The ConFuzed Show: Recent Episodes
Mona
The ConFuzed podcast co-hosted by Mona Swarup and Julian Foot focusses on why marketing B2B (business to business) services is so confusing, constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Mona Swarup, Director at 108Markertiser loves to take a creative approach and making an impact through marketing in solving business challenges.
Julian is a professional videographer and communication consultant. He loves to ask the awkward questions but makes you super comfortable when you face the camera.
We all go to our favourite restaurant because we love the food they serve and the fantastic service they provide.
What happens if that favourite restaurant starts talking to you only about their -
state-of-the-art kitchen or
the freshly painted walls or
the new piece of art on the wall?
They are no longer relevant to you because what matters to you as the customer is the delicious meals they create.
Travel back in time and listen to this week's funny ConFuzed podcast, where we talk about how to serve content to your clients.
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The ConFuzed Show focuses on why marketing services are confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes – Subscribe https://lnkd.in/ejDzf22
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From coming up with ideas, creating content, posting regularly, to engaging and interacting as humanly as possible, not to mention keeping up with trends, Social Media is truly time-consuming!
Listen to the full episode 🎧
The ConFuzed Show focuses on why marketing services are confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes – Subscribe https://lnkd.in/ejDzf22
Google podcasts – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzedEp1
Spotify – Subscribe https://lnkd.in/dnK63A3
Social proof (feedback) doesn't happen on its own.
Service providers have to be proactive in continuously understanding what works and changing what doesn't.
Listen to the full episode 🎧
The ConFuzed Show focuses on why marketing services are confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes – Subscribe https://lnkd.in/ejDzf22
Google podcasts – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzedEp1
Spotify – Subscribe https://lnkd.in/dnK63A3
In such an unpredictable year, marketing messages that helped and shared the purpose of “we are in this together” have become the new norm.
Let’s embrace the changes that are shaping the way marketing is designed, planned and communicated.
Listen to the full episode 🎧 of "Why will marketing never be the same anymore?"
The ConFuzed Show focuses on why marketing services are confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes – Subscribe https://lnkd.in/ejDzf22
Google podcasts – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzedEp1
Spotify – Subscribe https://lnkd.in/dnK63A3
As a service provider, you might not be able to see what your story is.
Stories are not necessarily always about the person/decision-maker of a brand.
Your story is in your purpose and what problems your service is solving.
When you dig beneath the surface of your day-to-day activities, a narrative is discovered, which is the true essence of why your brand matters.
The ConFuzed Show focuses on why marketing professional services are so confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes – Subscribe https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-confuzed-show/id1498867602
Google podcasts – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzedEp1
Spotify – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzed
Providing services by being more focused and aimed at a specific niche can help you tailor your story, talk about your client's issues and problems, and create an effective brand presence.
The ConFuzed Show focuses on why marketing professional services are so confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes – Subscribe https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-confuzed-show/id1498867602
Google podcasts – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzedEp1
Spotify – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzed
Is the number of 'followers' or 'likes' the only definition of successful brands on social media?
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The ConFuzed Show focuses on why marketing professional services are so confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes – Subscribe
Google podcasts – Subscribe
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Let's look at re-establishing what branding really is. A brand is an experience. It is how you experience a product or a service. We are moving into a service-oriented economy and a brand is a person's perceptions about your service or company.
Ready to find out what makes you unique and build a social media presence that you can be proud of?
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The ConFuzed Show focuses on why marketing professional services are so confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes – Subscribe
Google podcasts – Subscribe
Spotify – Subscribe
Quite often, we see traditional assumptions and metrics are applied to building a brand on social media.
Providing expert professional advice is a profoundly complex service and has multiple stages shaped by the client's needs. In this episode of ConFuzed, we discuss how brands can achieve a balance with ongoing marketing efforts? Go on or Give up?
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The ConFuzed Show focuses on why marketing professional services are so confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes – Subscribe https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-confuzed-show/id1498867602
Google podcasts – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzedEp1
Spotify – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzed
Is it "yes" or "no" and the right answer mostly is "maybe".
Storytelling has become a key part of marketing professional services.
In this episode of ConFuzed, we discuss the increasing role of adapting and making progress within the changing digital landscape of how we provide services and do business.
The ConFuzed Show focuses on why marketing professional services are so confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes – Subscribe https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-confuzed-show/id1498867602
Google podcasts – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzedEp1
Spotify – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzed
Are we there yet? syndrome
Marketing professional services on digital channels is an ongoing journey. We start with a sense of direction and often there is noticeable progress being made.
But sometimes, it's harder to even start the ride and at other times, there is a sense of uncertainty that creeps up with brands.
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The ConFuzed Show focuses on why marketing professional services are so confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes – Subscribe https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-confuzed-show/id1498867602
Google podcasts – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzedEp1
Spotify – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzed
In a world saturated with likes, comments and status updates, your brand is invisible if it doesn't exist online. What does this mean for your business when all conversations and interactions are happening on these digital platforms?
