Remember the Ostrich in Bugs Bunny?

As I blogged about previously, I left a large ,well established software firm this past summer, whom I refer to as “Major Corp”, to join a fast moving start up.

One of the things I have learned since joining this company is just how much social media has impacted the business environment.

Some recent studies have suggested that as many as 40% of all consumers would prefer to interact with a company, prior to making a large purchase. Social media provides the perfect context in which to do so.

So, the recent conversation I had with a sales manager at Major Corp is overwhelming to me.

Major Corp. does not maintain much of an online presence. Of course they have a website, but they do not interact in social media whatsoever. No blog, no Twitter account, no Facebook. In fact, the majority of the marketing money they spend is on two large events per year, where they invite feedback from current customers, meanwhile making sure that the customers are well fed and watered. Yep, you heard me; current customers. If I revealed their name, I would challenge you to find marketing ANYWHERE that was aimed at attracting new customers.

So, it seems that recently, a few enterprising members of the sales team approached the director of marketing for Major Corp with a simple idea. They wanted to start a blog, updating interested parties about the new things going on at Major Corp, trends in their market, etc.  Their thinking was that it would be a great way to get people interested in talking to them, and may turn into eventual sales opportunities. They understood that any posts would have to be approved by marketing, but were willing to spend the extra effort, feeling that it would be worth it.

The answer? - No. It seems that the marketing department was concerned that people would be tempted to leave negative comments, if they found the blog. I’m not kidding.

So stuck in the past are they, so comfortable that they maintain a lead in the marketplace, that they are diligently AVOIDING input to help build their business beyond current results. And now, as the recession truly takes hold in the global economy, I am told they are suffering an erosion of customers, and a loss of real new opportunities.

Ask me if I’m happy to be with this new company.

What do you want to be when YOU grow up?

For those that know me well, and that is mostly the family members that read this blog ,would tell you that sales was not my first vocation.
I wanted to be, from the time I was 8, a professional drummer. I got my first drum set at the age of 8, for Christmas. It was a toy set straight out of the Sears catalogue. I understand that my folks didn’t want to make a big investment in a real kit for a kid, not knowing if my commitment would be real.
Well, it was. I beat the crap out of that kit for months on end, till there was nothing left of it. It was not meant to take a real pounding, and back then, I took my drumming inspiration from John Bonham. If you know anything about the long departed drummer for Led Zeppelin, you’ll know that he played HARD. And so did I. In fact, as I continued playing, I gathered a reputation as a hard driving, LOUD drummer.
By the time I hit my early twenties, I was playing drums for a living; it was everything I had worked for. And you know what? I hated it.
Don’t get me wrong ;being on stage every night was joyous. It was everything else that got under my skin.
I did not like living out of a suitcase, travelling to a different town night after night. I detested all the “road food” I ate. You travelling road warriors know what I mean. Still can't eat a French Fry to this day, so scarred am I from that experience.
Mostly though, what bothered me was being in an industry that was built more on dream than reality. Every musician I hung out with or played with seemed to be fooling themselves about the reality of the situation. I realized early into my drumming career, that no matter how good I got, I may never get that big break. Most of the people I knew back then never got it. Some of those guys are still playing today, still hoping and dreaming that they will be discovered.
When I got off the road, I put my kit away, and didn’t pick up a set of sticks for four years. I may never have played again, if it wasn’t for my sister. She bugged me until I finally got out the old kit.I thank her now, because I rediscovered why I started playing in the first place; because I LIKE playing drums. Simple.
Today, 37 years after that Christmas with my first kit, I still play. When we bought the house we now live in, I finished a part of the basement into a music room, and now have 2 kits set up. I play the music I want to play (currently Jazz and Latin music. Very challenging!). - It’s the most fun I have ever had behind the kit.

