Yaffe Tidbits

Is It In Your Jeans? A Professional Look at Innovation and Attire

I recently started reading Guy Kawasaki’s Enchantment on a plane ride to meet a client. As I sat on the runway waiting while they made a repair (always reassuring) and sweating in head-to-toe wool, I read his section entitled “Dress for a Tie” which takes a look at how our choices in dress affect our professional interactions. I should mention that this section resides in a chapter called “How to Achieve Likability.” I should also mention that, much respect to Guy, I’m generally suspicious of anyone who bullet points tangible action steps to achieve intangible qualities. Affecting attributes in order to win people over can be sniffed out by the herd on a very primal level, and it generally stinks.

Still, I’m intrigued by boardroom behavior that involves subliminal communication (as I assume anyone in the business of wooing people would be) and I found it refreshing to see a man willing to discuss dress in terms of strategy rather than fashion. The “jeans vs. suit” is a real issue that can be (and arguably is intended to be) very polarizing in the workplace, especially in agencies. 

Recently, I read that though now Steve Jobs’ jeans are an iconic statement of innovation, they were once part of the reason he was fired from Apple in the 80’s. Alex Bogusky, former head of CP+B, said he heard that the reason they lost the pitch to Land Rover was because he showed up in jeans. On the flip side, I know of another agency that lost a pitch to a youthful brand partially because they all showed up in suits and ties. “They’re out of touch.”  If anyone was at Future Midwest this year, they likely remember one of the speakers stand up and apologize for wearing a suit to speak to what was clearly a jeans and jackets crowd.

I don’t think it’s a huge leap for me to make the claim we associate jeans with innovation. (Please see Steve Jobs and Alex Bogusky above for support.) I don’t think it’s a huge leap either to claim that some people still see it as disrespectful and unprofessional.

I don’t know if I have anything to contribute to this issue that will be helpful (as I sit typing in head-to-toe wool), but here are some things I think about when I talk to myself about this debate:

-Is it silly to conflate attire with innovation or creativity or is it fair to say that wearing jeans in a professional environment, or any other item counter to the acceptable dress code, is indicative of a deeper drive for breaking the rules, a necessary part of innovation?

-Is it silly to think about dress too much when time would be better spent on your pitch? (I think you could argue that if Bogusky’s idea for Land Rover had blown the others away, they might have looked past the jeans.)

-I hate to drop the gender card in the midst of an already polarizing issue, but is it different for women? Ever look at the difference between how Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and the rest of the team dresses?

-Do people like Bogusky wear jeans because they’re thinking about dress, or because they refuse to? And isn’t “refusing to” still thinking about it? (When he was conducting interviews at CP+B, he said he regularly asked prospective hires to explain why they’d chosen their outfit in order to hear them work through strategy and rationale.)

-Do any of these questions even apply to junior workers, or non-principals? Or do we just wear what the bosses wear? And if you do just conform to the boss, are you making a statement about your innovation within the company?

I’d like to hear what you think about when you think about this issue, or if you think about it at all?

  Jen Wright, Yaffe Suit and Jeans Wearer

 

 

 

Your Company Social Media Policy Needs To Be Part of Its Branding

Companies can't avoid it any longer. And even if your company isn't doing social media, you can bet some of its employees are. So, it is important that your company has a social media policy. But, it's not just about guiding employees, facilitating conversation with customers and protecting your company. Something you might not have thought about is how it helps shape your brand. You see, your social media policy needs to be as much a part of your branding as your marketing materials and the logo on your door.

I had a chat with our new media strategist, Jen Wright, yesterday about all the social media policy work we've been dong for clients and what we've learned. The branding issue was one of the things she keyed into. I recorded her part of the chat and edited together some of the more interesting tidbits. The video is inserted below.

 A Chat With Jen Wright About Social Media Policy

So, what do you think? We'd love to hear your thoughts on social media policies in general and their part in company branding.

Mike McClure, I'm company branding right now.

How to Be the New Girl at Work On Twitter: Introducing @Work to @Play

Normal people reschedule job interviews when they are suddenly stricken with illness. Not me. I was determined to meet with The Yaffe Group staff and discuss my skills and experience despite my fear of not being able to make it through the meeting. Needless to say, I am very glad that I braved the interview and disguised my flu symptoms because a week later I received a wonderful phone call that I got the job!

Just three days into work as an Assistant Account Executive at Yaffe, I have been asked to participate in multiple projects, been sincerely thanked for my already hard work on tasks and even asked for my twitter handle. Yes! They love twitter here! It’s a big difference from my previous employment but I am enjoying the change. Everyone is creative, friendly and in-tune with social media. I supposed I should have known that since a dear friend sent me the job posting via a Facebook post. And did I mention TweetDeck was already installed on my computer my first day? 

