Grow From Here

Magpie Heaven

If Twitter is anything, it is lots of information in a fast moving environment.  Picture a revolving door in a busy shopping mall; as varied as the folks who pass through it and constantly changing.  Other adjectives: interesting, colourful, amusing, random & enlightening.  It’s a lot of fun to see what’s coming through the ‘tweetvine’ & to follow the various links.  It makes me feel a little bit like a magpie with piles of neat shiny objects to go after.  The challenge for me is that I don’t have ‘extra’ time.  My time is tightly allocated and very much in demand.  So how do I get the best use out of Twitter?  There needs to be a balance between the magpie attraction and the usefulness/direct relevance of the information I find.  Like any social networking site, I need to keep track of my time by quickly valuing the links and contacts I encounter.

Building relationships

Twitter has been a fascinating way to make initial contact with a large number of people that have similar business values/interests.  I can see their tweets (and they see mine) and we can both decide whether;

 a) the other person is someone I want to know, and

b) whether they have value to offer.

Then we can get in touch.  So far, people I’ve ‘met’ on twitter, I’ve followed up with by email, Linked In, their websites, etc.  The trick here is to ensure that I am the opposite of the magpie.  I need to make sure I am collecting only that shiny bits that are valuable at the end of the day and not just picking up connections and contacts that may be fun but distracting.

Automatic Refollow

With Twitter, you can set up your account to automatically refollow any other peep who choses to follow you.  Alternatively, you may prefer to opt out of this as some people treat twitter like a popularity contest; gathering up as many followers as they can, rather than as a B2B social networking environment.  There are two avenues of thought on this and it depends on your purpose for being on Twitter.  If you choose the automatic refollow, you need to later review the followers to make sure they have your interests at heart (similar purpose), otherwise your ‘tweetstream’ will be overloaded with useless & time wasting micro-blog posts.  Which do you choose?

So Far

Time spent to date:  roughly 21 hours (time is decreasing now that I ‘get it’)

Questions I have:

 1) Do people really try to keep up with all the flow of information? 

2) What are the best third party tools to use with Twitter to save time?

3) What’s with the ego thing of checking how many followers I have?

ROI:  Introductions & connections have proven to be advantagous.  I have useful information to send prospects, have been introduced to HARO, and have located a network of international experts in a variety of fields.  So far so good.  Time will tell if the usefulness of this ‘tweetvine’ takes root or fades out like a spring annual in my garden.

Communication, Twitter Experiment

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, 2008

I have enjoyed each of Gladwell’s books, but was surprised by Outliers.  What I had heard about it was that he said one needs 10,000 hours of practice to get to an expert level in any field.  That would seem to reinforce the common idea that if one just works hard enough, then success will come.

Instead, my take away from Outliers was that he is saying success is not a matter of personal effort but rather a combination of a variety of social/cultural/historical factors as well as personal effort.

Take Aways / Practical Applications

One of the questions I took away from Outliers is how we can use the various factors that Gladwell has identified as leading to success and use them to increase the chances for success within a business or franchise.  If the late nineteen hundreds were the perfect time for Jewish immigrants to New York who had skills in sewing/garment making and 1953-57 were the perfect years for great programming/computer gurus to be born, then what are the factors today that we can take advantage of? 

I do wonder if internet marketing is today’s equivalent of garment making in New York in the 1930s.  If so, then that’s a great place to put effort since the payoff has a greater chance of success than (for example) traditional media marketing.  What are the other areas that in 50 years looking back will have been the ‘right’ places to put effort today?  It’s certainly worth some thought.

On the human level, Gladwell talks about a combination of factors that can lead to success, from the time of year an athlete is born to the ability to stay with problem solving for an extended period of time to learning that putting in effort will pay off to cultural differences that lead to different outcomes from the same event.  Again, I think it’s well worth looking at our businesses and our clients’ businesses with that in mind.  What are the factors that we need in employees in different roles?  What are the power differential attitudes that will lead to success for a franchisor and franchisees?  And how do we build those considerations into our selection and training processes?  Then add in Nathan Greg’s great books about strengthening franchise relationships (see my previous review about The Franchise E-Factor) and we have greatly increased the chances of building a strong and succesful franchise or business.

Great quotes:

“the values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are.” (p. 11)

 “These three things – autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward are the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying…and that’s worth more to most of us than money.” (pp 149-150)

 “No one who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.” (chinese proverb – p. 249)

Past Book Reviews

The Franchise E-Factor by Greg Nathan

What No One Ever Tells You About Franchising by Jan Norman

Book Review

I had a great meeting with a company yesterday that is considering different options for how to move forward – grow their own sales team, grow their distribution channels, start new projects.  As we talked, I kept going back to a couple of key questions:

1) How does this fit with your value/what’s special about your company?

2) How does this option fit with your mission?

Keeping focused on those two questions allowed us to quickly discard some of the options that were under consideration.  One option didn’t advance the company’s mission at all – in fact, it would have distracted them from their key objectives.  Another option was fear-based; what if our value isn’t good enough to sell our product?  – even though their value  and story is actually very powerful.