I BLOG THEREFORE I AM

When I started this blog a few months ago, it really served a few purposes for me. First, as I had recently been hired by a social media monitoring company, I felt some level of obligation to participate in said media. After all, to not blog, in my mind, would be like being a golf pro who didn’t own a set of clubs; a great teacher perhaps, but at the end of the day, hard to take seriously.
Mostly, I thought a blog would serve as an online diary. After all, this was really the original intention of a blog.
I have recently spent time with people who are serious and dedicated bloggers, and in some cases, well respected in the blogging community. I have noticed a few interesting trends in this short time.
Firstly, many of these people have a journalism background, both successful and failed. I guess this makes sense to me upon reflection. I can only imagine that if your current or intended occupation was a journalist, you have at least a passing interest in writing. A blog would satisfy your need to express your thoughts, free of editors, deadlines, story angles...and pay cheques.
However, this skewed demographic in the blogosphere seems to lead to my next observation: desperation.
Many of these people seem intent on announcing to everyone when they have finished their latest blog, while the “ink” is barely dry. With breathless inflection, I am inundated on Twitter and email with invitations to read the latest and greatest tome. I envision these souls, having pinged everyone they can think of, urging them to “read my latest blog entry here!!” checking back every five minutes, anxious for comments on what a thoughtful, fantastic writer there are.
Me? I write when the mood strikes and I have something to say. If you are reading this, you are in a very select minority, most likely family, or a friend. And that’s just the way I like it.
I work with a chap whom, I think, summed up blogs perfectly; “ Blogs are like the things in your garage. You don’t have room in the house , but you can’t bear to throw them out.”

Want a Pen??

Another conference, another hotel, another plane ride.
We were attending PRSA08 in Detroit as exhibitors, which is an interesting exercise in time management.
You see,typically people attend these shows to participate in workshops, listen to speeches, eat and drink..... lots. Sometimes, although very rarely, these people are also interested in meeting with exhibitors; the rest of the people you talk to are mostly not at all interested in you or your products. You are there to provide a minimal level of distraction between sessions. The trick is being able to spot the time wasters from the interested folks.
We were fortunate that we have a product that is well respected and sought after by many companies. This allows us to avoid a habit that many exhibitors display time and time again in an effort to attract visitors to their booth; giveaways.
I have never understood why companies believe there is any value in the endless array of trinkets and trash they give at these shows. Do they really think it will make a potential customer remember them when they are in need of their service? Decide they need the service? Remember their name?
Even more interesting is the variety of items you see. Pens, sponge balls, book lamps,CD's, balloons; the list is endless as companies try to be creative in their approach. One booth was even giving away sapling trees in a tube. A unique gift to be sure, but a wisely spent marketing dollar? Not so much.
What makes this all worse is that for some people who attend these shows, the only interest beyond the sessions seems to be collecting as much free stuff as they can get their hands on, while committing as little time as possible engaging with any member of the company offering the items.
So, we were trinket-free, and concentrated on having good conversations with people genuinely interested in our social media monitoring tool. Oh, and we gave away a few laptop stickers.

Are you building your Social Brand?

Finally found time to write, after two very long full days in Arizona. I was there with our company to exhibit our product at the MarketingProfs Digital Mixer. The host company had invited companies to discuss three areas of B2B internet marketing; Email, Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, and Social Media.
There were 300 people from North America, Mexico and Australia in attendance, representing all three areas.
We had many visitors to our booth, which by the way, almost never made it, due to a shipping foul up.
I was amazed by the change in perception to social media by the email and SEO crowd, as the event progressed.
Early on, as I spoke with these people, there was a clear lack of understanding about Social Media, and its relevance to customer reach. These were, after all, people who were grounded in the other two disaplines, sure of their ability to reach their customer and prospects in the best and most efficient manner.
Throughout the event, there were numuerous guest speakers who repeated the message we in SM live and breathe; your customers are having conversations about you and your products everyday...are you listening?
To see the realization of this truth in peoples’ eyes was incredible. They were coming to the realization that SEO and email reach programs are the internets’ mature business model.

The two Keynote speakers were impressive. Arianna Huffington spoke of her site, the Huffington Post, at length. While I don’t agree with everything she said, I respect that she is clear in conviction and opinion, and despite her obvious distaste for Sarah Palin, seems even-handed.
Gary Vaynerchuk, the keynote speaker for day two, was a completely different affair. If you don’t know Gary, he built an online brand called winelibrarytv.com. Taking an unconventional approach to a very traditional industry, he has built a $60M a year business, and is justifiably proud of his effort. A brash, sometimes foul mouthed New Jerseyite, he is nonetheless energizing and thought provoking.
If I were to take one thing away from his speech, it is this: you are your own brand, both as an individual, and a representative to your company. Having a great product (either as a company, or as your own abilities and strengths), is no longer enough. You must build you brand every day. You do this by reaching out to people you want to know, and repeating your brand message, as often as you can.This, dear reader, is the core message: if you want to monetize social media, build your brand. When you are done, build it again. Never miss an opportunity to introduce someone to you, because peoples’ natural instinct is to want to get to know others. Then, let them in turn tell others about you, and they will help you to build your brand stronger. Simple in theory, it takes daily effort. So, do you build your brand?

