On Point Conversations: Recent Episodes
On Point Conversations
Leadership and business podcasts topics that span marketing, branding, content and other areas touched and done by marketers, entrepeneurs, business leaders and team members.
Campaigns that build excitement, buzz and generate sales are a needed part of the overall markeitng campaign. Here I cover 7 different types of campaigns, benefits and ways to create interest ini your product and/or service.
If you need something the best thing to do is ask. Before asking, prepare your ask. Know why you are needing what you are asking for by knowing your rationale. Be specific. Be sure your audience understands the current situation, the need and why these needs are not being met. And, what solution you think is the best. Above all be prepared.
Whether it’s a big problem or a small issue if you keep tripping on in and can’t seem to solve or resolve the issue, you could be creatively stuck. I think we all know what it’s like to feel creatively stuck. But what is the answer or what can you do … well let’s try talking to yourself! This approach is designed to capture the mind to focus on the issue and look at it from all sides as well as use the clumsiness of conversation to get unstuck. The reason I tried and use this method is because I want to solve problems and not keep ruminating on them. I do this by speaking the problems through with different imaginary personas: course lecturer; teacher, friend, relative and so on. For each one I adopt a different conversational style, each one helping to shape and refine the problem, the idea and ultimately the solution.
Brands are not just for companies. A personal brand is as an important key to your own individual success. When identified, your personal brand clearly and consistently defines, expresses, and communicates who you are, how you are unique, your goals and accomplishments.
A personal brand is more than just what you do or how your website, logo or business cards are designed. It is you—very uniquely you. It allows you to distinguish yourself from everyone else: what is unique about who you are and what you do and the experience and expertise you bring.
Your brand is about making yourself known for your skills and talents andwhat you stand for.
Your About Me Page or your artist bio is your chance to get the attention and interest of potential customers and help them understand what it is about your art that’s unique and different from others. It can be a powerful and effective marketing tool. So, make your About Me page or bio strong by taking the time to craft your profile that captures you, your art and your unique offerings.
Engaging your employees starting with the onboarding process is important to having an effective employee experience strategy. Listen to this podcast to hear some ideas and strategies for improving employee engagement ideas to build a company experience that leads to happy employees, their accelerate performance, and encourages them to stay at your organization.
Lighting a fire under an employee is not near as effective as lighting a fire within an employee. Incorporating employee recognition/appreciation programs and tools will help to enhance employee satisfaction and aid retention. Start the process first with your company culture, then through leaders and managers and peers. Listen to this podcast for ideas on enhancing and developing employee recognition programs.
Layoffs are seen as a quick and easy way to cut costs in an uncertain economy—but at what cost to surviving employees and culture? Mass layoffs affect not only those who lose their jobs, but also those who stay behind.
The best employee retention strategies address the reasons employees are leaving the organization. Are your employees unhappy with their chances for advancement? Are they less engaged or are they unhappy with the work? Did they have a bad experience with a manager or co-worker? Or is a toxic workplace culture the issue? Once you know this use one or all the & employee retention strategies in this podcast to keep employees staying with your organization longer.
Keeping top employees is crucial because hiring and onboarding a new employee is time consuming and expensive and after that the new employee needs time to get up to speed. How do employers retain employee? By putting in place effective employee retention strategies specific to their company and work environment. Instead of doing the bare minimum to retain employees, employers should focus on multiple areas of the work experience that are proven to combat high turnover rates and keep employees longer.
Communication has a direct influence on your organization’s overall experience. It also impacts company and member performance. Want a more successful, profitable company and a place that people want to return day after day? Then start with working on communication.
Poor or lack of clear, authentic and concise communication is at the root of many issues. And, working on this area is a great asset to business and non profit success. In this podcast, I cover ways to enhance communication both written and non verbal and move your organization on to further success.
Making organizational changes can affect everyone in your company making putting a systematic change process in place a necessity. Avoid pitfalls and encourage faster implementation and easier transitions by incorporating the 4 principles and 8 steps I talk about in this podcast. Join me in making changes easier on everyone.
Take the time to design your future by thinking about the future. No one can predict what will happen but by developing a strong strategic plan with a solid mission and vision, a company can better control their destiny and achieve the mission that they set out to do. Then be prepared to pivot when necessary but keep mission and viision forefront.
Changes are an inevitable part of business life and changes can be hard to make. In this podcast, I cover questions to ask yourself and your team BEFORE deciding if a change is worth the effort. I also cover key points in the banking issues that happened last week.
Making changes within your company might be hard depending on the extent that it disrupts the way things have always been done. Therefore, before heading off to make any change just to make a change may not be the best solution or idea. Ask yourself and those on your team these few questions. Plus a bit about recent bank collapses.
