Stronger Ideas

Rational and reasoned disagreement is often necessary to produce innovation. Some level of conflict is required if a company wants to strengthen a product, improve or revise their direction, and get the best out of their employees. Conflict can force parties on both sides to reevaluate their positions, think through the relative strengths and weakness, and find ways to address and weaknesses and fears in order to convince the other side of the merits of their position.

Improved Teamwork

If the conflict comes from outside the team it offers a great opportunity for the team to pull together and refine idea (whether it be a project, product, presentation, etc.). This can spur additional creativity on the team and force members to be at their best; it may also allow members that were marginalized or afraid to speak up, the opportunity to more fully participate.

If the conflict is within the team, it can help to refine great ideas and/or be a tool to improve teamwork by forcing the two parties to come together and create a common solution. This also helps members to better listen to each other, respect other positions and ideas, and understand others.

How do you feel about conflict? Is it a positive force in your business or team? Leave a comment below.

—Aaron Baldwin, Designer

There’s no need to trot out many stories here. It’s been this way since the early days of the massive Web expansion. I remember it well… back in the spring of 1999, the buzz about the film The Blair Witch Project. It was, simply put, very crafty Web content that mystified and interested millions.

We all know the result: a very simple film by Hollywood unknowns was a huge financial success. They can thank the Web and their own crafty ability to create content. That capability to capture the same kind of massive attention takes a lot of skill, forethought and, frankly, psychological consideration of the target customer. Considering the payoff, it seems worth it.

With this in mind, for a struggling product or company to get widespread attention, a focus on Web content marketing could just be the ticket. But get yourself a proven creative force first… you’re going to need it.

How do you create interesting online content? Leave a comment below and let us know.

-Mark Salow, Marketing Consultant

Obviously employees know to proof, double proof, and reread any document that will ultimately end up in the hands of a boss or client. However, bigger projects sometimes have the ability to overshadow other, less critical aspects of the job. People often forget that even “menial” job tasks affect one’s work performance. That is why it is so important to put in the time and form a habit of going the extra mile to make sure all job tasks are complete and thorough.

One way to ensure all bases are covered on an assignment is to request a written e-mail from the assigning party with a detailed overview of what is expected. When I talk to people about their experience working with certain companies, one thing I hear all the time is that they appreciate when the company follows up a meeting or call with a conference report. Often this is just a single pager covering the agenda of the discussion, the action items, and the responsibilities of the parties involved. Taking the time to draft such a document provides the details necessary to ensure a project runs smoothly and without confusion.

Any person can commit to finishing multiple projects, but it takes a skilled worker to not let his work quality slip with each additional commitment. How do you manage the skill of multitasking? Leave a comment below.

-Lee Sumner, Research Analyst

In business, companies are always looking for ways to do more with less as resources and budgets remain tight. We feel strongly about providing value for our clients, and often times that means giving them the tools, resources, templates, or training to make their own easy, cost-effective updates on an on-going basis.

This week I read an interesting piece of feedback from a Microsoft Services client who valued the control that in-house employees could maintain throughout the life of a project. Here’s a snippet from the case study (client name removed, full case study coming soon on www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftservices/case_studies.aspx)

Over the course of the project, the Microsoft Services team shared best practices and transferred knowledge to Company IT staff, giving them the ability to effectively maintain and optimize the software for future iterations of the product.

“The engagement was not only doing the work, but scaling up our team to be able to manage it in the future. That was one of our clear objectives,” said the client, noting that Company IT not only has the airline as a customer, but other group companies that can leverage the solution for a higher return on investment. “Now we can take this solution, customize it for any other entity within the group, and reuse it within a very short time.”

We associate DIY with weekend remodeling and handmade jewelry but DIY is definitely present at all levels of our personal and professional lives. We have nearly unlimited access to knowledge and technology that can be used to create almost anything.

Are you a DIY’er at home or at work? Let us know what you’ve created!

-Courtney Swartz, Consultant

So we are now starting work on Ideba 3.0 – using a model that will ultimately align very tightly with our client’s needs to sell – be it products, services, or experiences. We are not going to employ a model that looks exclusively at what we know, and what we are most comfortable executing – focusing instead on how we drive top and bottom-line revenue for clients, based on where their customers are at in the Sales cycle: Planning, Comparison or Acquisition.

The new model will ultimately align our research work with these three key phases in the buying cycle; and when we are done, all of the work we do will support driving action based on known customer needs at each of these three key stages in the Sales process. It is going to be exciting bringing this model to life over the next ten months, and I look forward to sharing the steps with you along the way.

Let us know what you think! Leave a comment below.

-David Sly, President

Much of the initially negative reaction to this news may have been based on fears that other companies could decide to follow suit and that remote workers would lose one of the key aspects that helps them enjoy their jobs. Thankfully, it doesn’t appear that will happen. There are many excellent arguments about the advantages of allowing workers the flexibility to work from home and a number of prominent business leaders have spoken out in support of remote working arrangements.

I am a worker that has the privilege of being able to work remotely several days a week. It is great to have two extra hours in my day (that I would normally lose to commuting) and without the distractions of the office I can really focus and dive deep into the designs I am working on. I love the opportunity to work remotely and it would be disappointing to lose; however, it is important to realize that there are tradeoffs made when working remotely.

