December 15, 2009 by nishland
What can a hairstylist teach us about marketing?? I just read this article from MarketingProfs, and more than one light bulb went off! Marketing Is So Much More Than Promotion: Just Visit My Hairdresser . Besides the title of the article, reading it was more like an epiphany….what would happen if we started putting the customer first.
Ok, honestly not much of an epiphany, more like a trip back to the basics. When we begin to position ourselves and our business from the eyes (or perspective) of the ones we serve, we can truly evaluate the picture. It’s almost like looking in the mirror. Sometimes we avoid it because we aren’t happy with what we see; sometimes we look past it because we want to see more than is really there; why not look directly at it and discover what the mirror truly reveals.
Your business is a reflection of you. Why not strive to be your best at all times?!
Moving past the reflection, you have to also make time for strategy. It’s easy to jump into the work…but what are you working for?
Create a few definitions with the following questions:
Self-Focused
1. Who am I? What am I known for?
2. Who do I want to be?
Client-Centered
3. Who is my ideal client? Where can I find them?
4. What will make my client come back (stay)?
5. Am I providing the service my client needs? (Am I meeting my client’s needs?) How do I know?
6. Will my client refer me to their friends?
Business-minded
7. Do I have processes in place to attract & retain both clients and employees?
8. Do I have a clearly defined sales goal? business goal?
Posted in Marketing | Tagged Add new tag, Marketing and Advertising | Leave a Comment »
December 14, 2009 by nishland
The newest release from Disney, ‘The Princess and the Frog’, has apparently been a highly anticipated and hotly contested event. Forgive me for not getting bogged down in the debates and discussions surrounding the historical nature and controversial depiction of the characters for this film. Am I wrong for just wanting to enjoy a good family movie?
In my opinion, cartoon movies are classic ways to bring families together. A family may not sit down and eat dinner together, but a good old Disney cartoon, or any other family cartoon movie brings out the togetherness….and the popcorn!
At any rate, while looking online for other mothers who blog…I came across The Integrated Mother, who subsequently led me to an article at CNN.com. Both articles touched on the undertones of this new Disney movie. While I agree that this is quite an occasion to make note of, I wouldn’t go so far as to demoralize the advancement with banter about frogs and cities. With that in mind…I am going to move forward to my thoughts on the movie.
Overall I thought the Princess and the Frog was fun and engaging. The colors, the characters and the songs kept my little one engaged…as well as a number of her friends (we went on a toddler play-date). I enjoyed the details in the story-line and I walked away with quite a few key messages:
1. The value of commitment
2. The value of relationships
3. Faith and believing
4. Hardwork and determination
5. Sensitivity to others (acceptance)
In life we encounter many things…trials & tribulations, along with joyous occasions. We feel that success comes without compromise and though sometimes we want to take the easy way or the quickest route, we know that hard work and perseverance truly helps us to achieve our goals and accompanying success.
I applaud Disney for demonstrating all those things in a single movie about an African-American girl who spends half the movie as a frog. After all…success doesn’t have a face, and it looks different to different people. What matters most is how you get there. And that’s the message I want my kids to receive.
Posted in Kids, Mommy-ness | Tagged Add new tag, Disney, Princess and the Frog | Leave a Comment »
December 8, 2009 by nishland
When thinking about items to purchase for the busy mom-preneur, check out these neat gift ideas from BizzieMommy! Check the ideas for WAHM’s article here
Posted in Mommy-ness | Tagged shopping gifts entrepreneur | Leave a Comment »
I just finished reading a quick synopsis of a report/study done by Neilsen on the power of moms online. It is of no surprise to me that many of us hardworking mothers have the time to engage with each other across the web. From sharing stories of daycare and doctor visit experiences, to exchanging recipes and favorite online shopping spots or coupons, and even promoting our businesses – there is a great bond that we share with millions of others. Can you think of a better way to express yourself to someone who understands you?
Though not surprising, the numbers in the brief report (found here) are definitely eye-opening. The report is a great enforcer of the power in numbers, and an interesting depiction of the segmentation of moms. Yielding an incredible center of influence, Power Moms, aged 25-54, make up over 19% of the active online population.
With this information of course comes more targeted ‘mom’ marketing from a number a streams. But with our track record of experience…I am sure we can handle it. Take a look at the report, I am going to read more and post later – but tell me what you think…
Posted in Marketing | Tagged Family, Home, Marketing, Mothers | Leave a Comment »
April 14, 2009 by nishland
Have you expressed yourself lately to yourself or to your peers?
Is the power of your life’s work all aglow?
What will it take to re-ignite the fire in your life?
We don’t need motivation, we have all the tools to be a success on our own. Motivation from our peers is good and we need it from time to time. No one else can drive your passion. That seat only has room for one.
Once you put it in gear, invite others along for the ride.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
March 13, 2009 by nishland
The following is a comment I posted on the NetWit’s ‘Think Tank’ blog in response to a post written by Frank Barry. The post is about the recent social “experiment” by Skittles. This topic I am sure has been blogged about to no end. Originally I wasn’t interested in creating yet another post about it…but I am sure you would agree there are some points of learning to pull from this exercise. Please read Frank’s blog post first to understand the context of my comment below. I will end by saying one more thing…you can’t fly if you don’t first spread your wings...
Frank, great post! I totally agree with Rowan, this method
doesn’t fit with every non-profit…nor does it fit with every
brand or corporation. Mars tried this with Skittles versus anyone of their other brands. This was a test of the market, and by any measurement it could have been a sheer success. We unfortunately don’t have the honor of knowing which element they were looking to test.
On a global level…brand awareness/visibility and brand engagement are the central themes that can be measured. Those two areas also present a starting point for any non-profit. Sure any non-profit can do a quick constituent survey to find out what people close to them feel/view about the organization… but for those with a larger than community-based reach, or those looking to gain traction…why not think outside the survey box and find a way to gauge a larger base. Often times people are either not aware of an organization at all, or are unsure of exactly what the organization does, and what it could mean to them. This type of social experiment helps create that understand and potentially rally more people around an organization’s cause (see brand awareness & engagement). I will throw in the disclaimer that a campaign such as the Skittles campaign does take some time and labor (something many organizations won’t have the resources to dedicate to)…but again, this type of “out of the box” thinking can stir a small scale social experiment easily manageable by the smallest of non-profits.
Originally posted as a comment by Nishland on Kintera Think Tank using Disqus.
Posted in Marketing, Social Networking | Tagged Brand awareness, Marketing, Measurement, Skittles | Leave a Comment »
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