While watching the local news my husband made a comment about the weatherman: “You know – who really needs him anymore? You can just look at the radar yourself any time you want to online.”
True. You can. Wonder if people going to school to be “weather people” have thought about that. Wonder if the schools that teach them have thought about that. And, most pertinent for this blog, wonder if all of us have given Continue reading “Are You Prepared to Become Obsolete?”
Speaking of names…sometimes I’m struck by what appear to be brilliant solutions to vexing problems and I came across such an example recently when I heard of a company called ‘Preneur.
What struck me is that I recall, not long ago, a big brouhaha over the magazine Entrepreneur and its successful fight to protect its name through trademark even though most of us would agree that the word “entrepreneur” Continue reading “Clever Name Conveys Message Without Violating Trademark”
Sales are stagnant. New customers are few and far between. Competitors are nipping at your heel. What to do? Must be time to change your name, right? Not so fast.
I’ve worked with numerous companies on name changes or the consideration of a name change for their entire organization or various products and services both as an internal director of corporate communications for an energy utility and healthcare organization and, now, as an independent consultant. There have been some surprisingly contentious discussions and Continue reading “Is It Time to Change Your Name?”
Why do some brands become cultural legends that stand the test of time, while others ebb, flow and eventually sink? The brand is the cornerstone of any business and is, unfortunately, often misunderstood. That is possibly why the brand is also often so mismanaged. Brands are not, are not, ARE NOT logos, taglines or corporate colors. Brands are not advertisements. Brands are not Facebook pages. Continue reading “Creating a Lasting Brand Image”
There are four ways that people learn about our products and services:
1. Through their own experiences with us.
2. From their friends, family and colleagues – word of mouth.
3. Through the media – news reports, articles, etc.
4. Directly from us through our own advertising, web sites, social media, etc.
I always list these four sources of information in this order, because Continue reading “Influencing Target Audiences – Work From the Inside Out”
Common wisdom suggests that there is a direct correlation between employee and customer satisfaction. Common wisdom, of course, is often flawed. Just ask a couple of my favorite business authors, Dan Ariely (Predictably Irrational) and Steven Levitt (Freakonomics). Sometimes the things that we believe to be true, simply aren’t.
A few years ago an article in the Harvard Business Review Continue reading “Do Happy Employees = Happy Customers? No!”
Whether managing your personal account or updating an employer or client account you’re responsible for, making an online mistake can be embarrassing to say the least. Online mistakes can also be costly in terms of damage done to an individual or firm’s reputation. As many celebrities and newsies have discovered sometimes what they felt was an innocuous statement can become quickly controversial and viral.
A client recently asked me how to deal with an error that went out in a post. There is no “easy answer” to this type of question, of course. The answer is really “it depends.” It depends on what the “oops” was, how many people are likely to see it, what the potential negative ramifications might be and–importantly–whether a follow up message might bring more attention to the issue rather than defusing it. Believe it or not Continue reading “What to do When You Make an Online Mistake”
I’ve been spending a lot of time on Twitter lately – both on my own accounts and working with clients to help build and leverage theirs. On Twitter, as with other social media, your profile rules. Those few words you say about yourself really help to position you in the social media space and send an important message to followers and potential followers. One of the most common – and sometimes puzzling – errors I see on Twitter (interestingly, not quite so often on LinkedIn) is Continue reading “Twitter Profile Best Practices”
We all make mistakes, but those of us in communication roles are likely to be more subject to those mistakes being spotted than those in other professions. Usually, the mistakes are embarrassing, but inconsequential. We’re not, typically, dealing with issues of life and death after all.
But sometimes even seemingly small mistakes can have big consequences. Yesterday, Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign received some probably unwanted attention for misspelling America in its new iPhone app – “A Better Amercia.” Oops. Ugh… Continue reading “Oops! Mistakes That Matter – But How Much?”
This question was posed on LinkedIn recently, and the majority of responses were predictable. Most people said “yes.” Simple enough question–easy answer. But, let’s think about it a bit. I took a slightly different approach to the question. “Yes” would be a valid answer to a question like: “Can individuals have a brand identity?,” I think. But, the answer to the question of whether individuals can brand themselves is a bit more complex and is the same answer I would give organizations interested in establishing strong brands. The short answer is: “No, we do not brand ourselves.” Brands are created Continue reading “Can You Brand Yourself? The Short Answer – No.”
