free, you don't need to download anything and all explained at the end of the post.

Ivan Robertson, Managing Director of Robertson Cooper and an Emeritus Professor of Work and Organisational Psychology, UMIST, has published over thirty books regarding Occupational Psychology and is a recognised industry expert on leadership and development joins  Anna Farmery on The Engaging Brand podcast to talk about whether we can measure happiness.

• What is happiness?
• Does happiness depend on the variation of wealth between the top earners and the lower paid.
• Does the differential between Executives and the lower paid in a business affect happiness?
• Is happiness about money or something wider?
• The 3 parts of happiness - social, psychological and physical elements.
• Is happiness contagious?
• Is apathy more dangerous than unhappiness?
• Is a happiness index only meaningful over a period of time or can it be a static measure?
• How to create a happiness index?

Don't forget to subscribe to the show in iTunes or on the Blubrry site.

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or join me on twitter.

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1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click hear to listen to the latest marketing podcast

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

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Who is most important - the captain or the engineer?

Business is all about relationships. Relationships to products and services. Relationships between leaders, teams, relationships between investors, suppliers, customers etc etc

I remember Dad saying always remember relationships work best when both respect, and both work together. No relationship will thrive when one thinks they know more than the other, when mutual trust doesn't exist. If you want brand loyalty, customer loyalty or team loyalty always remember this little story

"A ships captain and his chief engineer got into an argument about which one was more important to the ship. Finally they decided to swap jobs for a day.

The Chief went up to the bridge and the Captain went down to the engine room. After a few hours, the Captain suddenly appeared o deck, covered with oil and soot.

"Chief!" He yelled, wildly waving a monkey wrench. "You'll have to come down here! I can't make her go!"

"Of course not!" said the chief "We're aground"

One of the things I love about social media is that it allows a much more equal relationship, it allows customers to get to know you....it allows you to listen....I say allow as social media does not ensure conversations and respect happen.....social media only enables you to foster that culture.

How NOT to Focus on Customer Service

Customer service is so critical to brand success and yet the phrase has become far too functional, far too transactional. Customer interactions are emotional, they are emotional because

• They involve human beings!
• Purchases create or satisfy emotional needs in some way.

When I work with leaders on customer service, often it is because of how they are leading their people and how they are measuring success. Let me give you an example i often use to illustrate the problem

"Bob Pittman of 6 flags entertainment found that the janitors were surly with customers. He went undercover and found managers were ordering that the parks were kept immaculate. The janitors therefore saw customers as a problem, as they were stopping them from achieving their objective. 
Pittman changed the objective to keeping the customers happy and since a dirty park would make their time less enjoyable, they cleaned it up but in a friendly manners."

Objectives can create focus but make sure that the focus is on the right thing!

Show 315 - Coping with Cyber Overload

Show 315 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen for free, you don't need to download anything and all explained at the end of the post.

Joanne Cantor, PhD, an internationally recognized expert on the psychology of media and communications joins  Anna Farmery on The Engaging Brand podcast to talk about her new business book Conquer Cyberoverload. We talk about

• Why do humans become addicted and is cyberoverload different to other types of media addiction such as TV.
• How our brains are wired for a low tech world.
• Does Cyberoverload happen due to avoidance of work or feeling inspired?
• How do you learn to recognise when to take a break?
• A new way of thinking of taking a break - because it IS actually working!
• How to be a workaholic and asleep!
• How it is not just about quantity of information but also what type of information you are consuming.
• The connection between cyberoverload and human needs which it may be filling.

Remember if you want to vote for The Engaging Brand podcast for the Best Business Podcast of 2010 then visit www.podcastawards.com

Don't forget to subscribe to the show in iTunes or on the Blubrry site.

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or join me on twitter.

How you can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click hear to listen to the latest marketing podcast

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

Can brands can be social

"Brands cannot be social"  a challenge at a social media marketing workshop today...

I don't agree. I believe brands should be social, I believe brands can be social but neither of these draw the conclusion that brands are always social! Brands are only as social as the people who develop them...if you are not social then the brand is unlikely to be social±

I often talk in training sessions about how people shop, if they had a shopping angel on their shoulder...what would that angel provide? This leads to how brands can be social

Ø    Speak to a real person about the product or service

Ø    Offers, giveaways or promotions - help me get the best value

Ø    Chat with other users about how they have found it

Ø    Information and data, help me understand the product/service

Ø    Ability to share the information or recommend it to a friend

Ø    Learning how to…

 That is the S.O.C.I.A.L aspect. I don't see which of the above cannot be provided by a brand, either on their website or on other sites (For example: You Tube )

Social is not 'an add on to a marketing campaign' - it is something that you live day by day, social is a mindset not a technological tool.

