Archive for the ‘Strategic Planning’ Category

Don’t Miss Inc. Magazines Top Industries for 2011

Beth Robeson • February 25th, 2011 • Comments (0) Bookmark and Share

As you put your marketing, advertising, sales and operations budgets together for 2011. Make sure your company is positioned to leverage these growing industries. Inc Magazine has a great article summarizing the top growth industries for 2011.  Whether you work directly or indirectly with these industries,  you should  make sure your company is prepared to take advantage of the commerce they will generate.

According to the article, top growth industries for 2011 will be:

• Job Training and Career Consulting
• Advertising Agencies with Digital Media Focus
• Real Estate Appraisal
• Environmental Consulting
• E-commerce and Online Auctions
• Debt Collection Agencies

Here are a  number of ways you can help get your company on the growth wagon:

Give your team a copy of the Inc. Article so they can start positioning themselves to take advantage of these areas of growth as they dedicate time resources in 2011.

If possible position your company strategically to work either directly or indirectly with these companies.

Understand the wider implications of the growth. For example, you may not be working in the environmental industry or the advertising world but think about what these trends mean for your business.

If environmental consulting is a growing business, should your company be implementing or expanding your green initiatives to make product or service more appealing to clients or customers?

If advertising and digital media are a growing industry should you be expanding your advertising budget in this direction?

Maybe it’s time to think about purchasing that new building while real estate prices are still low?

Is there an opportunity to expand your company or gain market share by launching a new training arm of the business to take advantage of the rapidly changing workforce?

I would love to hear other ideas for leveraging the growth in these industries you can read the full article on the Inc. Magazine website:

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The Changing Structure of Communication is Redefining Organizations

Beth Robeson • October 11th, 2010 • Comments (0) Bookmark and Share

Historically,  access to the right organizations gave you access to power in the form of  jobs, scarce resources, social prestige, security or money. That’s the impetus behind the fictional Mark Zuckerburg’s desire to join an exclusive social club at Harvard in the recent release, The Social Network.  Although this doesn’t appear to be a factual statement, it makes for a great subplot and dramatic juxtaposition to the power that can be achieved simply by understanding and using digital tools like  social networking.

Mark never makes it into a club, but….it turns out he didn’t really need their help after all. He instead aligned himself with something much more powerful…a whole new way to communicate and organize information.

“America in the 20th century was called a “society of organizations.” Formal hierarchies with clear reporting relationships gave people their position and their power. In the 21st century, America is rapidly becoming a society of networks, even within organizations. Maintenance of organizations as structures is less important than assembling resources to get results, even if the assemblage itself is loose and perishable.” Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business Review.

While many still perceive social networking as a form of entertainment, the mavericks, who will rule the future, are the individuals who use these tools to build stronger companies, pull in scarce resources and build solid but dispersed networks for organizational progress. Allegorically,  think of a cattle rustler in the American West where the individual with the fastest lasso wins. What matters is the ability to harness the rich data at your fingertips. Restricting your staff from using social networking while at work, is analogous to throwing their telephone out the window or taking away their pen or computer.

The holy grail for the future is to get them the training they need to harness the tsunami of information and resources headed their way. If your team doesn’t understand how to use tools like  LinkedIn, Google Docs, Facebook, Basecamp and Delicious for conducting research, collaboration, storing and retrieving information or building business relationships you’re already behind the curve.


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The Making of A Social Website! Behind the scenes.

Beth Robeson • June 28th, 2010 • Comment (1) Bookmark and Share

Thought we’d share a behind-the-scenes look at the strategic planning and design work that went into the new Digital Non-Conference website. It’s been a very exciting project, I can’t wait to see where we are in three to five years!

Strategic Planning:

We started the project by meeting one-on-one and in small groups with a number of inspiring industry leaders and the  founders of the Digital Hub Non-Conference. (The event that brings the best and the brightest together for two jam-packed days of learning, sharing and exploring all aspects of Digital Marketing.)

These people included: Jack Streitmarter, Judy Thompson, Will Krieger, Dick Goehler, John Young, Rose Wesselman, Dave Knox, Krista Neher, Kevin Dugan and Jason Falls.

Based on these meetings, and a few weeks of industry and competition research, we came up with the following goals and objectives:

Goals & Objectives:

1. Engagement. Our overriding goal was to create a site that screamed engagement. Not only to the “techies” of the region but to those visitors who are just starting out in digital media.

2. Positioning. We wanted to create a site that actively positions this region as leading in digital advertising, design and marketing.

2. A  Year-Round Resource. Traditionally the website was used only during the Non-Conference. Our goal was to create an expanded resource that would be valuable to visitors throughout the year.

3. Increase Non-Conference Attendance. By incorporating a dynamic social media marketing plan into the launch of the new site, our goal was to help increase attendance at the September 23rd-24th Digital Non-Conference and, as a result, increase the number and value of Non-Conference sponsorships.