To implement an effective change management project ask yourself and your team these 15 questions. Change can be difficult, and the process often runs into barriers and issues that must be overcome to successfully make the change. People including upper management and staff make all the difference in how the changes are implemented and accepted. Get answers to key questions before starting this process to insure a better, smoother process.
People, in general, don't like to change especially when they have no say, no understanding and no way to provide input or feedback on how it affects them. In business change is frequent and without widespread employee acceptance and help from your employees to implement change, you will either have an uphill battle or the changes you need or want won't be implemented. This podcast reveals the principles of change management and steps to implement changes for better success.
Marketing planning is important but sometimes you will need to go on a project or marketing journey and make the map as you go and that is okay. Not ideal but okay and necessary. If you find you are in this situation, start by thinking of similar projects and what has worked or not worked in the past. Keep your eyes, ears and mind clear and fresh for those decisions that can not be anticipated. And record along the way the journey so you can draw the map and have for future reference.
Keeping up with marketing deadlines and schedules can be stressful for eveyone and last minute scheduling deadlines and surprises are not my idea of a good surprise. Take the time to do a little preplanning with an easy to setup marketing calendar and be ready for the challenges of scheduling marketing activities.
Using jargon, buzzwords, idioms or terminology associated with marketing can sometimes leave your audience confused. If the audience doesn't understand what you are presenting they could outright reject your ideas or put barriers in place that derails the project or idea.
Businesses can and should build strong customer communities. Give your customers a purpose for choosing your company to work with and buy from, a sense of belonging and being heard all which leads to building a stronger brand.
Psychologists find that when we admit we were wrong, it doesn’t make us look less competent but it rather displays honesty and a willingness to learn. Is your organization creating a culture of learning and working on become better by challenging and trying new processes or systems.? In this podcast, I cover ways to become a learning, more successful organization.
In this podcast, I cover ways to make impactful changes by working within your teams as an effective leader who incorporates others opinions and uses listening and question asking skills to develop implementable solutions. Psychologists find that admitting, as leaders, we are wrong doesn't make us look weak or less competent. It shows we are being honest and willing to learn and change processes for the betterment of the organization and not to enhance our personal self worth.
Listen to this podcast IF you are interested in working on your rethinking skills. I discuss the top 9 points that help individuals incorporate the habit of thinking again. This topic includes 3 top categories including developing the rethinking habit, calibrating your confidence level and inviting others to thoughtfully question your ideas.
Being focused on the customer means more than just providing good customer service. A customer focused company creates a culture so that every strategic business decision is based on the needs and wants of the customer. In this podcast, we cover ways to start or refine your customer focused mission for better customer retention and loyalty.
If you had a clock that was running backwards, it would be easy to see that a change was necessary. However as leaders, we often need to make changes to systems, processes, procedures and change can be difficult. In this podcast, I discuss 10 reasons that change is resisted and how leaders can understand and work around the resistance to change.
Interruptions are a part of life. In this podcast, I discuss ways to handle interruptions appropriately and also how to minimize interruptions.
To build and keep your audience, your company needs a solid content marketing program. Use this opportunity to provide free,valuable content that your audience wants and looks forward to seeing and reading as well as supports your business. A content “treat”.
Using questions, whether expressed verbally or just in our own heads, are a way to open up the possibilities of change for the better. Listen to this podcast to review how, when and where to ask questions and to be open minded to new options and ideas.
If life, developing a company and carrying out ideas would be easy, everyone would be doing it. But life is not nor is building a business easy. There are days that things go smoothly, and ideas get shared, and everyone is supportive but then other days when hitting a wall is just part of the process. Take heart and realize that the easy days are great, and the hard days are character building.
An effective vision and mission statement define your company goals. It states clearly and concisely your purpose. It should be memorable while calling out the best of the company. Get the point, make it memorable and be sure to state what is uniquely your purpose.An effective vision and mission statement define your company goals. It states clearly and concisely your purpose. It should be memorable while calling out the best of the company. Get the the point, make it memorable and be sure to state what is uniquely your purpose.
In my experience, change and that is almost any change is hard. Organizational changes are especially challenging. Take the time to listen to my 7 Steps to help you in the process of incorporating viable, effective organizational changes.
Ways to make your content marketing program content that your audience looks forward to receiving, opening and sharing. It is a "treat" to them.
Years ago, when collaborating with influencers was a novelty, all it took for a campaign to become successful was for the influencer to talk about the company’s product or service in an article, blog post or video. The effect was impressive and immediate. Times have changed! Due to the efficiency and benefits of influencer marketing and its win-win nature, the market has become over saturated. That is not to say that its effectiveness has decreased – quite the opposite. However, this type of marketing can be quite costly and a big hit on your budget. Perhaps you’ve thought of sending influencers free product in hopes they’ll post, but influencers are getting bombarded by pitches daily and are typically looking for more substantial partnerships. In this podcast, listen to 5 steps to build your influencer marketing program while keeping your budget in check.