Nothing to fear but fear itself

A core componant of the function of my job is product demos. As a director, this function would be foreign in other more established enterprises. However in a small start up, everyone wears multiple hats, and anyway...I really enjoy it. Over the last five years, my work roles have kept me away from customers sales and squarely in front of executive management, and lots of process. Its fun to be out "pressing the flesh" again.
I find myself in front of a diverse cross section of people. Most have some interest in social media, or at least what customers are saying about them or their customers. We have made a huge impact on the PR agency market, and are seen in some circles as the defacto leader in the social media monitoring space, by many who experienced in these areas.
I also speak to people who are not at all experienced nor comfortable with social media. Suprisingly, these people are very often long tenured public relations professionals who, I expect, have been somewhat blindsided by the impact that social media has created. These people distinguish themselves by displying an emotion I was at first shocked to see: fear.
I think these people are the survivors in a profession that seems short on tenure. They came up their trade in a time when traditional media was king, and terms like" impressions", "focus groups" and "buys" were what drove the market, and influenced their customers.
And then...the internet became more that websites and email. Customers have slipped off the radar of traditional PR, and seemingly out of their grasp of comprehension. As the consuming public raises their voice on forums, blogs, and tweets, it becomes a whisper in the ears of these poor souls.
So they come to me, with hat in hand and eyes wide, ready to be overwhelmed with new technology and new terms to learn. They fear the technology, the need to learn what we do, what to tell customers, how to interperate data; most of all, I think they fear the future. Comfortable in their knowledge of all things media, they were the experts in public relations, trusted by their customers to make wise decisions about where money should be spent to maximize return.
What I would say, if I could, is don't fear this. It is easy to understand, easy to explain, and most of all, it IS the future of the internet. People have found voice in the internet, and sharing thoughts, ideas, feedback and advice, to all parts of the consuming public. Embrace the future, it looks so fun!

Are you really listening to your customers??

As I said in a post a few weeks back, I have recently made the move from an established software company to a start up company, that specializes in social media monitoring. It's a realatively new industry, commonly referred to as Web 2.0.

Social media monitoring, for the those who are not sure( me a few months ago!), is the ability to monitor comments, conversations, and feedback across the global landscape of the "social" part of the Web; namely, blogs, video, forums, micromedia like Twitter( check it out if you haven't seen it yet), and the like.

My company has figured out a way to watch for words of interest ( to our customers) being used during comments, conversations and postings, across this new area of the internet. So...imagine...your "brand" gets mentioned , either positively or negatively, in a blog...and we can pick it up, instantly, and track the response other people reading have post have to that very topic....
A few short years ago, this would have been improbable, if not impossible, for a number of reasons. Technology has made impressive gains, allowing companies like mine to "watch" an ever widening array of sites. As well, individuals and businesses alike are finding value in posting to, and monitoring of, the social part of the internet.

Why is this important to companies?- Simply put, people now view chat forums, blogs, and even video sites, as a viable alternative to gathering opinions and facts about products they either have now, or are considering purchasing.

Image, if you were able to eavesdrop on customer conversations, discussing your brand, or products you sell; people speaking candidly to each other, offering feedback, advice and reviews on your price, quality, service, and just about anything else to do with you and your company.
Well, this is happening everyday on the social media web; more and more each day.

And yet..many companies that I reach out to, just don't get it. They are stuck in a rut of customer surveys, tele-marketing campaigns, and trade show efforts; all customer outreach programs that not only hugely expensive, but are also yeilding lower positive returns evey year.

Meanwhile , companies on the cutting edge of technology utilization are waking up to this new way of listening and responding to their customers. One of our newest customers, a large computer manufacturer that I won't name( that starts with a"D" and rhymes with "bell"), is using our services to reach out to ANYONE that posts about a bad experience with their products. Agressive? Sure. But I think we now live in a society that demands instant gratification, and mostwill not see this as an invasion of their privacy. Alreay, they have recieved positive feedback about these efforts. After all, if you posted something on the internet, who did you think was going to read it?

Its a very exciting time to be in this field; I feel like the guy, who back in the early 90's, was going door to door in the business world, talking to people about this new fangled way of contacting people called "e-mail"....It's just a matter of time, folks..

