Driving old school & ignoring the dashboard?

So I took my 2003 Civic Hybrid into the shop this morning because the indicators on the dashboard were lighting up like a Christmas tree.  It started with the DRL indicator, then came the SRS one, then Maintenance Required then yesterday, the engine light.  Ugh, this will no doubt mean money out of my pocket today.

But it got me thinking.  What if I just ignored the dashboard.  I mean, yes the indicators are on but the car sounds fine to me.  In the old days (yeah, when I drove a 1978 Delta 88 to university) there wasn’t a collage of sensors on the dashboard.  You just drove the car until, well, it broke down on the side of the road – and trust me I got more than my share of that back in “the old days”.  But today’s cars, especially hybrid versions, are fine-tuned machines with computer controls and lots of whirlygigs that make sure I brake to a stop faster, I don’t get as injured in a crash,  I get way better fuel mileage and so on.  Yes, I probably still could go it old school and drive like a cowboy of days gone by and ignore the dashboard, but at what cost?

What’s the cost of breaking down on the way to the airport and missing that flight to give a presentation on the other side of the country?  What’s the cost of an inefficient engine burning more expensive fuel?  What’s the cost of me flying through the windshield because my airbag system is turned off because of a malfunction or my ABS breaks are disengaged?  You get the picture.

So what’s the cost of a brand driving it “old school” in today’s high speed, quick to react, snowballing-crises-friendly,  twisty-turny social media world that we all live in today?  This isn’t the 1978 Delta 88 world of our youth.

What dashboard indicators should brands be paying more attention to today?

January 7th, 2009 - Posted in social media | | 8 Comments

The New ABC’s of Glengarry Glen Ross

Ok, everytime I watch this Youtube video of this classic Alec Baldwin scene from Glengarry Glen Ross it totally cracks me up.  It so epitomizes the old school view we have of how people sell.  It’s so, well, Herb Tarlic (remember WKRP).

In this scene Alec outlines the ABC’s as “Always Be Closing”.  If you’ve ever received an interuptive, annoying telemarketing call from someone who doesn’t listen to you saying “I DON’T WANT YOUR PRODUCT” then you know what the single focus on Alec’s ABC’s can feel like.

So what should it be.  Well, I started to think about how the new best practices of social media could be applied here.

How about:

• Always Be Conversing or
• Always Be Communicating
• Always Be Content-Creating
• Always Be Customer-focused
• Always Be Community-building

Any others you can think of that better describe what the ABC’s should be?

January 6th, 2009 - Posted in social media | | 9 Comments

Authors that are Accessible

In my many travels in the past year I’ve gotten to know a number of authors.  And thankfully they’ve all been a very accessible and friendly bunch.  Authors like Geoff Livingston, Brian Solis, Rohit Bhargava, Paul Gillin and others.  The majority of them are in the marketing, PR or social media fields so it’s apparent that they understand the value of positive word of mouth that comes about by being connected to their readers.

Case in point, Seth Godin always replies to any email I send him.  He always has and this has always impressed me.  Now generally it would be a two line response customized to the email topic that I shared with him but it is a response.  His latest book, Tribes, triggered a thought I wanted to share with him last night as I read along in the book.  I kicked off an email and by this morning I had a thoughtful response.

Same thing with author, Mark Hughes, of Buzzmarketing.  I enjoyed the book and related to a number of his principles and kicked off a quick email to him.  And this morning I had a nice email back from him.

What authors are you fans of and have they been as accessible?

January 5th, 2009 - Posted in social media | | 12 Comments

New Year’s Resolutions

So what are my new year’s resolutions?

1) Blog more.  Yes, guilty as charged in 2008.  But as Amber Naslund pointed out to me I don’t need to be writing a book each time I post.  It can be short and sweet.  And so they will be.  And don’t go looking for pictures with each post or lots of links because I’ve determined those are my mental blocks.  Once I start writing more then those will come back.

2) Read more.  And I’m off to a great start on that front.  I received Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, The Outliers, from my Dad for Christmas.  Great book and completed it over my vacation.  Then I got the bug and completed Buzzmarketing by Mark Hughes and am a third of the way through Seth Godin’s newest, Tribes.  Loving them all.  And I have a number of others lined up.

3) Work life balance.  This one is a common struggle for me.  This vacation break was great for me in that it reminded me of the pleasures of family I had been missing out on.  I know it’s going to be a tough one but I need to at least make it a goal.

So, what are your New Year’s Resolutions?

January 5th, 2009 - Posted in social media | | 0 Comments