The Engaging Brand

Do you offer and value freedom?

Freedom is a word dominating the news at the moment with Middle Eastern uprisings, revolutions and even human right questions re freedom and privacy.

Freedom is a precious commodity and one which we should all be conscious of offering. If we watch the world events and think "Oh, yes they are after democracy" and not learn about what the true message is....that freedom matters to each individual then we are not listening...

We need to look at

• Our individual style and if we are freely open to ideas
• Whether our brands offer a choice or a freedom to the consumer and whether we sell that freedom or just the product?
• Whether we use social media as a communication tool or a freedom generator...do we encourage collaboration, inspire ideas, share more than some say is sensible!
• Do we constantly think about our personal branding or corporate branding model....and how that can reflect a new style of business which is less transactional and more transformational

Sometimes when you have something you forget to treasure it and forget as well to embellish it.....never forget how powerful the offer is freedom is......be it from

mobile internet on the go to the ability to connect with anyone in the world through six degrees of separation

Why free makes a new me!

I am often asked to give sessions on what leaders need to think about in the social media age. The session is aimed at understanding why social media has taken hold and how it has changed the business to business or business to consumer relationship...but I think there is another important lesson.

Social media proves the worth of 'givers gain'. The idea that the more you give then the more people can see the real you (or brand), earning their respect and hopefully developing to a valuable business relationship with them. 

Giving your ideas away for free on social media is a way of giving insight into your brand before people commit to buy....this can be an important lesson for leadership. People need to see your leadership before buying into it

• Share ideas freely and the value will soar through people adding to those ideas.
• Give your time freely to maximise the potential of the team around you
• Leadership is about a two way relationship - equal respect just different roles.
• Give to people first as a way of earning their respect...respect is earned not a right. Expect nothing in return.....free means no strings but it doesn't mean no value.

So I think we can all learn from social media, not just in our external relationships but our own development as a leader of people.

Show 335 - Fixing Bubbles, Crashes and Capitalism

Show 335 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.

I invited Roger Martin who is the Dean of the Rotman School of Management since and an advisor on strategy to the CEO’s of several major global corporations. Roger has been on the show before and if you don't know his work don't forget to check out previous podcasts called The Design of Business and The Opposable Mind. 

Roger was named one of the top 50 management thinkers in the world by The Times of London.

Today we talk about his new insights in a business book called Fixing the Game

• Are stock markets good!
• Are the problems with capitalism political or business related?
• Are the stock markets as they are today outdated for the knowledge economy?
• Has the reason for investment changed the focus for CEO's?
• Are future stock market crashes inevitable?
• How business leaders need to refocus from the shareholder as the customer, back to the purchaser/consumer
• Are the risks of unethical behaviour too low?
• Do we need to think of greater criminal sanctions?
• How community shapes our business decisions.

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 RSS Feed

 

The Danger of Being Simple!

Simple is a wonderful idea to sell...but beware!

Many of us love the idea of simplicity. Many of us will pay for the value, simplicity will bring to our lives. When simplicity arrives it adds value.....

But with simplicity there can be side effects....simplicity can bring complacency, simplicity can cause apathy, simplicity can drain your life rather than sustain the original value. 

As a brand you need to be aware of the value simplicity can bring - it is not always more that provides the value, it is often simplifying which is more engaging. But as deliver that 'simple' value, ensure that you never mistake simple with easy. The customer must feel that it is easier - NOT YOU!

Simplicity needs constant innovation to keep creating that value - we all know, that once we have something in our lives we expect it, so we need to keep surprising.

Simplicity needs constant work!

Don't let social media allow you to become lazy...because something is easy to do, does not mean it is easy to deliver well! 

The irony is that to do simplicity well, you will work harder than creating complexity

It is what I call the butterfly effect of social media - because it makes contracting, creating, communicating easier, it doesn't make the art any less complex. Being a butterfly across the social media sites can be fun, but not necessarily profitable. Focus on how you can simplify for your customer - NOT YOU!

And as soon as you feel it is becoming easier....stop and challenge whether it is easier for you or your customer

Are you too traditional?

