What I really need is...

Remember when...

The iPad was not a word, the iPod was a glimmer in Steve Job's eye, "tivo" was not a verb, noun or an understandable word at all!

Yes...the innovators have changed the world.

The financial industry is changing...for the better or for more challenge will remain to be seen...but changing none the less.

Your challenge-- should you decide to accept it-- is to figure out what your client or marketplace "really needs."

BancVue started recent innovation with the "high rate checking, Bank of America came along with "Keep the Change", Huntington Bank added the "24-Hour Grace" and "Asterisk-Free Checking."

Each addressed a fundamental financial need...that was not directly on the surface or clearly spoken by the customer-- but a clearly defined need indeed.  Similar to Tivo, people did not know what they were missing.  To me that is a hallmark of a true innovation-- something not expressly defined as a need by people, but once it arrives, one wonders how they got along with out (just TRY a day without your iPhone!!)

Here are three keys to helping YOUR organization innovate...

• Listen... Intently-- to you customers and your staff.  Their actions WILL show you what they need and what innovations may stick
• Get up close and personal-- the front line of your organization is probably solving the issue right now (the 1st switch kit was born as a sight draft and an industrious teller!)
• I think I can...I think I can-- the best innovations come from areas that are improbable and sometimes from a staff member that may be outside the realm of management...be open to the greatness of the idea!  Some of the greatest ideas started small and in a garage (think HP, Apple, Microsoft!!)

Innovation--- its AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!

Look for it...be open to it...seek it out.  It is there for the taking and your clients will love you for it!

Cheers!

Bruce

MarketMatch is a full-service marketing consulting firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community.  We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the efforts that will generate MOMENTUM and yield the greatest RESULTS for your bottom line.

Learn more here.

Chat with me LIVE!

Or contact me directly (click here).

Aspiring Leaders: Define Your Purpose and Build A Strong Personal Brand

Selena Rezvani wrote an interesting book entitled, The Next Generation of Women Leaders, What You Need to Lead but Won’t Learn in Business School. While the book targets women, there are some important lessons within the book that resonate with all aspiring leaders, male or female.

While it's important to discover and define one’s purpose, an aspiring leader must hold onto his or her core beliefs and spirit. A successful example is Maxine Clark, the CEO (or Chief Executive Bear in company-speak) of Build-A-Bear (follow on Twitter). Clark saw an opportunity in 1997 and founded the company. Today, there are more than 400 stores worldwide as a result of her idea of building personalized stuffed animals.

In order to define one’s purpose, Rezvani suggested that the following questions will help:

• If you had unlimited power, how would you use it?
• What did you love doing as a child?
• What do you love doing in your spare time?
• When do people ask you for help?
• What is the single biggest barrier preventing you from leading?
• How would your professional biography read if you had the perfect career?
• When you get compliments at work, which ones are the most satisfying?
• Is there a job you love so much that you would do it for free?
• What work activities have you engaged in where time seems to fly?
• If you were on the cover of TIME magazine, what would the cover caption say?

According to Rezvani, building a personal brand is also critical for all leaders. As a brand marketing professional, I totally agree and assist others to promote their strengths and build their personal brands. In the words of Tom Peters, “Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in…our most important job is to be the head marketer for the brand called You.”

If you want to be inspired and gain some useful leadership tips, check out Rezvani’s book on her website and follow on Twitter.

Click here to read a previous blog post entitled, “Who do you represent: your company or your individual brand?

Click here to read Tom Peters’ article in Fast Company that, while written in 1997, is just as timely today entitled, “The Brand Called You.”

The End of an Era for Urchin Software

When I started Urchin Software with a few colleagues back in 1998, it was hard to imagine the scale and impact that Urchin and Google Analytics would eventually have. And yet, I remember rolling out the first version of Urchin to our customers and being blown away by the response. It was clear that Urchin was filling a fundamental need to understand customer engagement in a new medium. Suddenly, it made the intangible packets of traffic flying invisibly all over the world very tangible.

Within a few short years, we built a successful business based on Urchin and “Urchin on Demand”, an online version of the product. In early 2005, we were acquired by Google because it saw the potential of data to create a better web. By liberating this tool we could empower companies of all sizes to become smarter and more effective online. We assigned considerable resources to our online solution and released it to the public for free. Google Analytics has since grown beyond anything that we could have expected.

The success of Google Analytics has been incredibly rewarding and humbling, and we are very thankful for the support of our early Urchin customers and investors. The Urchin Software product has now been completely overshadowed by its tremendously popular offspring. And so, it is time that we now complete the cycle by officially retiring the Urchin Software product and focus exclusively on online analytics. On behalf of the original Urchin crew and Google, we thank you and hope that we can continue to serve you with amazing products.