Design:

For the new site we wanted the content and design to be easy to navigate and most importantly, to scream engagement! Here are a few key features:

1. A Connect Page. Set up to appeal to both a technical and non-technical audience and to walk visitors through the different types of engagement opportunities: connect, share and subscribe, along with easy access to the Twitter hash tag and URL.

In addition, we added embed panels (“I’m Attending,” “I’m Sponsoring,” “I’m Speaking” and “I’m A Blogger for the Digital Non-Conference”) that others could use to promote themselves and help us spread the word.

View the actual connect page here

2. Digital Resource Page. We designed this to be a resource all year long for companies and individuals in need of a wide array of digital marketing services. The page allows users to sort by service and region and to search by individual company. (The resource page is scheduled to launch in July 2010.)

3. Events Page. The Digital Non-Conference will be a resource for meet-ups, conferences, programs, webinars, training, etc. Soon, it will  list digital marketing events taking place in the major cities throughout the region.

4. Digital Non-Conference Blog. Modeled after the Huffington Post Blog, the Digital Non-Conference Blog brings you insights from the brightest digital minds in the region, all in one spot! Subscribe to the blog and you’ll never miss a new tool, gadget or digital marketing tip again.

View the actual blog page here

All the programming for the site was graciously provided by Tim Burke at Electronic Art with the help of one of his amazing programmers, Chris McMahon. They have been a pleasure to partner with.

We are launching the site in phases and the first phase is already up, so take a look and let us know if you have any feedback!

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A Moment with the Master: Social Media in Action

Beth Robeson • February 17th, 2010 • Comments (0) Bookmark and Share

Gary Vaynerchuk probably gives a little more to his business than most people are willing to give, but if you’re in business,  pay attention to what he is saying. It’s easy to get side tracked by the same old tasks and strategies you’ve always tackled and miss this opportunity to set yourself apart from your competitors.

Gary Vaynerchuk: Teaches Basic Social Media Principles to CNN:

Gary is probably the best in the world at using these tools to grow his business. Will your social media plan be different from his? Yes, but the fundamentals are the same:

1. There has been a radical change in marketing communications. The structure, tools and the nature of business communication has changed.

2. The nature of business is changing. How your clients/customers define value, customer service and loyalty is very different today than it was two years ago. In order to keep up with the pace of change, you need to create the tools and establish the systems you company needs to engage and interact with your clients and customers.

Beth

http://bit.ly/aBGqBa

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Robeson Marketing & Design donates $10,000 Stategic Planning Package.

Beth Robeson • February 5th, 2010 • Comments (0) Bookmark and Share

Robeson Marketing & Design is now accepting applications from local non-profit for a free strategic planning package valued at $10,000

CINCINNATI, February 1, 2010—Cincinnati-based Robeson Marketing & Design (RMD) is currently accepting applications from local non-profits who are in need of strategic planning. The “Giving Back 2010” package includes marketing assessment, market research, trend analysis, onsite strategic GOALStm workshop and a three-five year marketing communications plan. “Giving Back 2010” is in honor of RMD’s ten-year anniversary.

“The most crucial element for determining the level of ROI from any marketing initiative is a solid strategic plan. Given the dramatic changes in the economy and in the new tools available for marketing communications, rethinking your strategy will be essential in 2010,” said Beth Robeson CEO at the firm. “RMD is excited to celebrate our ten-year anniversary by giving back to a non-profit organization in our community.“

RMD is currently accepting applications now through March 1, 2010 from any Cincinnati-based charitable organization.  They are specifically interested in submissions from organizations with a strong desire for growth over the next three-five years. The winner of the planning session and marketing plan will be announced March 31, 2010.

If you are interested in participating, please visit the RMD website and complete the “Giving Back 2010” form.  http://www.robesonmarketing.com/giving-back-2010

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It’s Too Late for Strategic Planning!

Beth Robeson • December 21st, 2009 • Comment (1) Bookmark and Share

There’s always a lot of energy and motivation this time of year to put a new strategic plan in place, change direction, re-focus, or go after a new target audience. But, the reality is, if you do your strategic planning in January, you start the year behind your top competitors. Successful companies do their competition research and subsequent strategic planning in the third or early in the fourth quarter so they have the tactical elements in place and are ready to launch January 1st.

Why bring this up now? Because this is the time of year to harness your motivation and get your strategic planning scheduled for September of 2010. Put it on the calendar now and the precious jump on the competition won’t slip by you next year.

In the meantime, if you don’t have a strategic marketing communications plan in place, get started now. Your plan should take you out 3-5 years at least and include the following elements:
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Trust Agents: A Book Review

Beth Robeson • December 15th, 2009 • Comments (0) Bookmark and Share

Trust Agents Tab Rating: 38*

Trust Agents Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

This book was written more for Chief Marketing Officers, Marketing Directors, and Entrepreneurs, than the average CEO. However, a CEO of an established company will find a lot of wonderful insights and action items throughout the book. The section on how Trust Agents use LinkedIn wasn’t very impressive. But, all in all, Chris and Julian, who are both immersed in the social media industry, do a great job of providing you with a wealth of resources and tips for monitoring your online brand and building up your company’s online community.