Rethinking marketing plans and evaluating current assumptions. Start the new year out right by finding out what is not working and taking positive steps to change those ideas, processes or tactics. What is your business doing that could use changing? Need a way to start thinking about this. Writing is a great way to think through and understand your thoughts and ideas. Writing exposes gaps in knowledge and logic and pushes you to articulate assumptions and consider counterarguments. No excuses...just start.
Covid has not only affected daily living but it has driven a further, expanded digital shift. With that shift comes the need for leaders in companies to fully understand the customers' needs and develop those relationships in an online, digital world. No more excuses and no more going back to the total or partial one on one sales experience. This also lends to more competition with customers being able to do far more research with more companies. Act now or lose your place.
For those familiar, there is a fear-based marketing approach. It is the use of consumers' fears to motivate them to purchase a product or contribute to a cause. Fear based marketing is as old as marketing and advertising itself. The key is using a fear based message sparingly and ethically to help consumers understand what your company does to actually help them.
Forbes 2022 Global Culture Report demonstrates significant shifts that are affecting how work is accomplished and to what degree companies create and develop great work. Employee engagement has dropped by 18% over the last year. What do employers need to do? Offer work flexibility including remote and hybrid, encourage leaders to connect with employees and increase meaningful recognition of employee strengths and contributions.
As of April 2021, there are over 2,000,000.podcasts and over 48 million podcast episodes. Competition for the listening audience is fierce. Join me today, as I interview, Bill Keenan, long time podcaster with his experience e and lessons learned. How do you start a podcast? What to consider? What is important? How to rise above the clutter?
Hiring consultants is big business and can take a chunk of your budget. The return on all that advice not only depends on the consultant you hire but also depends on who and how the advice will be received. Both parties, the consultant and the company leaders involved, need to work together to assure that dollars spent are spent wisely. Start by clearly defining your issue. The more precise your company is in knowing what is needed the more precise and helpful the consultant you hire can be. Take the time to work with the outside consultant and listen with an open mind to ideas, recommendations or counsel comes from the outside source.
More times then I can count, I hear individuals complain about spending too much time in meetings. I agree this can happen. But there are ways to make meetings productive. In this podcast, I outline 5 easy ways to not only make your meetings more productive and get your action plan in place lending to a successful project outcome.
An uptick in Covid19 infections, delta variant, slow down, shutdown or more restrictions make keeping a business going strong difficult. Learn ways you can further help your business stay ahead, generate revenue and weather any crisis. Take the time to prepare rather then the time to repaid when the damage is done
Developing and planning a content strategy with the right, most valuable and productive elements including stellar content will fall flat on its face if your connections aren't getting connected with. If comments or questions directed to your company by customers is met with only silence from you or your organization, the ultimate question might be then why bother. Answer those emails, communicate on social media and when customers open the discussion door walk in and engage.
Starting the conversation about building a strong, engaged community from scratch. Done right, it is one of the best tactics for a strong return on investment. Building community builds a valuable asset including users, customers who will stick with you and your company in the good times and the not so good times
In this podcast, we describe the remaining 6 categories that define the types of personality traits combined with the basic human motivations. Why should you care? we use these in branding to define more closely and with greater focus who we are trying to reach and what might resonate more effectively with that group. This approach can also bring the consumer to a more human, personal group.
Online courses are popular and even more so now with Covid19 restrictions/changes. And creating online courses require time, effort and resources. So knowing how to effectively create an online course that is beneficial, helpful and makes you a profit is crucial.
Listen to this podcast for 8 steps to creating your own online course.
Need help identifying your audience. Carl Yung, psychologist, identified 12 character/personality types. These categories help to narrow down who you want and need to reach with characteristics that apply to this audience. These categories are something that all human beings have in common regardless of their culture, biological sex, or the period that they lived in. We use them to help personify the audience with characteristics that are understandable and memorable.
Avoid information overload by practicing that "succinct" skills with a summary and 4 steps and 4 lessons to help you master the art of making good decisions for your business.
Whether you are rebranding, branding for the first time, or starting any marketing project defining clearly your audience is key. In this podcast, I explore archetypes or culture categories that indiviuals relate too. There are 12 different groups that I use when defining audience characteristics and what will resonate with that audience. In this podcast, I explore and explain the 6 of those groups with the remainder of the groups discussed in my next podcast. Enjoy!
Sometimes just getting back to basics is a really great idea. It is with content creation, This podcast includes 4 key questions that you can answer to develop more effective content. Content can be easy to create but unless it delights your customers and potential customers it might just either not be worth the cost of resources to create or move in the opposite direction and turn those people off to finding other solutions to their problems.
