Getting Found

Feb 23
2009
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Today I saw a banner ad on a web site that was borderline profound.  It said " Be Found Before They Start to Search," or something close to that. The message was simple.  The challenge is not about being found. It's about having customers who never look for anyone else but you.

Once customers start to search, the gig is up.  You're already a commodity.  One of many competitors who need to stand out to attract a customer. A better game plan is to be so solidly entrenched with a customer that he or she would never fathom to look around for anyone else. 

In the web 2.0 world, you constantly hearing about search optimization.  It's true that customers more and more use the web to find vendors, but it's also true that great partners, vendors and suppliers are not a commodity and are not searched for as if the customer were looking for a local plumber or lawn care service.  Once they are looking for you on Google, you have been relegated to lawn service status. 

Bottom line:  Graphic arts and printing companies are more special than that.  Let's be found long before a customer starts searching.
Written by Rhona Bronson in: Marketing, Web/Tech | Tags: , , ,

A Fuller New Year

Jan 04
2009
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Some consider Buckminster Fuller one of the greatest minds of the 20th century. Going into the end of the first decade of the 21st century, it's clear his teaching is still critical reading.  I recently stumbled upon a site called Ready, Aim, Inspire that provides leadership insights and quotes. A write up on Buckminster Fuller by authors Medard Gabel and Jim Walker on the site synthesizes his thoughts into a 10-step blueprint for problem-solving leadership in an age of rapid change. If one thing is certain it is that we are in a period of rapid change. Therefore, I'll be highlighting some of the 10 steps in future posts. If you believe as I do that problem-solving leadership is a key talent for this century, then it seems fitting to start this year with a tip of the hat to Buckminster Fuller, or Trim Tab as he liked to be called.   More on that also in a future post.  

Not surprisingly, this year's Top Management Conference keynote presentation is dedicated to the topic of leadership.  Dave Ulrich, author of Leadership Brand: How to Give Yours the Competitive Edge will discuss how leadership drives company performance and real leadership endures over time. Perhaps that's why Buckminster Fuller remains relevant. His insights endure and inspire.

In the beginning of every year, we make lists of our resolutions to help us set goals or realize dreams. Most consumers fail in their resolutions exactly where we as businesses fail in meeting missions — in staying focused on them. Life, or business pressures take over, and we allow them to take attention away from stated goals. That's where Fuller is said to have excelled and differentiated himself.  The authors write: "Fuller was always considering not just important things — but perpetually attempting to discern the most important things and placing them in the context of extraordinary times. 

NAPL's approach to staying focused on the important things is a consistent focus on strategic planning. NAPL President Joe Truncale is a sought-after speaker on the topic and conducts several customized on-site planning sessions at printing companies around the country. In addition, Strategic Planning is a dedicated track at the annual Management Institute held in August in Washington, DC. And, this year, NAPL is creating a workbook that outlines its unique approach to strategic planning and facilitates companies starting the planning process on their own. For more information on the workbook, e-mail our internal strategic planning expert — Joe Truncale.

The morale I'm taking away from studying Buckminster Fuller is this:  in extraordinary times it's more, not less, important to stay focused on what's important, and strategic planning helps leaders keep the company on course. Serious goal setting, unlike pie-in-the-sky resolutions, is a hallmark of leadership and a key step to staying focused on the right things particularly during challenging times.

A Happy and Prosperous New Year to our LInked In Group.  If you just recently joined the group, please look at past posts, and note the current deadline of February 1, 2009 for NAPL's new Marketing Award. It's just one way to start the new year off on a positive note!

Written by Rhona Bronson in: Leadership, Strategic Planning | Tags: , , , ,

Marketing Shoes

Dec 13
2008
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It’s the end of the year and a great time to look back on all things accomplished, particularly because it has been a difficult year. After all, it’s easier to get things done when times are good.  It’s exceptionally noteworthy if you can point to accomplishments during the lean times. 

Tooting our own horns is something this industry does not excel at. Ironically, it’s also something marketing people don’t excel at — on their own behalf. They are trained to promote a company, a service, a product or a person, but rarely take the time to promote themselves and what they have accomplished on behalf of their client, which is also frequently their own employer.  No wonder that marketing CMØs have short career spans or that marketing is, many times, the first department or service to be cut from a strained budget. 

That’s why I’m happy to announce that NAPL has just launched a new Award for Marketing Excellence that will showcase not only great marketing done on behalf of a graphics company, but also on behalf of a client.  It’s a new award sponsored by Xerox and open to the entire industry. Of course, there is a break in entry fees for NAPL and NAQP members as well Xerox Premier Partners, but even for the unaffiliated entry fees are reasonable and the potential rewards great for differentiating your company in the marketplace.

Announcement of the award first went out on Friday and the award will be promoted more heavily in the next two weeks, but as a Linked In Group member, you’re getting early notice of this opportunity. To access the award form online, go to www.napl.org/marketingaward.   

If you’re not a marketing person, please forward the link on to someone who is and deserves recognition.  By design, we’ve made entry easy as we all have more than enough to do these days.  But like the shoemaker who doesn’t fix his own shoes, Marketing and Print people don’t toot their own horns nearly enough.  So, here’s an end of the year horn tooting opportunity  that you can do long before the New Year’s horn tooters start in.

Hope to see your entry soon!

~ Rhona
Written by Rhona Bronson in: Marketing | Tags: , , , , ,
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