Time for a New Term: URL Sprawl

URL SPRAWL(pron. "earl \ˈsprol\"): The tendency for small businesses to add pages and pages of content to their sites, for a number of reasons, including but not limited to cluelessness, "more is better" mentality, lack of strategic content planning and delivery, and lack of audience awareness. The problem with URL Sprawl is it is not only difficult to find information buried within the site but also that it can overwhelm busy online researchers in search of simple answers. I'll be exploring this concept and others--and of course helping you avoid them--in a new white paper, "Doing (Small) Business on the Web," available on my website in September. Stay tuned!

Free Small Biz Marketing Seminar in Phoenix: Sept. 19, 2008

Please join me!
Title: Writing Stellar Copy: A DIY Marketing Seminar
Type: In-person
Date/Time: Friday, September 19, 2008 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Location: Burton Barr Library, Meeting Room A, 1221 N Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ
Cost: Free
Description: This seminar is for anyone who wants to take a "do-it-yourself" approach to writing ads, brochures, or any written marketing materials to effectively speak to their prospects and customers.

Click here to register

Market Research for the Masses!

I am in the process of testing (for free!) the Power Poll from Vizu. Check out the custom poll at right and submit your vote. I read about Vizu in a BusinessWeek article on how small businesses can implement market research techniques without the major investment typically required. Although we're not quite as powerful yet in commanding affordable data, this is the one suggested tool I found useful. Of course, SMBs still need to think strategically about designing questions, even for simple polls. I'll share testing notes in a future post or you can join me by getting an account of your own.

Innovation at Work

INNOVATION has been a hot topic for a little over 2 years now, I believe. It appears in sales presentations, company values, all-hands meetings, etc. across industries. My thoughts on the subject are simple: Despite all the buzz, innovation at work really only happens by exposure to new ideas. But if management and employees are plodding along in their routines, how do new ideas happen? Sometimes routine does lend itself to imagination and then innovation--but only out of a necessity to escape! Is that really a productive way to build a culture of innovation? (That's rhetorical, people.) The best way to ensure innovation is to build in FLEXIBILITY and provide for new EXPERIENCES. While I think most large corporations have misgivings about giving employees flex time or covering the cost of training or activities peripheral to one's "job description," smaller companies can redefine what it means to work for them. More often than not, employers of all sizes are concerned with time. What's interesting is that most employees are salaried, not hourly, which sends the message that their results are more important than arriving on time, taking a 1-hour lunch, and leaving 8 or more hours later when work for the day is "completed." Yet these antiquated measures of success still dominate! Smart employers know the work never ends, and it doesn't begin when you show up to the office. Thankfully, engaged employees have active brains at all hours of the day and oftentimes the best ideas occur when they're doing something totally different from work. Point being: Want innovation? Lighten up on the clock and reward employees with experiences that will make them want to work for you! Sharon O'Neill's story and company,liveyourlife.com.au, for example, is a great example of experiential rewards. Too bad it's not available in the U.S., but for $48 you can go sailing for day. Also, too bad they're not my client.

(Note: If this post was a bit too fluffy for you, stay tuned . . . my next post will point to some experts on these subjects, such as John Kao, and respond to their key points.)

(Shameless plug: If you want help increasing innovation in your organization, please contact me to schedule a culture review. You'll get personalized recommendations and programs to implement to take your small business further.)

I'm Coining a Term Today: Frienomenon

Admittedly, I'm not much a social anything (just ask my mother, she will tell you). But I've been lurking in social media long enough to know one thing: Bloggers, bigwigs of subscription-based e-blasts, myspacers, virtual community leaders, message board/chat room moderators, citizen journalists and the like often put themselves--or their personas, who can say?--"out there," create a sense of familiarity with their audience, and are then surprised that people respond to them as colleagues or friends due to a sense of commonality, respect, or connectedness. I call this phenomemon appropriately enough "frienomenon." It's the inability to recognize the inviting and illiciting (soliciting?) of feedback, dialogue, and relationships with strangers via technology and to be accountable for or responsive to those exchanges. To make matters worse, we all have our own rules and expectations and oftentimes the "social contracts" are vague--or worse, unstated. This is a real shame because there's plenty of room on the web to publish your manifesto. "Why should this matter to me," you ask? Here's how "frienomenon" affects you as a small business owner interested in social/online marketing, word of mouth advertising, social networking, etc.: If you are engaging in this activity using technology and/or if other folks are on your behalf (or not), all that's available publicly is an extension of your brand and therefore needs attention. In this wired world, we all have a voice. So if upholding a brand image of I'm-an-industry-god-you're-a-nobody works for you, by all means act that way consistently online--and tell people what rights they'll be relinquishing upfront and how you'll make them pay if they break your rules. In other words, make it a point to act like a jerk publicly and thrill your readers with Schadenfreude. I can think of a design teacher who does this right now, and I applaud his efforts, although he scares me and I wouldn't necessarily advise that path outside the ivory tower. But at least there are no surprises with him! But if you project ponies and rainbows and pots of gold, be prepared to get and respond to requests for magic. Bottom line: truth and consistency in marketing across media and communications should always be the goal.

Think Your Company Is a Leader?

Well, don't tell the media. The New York Times had a recent article quoting Tom Gable (click for bio), past editor and head of his own PR firm, that when his company reviewed wire releases for a week, they found most who cited themselves as leaders were "empty, unsubstantiated and had no news value." Amen to that! I have been trying to tell both client and non-client (read: employer) companies that everyone's a leader. To say so is only to identify yourself as a neophyte and your material as hyperbole (read: untrustworthy). Relatedly, I was thrilled to find that someone besides me out there is also saying something I strongly believe; it's Dan Wool at Arizona Public Service (APS): "great product is the best PR." I usually say "find what you do well and market THAT" (as opposed to what you want to do well). Thanks, Dan, for saying it better and for emphasizing PRODUCT. Dan's a panelist at Arizona Technology Council’s July Council Connect so if you're a tech-head in charge of PR, check it out.

The Joy of Tax

Yes, you read it correctly! I am pleased to announce that, for those who feel tax law should be a foreign language offering in college, the Arizona Department of Revenue offers affordable workshops for those planning to start a business! I attended the workshops on Retail Business and TPT today and found them very useful. For more information on the workshops or to register, click here. Another useful site is aztaxes.gov.