Being young and internet obsessed I gladly shared my @jessnoel twitter name with some co-workers. Friends have asked, “Are you scared they will know what you do on the weekends?” “Nope,” I replied. Though there is a line between work and play, I think in working at The Yaffe Group I will be able to easily merge the two together. I can still converse with friends, RT and share interesting communications related articles and even continue to share my passion for fashion with my followers. 

The team at The Yaffe Group understands that we all have lives outside of work and tweeting about personal things is completely OK. Being the new girl, it has also been good for them to learn a little bit more about me through my tweets. Of course I could always create a separate account but at this point, I don’t even see that being necessary. 

I am so grateful to have been welcomed with open arms and I definitely look forward to my journey here at The Yaffe Group! 

Post by Jessica Mosley, Brand Spankin' New Assistant Account Executive at The Yaffe Group

 

 

Turn Your Company's Internal Processes Into Customer Engagement Tools.

In this new world of always on, always connected media, companies are looking for ways to create deeper engagement with their customers. Some create all kinds of elaborate gimmicks, contests or even complete online shows featuring their product. There's nothing wrong with that. But, the answer could be staring you right in the face. It could be something you're already doing. All you have to do is make the customer a part of it. Look at some of your company's internal processes. What do you do that would be of interest to a customer, if you just let them in on the process?

Last year, a restaurant chain client of ours, the Kolache Factory, let customers take part of an internal competition they had to create new kolache recipes. It was a big success, in terms of engaging their customer base and crowdsourcing product.

What's a kolache you say? It's a Czech taste treat. A slightly sweet roll that either has some kind of fruit topping or is filled with savory goodness, like sausage and cheese. The Kolache Factory is always rolling out new ones as a kolache flavor of the month, like a Philly cheese steak kolache or a jalapeno popper kolache. When looking at ways to engage the customers through social media, we suggested they let customers submit ideas for the kolache of the month. Turns out they had something better to offer.

Every year they have an internal contest called the Kolache Olympics. Teams of bakers could submit any recipes they wanted, along with some celebrity suggestions. Then a panel of judges would pick the winners in several categories. So, to bring the customers into the equation, they started inviting them to submit recipe ideas via Facebook and Twitter. The best ideas were then tried out in the test kitchen. Those customers whose ideas turned out well were then invited in to head their own team of bakers (provided by Kolache Factory) at the Kolache Olympics.

Then, to involve customers who didn't have recipe ideas, a Twitter contest was created where you could submit your name to be on the panel of judges with local celebrities. One follower who tweeted interest was chosen at random and became the fourth member of the judges panel. A good time was had by all and lots of traditional press coverage resulted from the event.

It was such a success, they did it again this year. Two customer recipes have won Kolache Olympic gold and have had their recipe go on to become a featured kolache of the month. One won in the savory category. It was filled with Italian meats and four cheeses. The other won in the sweet category and was a peppermint bark kolache that was featured during the Christmas holiday season.

So, take a look at the things you're doing internally. Where can you let your customers in and participate - or at least get a peek behind the curtain? Some of the best ways to engage your customer base may be things you already do. Just invite them in to be a part of it.

Mike McClure, Yaffe Group Exec Creative Director & Social Media Guy

Why Your Company Should Have a Blog - Now

Lately, we've been recommending blogs to a wide range of clients and potential clients. And in all kinds of businesses: B2B, retail chains, non-profits, restaurants, furniture. There's a different strategic reason for each one. Which is to say, if you haven't considered making a company blog part of your marketing mix, you probably should.

For one thing, blogs offer you a chance to show your thought leadership and give potential clients an insight into how you think. It's an opportunity to be helpful and share your knowledge with others, which is one of the fundamentals of social media. This is especially true in business to business companies, because you get a chance to show how your smart people can help other businesses with their ideas. If you are a consulting or service oriented company this may scare you, because ideas are really the product you sell. It shouldn't. When you help a company solve a problem they've been having through an idea in your blog, they will remember you fondly when they need deeper help. Or they may find that they can't pull it off on their own and will hire you to show them how to do it right.

Blogs are a great way to engage in conversations with both your current clients and potential clients. As outside people begin to comment your posts and your people comment back, conversations are started. This may lead to deeper dialogs through other channels. Or it may just become a way for people to feel a connection to your company and the people in it. Either way, you are now talking with potential clients you'd never have gotten to speak with and talking with current clients in different ways that may lead to deeper engagements.