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The ConFuzed Show focuses on why marketing professional services are so confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes – Subscribe https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-confuzed-show/id1498867602
Google podcasts – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzedEp1
Spotify – Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzed
This week The ConFuzed #podcast brings you the topic of "fear." How fear can sometimes paralyse marketing decisions, but it can also help your business grow and stay relevant if used correctly.
What are some of the outdated marketing strategies that business leaders can unlearn and move forward?
Unlearning is a process that requires foresight.
Decision makers within the professional services industry have to accept times have changed. Status quo is no longer an option. Businesses have to stop making assumptions about what their clients need and get better with having two-way conversations. Lastly, the idea of the perfection has be matched with reality and plans for growth.
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The ConFuzed Show focusses on why marketing professional services is so confusing, how to deal with constant change, future growth and staying relevant.
Apple iTunes - Subscribe https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-confuzed-show/id1498867602
Google podcasts - Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzedEp1
Spotify - Subscribe http://bit.ly/ConFuzed
Welcome to 2021 listeners.
Last year we saw how brands adapted, recreated, and reinvented their communication. The raw and candid nature of communicating on social media with human touch made all the difference. It wasn't about perfectionism but simplicity at its best.
The twists and turns of 2020 have become a part of our existence. We have managed to do everything we could to make it work, from missed opportunities to creating new opportunities.
So, where do we go from here?
Let's reconnect our ideas and look past the present and keep moving forward in business.
The year 2020 has been messy.
But in this sense of madness emerged an urgency to develop new ideas, get into action, and leap forward. After the initial shock, it forced us to step up and make it work.
Would you believe us if we said the future is chaotic?
If yes, how should chaos be utilised in a disciplined way to promote services that are integrated with our clients' needs?
We have been told that we live in a world where attention spans are limited to merely a couple of seconds.
But don't we tend to spend more time viewing/reading/liking or sharing content that we connect with? The question for brands is, should they be creating more quality content for their audience because if it strikes a chord, it will be read/shared and liked?
Think about your brand. Do you have one? What emotions can you associate with your brand?
What do people know about your brand? Does it exist on digital channels? What conversations are people having around your brand? Are you part of those conversations, or are they one-sided?
Brands that struggle in answering the questions above are finding it hard to figure out who is in control of their brand.
We are living in the information age. At any given time, we have access to more and more information that may or may not help our existence.
A must-listen episode if you are a brand who wants to deliver your purpose and mission by sharing useful information. Creating thoughtful content, with intention, and made with a sense of responsibility, provides a solution to a problem that needs to be solved.
The hardest part of a professional service brand is to communicate how different they are from other brands. Make sure their marketing doesn't sound the same as the rest of them, e.g., "We are experts in this field, over 100 years of experience, exceptional service, satisfaction guarantee, and so on."
Talking about themselves and why they are a good fit should do the job. But it doesn't.
The main reason why these brands miss the mark is that they don't invest time in getting to know their target market. Who their customer is, and why do they need the service that is being provided.
When disconnected marketing strategies do more harm than good, the connection between your brand and the content you share on digital channels is important.
As a service provider, if you have a website, social media presence and are consistently posting content based on what problem your service solves, you are making progress in the right direction. Smaller, consistent, and connected strategies are more powerful than one-off marketing campaigns.
In this episode, we talk about how a brand and its perception in the customer's mind create value in the long term.
When marketing goals connect with business objectives, that's when 'Effective marketing = greater influence.'
Desperate times call for desperate transformation. What is the mantra to market your brand on social media every day? To answer this, all a brand needs to do is answer the question, "What problem do we solve?"
A fusion of people, processes, talent, technology, and data.
In this episode, we discuss a new business model where technology/automation plays a key role.
What happens when there are volumes of data, and the professional services industry's role is to decode value out of it.
They are not taught in any university.
And are really shaped by personal habits, nature, nurture, time management, leading yourself, willing to change and accept new things......and your long term work opportunities depend on these human traits.
Is this the end of 'water cooler/morning chai latte/coffee' conversations? What is the role of command+ctrl leadership style in this world of remote teams?
Let's pause for a moment and understand the impact of the word 'remote' on our working lives.
Most well-established firms in the professional services industry are unprepared to market their brand effectively on social media.
The pandemic has further hastened the need to be digital ready.
Listen to this episode of ConFuzed and get some tried and true marketing strategies tips and questions to ask.
A common question often asked by our clients is how do we show we are authentic and the services we provide are different from our competitors.
Being authentic is one side of the equation. Creating and sharing content that shares your business values, core knowledge of the firm and input from people working behind the scenes is what communicates the brand as being authentic on social media.
