Dealing With Feedback

When our speakers address an audience, we always ask for feedback. That doesn’t mean we always get it, but when audience members do take time to respond, we use that feedback to try and improve. Unfortunately, it’s a fact of life that people who respond to surveys or fill out responses frequently either love you or hate you. Those who don’t feel strongly either way sometimes think their responses won’t matter or simply don’t want to bother.

It is important when you do receive feedback that you visibly act upon it. Even if someone is unhappy, if they see you working to fix the complaint they reported, they are much more likely to give you a second chance. More importantly, they are less likely to speak negatively of their experience to friends. It is critical, however, that you do not brush off criticism as if it doesn’t matter.

Negative feedback can be very difficult to hear. Most people have a tendency to take such comments personally and lash out. If the responder provided a name, or if you can tell by the comments alone who the person is, you should never approach them in a confrontational manner. If they did provide their name and you do want to speak with them further, think ahead about how you might approach them. Always begin the discussion with, “I really appreciate your feedback and am working to improve…”

One of my favorite stories to tell goes back to when I first started speaking. I presented at a session beginning at 9 a.m. and collected feedback forms at the end of the session. Everything was positive except for several comments about not providing breakfast. The solution: donuts and juice every time! If you have received feedback that was memorable or was especially funny, we’d love to hear about it. Send us your story at info@theexpertspeakers.com.

Can You Do Too Much Marketing?

Are you tired of the ads, direct mail and phone calls from the political candidates yet? Sometimes it feels like the elections never stop; we just roll from one right into the next. At what point do viewers simply tune out the message?

Major political campaigns are big business. The candidates are marketing themselves to the voters, and they spend a big chunk of change doing it. Those candidates without deep pockets must get creative, taking advantage of free press through debates, town hall meetings and the creative use of social media. Candidates with more money rely heavily on TV and radio ads in the major markets, hire services to call voters to encourage them to get out on election day, send direct mail, etc., etc., etc. 

If we add to this money spent by special interest groups and Super PACs in support of their candidates (just under half a billion dollars in 2011[i]), marketing essentially becomes a free-for-all. And because these groups aren’t directly linked to the candidates, the ads and approach can be down and dirty—in some cases influencing viewers and in others causing them to tune out all political ads.

Statistics are out on the amount of money spent on TV ads by each Republican candidate leading up to Saturday’s South Carolina primary. A combined total of $13.2 million was spent on TV ads alone, with Mitt Romney shelling out $4.7 million, Newt Gingrich spending $2.4 million and Rick Santorum $1.7 million[ii]. Yet, spending more than the second and third place finishers combined on TV ads did not guarantee Romney a win.

A political consultant referenced in The Charlotte Observer article (see end note below) believes that there were so many ads being shown that they simply lost effectiveness. Is this a case of too much marketing? And what do you risk if your competitor has a huge presence and you don’t?

One of the basic tenets of marketing is to know your audience and reach them via the channels they use. This is more than TV and radio, it includes online options and social media. Candidates are still figuring out how best to connect on these channels. When the competition is fierce, however, it’s important to see if you can find creative options to reach your viewers and catch their attention. One opportunity is to make sure your ads are not “typical fare” – make them stand out from the competition. Extremely tough—especially in a political campaign—but sometimes your best option to make marketing work for you. We’d love to hear your thoughts on how you would market yourself if you were running for office. Comment below and let us know!

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[i] http://www.tvb.org/planning_buying/Political/251654

[ii] The Charlotte Observer, “TV ads didn’t pay off in S.C.,” 1/24/12

Foundations

I was watching a home improvement show last week. The new owners discovered after buying the house that, while the house looked great, some interior walls had been removed to open the space up. Unfortunately, the person who removed the walls had no understanding of structural requirements and a load-bearing wall was taken out, leaving the house and its occupants at risk of harm. This got me thinking about the foundations on which we build.

When you build a business – or a career for that matter – you cannot succeed without a solid foundation. There are certain core building blocks that are necessary and without them you will likely fail. Consider the following questions:

Why does your firm or business exist? What value will you provide to your customers? Consider formalizing a vision, mission and goals.

Who is your primary & secondary target customer? Your product or service will not be a match for every potential consumer. Defining your target will make it easier and less expensive to market.

Do you have a unique sales proposition (USP)? What makes you different from the competition? You must know the answer to this question in order to effectively market yourself.

What does your budget look like? Yup, it’s reality check time. Everyone has budget limits they must adhere to. Know yours and look for the most effective ways to spend your money.

Do you have the support you need? Support can come from many directions. You may need help with specific business skills (i.e., a tax accountant or IT professional) or moral support from family and friends. Build your support network as you go. 

