Tuesday, August 30, 2011

What business owners can learn from today’s students

Nowadays, students are using the blogging platform to express their creativity. In particular, students who often shy away from face-to-face conversations are coming out of their shells. They are gaining confidence from creating their own blogs, giving themselves a voice and developing an active and dynamic presence online.

There is an important lesson here for the business owner.

As a business owner, you can use the medium of blogging to tell your story. Not only will you gain confidence to eventually speak about your story face-to-face, you will also foster your creativity and passion for your own brand and become proficient at broadcasting the value your business offering to consumers.

Effective communication is the foundation for building an ongoing, strong relationship with consumers.

As of 16 February 2011 there were over 156 million public blogs in existence. A regular, current blog will give you, the business owner, a relevant and important ‘voice’ that potential clients will ‘hear’ on the net. The significance for business owners is that blogging your opinion communicates and reinforces what your business stands for.

Most blogs are interactive and this is where you strike gold. Online visitors can leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the blogs. It is this interactivity that distinguishes you from other static websites and provides you with the opportunity to build and maintain your network on a shoestring budget.

Doing it right and adding value to the relationship you have with your network of contacts will really pay off in the long term. Contacts who respect what you have to say will potentially become clients when they have a need for your services. They can also become your best salespeople.

Visit: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/stories-from-a-digital-space-20110828-1jgk7.html

The Greatest Movie Ever (Under) Sold: POM Wonderful's missed opportunity

For sponsorship reasons the official title of the 2011 documentary film is POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, recently released in cinemas in Australia.

From the principal sponsors' perspective however, the film may well be re-titled: "The Greatest Movie Ever (Under) Sold".

The naming rights sponsor, pomegranate juice company POM Wonderful invested $US1 million in this project. But the film's focus was limited to it's products and the espoused benefits.

Yes, the film has earned 900 million media impressions (that is, the number of references to the company seen in any media). However, this result was mainly due to the sheer comedic value of the film and curiosity aroused. The bang for the invested bucks could have been much bigger if the inspirational personal story behind the birth of the POM Wonderful brand had been an integral part of the documentary. This key ingredient could have been used to great effect to achieve long term resonance with consumers - instead of passing attention. Why not feature an earnest interview with the CEO/Founder of Pom Wonderful focusing on why they are so passionate about fresh pomegranates and juices, so much so that they had to start a company to produce what they feel are the best pomegranate-based products in the world? Or a genuine heart-warming account of the founder / CEOs first walk through the fresh pomegranate fields where the company harvests, grows and processes their products?

In terms of maximizing return on investment, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold turned out to be a missed opportunity for the sponsor / major financier. Why? Because like so many brands desperately looking for new ways to convey their message to consumers, Pom Wonderful overlooked the vital emotional link that is the crucial requirement for winning ongoing customer loyalty.

Extensive research into successful companies clearly shows that effective “storytelling” is the most effective way to establish a personal connection between your business and consumers.