We help you shape and choose stories that are most appropriate to share based on the authentic values of your brand.
When past information is no longer relevant to drive future decisions. Leaders in a well established professional services industry find it easier to rely on information they already know.
Change forces us to question our strategies.
Brands have to be aware of the not-so-smart short term choices that can impact marketing strategies and position of the brand in the industry.
No two businesses are the same. Each is made up of a collection of very different individuals, which means your company missions, values, visions, goals, systems, tools, data, objectives, audience etc. will also be different. Is it then worth the time, money, or effort to simply replicate the digital strategy of another brand online?
Creating content for an ageing population, thinking about your target audience and how to deliver professional services to them. Brands have to adapt marketing their services to be inclusive for all age groups and engage with them when, where and how they choose.
Brands activate their digital presence. Businesses are re-evalutating thier spend and allocating more resources towards their digital presence. Brands that have chosen not to stay silent are better prepared for growth on digital channels.
There is a sense of change in direction in most businesses now. Brands are thinking what and how to change.
But these are still deeper decisions that will have an impact on the growth of the business in the future. Hear why strategy, vision and purpose still have a key role to play, despite the urgent need to change.
Providing services is different from goods and so is providing services with experiences. Many traditional professional service firms are failing to understand the concept of 'creating experiences'. It is still considered an after-thought and simply wrapped around existing services that are currently on offer.
The transition for professional services brands to 'provide an experience' versus 'selling a service' is particularly difficult for established companies. Excellent services, marketing, and delivery are all part of an integrated approach.
The question is when and how do these professional firms take the leap?
Providing services is different from goods and so is providing services with experiences. Many traditional professional service firms are failing to understand the concept of 'creating experiences'. It is still considered an after-thought and simply wrapped around existing services that are currently on offer.
The transition for professional services brands to 'provide an experience' versus 'selling a service' is particularly difficult for established companies. Excellent services, marketing, and delivery are all part of an integrated approach.
The question is when and how do these professional firms take the leap?
What can brands do now to make the delivery part of their service more relevant to the times we are living now. Not necessarily changing what they do entirely but how they provide that service to their clients.
Are people now more open to change and doing business differently? If yes, then the question is whether those though-leading individuals within professional services organisations are in a position to make that change happen?
Do tune in for a good laugh and refresh your memory about the 'shouty man' and his approach to capture attention.
What changes has social media brought in the world of professional services brands and how do they connect with their audience when "shouting ads" are a thing of the past.
In part 2 of showing up on social media we take the topic further and talk about what can go wrong when brands are not able to humanise their approach to social media. When their messages are pushy, there is no thought given to who they are talking to and there is lack of empathy for their target audience.
Humanising your business content and what story to tell people so they are interested in listening. The topic we discuss in this episode talks all about 'how business brands can absorb the concept of familiarity.
A common approach to marketing professional services is – we need a website, we need a video, or we need a brand.
This is a start however, but what a brand says on these mediums or channels is equally if not more important. Find out how it is more effective to start thinking about why, what to say and how and where to say it can come later.
Not taking a decision is also a decision.
The longer a business decision is put off, the longer it takes for the brand to establish and grow.
We all are aware of the 'adapt, experiment and do' mantra. But a half-hearted approach also hurts the journey the brand takes.
How the 'click and flick' definition of marketing success is unfit for your brand. The context, the target market and how the service you provide fits in to the world it operates in is inter-connected and impacts the success map of your brand.
As time goes by what are the deeper thought processes a professional service brand has to think about?
Firstly, what stage the business is at - Existence, survival, take-off, success, maturity? In other words, what do we stand for, where are we heading and what is our strategy?
Most of these questions are discussed on annual off-site strategy planning sessions but how do they relate back to marketing and day-to-day messages is often forgotten.
Is your firm brave enough to put up their hand and say we need help in marketing our services to clients?
What is it that makes traditional businesses so uncomfortable about change? Internal and external collaboration, diversity in thinking and a multidisciplinary approach to strategy has a significant impact on the future of the business.
Listen to this episode of ConFuzed to find out the blind spots that exist in marketing professional services today.
We are moving towards a more purpose-led world where brands need to be aware of ‘why’ they do what they do. What problem are they solving?
A world where it pays to build long-term business relationships with our clients, not just for growth but also for being relevant.
In this episode of ConFuzed we look at the option of how to empower your clients by educating them about the service you provide.
Currently most professional firms are in the “redefine stage” which is how to offer core services in a new way that makes it easier for people who use their services.
The role of new age marketing is lot different from conventional marketing that most businesses in the professional services industry have seen.
The full potential of marketing comes into action when both energy and investment is made into strategic ongoing marketing and business goals alignment and not purely tactical for getting as many new clients as possible to sign up.
Why is it so important in this digital age?
Professional services brands who regularly create digital content find it easier to share their solutions with their clients who are looking for information.