I truly look forward to my days in the office with my coworkers. They help remind me that I am part of a team and help create a sense of community, which supports me and motivates me to be better at my job. Discussions and collaborations often work better for me when we are face to face in the office than they sometimes do over the phone. I truly believe that in order for companies to be successful, employees need to develop a sense of community and shared purpose. All of this leads me to conclude that, at least for myself, I need a mix of both remote working and time in the office to be at my best.

How do you and/or your company view working remotely? Is it the future of business, harmful to productivity, or somewhere between the extremes?

—Aaron Baldwin, Designer

Check out the woes experienced by the PR team at NASCAR:

http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20130226/COLUMNS/302269987?Title=Crash-video-goes-up-down-and-up-again-as-net-reacts

It is interesting to peer into a day in the life of a team dealing with breaking news that impacts their corporate brand… in this case, the perception of auto racing. Issues arise like: who is posting this video? And, are they infringing on our copyrights?

At the end of the whole NASCAR story, we’re left wondering if they were playing damage control or if they were truly concerned citizens. Who knows?

It is interesting as we read stories like these to observe the continual growth of real time reporting by our citizenry. I watched a graphic car crash out of the blue a few weeks back that was posted on a friend’s Facebook page which simply read: check this out. Uneasiness spread when I saw a truck that slid into oncoming traffic on an icy road blasted to smithereens by a high-speed 18-wheeler. Everyone surely perished and I witnessed it all by my one curious click.

With this in mind, I can only imagine what it’s like for corporate PR folks these days. So much is being continuously posted… it seems like PR has become a job for only the busiest of beavers.

What’s your opinion on today’s social media fueled news and opinions?

-Mark Salow, Marketing Consultant

All too often the entities that are merging have very different cultural make-ups, and in some instances there can be a dynamic that is almost confrontational in nature, when two sets of employees are nervous about job security, and/or have been fierce competitors in days gone by.

There are attorneys and accountants that specialize in M&A. But who has the expertise, when it comes to culture? I’ll go out on a limb here and say that there are three primary reasons why M&A deals ultimately fail, when measured over the mid to long-term:

1) The numbers for the acquired company are not quite what the acquirer expected they were.

2) The acquiring company does not truly understand the business model and reason that made the acquired company so successful, with the principals of that company often existing stage left upon completion of the deal.

3) That the acquiring company never got under the skin of the culture of the company that they would be running, post-deal.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this topic, and also if you have any examples of companies that help in blending the cultures of companies, upon completion of a merger?

-David Sly, President

The silver lining is that unlike people, companies don’t need to grow old! Take for instance the company Coca Cola which has been around for over 120 years. Coca Cola has used marketing and operations tactics to stay “new” by anticipating consumer and market behavior.

Here are a few tips and tricks that companies use at the growth and/or maturity stage of their development to postpone the adverse consequences of aging.

- Always put the customer first: Long gone are the times when businesses can make decisions based solely around their own personal gain. Competition is much too fierce and consumers are much too keen to be swindled by false promises or low quality products. Putting the customer first means sustaining customer loyalty, driving high sales through recommendations and cementing a reputation for good products/services.

- Implement small changes: Customers are always looking for fresh, new innovations to drive their buying. Most businesses don’t have the finances to support huge changes like adding new product lines, super high-tech features, etc. But, if companies are willing and able to change their image and offerings slightly from year to year, they will appeal to customers’ desire for diversification.

- Encourage employee input: High-level executives are in that position by virtue of the fact that they are good decision makers. That level of responsibility does not often allow them to deal with customers one on one. Therefore, it’s important that every role in a company be encouraged to communicate when they see, hear, or sense some kind of an issue or opportunity on the horizon. This kind of free insight opens up the doors for a lot of new projects and initiatives by addressing concerns when they are very small.

How does your company stay relevant and young when faced with the issues of business decline? Leave a comment below.

-Lee Sumner, Research Analyst

Here are some tips for using testimonials effectively:

1.) Use the customer’s full name – credibility will increase based on the amount of information you provide about the person giving the testimonial. By including their name, it shows that the person is not only real, but they are willing to stand by their statement.

2.) Include a photo for a more personal and compelling testimonial. But make sure it’s real and NEVER use a stock photo.

3.) Always respect the wishes of your endorser – never ever post anything without first asking for permission, and only include the level of detail or images that they are comfortable sharing.

4.) Place in strategic locations – match up testimonials to relevant content, as a supporting piece of information, that gives a 3^rd party perspective on the information you’ve already provided in order to reassure your potential customer.

5.) Keep the testimonial short.

6.) Use testimonials with concrete numbers and clear business value, such as: “x product/service increased our productivity by 20%”

7.) Use a 3^rd party to interview your customers for a testimonial – this will help ensure everyone is comfortable, and encourages honest and open feedback.

8.) If resources allow, use a video testimonial to really wow your potential clients.

9.) Share the love – next time you receive excellent service, or are truly impressed with a company’s product, let them know!

Be it a simple quote prominently displayed on a website or a compelling video interview, testimonials can make a big difference in a potential customer’s decision-making process. They could be the final push that takes an ‘on-the-fence’ customer over the edge.

How do you use testimonials to increase trust with potential customers?

- Courtney Swartz, Consultant