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On Women of Influence
| Posted on 15 April, 2012 at 10:28 |
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When Successful Meetings magazine started unveiling its 2012
list of The 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry, I sent a note
applauding them for revealing the honorees alphabetically one week at a time. I thought it was
a brilliant piece of marketing that promised to keep the list living and
breathing at least through half the year. As one of the people responsible for
creating the concept years ago (when I was Editor of sister publication
Business Travel News and later Publisher of Meeting News), I admired anything
to keep the feature in the news, especially when it used to be “one and done” –
appeared in our January issue, got two or three Letters to the Editor, and
basically was forgotten soon after by anyone not on the list. While the dream of any publication or article is to spur
evaluation, discussion and controversy among readers, SM’s strategy, perhaps
unwittingly, belongs in the Marketing Hall of Fame. You see, for the first
dozen or so announced influencers, none was a female. When the comments of
outrage began flying, from both men and women, on how any initiative from an
industry with about 75 percent (I’m guessing) of its constituents females could
not name a single woman to its honor roll, I asked one of my conscientious
objector friends whether the entire list had been revealed yet and
offered that perhaps she and her band were jumping the gun. SM, for its part,
had remained silent. Sure enough, a week later when Successful Meetings Editor in Chief Vincent
Alonzo returned from vacation (either at a destination short on internet service or possibly to allow this spicy soup to simmer further), he calmly
explained there were 10 women on the list and as luck would have it their last
names all began with letters in the second half of the alphabet. Argument diffused? Not for everyone. Some actually suggested SM was now scrambling to alter
its list to appease the protesters. I wish I had that much skepticism when I
was a journalist -- maybe believable if he said there were two women, but not 10.
And what kind of injustice would that be for the 10 you’d be removing? Do you
believe Vincent? I do. Successful Meetings has held a respected place in the
community for years – I don’t think they are capable of (1) making such an
obvious oversight in the first place and (2) correcting it by scouring lists
of talented women whose last names begin with M through Z. You have to compile the
list all at once, in advance, comprehensively, and, as editors, challenge your
list time and time again before publication – who have we forgotten, what
groups are not represented, can we make a solid case for each person on the
list, where will complaints or controversy come from, are they justified or
simply healthy differing opinions. Producing this article is not as simple as
rewriting a press release on a new beachfront resort with great meeting space. I can only dream when I was overseeing this project that it
created so much controversy. Most of the feedback we usually received was a
thank-you note from someone on the list – or their company, or their mother.
Thanks to social media and a caring and astute network of followers, the best
thing imaginable has happened to this list. I would think the industry is on
alert and primed to see whom SM will add to the list this week, knowing females
will be dominant the rest of the way. Surprised I haven’t seen any promotions
to prospective advertisers looking for almost guaranteed exposure in the
remaining weeks, especially if their copywriters are clever enough to take
advantage and tailor a specific and relevant message. Regardless, the suspense is over for me – not only am I a male, but they already are way past the letter A,
so once again I can only imagine “what if” and wait until next year.
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Engagement Puts Meetings and Incentives at the Forefront
| Posted on 10 March, 2012 at 17:47 |
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I asked three smart friends if they’ve ever heard the term,
“Enterprise Engagement.” (I also asked three not-so-smart ones.) They were all
clueless. I just heard the expression this week. Wikipedia tells us EE focuses on achieving long-term financial results by strategically
aligning the engagement of customers, distribution partners, salespeople, and
all human capital outside and inside of an organization. This approach unifies the organization under the
banner of continually seeking to find better ways to help the end-user customer
enhance the relationship with channel partners and suppliers and ultimately create
new opportunities for the business rather than simply finding ways to improve
processes. Companies run
on the basis of Enterprise Engagement principles include McDonalds, Southwest
Airlines, and Campbell Soup. There’s a growing community
devoted to Enterprise Engagement. There are articles on techniques and best practices. There’s an
industry of companies helping to implement Enterprise Engagement programs inside all sizes of organizations.