Also, a blog is a great SEO vehicle. It gets your name showing up in search results. The search spiders love blogs, For one thing blogs are mostly text based with pictures and videos attached. Also, they have fresh content showing up on a regular basis. You won't get a ton of traffic right when you start your blog, but it will grow over time as more people find you and you have more content that will appear in "long tail" searches. This is one of the reasons you should start your blog now, so you can start building your content library. Eventually that will drive traffic to you through search. The Yaffe Group owns five different websites related to our business. This blog gets more traffic than the other four sites combined. By a lot. A good percentage of that traffic comes from search - people looking for something on Google, Yahoo, Bing and the rest. So, a lot of people who never would have come to our company related sites, discover our blog daily. You can put that to work for you, too.

People want to know what companies are all about these days. Are you operating green? Are you a good corporate citizen? How do you look at the world? A blog gives your company a human face. By having different people in your company contribute to a blog, readers start to think of your company as those real people, rather than as some cold, faceless entity. It humanizes the company and shares your corporate culture with others. So, if you have a fun company/product like a restaurant chain, you can do fun things with your blog to put that culture forward. If you're a serious consultant who helps with million dollar problems, you can put a very thoughtful, serious and intelligent face on your company through your blog.

Finally, in his article "Recruit a Virtual Sale Force With Your Blog" Mark Stevens talks about how your blog readers become virtual salespeople for your company by recommending your blog to others. Every day his marketing blog gets thousands of new readers. Most of those came there because someone else shared a link with them. He talks about how as these people become part of their virtual family, some of them eventually need or want services his company offers. He gets hundreds of people he didn't even know were reading his blog showing up at their site each year looking for services.

So, what are you waiting for. Figure out what blog strategy works best for you and start using one to help your business today. Need help figuring out that strategy? Well, you could be one of the people who read our blog and showed up asking us for that service. You know, just to prove Mark's point.

Mike McClure, Yaffe Blog Editor & Strategist

Is Your Company Delivering Happiness?

One of our clients has always been about making customers happy. Since we started working with them, they've told us incredible stories about how they've gone far above and beyond the industry norm to make sure their customers are happy. We're in the process of creating a campaign that aligns well with this corporate culture. I'll tell you more about that after it breaks, but I have to tell you about something I discovered while working on it.

While we were putting together this corporate culture based marketing campaign, Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com put out a book about their corporate culture called "Delivering Happiness, A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose." It dovetailed so nicely with what we were doing that we picked up multiple copies for the client and for ourselves to read.

I found the book fascinating. Even though I had heard plenty about Zappos and how they've rode their weird and wonderful corporate culture to big success, hearing the details from Hsieh and his people made for a great story. And I learned a lot that I can use both for our clients and for our own firm. It's an easy read; I read it over the weekend. It starts with how Hsieh's early life lead him to become the business person he is. Then it goes all the way through the struggles to keep Zappos going from a startup to a thriving business.

Any entrepreneur would find great insights that could be used in his or her own business, whether it's a huge corporate firm or a small startup. Hsieh gives solid examples of how looking at things different and making sure not only the customers are happy, but the employees, vendors and investors are all happy too leads to a much more successful business model than one driven by profit. You may even learn a bit about personal fulfillment, too.

But, it's not all touchy-feely, hippie commune mumbo-jumbo. (not that there's anything wrong with that)There is solid business reasoning behind everything they do and analytics to back it up in terms of ROI and other metrics. I highly recommend picking up a copy to read this weekend. It could change how your do business for  the better. At the very least, it'll make you think.

Mike McClure, Happy Book Lover and Business Person.

Just Say No to Silos in Your Corporate Structure

Hi, Marketing! I’m Public Relations, your next-door neighbor. Unfortunately, we’ve never met, even though we’ve lived here for a while. I live in this silo:

 

OK, I don’t live in that groovy silo house. But I’ve seen companies hire separate agencies and drop them in silos, where they churned out completely different communications strategies. The resulting material doesn’t look like it’s from the same place. The look is diluted; the copy is all over the place. Customers aren’t getting a consistent message, so it doesn’t register that they’re looking at that brand/product/company they like.

 

Especially in a challenging economy, companies try to cut corners on marketing and communications by consolidating departments. Someone from marketing may be asked to lead direct mail and a PR person might be expected to build the marketing component in the business plan.

     

If we’re not acquainted, we’re going to end up with big holes in the communications strategy. I’ve been locked in the silo before. Now that my partner and I have our own company, we make sure everyone shows up in the barn for the big hoedown.