A storm's a comin'..

Five years ago tonight, we were preparing for a hurricane strike. We had a house in Bedford, Nova Scotia. The weather folks had been mentioning throughout the previous days that we should expect Hurricane Jaun to give us "a strong wind event", but they failed to realize how bad it was going to be. Only late in the day did it dawn on them that the storm was not weakening as expected, and would make landfall, at high tide, in the capital city of the province.

The damage from the storm was dramatic. Sailboats were strewn about on people's back yards. lifted up and dumped there by the incredible winds and high tide storm surge. Throughout the city, massive trees, which has withstood hundreds of years of Maritime storms, were blown over like matchsticks. On our street, only our house , and the one next to us, owned by a dear old gentleman, were untouched. Everyone else had some sort of storm damage, from trees blown over, and in some cases, into peoples houses, to siding and roofs torn completely off.

What stays with me these years later were some of the memories of what happened during the storm.

Our master bedroom featured a large picture window. As the hurricane began to hit us, I peered out of the window, watching in awe as the massive oak tree across the street was bending like a young sapling. It was then that I noticed that the pressure from the wind was flexing the glass in and out agian, like a large piece of card board. Alarmed, I moved Shelly and the kids( 5 and 2 at the time, and terrified by the howling winds) into a back bedroom.
There was a set of train tracks about 100 yards behind our house. In the time that we lived there, we became accustomed to the daily rumble of large freight trains rolling by, on their way to Montreal and beyond. Sometime around 1 a.m., as the hurricane was in full throttle, I was astounded to hear the familiar booming rumble of a train. What was a train doing out this late, and in the teeth of a hurricane? I was wrong.When you hear people describing the sound of a storm resembling a freight train, they are only partially correct; it also feels like one. The ground shakes, and the wind takes on a life of its own.
As we lay in our bed, frankly in fear of the storm, the house swayed from side to side, as the wind pushed anf shoved with all its fury. Then, I clearly felt the house lift, as the wind pushed up against the eaves, trying to tear our roof off. Fortunately, we lived in a house that was built strong.

And now, exactly five years later, Hurricane Kyle is bearing down on our part of Canada. We now live in an area away from the coast, that won't expect to feel the full effects of the storm. However, Yarmouth Nova Scotia is due for the full brunt of the storm, which will likely weaken to a tropical storm, but still be dangerous. I lved there a few years ago; there are plenty of friends and family there, whom I hope are prepared with flashlights, water, and good company. It will be a long, eventful night.

Canadian...er...eh.

I am not Canadian. I was born in England, to a British father and a Canadian mother. We came to Canada long ago enough, that save my penchant for Monty Python and a good cup of tea, you would likely never know.
However, it wasn't because I didn't give it the ol' college try.
During my teen and early adult years, it was a subject of non-issue. I paid taxes like the next person. Travelling abroad simply meant a confident and non accent toned" Halifax, sir!" when asked at the border where I was from. Rarely was proper I.D. ever asked for. And, back then, proper I.D. was a drivers' licence.
I was registered as a Landed Immigrant, got a S.I.N., and Bob's yer uncle. Or so I thought.
Then came 9/11. The Canadian government quietly changed the rules around becoming a citizen sometime around 2002. Prior to then, there was, in effect, a grandfather clause that made it not much more than a formality to get your citizenship, if one of your parents was Canadian.
You see, it is now more difficult , costly and time consuming to become a Canadian citizen if you are a landed, long term resident of the country, then if you just landed at Pearson Airport and staggered off a flight ,with all your worldly possessions, from Godknowswhereikstan. Even had a government employee in citizenship office tell me so.( He didn't say Godknowswhereikstan; I made that up).
The current waiting period for people in this situation is 24 months from time of application, to granting of citizenship. If you need to get a passport( which would be a further wait) to travel...well thats' just not good.
A few years ago, I had to get a passport for work travel, and found myself in this difficult situation.

So, in desperation, I contacted the U.K. citizenship office, in what I thought was an outside chance of getting an alternative in place. I assumed that my long term status as a tax paying, hockey loving landed immigrant in Canada would make this impossible. Not so.The cost? $250, ( yikes!)- But a passport was couriered to my house exactly 21 days after application. Sweet.

Now, when travelling to the U.S., I answer a few more questions than a Canadian does, and have my retina scanned and fingerprints taken EVERY time I cross. other than that...it is clear sailing.

