Can We Market with Dignity?

Can a marketing process co-exist with dignity?
It can when there is a clear company vision and a sense of service rather than pandering to the target audience.

I contend there is a fine line between clever, cheap and desperate.
So, the deal-breaker condition is setting boundaries.

Around what, you might ask?
Let’s peek back at the premise of the business for starters.
If we are a mega church promoting family values, what are
we doing accepting ads from questionable sources or gambling
establishments, for example?

“Anything goes” can be a dangerous approach to diluting your
message and more seriously marring your name and reputation.
It quickly turns into, "What were we thinking?"

Take the beer ads . . . please (old comedian’s joke.)
Do they inspire the audience to buy beer or are they a desperate attempt to entertain people with empty heads and encourage brainless behavior? Dignity has flown out while “dumbed down” has flown in. There are no boundaries here and that is a problem. What used to be edgy is now questionably legal in some cases. For example, a liquor company advertised very young people drinking in the commercials. They were called on it because the actors appeared to be under “21.”

What was the last “anything goes” episode in your company?
How often have you sat in a creative meeting or listened to a
client say they wanted to go in a precarious direction?
What’s your role at that moment?

What can be missing from these meetings is any link back to original business premise.
So, Step 1 might be, “Link back to your original business premise!”

Step 2—Speak “truth to power.” Yes, it is frightening at first, then it’s freeing,
because if you are chastised for expressing an opinion, brainstorming ideas
or supporting an idea, how much do you really want to work for the
“storm troopers” anyway. Go back to your office and put your exit strategy together.

Step 3—While controversy can be stirring and consciousness raised, be available
to handle the fall out if it goes off track. (Research how Jack In The Box Restaurants
or Johnson & Johnson weathered the storms of controversy and won.) The illusion
of control is alluring. Yet, it is in these crisis moments that control leaves the room.
You must be on solid ground and head in the direction of integrity and dignity.

Step 4—Who is an appropriate spokesperson for your message?
How does that person’s persona and real life match with your company?
Celebrity, notoriety, fame for its own sake is fleeting. You want your product
to be around beyond the next baseball season.
Besides, I’ve wondered what matter is it that a “star” buys a product unless
the viewer somehow believes the halo effect will shine on them and they will
magically look like Halle Berry when the makeup is on!
Really? Is our audience that shallow?

Or, is that how little we think of our audience? Where’s the dignity now?

Step 5—Be who you say you are. Your company policies and quality standards
are on the line every day. Money back guarantee? Then, don’t hassle people
when they want a refund. Exchange policy? Be clear what can replaced.
The same few company names land on the "best service" list each time.
Take a look at what they’re doing and do it!

I’d enjoy your feedback on how dignity is present or not in your work circumstances.
Comment here or drop me an email at mcubas@positivepotentials.com. Au revoir.

Your coach,
Michelle Cubas

Business Not Personal? Think again . . .

How long have you had the perspective that business isn't personal? Donald Trump drove home this point in many episodes of The Apprentice. I want to differ with Donald.

With the $billions$ being spent on marketing and wooing customers and prospects, how can the "personal" be overlooked?
What researchers may refer to as personal can border on voyeurism! I don't think that's what the customer had in mind.

Personal is easy. It has just gone out of style. Personal and "cool" don't mix well.
It's about building a connection, a bridge, a trust link back to you from the customer's mind share.

Too much is riding on the nit picking and chasing the research while a simple phone call or friendly note will do. Think about the last time you received a note of appreciation or someone enjoyed your article. How many times did you read it? Put it on the fridge, did you! We're hungry for authentic feedback that someone was influenced by being in the same "space" (not My Space!) as we were.

Go forward with the personal idea. Make it count. Smile at strangers and make them wonder what you're on. Be the person others like to gather 'round. You'll be surprised how much business evolves out of those emotions people try to avoid.

So, now we know business is person. The next step is to make it count for something. Let us connect on that point next time.

From me to you, your coach,
Michelle Cubas

Virtues of Plain English

Remember when you were in elementary school and you wanted to use "big" words?
There are still people functioning on that level in business and government.

As an enterprise coach, I see the barriers companies place in their own ways
by using puffed up language. My recommendation to all my clients, from
corporations to sole proprietors, is to speak in "“plain English."