4 Key insights from the book:

1. Put a listening system in place.
Chris and Julien recommend building a listening station that will enable you to monitor your online brand or image as well as that of your competition. I find most companies are surprised by the sheer amount of information already out there about their company. People are talking about you, even if you haven’t yet engaged in the conversation. But how do you find out what they are saying? There are lots of online tools at your disposal, and in the first chapter they walk you through a step-by-step process for setting up a customized listening station!

2. Understand Social Networking Etiquette.
If you got along well with others in kindergarten you shouldn’t have too much trouble socializing on the web, but there are a few insights Chris and Julien offer that will give you a competitive edge in building your online community. First, understand that each social networking site has it’s own culture, for example; “Digg users are not Twitter fans.” So spend some time getting to know the culture of the social network before you step in. Second, and I think one of the most important, “promote others 12 times as much as you promote yourself or your company.” Internet communities frown on blatant self-promotion or advertising. The way to grow your business on the web is through building strong relationships first. Finally, if your company makes a mistake, and it will happen, they recommend you “remember the three A’s: acknowledge, apologize, act. There have been many mistakes made by reputable companies and those that follow those three simple steps are often in a better position than they were in before the mistake was made.

3. Building your online community.
Chris and Julien offer lots of guidance on how to find communities that will be the right fit for your business and tips on creating the types of content that will enable you to start building your own community. Those two options not being mutually exclusive of course. To find already existing communities they recommend you use one of the many search tools available on the internet: Google, Blogsearch or Technorati for example, and simply enter words that pertain to your product or service into the search box, with the words “community” or “network” after it. This should give you lots of options. Just make sure you create a manageable plan for interacting in these communities that isn’t going to overwhelm you current staff.

4. Techniques for Building Trust.
While the techniques for building strong relationships with your customers and prospects haven’t changed much, what Chris and Julien offer you are a set of new tools that make building those trusted relationship easier and less expensive.
You now have communication and or media distribution tools at your fingertips. However, there has been a profound change in the nature of the communication taking place. As the authors state,  the Web is different from all other media developed over the past 50 years, and that’s because it wasn’t created for advertisers and commercialism. “The Internet was conceived to enable scientists to communicate more fluidly.” What this means, is that your communications efforts need to take a more personal tone. The types of communication that companies are finding most effective look more like casual conversations than the impersonal or dry copy most companies are used to.
This simple element will probably be the biggest struggle for most companies, especially those who offer a technical service or product.  It requires that you (your customer service and or marketing staff) be able to respond quickly, often daily, to the conversations that are happing in your industry.  They must have the talent to communicate well and the self-esteem to not take company criticism personally.  This book should give you and your staff a solid foundation for participating in the communication revolution taking place on the internet.
The book also presents, in the form of very hands on actionable tactics, lots of other great information. For example they have a great section that hights tools for increasing your productivity, something all of us could use some help with these days. If you find their book valuable I recommend you take a look at their blogs: http://inoveryourhead.net/  and http://www.chrisbrogan.com.

Other Resources Chris and Julien Recommend:

Bit Literacy
by Mark Hurst: written to help you understand how to deal more effectively with information in its new digital form.

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb: for those of you who are afraid to jump in and get your feet wet. Nassim suggests you go at these new tools with the mindset of a “Tinkerer.”

Getting Things Done
by David Allen: another book on handling information overload.

Inbox Zero
by Merlin Mann: offers tips on keeping your inbox empty.

The Tipping Point
by Malcolm Gladwell: a fascinating analysis of how popular trends develop.

*My Tab Ratings reflect the total number of post-it tags I wound up putting in the book because I found a piece of information on a specific page very valuable.

To order Trust Agents or any of the other books highlighted in this review please visit our CEO Bookstore. All proceeds from the sale of these books benefit the charity selected for our free 2010 GOALs Strategic Planning Session.

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Is it Time to Reinvent Your Company?

Beth Robeson • August 20th, 2009 • Comments (0) Bookmark and Share

External Signs

I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that, yes, it’s probably time to reinvent your company. This is a fairly safe assessment for two reasons. First is the recession, anytime there’s an economic downturn this dramatic, there is an equally dramatic shift in market share. In order to grab a piece of that market share you probably need to rework your product or service offering. Second, the dramatic pace at which technology and especially communication technology is changing means there will be literally thousands of new opportunities for your company. The question is, will you be prepared to take advantage of them? Both of these realities will drive fundamental changes in our economy and the way we conduct business. The changes we are witnessing now are as profound as the ones at the dawn of the industrial age and the opportunities are just as great if you’re up for the challenge.
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