There are suppliers with products geared to this sector – many of them are
rewards and recognition program developers. There’s the Enterprise Engagement
Alliance and a magazine, Engagement Strategies. And there are case studies of
how companies are launching and developing EE initiatives. Enterprise
Engagement is closely aligned with the meetings and
incentives industry. Meeting planners and incentive professionals are in the
business of shaping activities to influence attitudes, behavior and revenue.
ROI is imbedded in their consciousness, measured by employee motivation, knowledge transfer, happy users, qualified leads, and eventually heads in beds, if you will. Once again, meetings and incentives are positioned to play an
enhanced role in The Bigger Corporate Picture, driving principles and branding
at every turn. Communications. Information. Rewards. Recognition. Achievement.
Perception. At a time like this, there’s more at stake for the people who plan meetings and
incentives. There’s also more at stake for the venues that host them. For years, meetings
professionals have been burdened
with the ancillary task of justifying their own worth and that of the meetings
they create – as if they didn’t have enough on their plates. As companies assess
the importance and value of Enterprise Engagement, seek out best practices to
achieve it, and pursue new levels of communications and awareness for their
employees, customers, vendors, partners and any other stakeholders, don’t
underestimate the opportunity for meetings and incentives. One could argue engagement starts, builds and continues via the meetings industry. If ever the profession
wanted to be acknowledged in the Executive Suite, here’s the chance.
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Industry Education Not Compromised
| Posted on 27 February, 2012 at 7:04 |
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“If
vendors are only focused on selling, they are missing the boat.”
This
observation was offered by one of the most respected educators in our
business, Joan Eisenstodt, in the context of an online discussion assessing the
merits of hosted-buyer programs. Joan suggests that hosted-buyer programs --
which, by definition, include a component of one-to-one appointments between
qualified buyers and sellers and may or may not include an education program –
are putting too much emphasis on the buyer-seller meeting and are less
conducive to getting suppliers in the industry “classroom” to bone up on the
business. She calls it a further “imbalance of knowledge” between planners and
vendors. Here are
some points I made to Joan in response to her comments: 1. Try to
equate the actual one-on-one appointment time of hosted-buyer events with the
trade show exhibit time of traditional shows. The difference for suppliers is
that rather than standing uncomfortably at their booths praying for a live
prospect to randomly come along, they have scheduled meetings that the show
sponsor has already qualified as a potential business partner of that supplier.
Think of the time and money saved and the awkwardness eliminated by cutting
past the “dating” or qualifying stage. 2. The
one-on-one appointments don’t have to take the place of education, as they
wouldn’t at typical shows. Depending on the hosted-buyer event and format, it
is just as easy to incorporate quality education if the event sponsor wants it.
For the largest shows such as MPI, IMEX and AIBTM, there’s plenty of it. For
the smaller versions, like Premier Meetings Exchange and the other events my
company produces, there’s always an education program. Whether suppliers
participate, that’s another matter. 3. There’s such a thing as
education specifically geared for suppliers that help suppliers do their jobs better. There’s also education geared to meeting planners (which makes
up the majority of industry education) that allows suppliers to sit in, hear
what planners are saying and thinking, and better understand the very people
they are identifying and targeting as prospective customers. I’ve always been
an advocate of both. For better or worse, however, I believe the only reason
most suppliers would want education is to give them a better chance of
generating business -- and not for some higher, simpler motive that education
and knowledge by their nature are intrinsically good. If they believe they can
generate business without sitting through relevant or semi-relevant sessions,
then they won’t do it, no matter what the format. Look at the history of our
industry and the patterns of supplier companies. Those interested in attending education
sessions are in the minority. 4. Suppliers
– and maybe planners to some degree – want networking and direct business
dialogue at least as much as they want education. Case in point: As a member of
the Executive Committee and Vice President of Marketing for MPI’s Greater New
York Chapter, I am involved with getting people to our monthly chapter events.