Whatever we grow up with - both personally and in our business world - is what we see as new. But as time goes by we must be ready to accept that what WAS new is no longer new.

For instance

• The web is not new!
• Social media is not new!

Tools have now been around a few years, consumers are now used to ...indeed expect a web presence and one which is not an internet billboard. 

Traditional to many consumers is what you called new only a couple of years ago. 

Be careful that you keep the traditional values and principles....but keep updating how to express those values.

Show 334 - Profiles in Marketing Excellence

Show 334 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.

I invited Pam Lockard of DMN 3. Pam believes in learning from other people and has compiled interviews with 25 of the marketing leaders from around the world. It is interesting to see what profiles in marketing can show us about what makes a successful leader..We talk about

• How to learn from other leaders
• How successful people learn from history
• The importance of humility in leadership
• Whether marketing leaders see social media as a communication tool or a new marketing subset.
• The importance of numbers in marketing
• How successful marketing leaders have a rounded personality
• Is social media now traditional marketing!
• How utility is the new creativity.

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 RSS Feed

 

The No Limit Philosophy

Physics and chemistry were always a mystery to me. One night I was concerned about school and Dad said...

"Anna -  there are limits to certain knowledge for each individual but never forget there are no limits to your dreams and to your imagination. You can keep gathering knowledge Anna, but if you weren't dreaming then, and only then - I would be worried"

As a supplier, as a colleague, as a leader.....nurture those dreams as they are the fuel for the gaining of knowledge

7 Customer Service Tips From Donny and Marie Osmond!

Watching the CNN with Donnie and Marie Osmond with Piers Morgan, I was struck by what they had learned from the greats such as Sinatra, Elvis and Sammy Davis Jnr and wanted to share them with you....so true for customer service.

1. Give your audience more than what they have paid for...
2. You can throw as much money at a show as you want, but people won't remember you for that...they will remember you if you give them a little bit of yourself.
3. Don't forget with all the other aspects of your service or your product that magical ingredient....don't leave out the heart and soul.
4. From Elvis, Donny learned..."Leave the star on the stage and be a true person off the stage"
5. It is not about being a celebrity, it is about being entertaining
6. You need to help the audience connect to their own memories
7. It is about making the audience feel as important as they are making you feel

Why a brand is not the same as a Brand

We all have a brand. Personal brand, company brand, even a country brand. A brand exists whether you manage it or not...it is the perception of who you are and what you stand for...not through the words you use per se but how you make people feel.

But then you get a true Brand. A brand which lives and breathes its value - from yes, the iconic Apple brand - right through to the British Monarchy Brand. The difference is that a brand merely exists from day to day compared a  Brand which is lived each second of each day 

So how do you move from existing to living....just the same as a person does....by setting our goals, aspiring towards those goals and in doing so creating value in the world.

Too often people don't think they are a brand - wrong, ask your customers what they think of you, that is the delivered perception!

Too often people believe a great PR budget is needed for a brand...wrong customers may create a perception through words but they feel the brand through your actions.

Too often people think it is the big things that create the brand...wrong, it is the thank you, it is recognising the customer, it is delivering ahead of schedule....it is caring more than they expected.

Are you passively letting a brand exist or are you nurturing that living Brand?

 

 

Show 333 - Dreaming Your Way to Business Success

Show 333 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.

I invited Josh Linkner on to the podcast after reading Disciplined Dreaming. He explains how business success—like good jazz--is most often determined based on creativity and original thought as opposed to technical mastery. We talk about

• Why jazz is similar to creativity
• The importance of 'contrast' in business
• How creative is not always about creativity but often just about getting out of your present zone.
• How to help people warm up their creative brains at the start of a meeting
• How to persuade non creatives to give it a try!
• Is there a difference between problem solving and creativity?
• When should you move from creativity to delivery?
• Asking the question - what if the customer was your boss?
• The 3 phrases all business people should ask...why? what if? and why not?
• The importance of walking in the customers shoes.
• How to make off site meetings inspirational.
• The trick to associative thinking

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 RSS Feed