 

Anyone who touches PR, marketing, advertising, direct mail, social media, etc. not only needs to know what the other team is doing, they need to have a seat at the table during planning to ensure the marcomm plan components are complementary, and ultimately feed into the company’s overall business goals.

 

At a recent meeting of the Public Relations Society of America – Detroit Chapter, Mark O. Benner, APR, shot down the silos. Mark, principal of Mark O. Benner LLC, is the former SVP and Director of Corporate Communications at Campbell-Ewald, where he was responsible for making sure the PR folks were talking to the ad folks, and vice versa.

 

Mark referenced a 2010 Vocus integrated communications survey of nearly 1,000 PR practitioners that found marketing and PR are talking, but data suggests the relationship isn’t necessarily functional. While 77 percent say they have formal working relationships, 67 percent say they get together only “sometimes.”

 

Social media in particular is a battlefield: Forty-three percent of PR professionals feel they should own social media, while 34 percent of marketers make the same claim.

 

Further, Mark called out industry stereotypes that we’ve all heard before:

· Only PR talks with journalists

· Direct mail belongs to advertising

· Only creatives have big ideas

 

How do we get everyone to play nice?

 

Begin by embracing the objective and respecting the expertise that your team brings to the table. “You win this battle with collaboration from everyone on a ‘one voice’ creative strategy at the very start,” Mark says. “This means everyone agrees on the theme, tagline, logo, colors, tone; every piece. Is making the team bigger going to mean complications? Yes. But the payoffs are significant.”

 

The new team will …

· Build trust for subsequent projects

· Earn kudos for effectiveness and efficiency

· Recognize the critical linkage of relationships to transactions and brand loyalty

· Keep consumer’s needs in focus with the organization’s objectives

 

You don’t have the resources to build that collaborative team? Why not, on your next project, find someone with different thinking? “Set up an advisory committee,” Mark suggests. “Hire a consultant. Go pick the brain of a friend or colleague outside your business.

 

“Respect the expertise of PR, or relationships, and marketing, the transactions, and find a way to bring them in.”

 

Are you breaking down the silos at your company? Or are you stuck inside? Tell us your stories.

 

Guest blog by Jennifer Marsik Friess, partner/owner of Volare Public Relations. Connect with her:

Volarepr.com

248-974-3880

jennifer.marsikfriess@volarepr.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifermarsikfriess

http://twitter.com/jenmarsikfriess

 

 

The Entrepreneurs Will Save Us All

Been thinking a lot about entrepreneurs and startup businesses. Much of the talk in the Michigan area is about how it's not going to be the rebirth of the big corporations that ultimately pull us out of our economic downturn, but the rise of hundreds of smaller entrepreneurs with great new ideas. Our area is flush with them. All the brain power and entrepreneurial spirit that has fueled this area and the country is still there. But, now people are taking things into their own hands and taking their own great ideas to create something big in their own corner of the world. And with the Internet allowing anyone to go global, the timing is right.

Startups are everywhere. As a marketing and research firm, we're talking to more startups and entrepreneurs than ever before. There's some truly great ideas being developed right in our area - on a global scale. Some we'll partner with and some we won't, depending on how we feel their ideas mesh with ours. As noted in an earlier post, I attended Startup Weekend Detroit last month and there are a few startup companies that are still going strong that were developed there. Even at our monthly Social Media Club Detroit meeting this week, the guest speaker was a startup called MyNewMarketplace.com who unveiled their new company to us as their initial beta site went live. Many of the friends I've met in the last few years are starting up their own companies, even hosting a "solopreneurs" party and tweetup recently.

I found this great video on how you, as an entrepreneur, can change the world. Check it out

Video: Entrepreneurs Can Change The World

So, what do you think? Have you been seeing more and more entrepreneurs and startups lately? Do you think they're the key to turning our economy around? I'd like to know if you're seeing what I am.

Mike McClure, Yaffe Partner & Entrepreneur

Can your company survive today's economic environment without an OS!M?

Every company that has achieved huge success had a moment in their development when they stepped off the "me too" cliff and plunged headlong into the abyss alone. To truly differentiate your business and carve out a niche for yourself, you need get off the well-trodden path and blaze a trail of your own. And that's a scary thing. Once you have headed down your own path and there's no turning back, you reach that OS!M and the adrenalin kicks in. You can't let fear paralyze you. To move ahead of the competition, you need to embrace it.