We have to pull teeth to get 80 people to our education sessions. Yet when we
do a networking event, we get over 200 without breaking a sweat. Here’s a pop
quiz: What would you expect the attendance to be at a pure networking event
with no educational component in the middle of winter (albeit a mild one) at
night on a wobbly ship right off the water in a tough-to-reach location in
lower Manhattan? Did I mention it was the day after the President’s Day
holiday? Answer: It sold out. Hosted-buyer
events in no way restrict opportunities for planners and suppliers to partake
in education if it is offered. I think we have to be realistic about suppliers’
behavior, intentions and objectives in the first place, and how they strategize
to achieve their ultimate goals. That’s why the hosted-buyer concept was
created, and that’s why, in my opinion, it works as a cost-effective,
productive business endeavor for planners and suppliers alike.
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Building Awareness For Your Brand
| Posted on 17 January, 2012 at 8:36 |
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What’s the difference between the independent meeting
planner you met on the elevator and the one you’ll have a drink with and the
one you’ll sit next to at dinner? Visit their websites. Check their references. Still hard to
separate. Super customer service? If they don't make this claim, it could
only mean they really don’t have good service. Best rate? Just until they are
undersold, forcing them to offer their “ ‘best’ best rate.” Experience? Can’t
dispute track records, although some recent examples in the news would challenge that stance. I was chatting with a longtime planner seeking marketing
help, and he couldn’t articulate why someone should choose him over others.
Wouldn’t that be the first thing you’d determine before starting a business –
or if you plan to get some business? Try to answer this question: What’s so special about
you? Ok, now that your confidence is up, consider these random thoughts as you
look to build brand awareness and separate yourself from the pack. Note:
proficiency of execution counts.
1. If
you don’t have an opinion, find or steal one. You need a voice, which you can
cultivate and use everywhere – social media, website, blogs. You don’t have to
be a thought leader – let’s face it, everyone can’t – but relevant thoughts
count, and people will listen and take notice when you deliver them. 2. Nominate
yourself for awards – better yet, win some. There’s nothing like telling the market
someone has recognized you. Plaques look great on walls, and one award is worth
months of publicity and branding, on marketing pieces, press releases and email
signatures at the least. 3. Look
for speaking opportunities. Industries crave new voices and personalities, as
keynoters or panelists. Seek out the groups appropriate to you, determine their
proposal process and timeframe, and get with – and on – the program. 4. Write
a guest post. Industry websites and publications that want to be content machines
welcome relevant opinions. Write on a topic that does not directly promote your
product but provides useful information to your audience. Remember: content
sells; selling doesn’t. 5. “Always
Be Helping” replaces “Always Be Closing.” Get away from the hard-sell approach
and be a resource -- it will be a
quicker route to earning trust and respect, and increase your odds of getting
the business anyway. 6. Make
your website a work in progress. Many people redesign and refine their sites, then
go to sleep on them. How can you keep it vibrant and changing so that your
market wants to come back and check it out first thing every morning? 7. Write
a White Paper. In a world where custom content is king, take charge and produce
the de facto, in-depth research on the topics that matter to your audience and
that position you as a thought leader (oops, as a thoughtful person). 8. Speaking
of research, there’s nothing like snap industry polls that generate quick
content and compelling information for a market. Consider one of the many reasonably
priced services that allow you to survey your audience and post timely results
on your site and via social media. 9. Be
everywhere – or give the impression you are. Social media. Live events. Quotes
in industry publications. 10. Take a reporter to
lunch. Relationships go a long way toward increasing your chances of standing
out and actually getting coverage when you have something relevant to push. Understand how they evaluate information, what they look for, and how they make decisions on what gets in and what doesn't. 11. Are you “a niche”
or “all things to all people”? I’ve never met a travel agency, for example,
that says it can’t handle corporate meetings. Many can, but most can’t –
they’re just afraid to say they can’t do something for fear of losing a business
opportunity. Let people associate you with a specialty. 12. Join the
conversation. Social media is an opportunity, not an obstacle. “Conversations
are markets,” says author Patrick Schwerdtfeger. Use it to get in on the
discussions and as a vehicle to lead viewers to your important links. 13. Push a theme --
not a release. Press people get hundreds of releases. Yours better be on the
level of a cure for a rare disease if you expect coverage. Approach the media
with a theme, or a relevant topic for them to cover. Then you can lend key
input because you happen to be an expert on the topic. 14. Start a webinar
series. Great chance for you to further your position of providing industry
content while capturing leads of people who show a direct interest in the topic
and hopefully your product category. 15. PRWeb and others.
