Do your customers trust you?

I’m reading a very good book that hits the nail on the head when it comes to the sea change that is happening in marketing. “Trust Agents” is a NY Times Best Seller written by Chris Brogan and Julian Smith that lays it out clearly and if you plan on being in business five years from now you better pay attention.

If you’ve been reading my stuff for any length of time, you already know that I advocate building credibility and trust as a core principle of marketing strategy. Brogan and Smith’s book not only agrees but it takes the concept to a more focused level (I’ve never been accused of being focused…). What I really like about this book is that it doesn’t just tell you WHY it shows you HOW to leverage social media and other digital tools to achieve the holy grail of marketing – trust.

If you’ve been wondering why your marketing and advertising just doesn’t seem to work anymore (and it doesn’t matter if you are Proctor and Gamble or Joe’s Fish Shanty) it’s because of a  perfect storm of factors including:

• people are tired of you shouting how good you are or your widgets and interrupting them
• people don’t believe you anymore and they know you are just trying to sell them something
• media fragmentation and info overload overwhelms them
• the very nature of a “market” has changed since the Internet came along
• buyers have scads of information at their fingertips and are better educated and more informed than ever
• basic human behavior drives interaction and community building

I’m sure there are more but I hope you are seeing where this is going.  Buyers seek information. They buy from those individuals and brands they trust. No longer will a clever ad on TV do the trick. No longer can you hide behind a carefully crafted brand – there is no hiding on the web. No longer can you trick people into buying. The new era of marketing is about truth, reciprocity and value. It’s about being a good human. It’s about relationships.

The problem is that what works (relationships and building trust) is at odds from what company shareholders want (fast results). Creating trust takes time and dedication.

The good news is that the web is awash in tools and communities where you can shine like a benevolent diamond of value and helpfulness. I haven’t read the whole book yet but from what I have read, the deal is not technology or social media or computers. It’s about people – sharing, connecting, conversing. Take part in this conversation, do the right thing always and you’ll be awarded with trust and business will follow.

Oh, I also had lunch with Chris. He lives by his principles. We had salad.

I’ll be blogging more about this in the coming weeks. Why not leave a comment so we can have a conversation?

Is Coaching Right For You?

I admit it. I’ve finally engaged a coach. I know what you are thinking. “Pete Monfre, the guy who has been self employed his whole life, founded and grown his own companies, consulted with the best and brightest of corporate America needs a coach?!! Say it isn’t so!!!”

The reality is that even I need some outside, objective advice and a sounding board for my ideas (I’m full of ‘em). My coach, Rafe Beeson, is helping me prioritize and focus on the key issues that will help me grow my company. The sessions are short, weekly and to the point. I would say the sessions are even pretty fun. But most importantly, it is a very affordable way to get the support I need.

Coaching is a widely misunderstood concept. Coaches are not consultants but they do offer ideas, suggestions, connections and clarification. Sometimes they play devils advocate, other times they just listen. They always hold you accountable.But the most amazing thing about it is that somehow, someway things become clearer. It’s just that simple.

I’m so convinced that coaching is a great value that I’m offering it to a very limited number of clients (NIA members get a hefty discount) who need marketing advice but can’t afford to bring in consultants, ad agencies, design firms, etc. They can do most of the work themselves but need some guidance as to what to do and how to do it. The bottom line is high end expertise without the sky high fees. It’s no wonder so many people have coaches.

For me, I really enjoy helping business leaders hammer out their marketing challenges. It doesn’t seem like work to me. I have an uncanny ability to see through complexity and get down to the real issues and solutions.We still do projects and hefty strategic planning but coaching is my way of offering some help to smaller companies and organizations who normally couldn’t afford to engage my firm in a full service capacity.

Learn more about my coaching program here: http://budurl.com/8pzk or call 512-663-7393.

Just Say Nay

Don’t let the naysayers get to you. Have faith. Do what you know is right.

Nasty Networker – “Vomitous from the mouth”

This is a great article by a friend of mine -

Recently I asked my network through LinkedIn: “What are the visible attributes of a ‘Nasty Networker?’” I’ve boiled the answers down into some common categories ranked by the frequency of their appearance

Signs of a Nasty Networker

1. Selfish. Not interested in helping others.
2. Doesn’t ask questions. Talks too much.
3. Bashes or otherwise acts inappropriately towards competitors.
4. Uses high pressure and other bad sales techniques.
5. Abuses contact information. Sends spam and other unwanted communication.
6. Ignores business card etiquette.
7. Social climber. Always looking for somebody better to talk to.
8. Not open.
9. Naive and needs education (about proper networking).
10. More interested in the quantity of connections, not their quality.
11. Disrespectful.

In the end I think that “Nasty Networking” is driven primarily by either naivete or desperation. I saw a quote recently that suggested that the selfish type of taker networking is not networking at all, but rather Needworking. My hope is that by sharing this list we can help the naive/needworkers get onto the path of true networking.

Do the right thing. Even if it’s a nightmare.

Why do consultants (marketing and otherwise) have such a negative reputation in the business world? Like any profession, you have highly skilled people and you have others who are not as skilled. No surprise there. But skills alone still don’t make a trusted adviser (the gold standard every consultant wants to achieve). Part of the problem comes down to people who simply oversell their qualifications but don’t have the skill to back it up. For clients, this smoke screen is difficult to penetrate but this is probably the primary driver of low satisfaction among clients. Ultimately, their experience with the consultant (or firm) is sub par which, in turn, reinforces the negative connotation of the profession.

However, there is another factor that generally flies below the radar – even good, highly skilled consultants fall into this trap. And the result is not good for anyone. The trap is “Let’s do what is easy instead of what is right for the client.”

I’ve become a fan of incendiary chef Gordon Ramsey. Not because of his obnoxious show “Hells Kitchen” (I hate that show) but because of his other show “Kitchen Nightmares”. Essentially, Ramsey is a consultant who offers tough, straight talk to turn around failing restaurants – typically due to the ownership and/or management who are not doing what is in the best interest of the business. He pulls no punches and cuts through the often sizable egos of his clients. Through all the f-bombs and brutal truth, you can see that Ramsey genuinely cares about the success of the business.

For example, I have worked with companies who were willing to spend money having consultants and outside partners do various marketing activities. Doesn’t seem like a problem, does it? The problem is that the activities were the whim of the president and not necessarily the activities that would actually fuel the company’s growth and success. Most were the marketing equivalent of busy work. There is no plan, no goals and the whims change direction constantly. Many initiatives that started are never completed. Not exactly a recipe for success.

Why would otherwise self respecting consultants go along with this? Because it is easier to take the money and go along with the flow. After all, that’s why we are in business, right? To go to the bank. However, this is not why the client hires outside expertise. They expect results. They may seem satisfied with the furious activity but at the end of the fiscal year, this satisfaction quickly evaporates because money was spent and goals were not met.

It’s difficult to push against this flow. In fact, you may even lose the business to other folks who don’t really care about the client’s best interests. The money is tempting. Nobody likes to tell a valued client that they are on the wrong path. There are many reasons to sit silent and play the easy game. But I believe that those of us in the business of helping our clients solve problems and create growth opportunities have a sovereign duty to always do what is right for the client – whether they like it or not.

Sure, it’s not easy. Of course they may not like it at the time. It may even require them to spend more money (Ouch!). But the fact is, they didn’t hire you to be a “yes man”. They hired you to solve their problems. Don’t be a wimp – do the right thing no matter what. And keep the swearing to a minimum.