Some questions to start with when creating content that connects with the needs of your target market are-
- What problem your service solves for your target market?
- How well do I understand who my audience are and what digital channels do they use?
- Why your process is different ?
- What industry experiences led you to where you are at?
- What are some of the trends that are shaping the future in your industry and how are you helping your clients get there?
How to master the art of building a real brand presence on social media as a service brand?
Professional services firms that are able to take up a continuous approach to building their social media presence are at an advantage.
Effectively marketing professional services today require brands to be active on multiple channels. The need for an integrated approach not only in how services are marketed but also in how those services are delivered to clients, is crucial.
Here are five key things to start with.
How do you differentiate professional services in the era of change? Conventional marketing techniques are no longer working. The approach used to market a tangible product cannot be replicated for professional services.
The question that professional firms need to think about is, ‘how do they grow their business'? There are two ways of looking at it, ‘create new markets in this current environment’ or ’look at the current market in a new way’ ?
In the current age of constant flux, professional firms have to start thinking about how to transition from a period of low activity to reshaping their response to change.
Functioning in a complex market requires brands to shift focus on the 'important' strategy rather than 'urgent' reactions alone. Listen in to find out how to focus limited resources to build your brand presence. Professional firms that are not afraid of investing in a custom brand strategy are able to co-create a more long-term foundation for future growth.
Subscribe to the ‘ConFuzed Podcast’ to listen to all things marketing, growth, change and future on:
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In the year 2020 professional firms have been presented with a unique #opportunity to adapt to new ideas and #rethink the direction where their #strategy is heading.
Here are ten thoughts -▶︎✎
- ⏰#Digital open for #communication 24/7
2.🏢Reassess physical office #space usage
- 📚🎟 #Immersive event and learning technologies
4.✔︎Management by #outcomes rather than output
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🤖#Automation of repetitive tasks
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✍︎Providing value by #expert insights
7.✈︎ Business #travel and alternative ways
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🔐⚖️What is personal vs business/public #data
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👥 Internal #crossfunctional teams
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💡External collaboration for new-age #skills to understand multiple sides of #innovation
If these points stimulate thought and make you think about what's going to, maybe you've got your own #ideas about what's going to happen next, or in 2021 and beyond. Please share them in comments.
Brand can no longer be only expressed with an impressive lobby in a large tower block. Digital and social media presence plays a crucial role in building trust online.
It is really important for professional service firms to have a long-term holistic view of their digital strategy so they can make the right changes today?
What really does a 'change in mindset' mean for #professional services?
We've seen a lot of these terms that are coming up on #socialmedia or online articles that say we need to #adapt and there has to be this ‘change in mindset’.
A question then arises will this “Catalyst for Change” force #digitaladoption in organisations that offer professional services.
Part of that change is how a #B2B brand markets and communicates within the business and on social media platforms or other #digital channels is going to be absolutely vital.
In this episode of ConFuzed we look at the issue of how relevant communications are and keeping them within the bounds of relevance for your audience.
We all have to be relevant in our own roles, as leaders leading this change and this impacts everybody who's involved in this current environment.
What relevance really means is how do you think about responding to the world's concerns right now? What's going on? What are the opinions that are there? What are the issues that are there? And how do you adjust your response according to that?
relevance # communication #messages
As marketers and a communication consultants we care about the follow-on effect the current situation has on our client businesses and their brands.
In an attempt to support and help we are sharing some communication tips in this special episode of ConFuzed.
Hope you find them useful.
We are all guilty of using JARGON as part of a marketing, communication emails, meetings, presentations or in client pitches that we make.
In marketing communication it's really important that your clients understand what it is that you're trying to say, what do you exactly do and how you're trying to help them solve their challenge. So it's really important to speak the customers language.
But what happens when what you are trying to say is not understood by your clients?
What is it about brand and marketing and about their strategy and goals when they've looked at it for so many years in the same way. Why does that change in mindset happen when they start asking the hard questions about the way they work? And question the difference that they make and the value that they bring to their clients.
BRAND = What we say+ What we do+ Who we are. We help our clients not only in understanding their core messages, but then helping them in how to shape them and how to say it out there, setting up that strong brand foundation.
The world has moved rapidly from print, radio, television to social media.
How can professional firms that have existed for over 20, 30, 40 years in business become relevant on social media. What content should they share?
How can an external consultant help you to build a solid foundation that will help your brand grow.
Professional firms kind of just stayed with the initial idea of a brand.
The idea that brand is a colour, a unique business name or logo and now because of digital they might have added website to their “brand”.
And that's it!!
So they're not thinking of the interface between them and their customers.
They're not thinking about how that should work as part of offering a service.
In this episode of The ConFuzed podcast we look at why professional firms need to think about their brand in a different way?
In this episode of ConFuzed we look at why marketing is important for professional firms and importance of communicating value in a simple yet effective way.