There are services tailored to provide broad-reaching distribution of your news
to the appropriate sources. Find them – and use them. 16. Placement or
purpose? At a past company, we had a great case study of a key client, and we
had to decide: do we pitch this story to an industry publication or do we write
it ourselves, manage the distribution process, and use it as collateral
marketing material? Now if an industry pub picks it up, there’s the perception
of a third party independently acknowledging you -- but it’s confined to their circulation list. If you write
it as impartially and non-promotional as you can, and share it intelligently
using all the avenues at your disposal (social media, tradeshow handouts,
mailings to your own lists), you likely will get a wider reach. 17. Interview a key
industry figure. Then market the interview and place it on your website. 18. Friends in the
right places. Latch onto key influencers. Have them follow you and serve as
brand ambassadors. 19. Testimonials.
Generate as many as you can. Nobody says it better about you and your business
than somebody besides you. 20. Write a Letter to
the Editor. In this world of editorial teams having bare-bones budgets and
challenges generating enough copy, nothing warms an editor’s heart than an
intelligent, non-promotional letter on an industry topic that helps position
you as someone of worthy opinions and expertise. 21. Always be
listening. You’ll be amazed what you’ll learn. |
Be Our Guest -- That Is, If You Qualify
| Posted on 10 January, 2012 at 16:38 |
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Are
you the type of meeting planner who would attend an industry event at an exotic
resort all expenses paid and, as part of the bargain, speak with a few industry
suppliers who have paid heavily to meet you even though you have no interest in
their products? Of
course you aren’t. Does
an invitation to a so-called hosted-buyer program constitute a “gift” to the
planner for which there are expectations of business and services to be
purchased? Of
course it doesn’t. Does
participation in a hosted-buyer program represent a “gift" to the planner for
which she is beholden to her corporate policy not to accept? Of
course it doesn’t. Do
I believe those conclusions above? Of
course I do – or do I? I
was reminded of these issues in a recent social media discussion that asked, “Do
you regard attending industry events as a hosted buyer a gift? If corporate
policy says no gifts over $75, is being a hosted buyer a violation of that?” Just
to review: In our ROI-is-everything world, hosted-buyer events have become a
popular model: charge vendors higher-than-typical fees in exchange for
guaranteed one-to-one meetings with pre-qualified, interested, prospective
buyers of their products. The buyers usually are “hosted” by the event sponsor
– it is the sponsor’s task to do the research, find the right attendees, and
pay the freight to get them there. That’s hard work – that’s why the fee is
higher than a tradeshow booth. The model has worked so well that Meeting
Professionals International has abandoned the tradeshow component of its annual
conference in favor of this formula. Other events on the largest scale and of
the boutique variety are supplanting those traditional shows tired of
aisle-strollers either afraid to make eye contact with vendors or adept enough
to scoop up giveaways and vamoose. So
perhaps a few ethically challenged meeting planners are taking advantage of the
hosted-buyer process, infiltrating the event’s good people and good intentions,
agreeing to participate even if their buying interest is not that strong or