The hidden treasure of customer service....

I have to admit that I have never loved shopping....actually I hate shopping...unless it is in the Mac store :)

Part of the reason is the lack of a smile and I would leaders, brands, everyone to live by 4 questions

1. Do I smile, do I smile inside so that it comes through in my voice?
2. Have I caused someone else to smile today?
3. If I am not smiling, am I doing the right job for me and my needs?
4. Am I present with people, do I give them respect by giving my 100% attention?

And I mention leaders because it must start at the top....I mention brands because I think the you can smile through your brand voice....

For all the budget constraints in the world, a smile costs nothing....and yet the value of a genuine smile is often immeasurable...

Are you a barrier or a gateway?

Funny couple of days for me, today it is a year ago since Nana's funeral and tomorrow seven years since we said bye, bye to Dad. So in honour a little story....

This boy grew up in the countryside, left school at 13 to work on the farm. He was dyslexic and had never been away from his community. He couldn't read or write. Did he resign to his fate or did he succeed in his dreams?

He succeeded and built a multi million pound company, how did I know? He was my dad.

He always said that it was not what you were taught that was important, it was what you learned. It was not the knowledge that you had, it was how you used it.

Often we can focus on what development we have not received....well, with the world of the internet this is an excuse not a reality. To succeed at work you need to evolve your learning, evolve your thinking and practice, practice, practice.

You can be your own barrier.....or your own gateway....if you want to succeed you can, if you think you won't, you won't...

As Dad always said "The world of business is always looking for new ideas, new ways of working, new products....no body could have taught me about them, as they didn't exist. I learned to watch the world, see the problems then think of a solution and sell it. I didn't need to be educated to do that, it would have been great but it has never held me back because I have never let it"

Show 314 - How to Thrive on Pressure

Show 314 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen for free, you don't need to download anything and all explained at the end of the post.

Professor Graham Jones joins  Anna Farmery on The Engaging Brand podcast to talk about how concepts from his new book Thrive on Pressure. We talk about

• What is pressure?
• Why do humans create pressure on themselves when it is not a great experience!
• How to create mental toughness
• Why it is not about shutting thoughts out, it is about using emotions to work for you.
• The 4 ways to thrive on pressure
• How successful people make choices not sacrifices
• How self belief is a combination of self confidence and self esteem
• Are confidence and esteem connected?
• The effect of self talk and the concept of stinking thinking!

 If you want to vote for The Engaging Brand podcast for the Best Business Podcast of 2010 then visit www.podcastawards.com

Don't forget to subscribe to the show in iTunes or on the Blubrry site.

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or join me on twitter.

How you can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click hear to listen to the latest marketing podcast

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

Are you a dream maker or dream breaker?

Films, acting, storytelling....I believe are great tools to develop your leadership skills - or even your branding skills!

Robert Altman once said a producer's job is

"to create a space where the actor or actress can become more than they've ever been before, more than they've dreamed of being"

Now if you replace actor/actress with employee...isn't that what business is all about? You are a dream creator, a dream coach, a dream maker.....and yet so often managers who I coach will say..."But I don't have any power" ...power does not come from a job description but from enhancing the lives of others around you....

You can also see how this relates to customers, consumers, branding....influence or persuasion or engagement...all tap into the emotional need, that belief that parting with that hard earned cash will benefit them in some way or make their life more meaningful.

Dreams are inside people, they were there as a child but everyday life has made them give up on them, by demanding they are realistic! Oh please!

Your role is to dig deep, find those dreams, engage them again and relight the fire inside.....are you a dream maker or a dream breaker?

Are you breathtaking enough?

I was holding a leadership coaching session last week in which the team leader at the end of an exhausting session asked "Anyone got any ideas?"

It struck me as so often people come to me for coaching based on feedback from their teams who have said they don't feel inspired or something similar....mmmm....then I thought of the way Jeff Immelt of GE asks his teams for ideas. He asks them to take some time to come up with

"breath-taking, mind blogging, word rattling, technological innovation"

He is helping people not to have an idea but to have a dream....to create something special.

In reality they appear to be asking for the same thing - ideas, but one uses words that stir emotion, that makes people believe....one is a sentence at the end of a meeting.

And so often we do this with customers as well....we ask them to fill out a feedback sheet or put suggestions in a box....yawn.....when was the last time you asked them for

"breath-taking, mind blogging, word rattling, technological innovation that will change their world"

With social media there is no excuse in not inspiring customers and employees - for me inspiration saves perspiration down the line!