Your Business Goal Mantra - The What and Why Answer to Everything

What's your company "ommmmmm"? 

Not sure what I mean? Well, I'm looking for your daily mantra. Still wondering?

Let's start with this question: Do you know what your business goals are? You better - especially if you're about to embark on a campaign or web redesign project. Cause any decent agency or design firm is going to need the answer. And you need to be able to hold up your mantra card to help keeps things on track.


How do I know what our business goal mantra is?

Take time to fully appreciate and contemplate this question right now. Seriously, grab a coffee and sit with this for a while. Write down the goals of your organization (or department, or even your daily quota.) Play Enya if it helps. (Please use headphones.)

Caution - are the goals opportunities? Great! Can you prioritize them - or perhaps consolidate? "Grow revenue in Southeast region" and "Increase overall widget accessories sales" both mean "Sell More". Alternate ideas such as "positioning ourselves as the Greenest Widget Manufacturer" is also a goal.

Now, translate your highly considered and inclusive goals into a mantra. This is a short, concise, statement. Your mantra should be easy to remember and non-negotiable way to communicate WHY you do WHAT you do every day. Any time discussion sways to functionality, gadgets, tools, or design, revisit the mantra. Ask yourself, does this serve the mantra? Or is it just "cool"? Save yourselves time and money by always bouncing ideas off the mantra. Guard and defend your mantra. Don't let shiny things overshadow it. THERE SHOULD NEVER BE A HOW OR A WHO in your mantra.

Share your mantra with all of your business partners. Let them know it is king. It's more important than the cool new tools or apps, it's more important than what an executive saw on their kids iPad, it's more important than any one's ego.

Leveraging a business goal mantra will help agencies, information architects, and even developers understand your company better, and therefore make the best recommendations for you. It's fundamental.

Keep Clicking. And you can listen to something else now.

Michelle

Stop putting it off...invest in Social Media NOW.

It's really kind of a "duh" anyway. You do NOT need to increase your marketing budget to accommodate Social Media. You do need to repriortize and cut spending in more traditional areas.

Here are 5 simple ways to either redirect your marketing dollars toward Social Media or advertise for free:

1) CUT YOUR DIRECT MAIL
Unless you're putting out incredible deals (COUPONS) and really cool glossy magazine style catalogs (like Alloy - which offsets it's catalog cost by partnering with advertisers), cut your mailing campaigns by 25% (or more.) You also get to say you've made a "green choice".

2) CANCEL THOSE OLD SCHOOL BANNER AD CAMPAIGNS
Talking about the old school kind, on AOL, Yahoo or anywhere other than Facebook. Just stop. Do invest some of that money on Facebook ads.

3) PUT CONTENT GENERATION IN THE HANDS OF YOUR FANS
Spending a ton on ads and YouTube videos? Invite your customers to produce great content and simply provide a place for it to be shown (your website and YouTube Channel.) Everyone is looking to become the next YouTube star...create a contest and provide a platform for your best customers to do your advertising for you.

4) IT'S FREE TO "LISTEN" TO TWEETERS.
It's even free to respond 1:1...make this a part of your interactive strategy and responsibilities. Or even better - get your brilliant customer service reps involved. They already know all of the answers since they're thoroughly trained on your products and services (and they are probably already familiar with social media). This could possibly reduce calls by answering questions and issues online (offsetting their time away from the phone.)

5) TAP INTO THE STREAM - THEY'RE COMING TO YOU, BE READY
Social Media has the huge advantage of bringing your customers to you, instead of hunting them down yourself. Even negative comments can have positive outcomes if you simply listen. Any time someone tweets, Facebooks, or creates content using your product - tap into it! Comment, provide information and answers.

Keep Clicking,

Michelle