sincere, and in turn making some vendors wince trying to sort them from the true buyers. Event sponsors’ reputations are
on the line – they have to get beyond the mere name value of the buyer and
truly understand his or her buying potential, buying patterns, buying needs,
and decision-making authority. When
done correctly, the payoff is enormous for all sides. I attended a hosted-buyer
event last year as a supplier, coughed up the entry fee, and in two days had 40
twenty-minute meetings. About 38 of the buyers were legit, 15 were A prospects,
five became customers, and I for one became a believer – as the paid participant
no less. Looking for a frightening exercise? Try calculating the cost of sale
to find 40 potential buyers and five new pieces of business. By any
measurement, a lot of smiles and miles. As
my social media thread-bearer correctly deduced, “Being a hosted buyer with the
right intent to see possible vendors and network within the industry does not
constitute a 'gift' but good business.” There is no unauthorized “exchange of
goods” heaped upon the hosted buyer, and there are no promises or commitments
made or implied by the buyers themselves – just that they are the right buyers. What’s
worse than incentivizing tradeshow attendees to stop by a booth merely to get
their bingo cards punched in order to qualify for who knows what? Maybe it’s a
hosted buyer who is not a buyer at all – but rather a hosted liar? Hosted-buyer
event producers deserve much credit for doing the necessary legwork and
producing intelligent business environments, for weeding out the questionable
buyers, and for identifying and locking in the right ones. Bringing buyers and
sellers together. That’s the age-old mantra – long may it live.
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Fearless Forecasts For 2012
| Posted on 5 December, 2011 at 8:21 |
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Listen to these old industry trends I dug up looking through
magazines in the attic: shorter and smaller meetings, meeting closer to home,
more focus on content, shift away from luxury venues, evaluating objectives,
decreasing lead times, doing more with less. Those were the hot buttons of
another decade. Fast-forward to the trends identified for 2012 in a
just-released survey by American Express Meetings and Events: shorter and
smaller meetings, meeting closer to home, more focus on content, shift away
from luxury venues -- say, am I living in some kind of parallel universe? Despite the results of the American Express survey, it’s
hard to argue the meetings industry has undergone monumental change in recent
years -- so much so that my own crystal ball for the next 12 months reveals
some unusual themes you may or may not be hearing about. Take a look: FACE TO FACE IS DEAD. Industry pundits, having fought off
every challenge since the first videoconferencing to their claim that live
events will always be essential, finally declare in 2012 that face-to-face
meetings are dead. Authorities set up a special organization, called Let’s Face
It LLC, to dismantle the meetings and events industry and, as their first act,
announce a large live event in Las Vegas to celebrate the end of live events. SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS UNITE. It’s billed as one of the largest consolidations ever, a
mega-merger of all the major social media networks to create a sole super
social society. Companies report radical jumps in productivity, saying
employees are sleeping better, not waking so early or staying up so late to
keep up with all their conversations, and coming to work fresher and more
energized. The new super social site is called “The Twit.” VENUES BY AMAZON.COM.