Never have I ever heard or seen any marketing messaging spoken or written that describes a company as having anything but excellent or award winning or whatever positive adjective customer service. And, many times I am disappointed in the actual customer service experience. Enhance your customers' experience with these simple steps.
Discover ways to avoid project disasters that derail your project, add unnecessary expense, add to the schedule and when all is said and done have to be started all over again.
To combat the inevitable skeptics and naysayers or those with the "not invented here" attitude, I am sharing strategies and steps to help you sell your big ideas and get buy to implement your ideas.
Storytelling is an art that can be learned with the right process, defined steps, and a tried and true formula. This process is worth mastering for your business and your customers. Use effective stories to bring people together and inspire action and response.
Developing active listening skills to get the most out of conversations and presentations making you not only more confident but more valuable to your organization and team. Practical ideas and ways to practice the art of active listening.
The mental digestive process of producing a good idea and the sharing of that idea. Listen to the five steps to follow to flesh out that new creative idea that will capture your audience's attention. Gather all the raw data and consciously and unconsciously think about what you learned and are learning to develop and present a great idea. Learn how to implement that idea too so you don't end up hiding it and never sharing the idea (s).
Step1 to getting quality, new ideas start with knowledge. Gather all the raw data you can get including conversations, interviews, studies, written material. Digest the knowledge you learned from this collection of raw date and work to emerge it into a form that offers fresh, new combinations and relationships.
Focus on getting the right influencer (s) to promote your business by researching what niche they talk to and are passionate about while offering good, valuable content including answering questions and taking feedback from their t audience. Keep in mind that an influencer should communicate a position that is compatible and agreeable to your views, thoughts and position.
Influencer marketing programs are very popular. To make your program effective and to reach your goals, here are 10 steps to help you move forward. Thoughtfully planning and selecting appropriate influencers make all the difference between success and failure.
Trying to get noticed on social media platforms is, at best, harder then ever. With brands, marketers, and influencers fighting for consumers attention, it requires lots of creativity and networking to make your marketing efforts work for you. One method and a particularly effective strategy is real, authentic, influencer relationships. Here is how to start.
Most people associate grants with non profits but this is not the case. Particularly, during times of the pandemic, many small businesses are able to apply for grants to gain funding to recover from financial loss. Or, reimbursing expenses that are needed to run your business.
Building and keeping a strong CV (Curriculum Vitae or Course of Life) document that helps you whether looking for a job, securely employed, looking for advancement or own your own company. This exercise will help you to remember all the positive things you have accomplished and keep in mind even in stressful situations.
6 steps to discover topics that will help, benefit and delight your consumer. When selecting and developing content find topics that matter to your audience, and you will find yourself enjoying a steady growing reader base in no time at all!
10 easy to follow steps to building your own effective content strategy. Building your content strategy will save you time and money as each posting, whether blog, social media, guest posts, will help you be intentional and consistent in your message.
Often I am asked if a content strategy is really necessary. I think it is and in this podcast I review the reasons why and how a planned content strategy can help you and your organization save time, money and stress
We all make thousands of decisions every day. From what we eat to what we wear and all the many decisions we make during our business/work day. Here are some ideas and ways to help you deal with decision fatigue.
You have a new idea for your business or a new business and you want backers and investors to buy in, believe and help you fulfill on this idea, What do you do? Listen to this product on nurturing, developing and presenting new business ideas.
Free is a great word. In this podcast, we cover ideas and ways that businesses can access FREE ideas and ways to promote their business.
Do you want to learn and share how you and your company chart and communicate your impact? In this podcast, we cover key points that help you and your company developing a strategy and implement a lasting impact in your community.
In my last podcast, I talked about how to learn and research your online image. In this podcast, we delve into how to create your own positive online image based on your brand and what you want to portray.
It takes planning and effort to pitch the right investors with the right information. Learn what you need to know to approach the right investors and develop a slide deck that puts you and your company in the best light while acquiring investors that can help you.
What they are or you are saying online can color or reflect nicely on your online brand. Take the time to research and find what others can locate about you. In this podcast, I outline ways for you to research and start to change your online image and brand.
Business owners and leaders often run into unexpected business disruptions like the Covid19 pandemic. In this podcast, we review ways and tips to adjust to the new normal caused by business disruptions.
Hiring effective gig workers, free lancers or vendors can be a challenge. Here are tips to make that process easier and more productive. Saving time, money and energy by NOT hiring the wrong partners.
Self promotion can be a stumbling block for many of us. The key is learning how to effectively accomplish your goal of demonstrating, to your target audience, your value and accomplishments in the best, most effective manner.
Learn 6 principles on how to become an even better, more effective leader and get your team members to support, trust and work with you for successful project completions.