posted by Brenton on July 12th, 2010
Design Changes partner company, MFX Partners, recently led a discussion on creating brand design. During the workshop, one participant asked, “What is the difference between vision, mission and values?”
The answer I gave provides some clarity for small businesses and non-profits around these often muddled statements. So I thought I’d share it with you. By the way I like using ‘the bus’ as a metaphor for business and life. Here was my answer…
VISION: A company has a vision when they begin speaking of WHERE they are headed. They know the destination their bus is heading and what things will be like when they arrive at this destination. A vision then, is an ideal. An image of a better future. I can often decipher when a company is lacking vision when employees or customers wonder where they are going. Visions often start with ”Imagine…” statements like these:
1. External vision: ”Imagine a world where cars emit zero emissions…”
2. Internal vision: ”Imagine a small business that’s the leader in green technologies, setting the standards and shaping future partnership with the brightest minds around the world…”
MISSION: A mission details WHY people want to get onboard a particular (company/brand) bus. For example, a mission speaks to these points:
1. The underlying purpose of their existence
2. WHO they serve
3. WHAT unique value is delivered
4. HOW the value is delivered based on the company’s core services, programs or talents
VALUES: Is the reasoning behind the way people ACT on the bus. Behavior is directed by a person’s values. So values guide out actions. Everyone (and every business) is guided by a set of values or principles that govern HOW they should ideally act to fulfill their mission and reach their vision.
Now that you have a handle on the difference between vision, mission and values,
please tell us what stage your company is at in the defining process and share the personal values that define your mission and vision.
Tags: brand messaging tips, building a brand identity, developing brand identity, mission statement for small business, value statement for small business, vision statement for small business
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posted by Anna Fleet on July 9th, 2010
I’ve still got yesterday’s social media lunch and learn at Waterloo’s Accelerator Centre on my mind…thanks to this powerful video that speaker, Melissa Schenk, from MS2 Productions, shared with the crowd. The YouTube video on the Social Media Revolution quickly switched any doubters in the crowd into social networking converts. I mean, just look at these stats:
1. Social media has taken over porn as the #1 activity on the Web – Wowza!
2. It took the following mediums how many years to reach 50 million users:
* Radio = 38 years
* TV = 13 years
* Internet = 4 years
* IPod = 3 years
* Facebook = had 100 million users in less than 9 months
3. And lastly, if Facebook were a country it would be the fourth largest in the world!
You know how I like to leave you with some eye candy for the weekends. And this video certainly gives us some food for thought as it poses the question: Is social media a fad? Or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?
So think about it and share your reactions with the group. After watching this video, do you still think your business won’t benefit from social media?
Tags: accelerator centre waterloo, facebook for small business marketing, melissa schenk, ms2 productions, Social Media Revolution, social media strategy, youtube for viral marketing
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posted by Anna Fleet on July 8th, 2010
Have you ever seen or used Brian Solis’ Social Marketing Compass?
I hadn’t heard of it myself until this afternoon. I just got back from a social media seminar at The Accelerator Centre in Waterloo with speaker, Melissa Schenk from MS2 Productions.
Melissa talked about the power of Solis’ Social Media Compass as an effective tool to help guide businesses in the right direction when building their social media strategy. And she provided examples of how networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn can be used to engage customers—and led to powerful viral marketing opportunities for small businesses all around the globe.
Solis, a reknowed social media thinker, developed his compass a true physical indicator for companies to consult when defining their social media strategy. How can social media benefit your company? Check out the compass and find out!
Tags: accelerator centre waterloo, brian solis, facebook for small business marketing, melissa schenk, ms2 productions, social media compass, social media strategy, twitter tips for small businesses
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posted by Anna Fleet on July 7th, 2010
Your website will give many of your customers their very first impression of your small business or non-profit. And even though you might maintain a Twitter or Facebook account, these social networking tools will still drive potential traffic to your website.
But what if your customers don’t trust your website?
Small Business Trends recently featured an article listing the 11 Reasons Customers Don’t Trust Your Website. Is your company website guilty of any of the following online errors?
Your website is too technical: Be honest, does your site read like a brochure? Is it engaging? Conversational?
Typos are no-nos: Spelling mistakes and bad grammar shine an unprofessional light on your entire company, products and services. Typos leave customers thinking, “What if this company takes as much care with their customers as they do with their website?” Yuck!
Outdated content and web design: If your site is drastically outdated, it won’t be valuable to customers nor meet industry expectations. Basically, your company will look lazy or like it’s no longer business.
Navigation issues: Visitors will get frustrated and leave your site (no matter how good your product is) if your site isn’t user-friendly. What good is a site for visitors if they can’t find what they’re looking for?
Leave out buzzwords: If you’re playing ‘business buzzword bingo’, which means you’re using phrases like “innovative thinkers”, “outside the box” and “game-changing product” in your web copy), your customers will feel like their being played. Your product or service should speak for itself with clear and conversational content.
Where’s the ‘About’ page? A page dedicated to the face behind your company will help build trust with your customers. An ‘About’ page should speak about you (your professional background and why you started your business).
These are just 6 reasons why customers might mistrust your website. Click here to find out if your guilty of any of the full 11 reasons why your website might not be trusted.
Tags: facebook for small business marketing, twitter for small business, user friendly web design, web marketing strategy, website optimization, website tips for non-profits, website tips for small business
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posted by Anna Fleet on July 6th, 2010
Are you a small business or not-for-profit organization with a company Facebook page, Twitter profile or blog? Who contributes to it and maintains it?
A Washington Post article has revealed the 10 biggest social networking no-nos that small businesses and non-profits make—one of them being signing up and then leaving the success of social media to the lowest or most inexperienced staff member, like an intern or entry level staffer—or worse, someone with zero interest in social media.
I know how common this is from experience, as I’ve worked at a few large high-tech corporations who left their entire social media strategy to unpaid summer interns or unsavvy Internet staff with no interest in blogging or tweeting.
What are they thinking?
That’s exactly what Debbie Weil, a corporate social media consultant, would ask. She recommends that social media be left to “someone who is not only communication savvy, but comfortable with exposure to the public”. That means stop leaving social media to entry level employees with no blogging, communications or search engine optimization experience.
Proper social networking requires someone with a blogging background who can relate to your customers/audience—or at least someone who takes the time to do some reliable research and learning before diving in.
Read on to find out if you’re guilty of the top 10 social media mistakes.
Tags: blogging tips, facebook for small business marketing, social media for non-profit, social media strategy, social media tips, social networking for small business, twitter for B2C
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posted by Anna Fleet on July 5th, 2010
You’ve probably heard of the Hollywood trivia game ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon’. But if you haven’t, it follows the philosophy that everyone around the globe is connected within six steps to one another—celebrity, Kevin Bacon, being the prime example, connected to every other star within at least six degrees.
Well, a study by Sysomos, a social media consulting firm has been featured in the New York Times, with the not so startling data that Twitter mimics this high connection rate digitally, connecting 97.91% of its users by six degrees of separation.
The Sysomos study also found that Twitter users are more closely connected then Facebook users. For example, with Facebook it would take you 5.73 visits to friends of friends profiles before you started seeing your own familiar connections listed in their friend’s list, however with Twitter, the connection is much closer at 3.32 visits.
What does this mean for non-profit and small business marketing? Well, that Twitter offers the highest opportunity for you to connect with global users on a fast and very easy platform.
Tags: celebrity connection, facebook for small business marketing, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, social media connection, social media strategy, twitter for small business, web marketing for B2B
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One Calendar with Social Networking Powers