A new service allows meeting planners to find and book meeting venues on
Amazon. Incredible features allow planners to actually negotiate with mock
hotel sales reps – certain prompts allow them to create their own rep profile
features and appearances. Venue gift cards are available, new and used venues
are listed, and there are several delivery options. NEW PRODUCT BOOSTS EMPLOYEE MORALE, EFFICIENCIES AND GROWS
REVENUE. Developers in Santa Clara unveil a technology that, with one click,
accomplishes many of the key objectives used to measure ROI at meetings without
the need to even have the actual meeting. CONTENT IS NO LONGER KING. Long considered one of the core
reasons for attending events, experts proclaim an end to content as His Royal
Highness, and usher in a new era known as The Age of Discontent. BLOGGERS IMPRISONED. Failing to adhere to new laws demanding
that learning objectives and relevance be stated in a blog’s first 50 words,
government agents arrest thousands of bloggers and confine them to restricted
quarters with access only to paper and pencils. ASSOCIATION CREATED TO STUDY VALUE OF ASSOCIATIONS. A new
industry association surfaces to evaluate how associations can stay meaningful,
offer unique services, and retain membership in the face of competitive
pressures and growing skepticism. The Association for Assessing Associations (commonly
known as “Three Asses”) is still looking for its first members and industry
volunteers after several months in existence. ATTENDEE ENGAGEMENTS UP 62 PERCENT. Research reveals more
attendees are meeting their significant others at industry events and setting
plans for lifetime bliss and families full of baby planners. CASUAL FRIDAY RENAMED. Close to two decades after the term
“Casual Friday” came into existence to represent a generally accepted
dressing-down day from formal office dress codes, several industry
organizations commission a high-profile consulting firm to develop a more
appropriate name now that more comfortable and practical attire is accepted
pretty much every day. After exhaustive analysis, the consultants recommend the
day now be called “Friday.” So there you have it – my unofficial “head’s up” for
2012. Thanks for living in such an
exciting industry, and thanks for allowing me to work and play in it along with
you. |
Stop Wasting Your Time
| Posted on 11 November, 2011 at 13:42 |
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“You’re
wasting your time on social media.”As
a casual Alec Baldwin gets ready to address a group of disinterested real
estate salesmen at the start of Glengarry Glen Ross, he suddenly screams at
Jack Lemmon to “put that coffee down!” A few seconds later, he asks, “Oh, do I
have your attention now?” With
not quite the theatrics or the anger, Patrick Schwerdtfeger, author and speaker,
grabbed the attention of MPI’s Westfield Chapter last night with the statement,
“The vast majority of business professionals spending time on social media are
just wasting their time.” Referring
to statistics from Pear Analytics about Twitter, he noted:
“Conversations
are markets,” says Schwerdtfeger. “If you want to access your market, you’d
better participate in the conversation – that’s how you create awareness.” The
center of your online identity should be your blog. And
the world of content is an open door. In fact, Schwerdtfeger noted while the
first criteria for interest used to be the source (“If it’s in The New York
Times, you’ll want to read it.”), now the first criteria is the content,
regardless of the source. At the recent Folio Show for publishing and media
pros, it was noted that only 3 percent of all blogs are written by media
professionals. Schwerdtfeger’s
book, Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed, is chock full of tips and
examples of how businesses can effectively use social media to enhance their
brands and develop more business prospects. One example he mentioned was the
idea of following the Twitter conversation about a competitor, especially
keeping an eye out for unhappy customers. These people may represent
opportunities. The
essence of any strategy to gain an edge through social media revolves around
three questions:
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A Lot Of Noise
| Posted on 7 November, 2011 at 14:05 |
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 Am I part of the problem or part of the solution? I write a blog, so while I hope this puts me in the latter group, I likely qualify for Platinum status in the former -- especially after hearing some staggering numbers. If you happen to be surfing the web, looking to sit by the fire and curl up with a good blog, well, you have 152 million to choose from, according to IDG’s Matthew Yorke, speaking at the recent Folio Show in New York and citing statistics from Technorati. Oh, you were looking only for fresh posts? Of those in the last 24 hours, seems you have 900,000 to sort through. Ok, eliminate the ones in non-interest categories, the ones that can’t construct a sentence, and those with nothing useful to say (please don’t abandon me yet), and you’re left with a more manageable number – say 75? If you have time to read one-fifth of those, you’re either bored at work, between jobs, or a blog consultant.Consider these fascinating statistics reeled off by Yorke:
It was great returning to the media world last week at the Folio Show. Sessions no longer instruct how to edit, how to design, how to “publish,” and how to work. The topics are more Big Picture, namely making sense of and managing digital and social media. I spend a lot of time in the meetings industry, so I’m used to hearing meetings people with budgets to hit or jobs to keep proclaim face-to-face meetings are “back.” (Actually, despite 152 million bloggers, a zillion generations of technology, and a recession or two, f2f never really went away.) Because of this crusade in the meetings industry, it’s easier for me to hear the case about a robust publishing market for print: 77,000 publications in the U.S. and Canada, says MediaFinder; 1,400 new advertising-generating brands being followed daily by Magazine Radar. Many of today’s brands anchor their strategies with print -- for the credibility, regularity, and to preserve the advertising form that charges the most. I liken the plight of print media to my sensation a few years back on a zip line in Costa Rica – hanging on for dear life and, for goodness sake, don’t look down! Now certainly not all brands are clinging to the zip line cord like I was (see picture) – there are many that continue to prosper in print based on their merits and markets alone. But most integrated strategies have been overwhelmed by digital – and specifically social media – as a more-than-substantial information source. In fact the data flow is massive beyond comprehension – there’s a lot of noise out there. All the gaudy numbers help me understand how I can shout as loud as I want (bloggers don’t really have volume control) and never be heard. But if I use best practices to understand and touch my intended audiences with the right media and messages, I can level the playing field a little bit and create a flock. Yorke also pointed out that bloggers are judged by the number of their followers, not so much their experience and background. Editors with journalism degrees apparently have no clear-cut advantage in their battle for audience affections. Yorke said only 3 percent of today’s bloggers come from professional media companies. The free market for thought is more competitive than ever. But if that encourages – in fact demands -- a higher quality of content as an entry fee for attracting attention, then the system works -- at least until the next media paradigm comes along. |
Superstitious?
| Posted on 21 October, 2011 at 13:35 |
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For each of the five title-clinching games by the New
England Patriots and Boston Red Sox I’ve watched in my lifetime, I have worn
the same “Nantucket red” sweatshirt. I’ve also dug up the same pair of blue
jeans. If I could distinguish from my pairs of white underwear (and confess to
keeping them that long), I probably would have sought the same pair and put
them on. I assume the same position and posture on the sofa, don’t speak much,
hardly eat, and take nothing more than the “mandatory” breaks.I don’t wear the sweatshirt regularly – I only take it out
on what I call “title nights.” This was all well and good. My outfit and
idiosyncrasies had everything to do with the victories -- no disrespect to
Brady’s arm or Ortiz’s bat. Then the Giants beat the Patriots -- with me in full regalia. I always fold towels with the label to the inside. I keep
the bills in my wallet facing the same direction, and in value sequence. I
always turn my head from the TV when during a game they flash statistics that
show probabilities. I intentionally look away, for example, when they tell me a
team’s propensity for scoring inside the red zone. My peeking – and therefore
knowing – in my superstitious world would constitute a violation that for sure
would affect the outcome. Not to mention I’d turn into a pillar of salt. Last year, the Pats were 14-3. I watched every one of those
14 wins alone in front of my television. I was in Calgary on business, invited
to a friend’s house, and actually at the game for the three losses. An
important lesson to friends: please make out-of-house social plans with my
family on Saturdays, not game days. Some would call this superstition. Others would call it
fanatical nonsense. I’ve watched many Syracuse basketball games with my friend
Alan in total darkness at his house in a small room that feels like a jail
cell. Because of the darkness, it’s never quite clear how many other people are
actually crammed into the tiny space. If this is Alan’s way to ensure victory,
truth be told – I’m guessing the ‘Cuse wins about 70 percent of its games, so
the strategy works often but not religiously. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. That’s a superstition – and
a cliché – that has run its course, if not in the sports superstition world
then certainly in the business world. If it ain’t broke, I’d prefer not to have to think up a new strategy to
stay ahead of the curve and at top of mind with my customers. Or, if it ain’t
broke today, that’s no assurance the exact same product or strategy won’t be
broken tomorrow. A friend once ran a trade show that dominated its market,
but the trade show attendees and exhibitors hated the trade show company
itself. No need for any change – or customer coddling – until a bunch of its
exhibitors jumped ship and created a competing show of their own. If it ain’t
broke – oops, too late. I watched another good guy years ago insist that no one
could touch his portfolio of print publications. All was great, knock on wood. He didn’t have the energy to develop a digital strategy. Someone else did.