The objective of communications is to create a channel for exchange. When we
speak in jargon, techno-speak, we put the listener at a disadvantage. In
fact, people within the same organization won't share the same training like
the CMO (chief marketing officer) may not have a research background, and
may come from the creative side. Consider your listener before peppering
the presentation with, what '’ve coined, "“See-I-Know-the-Game™" approach.

Just describe your services clearly so that anyone would understand. Of
course, you can list products you use to achieve outcomes. They would be
your "“buzz"” (such as SAS/SPSS) as long as you explain what they are. The
prospect may or may not understand the words and wouldn'’t want to appear
foolish to you by asking for definition.

TIP: Depending on the project, I encourage you to include a glossary of terms
based on what is used in the project. You will be respected and appreciated
for your thoughtfulness. Your credibility will jump up, too.

The attention you want is not winner of the spelling bee, but for the prospect to trust you.
Consider what can you do personally to put the prospect at ease?
What words can you convey that solicit empathy from the prospect?

What do prospects REALLY look for?
Prospects want to be secure in knowing that you will help them to achieve
results and make them look good.
Here's a point to practice: Use inclusive language like "we"
or "together."

From a sales and marketing perspective, when you engage a prospect, your
passion for your work will serve you best. Elevator speeches are contrived.
My recommendation is to select three high points you are passionate about
and develop three sentences to describe each one.
That way you're never at a loss for words!

I'd enjoy hearing about your experiences. Good luck.

Growing Business Is Not Always About Expansion

My coaching practice keeps me current with community business issues. One in particular is networking. It’s like a mania here in Scottsdale, Arizona. A person could attend events all day here and never run out of meetings to attend. (Weight gain is a networking hazard.) In fact, some attendees are like groupies. There are seminar “junkies” who travel around the city to these events. That’s terrific for the speakers.

So here's my challenging thought: how are these people using all the contacts they are making?

The power of networking is grounded in first impressions. Trust comes much later. It must be earned. However, many untrained, insensitive people confuse networking with sales.

I marvel at the in-your-face marketers who obtain a business card and use it like a meal ticket! Naughty, naughty. That gives everyone in marketing and sales a bad name. So, maybe it’s time for insight on networking vs. expansion.

What do I mean by that?

Networking is an opportunity for engagement, not sales. It is time to establish a connection with someone who may or may not be a useful “sales tool” for you. Coach Cubas recommends that when you are at a networking event, you don’t treat it like a political rally. The best result I look for is an invitation. Yes, someone actually asks me to call them, because they are intrigued by what I am about. That’s not ego fodder. That’s a connection based on curiosity; someone wants more.

Public speakers know that lesson well. That’s why back-of-the-room sales are part of a speaker’s experience. If successful, the attendees want to take the speaker home with them. They learned something, heard a sound, thought differently as a result of their attendance; now, they want to chew on it.

Remember, adult learners (in a setting for learning like a class) retain less than 30% of what they hear. That’s why CD’s, tapes, DVD’s, anything that is portable makes learning a pastime, not school anymore. It reminds them of how good they felt when they heard their morsel. It’s really not about the sales; it’s about the impact of the message. And, the participant wants more.

Successful networkers understand the power of curiosity. They make it about WIFU (What's In It 4 U) rather than WIFM (What's In It For Me). Here's a clue—Something about you promotes the idea that I’ll be better off knowing you. That’s what you want to promote, not your business. Powerful leaders understand this well.

When asked by many, “What do you do?”, I gleefully found out that the Dalai Lama and I shared the identical answer. We don’t do anything. I’m too busy being, not doing. That fascinates people.

Find something about yourself that is intriguing to know. This is not bragging. It’s a nugget to drop into a “cold conversation situation” like a networking meeting. Is it the tone of your voice, the way you hold eye contact, the way you extend your hand? Focus on something and make it artful. You will rejoice in the power of the magnetic forces, generated by curiosity, which will deliver interest to your door.

Expand your business? We’re all trying too hard. Play with this idea, and please send me your stories.
If you would like to be published in my upcoming book regarding this topic, please express that you are giving me permission to use your story, your name or initials, company, etc.

Get curious about life and you will awaken with wonder. Just think about all the people you are about attract! Good luck.

Your coach,
Michelle Cubas