‘Brand’ and ‘value’ have become buzzwords, which sometimes means words lose their value. 

Do you know what is the story/the secret sauce/the passion that sets you apart from your competitors?  If not, before you do anything else, figure it out! 

Then you’ll have a quick measure for any decisions you’re looking at.  Does it fit with our value/our brand?  If not, don’t get distracted, move on.  If it does fit, then you may have a winner, and it’s worth investing more time in looking at whether this decision is a good way to grow your business.

Business Growth, Communication

Twitter Roundup

After a week and a half checking out Twitter, I have to admit I am at least slightly hooked.  I am spending far too much time on Twitter.  I’ve found a lot of fascinating websites and articles (some of which I will share here), relating to business, franchising, trends, communication and search engine optimization/online marketing. 

I’ve found people to follow who have great information in my areas of interest (franchises & franchisors, business growth, search engine optimization and online content development). 
Interestingly, some of the blogs/people, I couldn’t find through Google searches.  For example, I had a hard time finding franchise blogs that I thought were really valuable via Google.

The one basic question that still remains unresolved for me is whether Twitter is where potential customers spend time, or more of a place to come in contact with potential strategic partners and others who are passionate about online marketing?  I have asked a couple of people I know who have been using Twitter for a while for their thoughts on this, and so far most people say they have actually found strategic partners and interesting information.  I would love to hear from someone who has actually sold product/services from twittering.  In fact, consider this an invitation to get in touch if you would like to do a brief interview about how you found actual customers through Twitter!  Just post a comment saying that you would be willing to do that, with your Twitter name and I will get in touch via Twitter to learn more.

Useful articles/websites from Twitter posts

Top 4 Success Saboteurs for Entrepreneurs: http://www.theperfectbizfinder.com/blog/beat-the-top-4-saboteurs/

Winners of the 2009 Franchisee Satisfaction Awards: http://jan.freedomblogging.com/2009/03/09/happiest-franchisees-6-are-oc-companies/10293/

Challenges for Women in Business: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/business/businesstruth/4934018/Women-in-Business-The-bias-against-women-entrepreneurs.html

5 Great Companies to Form in 2009: http://www.thecompanymerchant.co.uk/blog/index.php/2009/01/five-great-companies-to-form-in-2009/

Tell People What You Want Them to Do For You: http://www.doshdosh.com/tell-people-what-you-want-them-to-do-for-you/

50 Social Entrepreneur Blogs to Watch: http://evancarmichael.com/Tools/Top-50-Social-Entrepreneur-Blogs-To-Watch-In-2009.htm

and just for fun… http://www.brepettis.com/blog/2009/3/3/the-cult-of-done-manifesto.html

So Far

Time spent so far:  probably 6 hours (much of that following fascinating links posted by various tweeters)

Questions so far:  How in the world are people finding my profile to follow?  Why would someone be following >1,000 other people?  What does that mean to follow at that point?  Surely no one has time to read all the tweets from many thousands of people?  Are any of my potential customers using Twitter?

ROI: Nothing direct yet, but coming in contact with some fascinating people – more potential strategic partners than customers, it looks like to me.  Some good franchise blogs that I wasn’t able to find via Google searches with very valuable information.

Communication, Search Engine Optimization, Twitter Experiment

Martha Matilda Harper and the Harper Method – 1888

Martha Matilda Harper was born in Ontario.  She emigrated to New York where, in 1888, she founded the first retail franchise (also called a business format franchise).  She first established one salon and built up its clientele and reputation, then expanded to Buffalo, across New York, to Detroit, Michigan and then to Chicago in time for the World Fair in 1893.   She eventually developed a network of 500 salons across America, Europe, Central America and Asia.  The first shop owners were all poor or working class women.  Harper created the Harper Method and training centres and created a formula for business success that considered location, product lines and services, marketing and the customer experience.  Nothing was left to chance, so that customers got a predictable experience in any Harper salon around the world.  As her biographer, Jane Plitt (author of Martha Matilda Harper and the American Dream) says, ‘She created a team of loyal, ambitious women who followered her precept and business practices as if they were scriptures, and whome she and customers worldwide trusted to carry on the Harper tradition withconsistency and finesse”.

Her ‘Secret Sauce’

The three things that distinguished Martha Matilda Harper and made her frachise operations a huge success are still key to franchises and their business success today.

1. Creative and distinctive Marketing
   When she first began, Martha Matilda Harper used creative advertising and marketing techniques, including offering her salon as a reception room for the next-door piano teacher (one way to get customers in the door!), setting up child care rooms in her salons to build a future generation of customers, and getting the patronage of high profile women like Mrs. Coolidge and Susan B Anthony.
2. Customer Experience
   Martha Matilda Harper focused on making the experience of being in her salons a delight for her customers.  She developed the first reclining shampoo chair (so customers would not get the soap in their eyes), charmed everyone who entered, and, through her training programs, ensured that new associates would not graduate from her training programs until they could make the customer smile.
3. Consistency and Training
   Martha Matilda Harper set up training schools across Canada and the United States to ensure that the quality and training were consistent.  She closely monitored the quality and practices of the franchise locations and sent regular newletters to her many franchisees.