What is an OS!M? Steve Farber explains it best in the video below. M stands for moment. OS! stands a common exclamation when you realize you're doing something very scary and there's no turning back - a short version of "Oh crap, what have I done!" We've all had at least one OS!M in our lives. In fact at last Tuesday's Tweetea tweetup, Dave Murray led a discussion about entrepreneurs and the OS!M. He started the evening by having everyone in the room reveal their OS!M. It made for very interesting conversations; try it at your next gathering.

Steve Farber - "Pursue the OS!M"

The consensus in our conversation was that with everything companies face, for them to succeed in today's market someone in the leadership role has to embrace the OS!M and take that leap of faith. Look at innovators who've done well, like Apple. Apple decided their brand wasn't going to be just another PC, it would be a computer based on the idea having a great design aesthetic and ease of use. They wouldn't try to be a cheaper model in any product category; they would be cool and easy to use. There were computers before there were Macs. There were MP3 players before there were iPods. There were smart phones before there were iPhones. But each of Apple's products relied on a pleasing design and an operating system that was exclusive to Apple, not a "me too" product.

In tough times, a lot of companies pull back on innovation. They figure they can't afford to take the risk. The real question is can they afford not to. In his keynote speech at Future Midwest, former Digg CEO, Jay Adelson, talked about how you can't fear failure. Failure isn't what holds companies back, it's the fear of failure that paralyzes them. He said innovators are a little crazy. They're not afraid of flying in the face of convention. Henry Ford had the idea of making cars affordable for everyone at a time that the rest of the world "knew" cars were just toys for the rich.

What is holding your company back? What are you afraid to try? Go ahead, make that leap. It's no longer about "better to go out in a blaze of glory than to slowly rust away." It's about "this may be the only way to not just survive, but to thrive." What's your OS!M? And what's stopping you from embracing it?

Mike McClure, Yaffe Exec Creative Director & OS!M Social Media Guy

You Need a Strategic Plan. You Can Have One in 13 Days.

If you don't know where you're going, how do you know when you get there? Seems like common sense, right? Yet so many companies go along without any kind of road map at all. Or they use the "we'll know it when we see it" method. Still others know where they want to be, but have no idea how to get there. Then, of course, there are those who do strategic planning and have their way laid out before them. Which category does your company fall into?

In this competitive era, where even small companies are selling globally via the Internet, you need to know what your company does best, who your customers are, how to beat the competition (or at least stay out of their way) and how to excel at what you do. Basically, you need a strategic plan. There are a lot of ways to create one. The best way is to hire an outside firm that does it well. Not only do you get their expertise, you get an outsider's view of your company. That's important because, while the company's views of itself are crucial and key personnel should be involved deeply, having someone there to say, "yeah, but what about this?" is also important.

There are a lot of companies who have robust strategic planning services (including The Yaffe Group's own Yaffe/Deutser) and if you can afford to go full boat with one of the best, you should. But, what if you're a smaller company with limited resources? It's still something you need to do.  That's why we developed l "13 Days" - an intense, smaller-scale process that delivers a plan in 13 business days. So, there are other options out there, if you need a good plan but think you can't afford one. It doesn't have to be through us, others are bound to have developed smaller-scale processes, too. All you have to do is ask them.

How does it work? In our 13-Day process, we plan 3 days of meetings with our strategic team and key personnel in your company. Each day is devoted to a different circle of influence on your ability to do business. Day one focuses on your company, it's product, people, strengths, weaknesses and internal culture. Day two focuses on your customers: who are they, what do they want, how can you find more of them, etc. Day three focuses on the competition and external factors that affect your business. The remaining 10 business days are devoted to going through all the data, developing the strategies and writing the report.

The benefits of going through this process are:

• Definition of your brand portfolio’s architecture
• Identification of your constituencies and their influencer networks
• Alignment of organization and constituency value systems
• Definition of your and your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses (tangible and intangible)
• Identification of your constraints e.g. industry/government regulations, capacity
• Identification of opportunities for achieving strategic and competitive advantage
• Development of a brand vision that defines the role your brand plays in achieving organizational goals
• Creation of a competitive brand position for your brand
• Development of a brand-driven integrated marketing and communications strategy
• Creation of a customer appropriate brand image

All of these things are very important in getting a leg up on your competition. And they're able to let you know if you're going in the right direction and when you've arrived. So, if you haven't done strategic planning for your company, start now. Hire someone good who can help you. There's a plan out there that you can afford. Because, really, you can't afford not to. If you're spending all your personnel and resources marching in the wrong direction, the end results could be much more costly.

Mike McClure, creative guy, big fan of having a road map.