Everyone else did! End of story. End of brand. I’m currently involved with an organization taking a radical
and bold step with its two signature events and creating something entirely new
and different. Superstition says stick to the habits and strategies that got
you so far (or had you believe they would). Forward thinking and courage say
break old traditions that have lost their relevance or their seeming magical
powers over time. Shed your meaningless superstitions and welcome in new ideas
and creativity. Make your brands moving targets. If it ain’t broke, go out and
fix it anyway. And you’ll come to see there’s nothing like a different colored
sweatshirt to keep things interesting.
|
Telling Truth to Power (Clients)
| Posted on 6 October, 2011 at 9:33 |
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|
 “The customer is
always right,” is a mantra we hear all the time, so often, in fact, that
it’s become canonized as one of the first rules of business. Alas, like most sweeping
generalizations, it is also blindly misapplied. For while it might make plenty of sense in retail, when it
comes to consulting, or event planning, it can ruin your business. Here’s how and why.In retail, stores are selling stuff, things, products. Retailing is simply about delivering
those products to consumers through a pleasing, cost-effective experience. If a consumer is unhappy with the
experience they get at a retail store, the assumption is they can always
go somewhere else to buy the same product, so there’s almost no reason NOT to
make the customer happy, even at the retailer’s short term detriment. Keeping the customer as a continued
shopper, in the long run, is the ultimate goal. Service businesses, on the other hand, provide much more
customized interactions. The
client comes to us for our specific, individual expertise. We take time to learn about them, their
events, their goals, styles and desires, and then design and recommend
solutions specifically tailored to their needs. If the client wants to do something that is not going to
work, it is not only in our best interest to push back, it’s in the client’s
interest too. If you’re meeting with your accountant to discuss your
taxes, and you want to write off your massage treatments as a business expense,
(because, hey, you come up with your best ideas on the massage table), would
you want him to say, “whatever you want,
you’re the customer!” No
way. You want him to look you hard
in the eye and say, “Nice try. Unless your client is the masseuse,
that’s not going to work.”
Sometimes pushing back to a demanding client can be
difficult and awkward. But that’s
what they need, and that’s what will make you invaluable to them. In The New York Times Business
section (Valuing Those Who Tell You the Bitter Truth), Pamela Fields, the CEO
of Stetson, talks about the importance of hearing divergent opinions from people
who feel comfortable disagreeing with her. The phrase, Speak Truth to Power, is typically applied to
politics, where too often our leaders surround themselves with sycophants who
are more interested in sucking up than in telling the truth. But the mantra applies everywhere. In sports we often see star athletes
get ruined because there is no one in their entourage who speaks up about what’s
in the athlete's best interest if it means disagreeing with him. (Think of Mike Tyson at the top of the
list.) And it certainly applies to working with our event clients,
whether we are independents or agencies talking to paying clients, or in-house
planners talking to our internal business unit clients. Soften the blow as needed, but you have
to deliver the news. If the
client’s really set on a lousy idea, try, “That’s
a great idea. Unfortunately I just
don’t think it’s appropriate for this event because _______. Believe me, I’d love to say we can do
it, but it’s my professional responsibility to advise you why I don’t think
it’s going to work. The last thing
I want is for you to come to me afterwards and say, You’re the professional;
why didn’t you warn me about this?! So this is me, officially warning you that I don’t think this will
work.” It’ll be difficult, no question. But they will respect you more as an expert, and you will
become indispensible to them. And
that, ultimately, is what you want.
Howard Givner is an event industry business strategist and growth consultant who currently is Executive Director and Founder of the Event Leadership Institute. |