Historical Considerations

As I was researching the story of Martha Matilda Harper, and the first franchise, I came across a number of sites that referred to Albert Singer, founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, as the founder of the first franchise system.  The key difference seems to be that Singer’s products were sold by salaried employees, rather than by franchisees, as in Martha Matilda Harper’s case.  She installed working-class women like herself in salons exactly like hers, trained them, inspected them, and shared the benefits of her marketing and advertising campagains with them.  They owned the salons so long as they bought Harper and followed Martha’s rules and the Harper Method.

Other Resources:

• http://www.winningthevote.org/MMHarper.html
• http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=203
• http://www.marthamatildaharper.org/

Business Growth, Focus, Franchise, Franchisor Spotlight

Thanks to the New York Times and Wendell Jamieson for a fun look at the challenges for newcasters in dealing with language and how to announce the ongoing plunges in the stock market.  I first heard this on CBC (and I have to say, it was much funnier recorded live with a sense of humor on the part of the broadcaster) in the late fall, and just came across it in print format online.

Check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/weekinreview/23jamieson.html

Fun

I’m sure most people hold this truth to be self-evident: that technology is not always the solution.  Let me repeat that – technology is not always the solution.  And yes, I am the CEO of a technology company.  But before you even worry about your technology, you want to nail two key questions:

a) What am I trying to accomplish?

b) What do I have to offer?  What’s my value?

What am I trying to accomplish?

I recently met with Bob Garlick (a marketing mentor) for coffee, and he asked what makes our company different from other companies.  The answer was easy; we use technology to further business purposes and when we meet with clients, what we want to know first is what kind of business purpose they are trying to accomplish – not what technology they are looking for. 

After all, most franchisors and business owners don’t care much about the underlying technology – what matters is whether the final solution accomplishes the right purpose; be it increasing sales, generating leads or building the brand.  When clients know the answer to this question before we ask it, we know that they will be a pleasure to work with.

If you are looking at developing/purchasing any kind of software solution, make sure you know what you’re trying to accomplish with the software.  That answer will form the basis of how you evaluate and rate potential solutions that are presented to you.  If you don’t have that, it’s easy to get caught up in the latest cool thing (if you’re a technology person) or the most features (if you want to have lots of options later) or the best marketing materials.  But none of those help much if your core need is not being addressed.

What do I have to offer?  What’s my value?

Just the other day, I signed up for a webinar.  It was offered by a reputable organization, and the topic looked good.  The content was dreadful; lacking substance, poorly thought out, and delivered in a soft meandering voice.  Having recently had conversations with a couple of clients about webinar delivery, I was struck again that even if the technology is all great, if the content is lacking, the webinar won’t build business – and in fact, may drive it away.  I would certainly not want to do business with the person who hosted that webinar.

Content creation and generation is one of the best ways to add value to customers, but it needs to be substantive first, and then delivered professionally second.

So remember, before you even think about the technology, know what you’re trying to accomplish, and know what you have to offer in terms of value.  Once you have those two, the technology will be easy…

Best Practices, Business Growth, Communication, Technology

Trend Change?

We are all looking for the opportunities in the current economic climate.  At Open Box, we did notice a slow period in December and early January, but February and March have brought increased business and leads.  My speculation is that companies have realized that they need to keep building rather than being afraid of what’s coming – either that or the fact that we help increase efficiencies and cut costs has been a big motivator.  I would love to know if other companies are also finding the same pattern?

Opportunity # 2 – Build your Human Capital

My first post on recession opportunities was about how to find & plug the leaks in your business.  The next opportunity that I have been struck by is the opportunity to build up human capital.  For business owners (franchisors or franchisees), this is a nerve-wracking time.  Equally so for employees who may be worried about whether they will have a job in a few months, or who are inundated by the negative news that comes out daily (stock markets crash, housing market plunges, etc) and wonder what it means for them.

All of this fear & uncertainty actually does have a bright side.  Companies that focus on building the relationships and the confidence of their employees now will be ideally positioned when the markets start recovering to take advantage of new opportunities. 

Imagine having a team

• where you knew each person’s strengths and passion
• that had strong communication and a regular meeting schedule
• that was united in purpose and vision
• where creativity and brainstorming were welcome and encouraged
• that knew how to deal with conflicat
• that had strong systems and processes in place, and a clear understanding of those systems and processes

Couldn’t you do just about anything with a team like that?

Building the Foundation

One of the great current opportunities is to build the foundation now by building up your team so that you will be fully energized and ready to take on new challenges together.  Consider putting in new meetings schedules, reviewing each person’s strengths & job fit, learning about career development plans, doing visioning exercises.  These don’t cost your company and the payoff in terms of productivity and motivation can be huge.  I know one company that is taking great advantage of this – how many others have seen this opportunity?  How is it paying off for you?  What are the challenges you’ve found?

Related links

A couple of interesting related articles posted recently online:

Michelle Rodger’s article on how rebranding is seen as a recession strategy

Shelley Pearson’s article on her franchise blog about the opportunity to lose some of our stereotypes (especially around potential franchisees)

Best Practices, Business Growth