Setting up a solid foundation may take some time, but in the long run this effort is necessary and well worth it. We’d love to hear how you’ve built your foundation. E-mail us at cs@vitalinkweb.com.

Fightin' It Off

I don’t know about you, but it seems like everyone I’ve spoken to over the past two weeks got sick over the holidays. It used to be that you called in sick and stayed home until you were well. With the introduction of new technologies that have us “linked” and accessible 24x7 and the current economy leaving employees insecure about their jobs, we tend to work through any illness that doesn’t land us in the hospital! We’d love to hear what you do when you are sick. Do you:
The good news is that many employers are okay with folks working remotely, so at least the germs aren’t shared at the office. From my point of view, I encourage anyone who works at a restaurant I may frequent to PLEASE stay home when you are ill! If you have other ideas on the best way for employers and workers to deal with cold and flu season, please share them! Aaaachooo!!! And get well soon.

Babies, Cats & Dogs...

Have you ever noticed how many businesses sell their products using cute pictures of babies, cats or dogs? While little scientific research has been done to determine exactly how and to what degree these images influence our purchasing behavior, these images do catch the attention of most viewers – a good thing when you have only seconds to grab the prospective buyer’s attention.

Some other ways to grab attention:

• Whether you’re writing a book, article, e-mail or social media post, a catchy headline will encourage readers to stop and look at what you have written. Note that the headline must be related to what you have written; if it’s totally off-topic, the viewer may open the e-mail this time but may discount future e-mails from you or unsubscribe. 
• Your business (or individual) personality should shine through whatever you do. 
• Make your posts timely. Value is lost if the discussion becomes “so yesterday.” 
• Keep your content brief. Everyone is busy and if your content is too long, it’s ignored. 
• Use interesting photos. If you are posting on Facebook, don’t just post a single photo. Add at least three to an album and comment on the photos for more follower interest. 
• Include statistics or numbers (“…90% of people surveyed say our hot sauce is the best they’ve ever had!”). 
• Use humor, if it’s appropriate for your product or service. Don’t try this if your business provides funeral services! 
•  Another option is video. Provide short, educational or informative pieces viewers will be likely to share with friends and associates. 
• Use client testimonials. Real people talking about the benefits they received can be persuasive. 
• Music can also catch attention. Match the music to your product or service. 
•  Try something different. Have you ever looked up at the TV when the chatter stops to see a commercial with only moving pictures or text across the screen?

Finding new ways to catch the attention of prospects is an ongoing challenge and you may need to test various approaches to find out which is the most successful for your business. You’ll also want to monitor the results over time and adjust your approach as your audience changes or grows. Want to learn more? Send us an email at cs@vitalinkweb.com. 

Employee Information Exchange

Many businesses pay for their staff members to attend seminars and conferences with the understanding that they will learn professional skills they can apply on the job. What most businesses do not do is encourage those staff members to share what they have learned with their co-workers and others.

Websites, shared document portals, social media and other tools allow all of us to easily disseminate information. But many times conference attendees return to work only to be overwhelmed playing catch up. Why not permit that employee to take some time upon his or her return to publish some high level notes that others might find valuable and save them on a shared document portal? Or, better yet, arrange a “lunch and learn” style presentation for the conference-goer to share some of what they learned.

Do you have an internal method or knowledgebase for employees to share information? Or maybe you’ve got a closed employee-only Facebook group or a blog that requires a login? Encourage employees to share what they have learned here, as well. Set some overall structure (for example, all information must be dated and placed into high level categories or have post tags applied to make searching easy) and basic rules (i.e., the information must have value, not a forum for complaints, must be verified when appropriate, etc.). Over time as the information base builds, employees will become used to adding new information and searching the site for answers to their questions.

Even better news with this type of knowledge-sharing: those folks in your company who are responsible for creating content will have a great source of new ideas for their future web content, blog posts, social media updates and more! Encourage sharing…you’ll be glad you did.

We Did It Together!

The second annual vitalink coats & blankets drive has officially wrapped up, and we're happy to say we collected more coats, blankets and financial donations than last year. The total number of cold weather items donated was 390 and we collected $725 in cash to benefit the Raleigh Rescue Mission. Way to go, team! Our partners were a big  part of the drive. A huge thank you to our 2011 partners:

• Leone Noble & Seate
• David Allen Company
• Embassy Suites
• Davis Plastic Surgery
• Catalyst Group, Inc.
• Greenscape Inc.
• News & Observer
• Chad M. Richards, State Farm

We hope you all tune in next year for the 2012 vitalink coats & blankets drive. Have a warm and happy holiday!