GarthBox

The concept of a leader is that those who you lead are followers.

What if you pushed back on that? What would change in your attitude if you lead leaders, not just followers. What if you put enough trust in those you lead to keep moving forward if you removed yourself from the equation?

I’m not sure you’re a true leader if your followers would disband after your departure.

 

Stay Positive & Are You Leading Right?

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I was advised early on to focus on the what and less on the how. I was told the how would work itself out if I focused on the what enough.

The thinking goes if you want a motorcycle, focus on the motorcycle, the type, the engine size, the color. Think about how it will feel to ride it, to have it, to clean it.

Do so, and the how of how you will obtain it will work itself out.

I had a tough time agreeing with the concept of focusing more on the what and less on the how until I realized…

The how isn’t about not making a plan and standing still, it’s about not making a plan and forging forward in different ways. The how isn’t something you can plan to the T. The how is something you test. The how requires you to wiggle, to stumble, to push, shove and kick.

Think about how much time is spent planning for things when the only guarantee about a plan is that it’ll change, maybe in a big way and maybe only slightly, but it will change.

Those who get what they want are the ones who try a hundred different methods to get it, not the ones who spend a hundred hours planning a single path to attainment.

 

Stay Positive & Slam The Gas Pedal

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There’s a reason why Starbucks cup sizes are referred to what they are.

There’s a reason valet drivers are dressed one way at one hotel and another way at a casino.

There’s a reason no McDonalds attendant has ever said, “don’t worry about it, this one’s on me.”

Every detail of the buyer’s journey (and yours as the owner, marketer, curator, employer) has to be consist with the brand story, from the color of the walls to your email signoff.

 

Stay Positive & Consistency Leads To Efficiency And Efficiency Leads To Profit

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There’s the purpose of achieving a particular outcome for doing something, for sending the email, for creating a new product, for reaching out to your customer post-purchase.

We all have marketing goals around results.

The marketing goals that I believe to matter most are those that encompass learning.

Smart marketers do things to learn, to grow, to get better at their practice.

What will you do today to be better tomorrow?

 

Stay Positive & ABL (Always Be Learning)

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With the abundance of information consumers are more rational than ever when they’re deciding on a product. They can skip the emotional ambiance a brand tries to display through advertising because they can listen to what other people (like them) are saying about a product.

Spec comparisons, technical filters, and, most importantly, product reviews are changing the purchasing habits of consumers.

In the past, a brand like Dell could speak to the emotional sensors of their audience. Now it’s difficult to persuade with emotion when all the facts about processing power, memory and graphics are a click or two away.

We’re in an age when consumers trust strangers more than brands.

What we as marketers can do instead of producing more emotional commercials, more emotional ads, we can teach consumers to write reviews from their heart, we can teach them to speak emotionally when they comment on the specs of a brand.

Bold. I know. But the brand that learns how to teach customers to speak like marketers is sure to lead their industry while the others play catch up.

 

Stay Positive & Teach Customers To Speak Emotionally, Not Just Rationally

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Nope

People who respond to a yes/no question with “nope” are usually happy it’s a no.

“Nope, I didn’t put it back where it belongs… (because I knew it would get you roweled up)”

“Nope, we’re out of pumpkin pie… (and now I don’t have to go back in the kitchen)”

What’s your alternative?

Thanks

People who respond with “thanks” as opposed to “thank you” are cutting you (and themselves) short of actual appreciation.

“Thanks for coming” is far different from “Thank you for being here.”

What will you say today (and tomorrow?)

You’re Welcome

You could respond with “yup,” “no problem,” “sure,” “whatever,” but “you’re welcome” shows you’ve given them your complete attention.

The words we choose to use

can change everything. We can choose some words to connect us better to one another than other words. We can choose words that are more sincere, more caring, more backed with love.

The words, though, will always be a choice. What will you choose?

 

Stay Positive & Thank You For Being A Reader Of My Blog, I Truly Appreciate It

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A click-through is better than a like, and a share is better than a click-through (normally because the share befalls it).

As marketers we can measure the number of times things like this occurs, but it’s merely quantitative data. I press you to ask what does it say qualitatively.

This is when math meets fun.

When your target shares your content, it’s validation that the content was impressionable, but why? The answer is often found in what the sharer says about the content when she shares it. How is she hoping others view her by sharing it?

By answering questions like these, we discover the emotional reasons one shares your content and what motivated the behavior. The more we look into this, the better we’re informed by data.

This is most prominently noticeable on twitter where it’s easier to retweet content. Look at the last twenty items someone retweeted and what they said about the content – this will give you more insight into who they are than tweets coming directly from them.

This way of viewing sharing also applies to the real world.

What are your coworkers sharing?

I shared a book about constraints with the president of a branding firm. To me I did so because I thought he would benefit from it, enjoy it and it would help solve some business constraints.

What you have the ability to deduce is the emotional reasoning behind it.

I shared it because it positioned me as someone who knows about constraints, thinks in big business terms, and cares about the agency enough to share the book internally (I could have shared it with a friend who doesn’t work at a branding firm, but I didn’t, and that says loads).

When you dig into the why of people’s sharing habits, you’re in a better position to create more content that gets shared because no one shares content just for the sake of sharing it, they share it because it says something about them to everyone they share it with.

 

Stay Positive & Sharing Is More Than Just Caring

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