Business is nothing personal...

"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate...leads to suffering!" -Yoda (no...not KERMIT!)

Emotions...most illogical...

Ok, nerd hour has officially ended. By the way, Star Trek was an awesome movie.

Emotion is a double edged sword. Emotions can be a great source of strength when they are used positively. Note that I didn't say "positive" emotions...because whether an emotion is positive or negative depends on the context of the situation. For example, a "negative" emotion like Anger can actually be very helpful in certain situations, especially when that energy is channeled into a positive thing. On the other hand, emotions can be a fatal weakness as well.

In business, the only room for emotion is when it is used in positive ways. Unfortunately, they are often used in negative ways. A great example is with some of my friends who are small business owners. EVERY business will always have a few clients that are complete divas. Even when there is no problem with your operation, they will find something to complain about.

There is a great quote to remember: "Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level, and then beat you with experience."

In business, there's a concept called "Cost of retaining a customer." There have been many debates on whether or not you should keep a difficult customer. The answer is No. The reason being is that your time and energy can be used to get new, better customers or strengthen the relationship with your good & loyal customers. However, if it comes down to showing the customer the door, do it professionally, and don't get emotional. Remember, business is nothing personal.

A great entrepreneur once told me, "Listen, business is a mix of sport and war. You'll fight many battles, but ultimately, it's just a competition." I advise you to take this to heart. No one is out to destroy you or kill you. People who are serious in business want to cross the finish line. Some play dirty, but those people usually don't last long. When you start taking business personally, you only cripple yourself.

Oh, and an update on that story with the senior staff jumping ship from that company I spoke about in "No One Can Provide For You Except Yourself" (April). Unfortunately, their office is now closing down. However, as a testament to their strength, they aren't taking it personally. In fact, they're having a yard sale next week, which should be pretty fun ;) They'll get far because they know how to channel their energy in positive ways. We can all learn from their admirable example.

Live long and prosper! Till Saturday!

You have to put the SOCIAL in Social Marketing...

I'm hiring by the way ;)

Social Marketing: It's all the rage these days. For good reason too. It works.

A lot of people do it, but not many realize what they get themselves into though. Social marketing may seem like an innovation or a new concept, however, it is nothing new. Social marketing is merely the successful aspects of traditional marketing. Ever since the dawn of trade and commerce, there has never been anything more effective than the power of the spoken word...when your own customers sell for you without you even trying.

We do it in our everyday lives. We recommend great movies, restaurants or products to our friends. If we're not getting compensated for doing that, then why do we do it? Because when you recommend a good product or service to someone else, it makes you look good. In a way, it is also a way of repaying your "gratitude." Of course, there are those who do it because they want to share more things in common with their friends/loved ones to strengthen the bonds between them. Whatever the reason may be, the result is still the same. The company benefits without having to lift a finger or convince you further.

Effective salesmen and marketers for hundreds of years have known that the key to being successful is to connect with your customers and prospects on a personal level. It is what is known in persuasion science as "Liking" Of course, the most common reaction is "Well, duh!" Unfortunately, it's not that obvious. How many times have you run into terrible salesmen or dreadful marketing attempts? Too many times I bet.

One case in point: Tupperware. We've all heard of it, and they are wildly successful. How do they sell products so well? They hold "Tupperware Parties" all over the world. The company reaches out to existing customers and help them set up a tupperware party at home and invite all their friends to come. These parties would often just be normal get-togethers. House moms would share cooking with each other, socialize and have fun. All the while, the benefits of using tupperware are shown throughout the party in a very casual and personal way. Most customers would probably have done these parties for free, just for the social aspect. However, the company generously compensates them based on how much tupperware is sold after the party. Genius? Yes. New concept? Absolutely not.

The current craze for social marketing is not a revolution by any stretch of the word. If you remember from my previous posts, change is usually incremental. The reason why social marketing is so wildly popular now is because now we have new tools that make it easier than before to connect with people on a personal level. New tools for an age-old concept.

The key to successfully using these tools is to use a little common sense. Often times, I see quite a few people on Twitter, MySpace and Facebook endlessly spam links and sales pitches. I guarantee that the "throw crap on the wall and see what sticks" approach does not work very well. If you want people to be open to your marketing efforts, you need to show them that you are an actual person that talks and listens to them. The most effective people I've seen on Twitter do that, to great effect. They don't just blitz people with useless quotes, dumb links or empty sales pitches. They connect with people, and make an honest effort to be SOCIAL.

That's how you get the word-of-mouth referrals, by connecting with people, not spamming them. Besides, you'll have fun doing it, and meet some really cool people in the process! Some successful salesmen I know have made lasting friendships with people they've sold to in the past.

Of course, remember another principle I've always said in this blog, you need to add value. Tweeting/FB'ing about how you just took a giant dump is not connecting with people. It's true too, people do that...a lot. I saw one guy tweet about that he's currently brushing his teeth. I don't want to even know how he managed that. Others will try the "I'm hanging out with XYZ right now! Fun time!" Seriously? If you're having fun, then why are you on your phone updating others about it? Sounds like you're kinda bored to me ;)

So, what are some tools out there to connect with people on a social level? Well, these are probably obvious, but for references sake, here are some that work well:

• Blogging - Remember to try and keep it interesting and relevant to your target market. Try to have some interesting insights that people can learn or respond to!

• Forums/Message boards - Hang out in forums that are relevant to your target market.

• Facebook/MySpace - Great way to connect with people on a personal level. Try to stick with people that fit your target market.

• Twitter - An excellent way to interact with people and promote your business. In my opinion, it's even more effective than Facebook or MySpace due to the sheer ease of following people's Tweets and replying to them. Again, stick to your target market whenever possible.
  

There are others of course. However, these are some of the most popular ones out there right now.

Remember, the point is to have fun while doing it. Use a little common sense, and you'll get far!

Oh...by the way, I'm compiling a list of "Tweets Gone Wild" (i.e. tweeting while taking a dump). I am accepting submissions and will post the list on this blog when I have enough good ones. You can submit either by messaging me on Twitter, posting a comment here or messaging me on Facebook. For those of you who want to use Facebook, I'm known as "Floid Roflcopter" ;) Otherwise just click the Twitter link on the right side of the blog.