For entrepreneurs the road to success can be very bumpy and full of twists and turns (I know, very cliché, but true). Everyone needs to ask for directions once in a while or pull out the road map to double check the directions. The same can be said for business owners, all of them, especially entrepreneurs. It’s a tough business to survive in. The new book, Small Business … [Read more...]
The USPS Lesson
The post office is nearly bankrupt, the cost cutting is not working. We are in danger of losing a service that is vital to many small businesses. So while other business blogs are looking at this situation and wondering what went wrong, I’m asking “what can we learn?” The postal situation is not unique and what it highlights is how the wrong type of organizational culture can … [Read more...]
The Cost of Business
In our current situation many companies are cackling about how much money they have saving on services and are doing their fair share to keep pushing prices down. On the surface this savings looks good to many companies, but as soon as the economy turns around these services are going to go back to the increased costs they deserve and then what? Well in my years I have observed … [Read more...]
IT Overinvesting – Is it Better to be Safe than Sorry?
While I haven't read the book, an article on Reuters suggests that the book Aligning Technology with Strategy by Harvard Business Review advises companies evaluate their IT costs to prevent overinvesting. Specifically, companies should: "Spend less. Evaluate expected returns from IT investments. What's essential spending versus discretionary or unnecessary? Then eliminate … [Read more...]
Can a CEO be brutally honest?
Can a CEO be brutally honest? Everyone from sales clerks to CEO’s have been talking about the ‘burning platform memo’ from Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop. In the memo, Elop points out where the company is failing compared to its competitors and effectively asks what the staff plans to do about it. ( Read the full memo here, here.) In the memo, Elop takes a hard and critical look … [Read more...]
Why Some are Fearful of Social Media
In the financial services industry, compliance departments are up in arms because of industry rules requiring firms to retain records of all the social media conversations that their advisors are having. The Securities and Exchange Commission has been reported to be conducting a sweep of registered investment advisers' use of social media and social networking (Investment … [Read more...]
More Isn’t Always Better
I’ve often heard – if we could only afford to send out more pieces of mail, have more events, do more advertising and marketing – then we would have everything! It seems logical, you do more to get more, but it isn’t always right. At Red Zone Marketing, we often roll out new products and offerings. In September we rolled out Red Zone University. We started in August by … [Read more...]
Are you anxious about using social media in your business?
Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing Should you be afraid of social media and the changes and consequences it may bring to your business? It opens your business to the scrutiny of the masses, making you instantly accessible and requires a consistent watch. It depends who you are and what business you are in, but in some cases social media can be a little … [Read more...]
A Picture Says 1,000 Words – Especially on The Internet
If a picture of you appears on Facebook or somewhere else on the Internet, it is likely that just about anyone can see it if they search for you. Right now there is a Facebook application called Photo Finder, powered by Face.com. It uses facial recognition and social connections software to locate a photo of someone – even if it wasn’t identified by name (tagged). You want … [Read more...]
Do You Have a “Reputation?”
When I was growing up, we wanted to avoid being someone with a “reputation.” Today, we want a reputation, but we need it to be positive. However, maintaining one’s reputation is getting harder and harder. As social media and social networking sites continue to flourish, the power of the individual voice is growing greatly. We have to protect our reputations, and have … [Read more...]