I feel for the most part wholly Canadian, and a little miffed that, while the government is delighted to take my taxes, I cannot vote, join the RCMP( not THAT big a deal), or run for parliment;like that would happen.
The final insult?- I got a letter in the mail today, telling me that I am the registered voter in this household. Does the Rhinoceros Party have a candidate running here?

Dollars and Scents

The other day I noticed Wal Mart had my favorite cologne for a remarkably low price.Now before we go any further, let me give you my 2 cents(scents??) on the issue of ..well..scents. I see no reason, despite the trend of "scent-free work places", to discontinue the practice of wearing cologne. Don't get me wrong; I too have suffered the encounter of the pimply faced pubescent who took the "bathe in Axe and the chicks will dig ya" ads too literally. I just don't buy the whole allergic reaction gambit. I'm as much for basic personal hygene as the next guy, but I'd like to exercise my freedom of rights to include smelling like more than just toothpaste and deoderant, if it's all the same to you.
Back to the issue at hand...
This particular cologne ( Burberry Brit, in case you were wondering) was locked in the small glass case,in the cosemetics area of the store. Now, the fact that it's locked away , was a curious thing to me, as other more expensive, and I assume, theft-worthy, colognes and perfumes were displayed on a quite open shelf mere feet away from said case. Yep, there was a $50 dollar bottle of Beckham out in the open, and my little $20 bottle of Brit keep safely away from would be thieves.Actually, a cologne that brings to mind an over-paid, Posh-whipped football player after 90 minutes on the pitch makes me want to leave it right on the shelf.
I tracked down a blue smocked young lass, and explained to her that I wanted to purchase an item from the case.
And her response?
"Well, I don't have the key. And the woman that works at cosmetics leaves at 3, and takes the key with her."
THE key. The only key to the case. In the entire store. She takes it home with her. Every night.........
Perhaps, I'm missing something, but it seems to be counter-productive to the basic rules of retail to prevent your employees from being able to sell an item that a customer would like to purchase.
I'll give the young lady credit, as she called several managers in the store, trying to track down another key...to no avail.
The response from Management?- If I could come back tomorrow...during the daytime, they would give me the cologne at half price, for my troubles. So, Wal-Mart would rather give away $10, than simply have another key available? Surely, this can't be the first time this has occurred? Am I the only sap who wanted to buy cologne after 3 p.m.?
While I am grateful for the offer, and will take advantage of it, I am astounded at the situation.
By the way, the young lady informed me that, to her memory, there are only three items that are locked in a case at Wal-Mart
1)- Bullets( you get my vote on that one...) 2)- Video games. 3) Cologne. and not the expensive cologne either.

One's view of their current job can be a funny thing. It seems like a common past time to grouch about all the things wrong with your job: bad boss, un cooperatice colleagues, crappy facilities: I'm sure we have all heard, if not echoed all the reasons why we don't like our current work.
Very often, I have heard from business colleagues who have professed to be so fed up with their work situation that they plan to find another job. Here's the funny thing; its' one thing to talk about leaving your job; its' entirely another matter to actually make the leap.
Recently, I made the switch from a sales manager role of a large software company, to a sales director role in a fast moving start up. Since the day that I announced to my now previous employer that I was leaving, up to and including this very day, I have been the object of a great deal of interest from employees of said previous employer. Its been everything from" How is the new job" to" You guys looking to hire" ( A real favorite of mine) to " I need to get the hell out of this job"....
In difference to respect for my previous employer, if not out of fear of legal reprisal, I have steered rather clear of recruiting any person from my previous employer(whom I shall refer to as MAJOR CORP from now on). I have met, at the request of individuals, over coffee, to explain why I was compelled to join my new company, what our expectations are, what the pay is like, etc; all the things sales minded folks want to hear, and all positive things.
And then...nothing.
I am of the firm belief that the fear of risk that comes with a voluntary job change far outwieghs the frustration of the current working environment for most people. Or...its more appealling to go where you are comfortable, as opposed to happy.

And away we go!!!!

so..this is the first kick at the ol`blog thing. I suppose in relation to the majority of bloggers, I`m a late adopter; but now that I`m employed with a software firm that delivers social media monitoring tools to business.....not blogging would be like a radio dj not owning a radio. 

I don`t profess to be an expert in any one area, but like most everyone else, I`ll offer an opinion on a varity of subjects when asked, or as in the case of this blog, when the laptop battery is good, and the mood is willing.......