Bizsuccess

Thursday, November 19, 2009
By Pattie Baker

I fell upon the website for the Intercontinental Hotel Group innocently enough.  I have a meeting at its Americas headquarters next week and I wanted to do a little research specific to its corporate social responsibility.  Well, my goodness, I found a website filled end-to-end, front-to-back with examples of everything right to do on a site.  Here is a summary:

• Lead with emotion.  An inviting block of body copy tells me that Intercontinental Hotel Group’s goal is to create great hotels guests love.  Nice.  And may I mention that the look of the site is very easy on the eyes?
• Give me the quick info fast. Wanna’ book a hotel room?  Just book your stay and call it a day.  Want to know the latest news, share price, or hotel development updates?  No problems.  It’s all right there.  Like your info in video format?  Click, click, click.
• Provide me with opportunities to interact.  Links to Twitter, giving feedback, and requesting customer service make interactivity a breeze.  More »

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
By Pattie Baker

Goals, mission statements, visions, values.  These things start to run together like gobbledygook and end up, frankly, meaning little to nothing.  That’s why my head cocked sideways when I heard this goal recently from a company committed to environmental leadership.  “I want us to capture and reuse every single drop of water that falls on our property,” he said.  Now, that’s a goal.  Precise and measureable.  Challenging but achievable.  Directly related to the organization’s core mission of protecting the environment.

And so, of course, this got me thinking.  What is my big goal?  What is my precise, measurable, challenging, achievable objective that is directly related to my core mission?  In simple, colloquial terms, what is my big fat hairy purpose? More »

Thursday, November 12, 2009
By Pattie Baker

I just ran out to the bank.  I was in a bit of a rush because I needed to come back and work, and what do you know, I ended up having a great local business experience and now, here I am writing about it!  The second I walked into the bank, the bank manager stood up and said, “Welcome!”   The teller referred to me by name.  Another employee asked me if there was anything else I needed.  As I left the building, smiling, I realized that this happens every single time I go to this bank.  And, you know what?  It’s nice.  It’s just plain ole’ nice.  In fact, it’s so nice that I have never once considered switching banks.  My bank, with almost 2,000 locations in numerous states, feels like a small, local business to me, and that is quite an accomplishment in this day and age. More »

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
By Pattie Baker

There is this coffee shop I visit every weekend.  I don’t like the coffee.  I don’t like that they serve it in Styrofoam, a material my county does not recycle (I have worked out a way to avoid the Styrofoam).  The manager, whom I see every week, barely speaks to me.  I go there, frankly, simply to get my husband his favorite coffee.  This is just one of the things spouses do.  However, when I was there this past weekend, I thought of you because the manager suddenly started talking to me as if I were his best friend.  Turns out, of course, that he wanted me to tap in online to some survey about his shop, which is a franchise location of a major national chain.  Turns out I get a free donut, which I never buy and don’t want, if I do this.

Now, now, now.  There are many marketing lessons in this.  One, don’t try sweet-talking someone just because it’s survey-time.  Two, don’t ask customers who are clearly not your best customers to review you.  And three, don’t offer a reward that your customers don’t even want. More »

Thursday, November 5, 2009
By Pattie Baker

Listen, no one really knows the magic formula for “going viral” on the internet, but, my goodness, if you can somehow discover the silver bullet, you can get your company name all over the place in a short amount of time for little to no money.  The videos that seem to be spreading like wildfire lately seem to have a common theme—creative spirit.  I’m thinking we are absolutely starved for creativity as a society right now, and when we see a video that touches the fun, alive, creative essence of our humanity, we respond—mostly by hitting “send.”

That’s exactly what I did just this morning with this video.  I posted it on Facebook, I tweeted about it on Twitter, I added it to my blog, and I sent it to several friends with this subject line: “I LOVE this!”  And yes, I even got curious enough to go to the sponsor’s website. And I found myself thinking about the sponsor (Volkswagen) and where the company is going with this campaign, and how it might fit into my life at some point.  You wanna’ know how many times I’ve thought about Volkswagen in my life?  Absolutely zero, except for when my brother and I used to punch each other in the car saying, “Punch buggy no punch back” every time we passed a Volkwagen Beetle.

More »

Tuesday, November 3, 2009
By Pattie Baker

If there were a hat rack in your office that held all the “hats” you wear in your job, would the rack be full?  For most small business owners, that answer would most likely be a resounding “yes!”  Running a small business often requires being a “jack of all trades,” and frankly, may attract people who specifically like to have their hands into everything.

However, sometimes this can create problems for employees, yourself, and your customers.  Employees may feel powerless to make decisions because they know you’re always going to have the last say on every little thing.  This isn’t great for morale and doesn’t do much for employee retention.  What’s more, you may be cracking under all the work and pressure, and may find that your business comes to a grinding halt when you’re not around.  And customers may be frustrated if they have to wait for answers because everyone has to check with you, or they may find some sloppy details in the way your business is run because one person simply cannot do everything.  This issue is not just a production issue.  It’s a marketing problem.  You can get known pretty quickly as a company owner who is “stretched too thin.’  Not the reputation you want. More »

Thursday, October 29, 2009
By Pattie Baker

I have to tell you about the potato toilet. I want the potato toilet.  I have seen this water-saving, Australian-designed toilet at several eco-expos in the last six months.  This was, in fact, the item that a group of teen reporters I had “commissioned” determined was the very coolest thing at a recent expo—more so than fashion, makeup, music, anything.  The potato toilet.  Oh, come on now, it’s not actually named the potato toilet.  We call it that because the toilet is demonstrated by flushing a potato (to show how well it works, obviously).

When we had a plumbing problem a few weeks back, I thought of the potato toilet. As coincidence would have it, I actually got an email from the potato toilet company around then.  I took this as a sign from above, of course.  So, I entered into email conversations asking how easy exactly is it to go from a home with no potato toilet to one with one.  Other people may have been out at a fancy restaurant or a just-released movie, but this is what I was doing that night. More »

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
By Pattie Baker

I dropped my daughter off at a party at a restaurant to which I had never been the other day and found myself immediately attracted to the outdoor fireplace, even though it was the middle of a warm day and it wasn’t lit.  I’ve just had a bunch of juniper bushes cleared out of my yard and I guess I’ve been gazing out on that blank space and imagining the possibilities—including the now-suddenly-possible addition of a fire pit, or, let’s face it, even just a chiminea from Costco. Seeing it at the restaurant reminded me how much I’ve always wanted a space like that. More »

Thursday, October 22, 2009
By Pattie Baker

Listen, no one wants people to lose their jobs.  However, the last year has seen a sharp increase in downsizing due to the poor economy.  These companies, however, have accounting, legal, marketing, and a wide range of other work that still needs to get done.  If you happen to be a consultant who offers services such as these, this down economy may have had some unexpected benefits for you as you have been able to jump in and fill some holes.  If you haven’t tapped this market, then it’s a thought.  Companies that used to handle these functions in house may be outsourcing a whole lot more than you think, and may be thrilled to find out about what you offer. More »

Tuesday, October 20, 2009
By Pattie Baker

Want to create some positive buzz for your company? Be ready for your moment in the limelight at any time by pulling together the information you’d want the media to have about your company.  This includes:

• A description of your business, with details as appropriate about your pricing, products, and services
• Some bio info on you and any other owners
• Any awards or credentials
• Any breaking news about your business, with the angle you’d want the media to take
• Any community outreach efforts in which your company participates that adds some “human flavor” and underscores your company values

More »