Urchin has only been available during the past several years through Certified Urchin Resellers, and new sales will officially discontinue at the end of March 2012. We are encouraging Urchin users to migrate to Google Analytics, although expect that current installations of the software will continue to work fine on most systems for years to come. You can learn more about the retirement of this product on the Urchin Website.

Posted by Paul Muret, Director of Engineering, Google Analytics

You should join us for the Brown Bag Lunch Sessions

We just finished the January installment of the Brown Bag Lunch Session. Today's topic "Top 5 Issues Facing Marketers in 2012" was moderated by Eric Gagliano and David Kreiman from Glenview State Bank was our guest speaker.

If you didn't join us today you missed out on a great session. This open dialogue had some very informative conversation going back and forth between speakers and the attendees. The 5 issues discussed were:

1. It's a different sandbox: used to be you knew who was playing in your sandbox and with your toys simply by being there. Now everyone is playing in our industry.
2. New rules require new thinking: the regulatory changes, easier/harder - right/wrong, are here to stay. We have to adapt.
3. It's the customer, silly!: what makes us successful? The customer! We have to be relevant and add value to their equation!
4. All for one, one for all: the bank/credit union is made of many parts, but to the customer, they want ONE source for many of their financial needs.
5. Consistency: the most important ingredient to real estate? Location, Location, Location! The most important ingredient to marketing? Consistency, Consistency, Consistency!

We have recorded this session. If you are interested in receiving the audio from this Brown Bag, please click here.

The Brown Bag is scheduled the 3rd Friday of the month. The next Brown Bag is Friday, February 17, "Lessons Learned from a Frustrated Shopper."

Make it a great weekend,

Debbi

MarketMatch is a full-service marketing consulting firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community. We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the efforts that will generate MOMENTUM and yield the greatest RESULTS for your bottom line.

Learn more here.

Is 2012 the year to brush up your measurement skills?

As investment in digital marketing increases, data and insight continue to be critical assets for marketers and content owners. If 2012 is the year to develop your measurement and optimisation skill set, we have a range of resources to help you.

Individual Qualification with Google Analytics
Whilst you’re improving your measurement skills and campaign results using Google Analytics you can also work towards becoming individually qualified with a recognised Google certification.  Learn more at www.google.com/analytics/iq.

Live Training & Events
We have a stellar partner network who offer a range of courses and live training to help you through the basic and advanced capabilities of GA. Google certified trainers run regular 101, 201 and 301 seminars - you can find a Seminars For Success calendar here for North America, Australia and the UK.

Another great way to learn about GA and meet the GA team is to attend one of the GAUGE events. This series is hosted by our partner network and is a great way to learn from experts within the network and within other companies likes yours. The next event takes place in San Francisco on March 8-9 where Phil Mui, Group Product Manager and other members of the product team will share some of our newest developments and maybe even hint at what’s in store in 2012.

European events are already planned in Brussels (March 20th), Amsterdam (March 21-22nd), and Stockholm (May 8th). Keep an eye on the blog for the schedule and registration details.

Online Resources & Best Practices
We also have published many articles to help you find your way around GA in our help centre and also have a vibrant forum. If you prefer watching to reading, visit the Google Analytics YouTube channel for a range of educational videos and webinars covering our latest feature releases.

What else do you want to see or learn about in 2012? Let us know, leave a comment and we’ll try to accommodate in our curriculum or within our partner events.

Sophie Chesters, Marketing Manager for Google Analytics

The Progression of Social Media from Real-Time Conversations to Mobile Devices

Please welcome Jamie Turner to my blog. Jamie is the Chief Content Officer for the 60 Second Marketer, an online magazine that provides tools, tips, and tutorials on the newest trends in marketing. Over the past 20 years, Jamie has helped a myriad of companies including AT&T, Cartoon Network, CNN, Motorola, and The Coca-Cola Company to grow their sales and revenues through persuasive marketing. Check out his website, follow on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook. Recently, I discussed the impact of social media on marketing with Jamie and would like to share the highlights.

How has social media changed marketing?

JAMIE TURNER: There are two primary ways that social media has changed marketing. The first is that the consumer now expects the brand to have a dialogue with them. In the past, brands had a monologue with consumers, but today, consumers expect brands to respond to their questions, comments, and complaints via social media. The second way that things have changed is that brands are expected to be completely transparent with their actions and behaviors. In the old days, brands could get away with questionable behavior. But today, consumers watch their every move, and as a result, are quick to Tweet, blog, or post an update to Facebook.

What three questions should a business ask before jumping into social media?

JAMIE TURNER: There are three simple questions to ask before you dive in:

[1] Is social media right for our business? Surprisingly, the answer is sometimes “no.”

[2] Can we devote appropriate resources to this campaign?

[3] Are we going to track and measure our campaign?

If the answer to all three is “yes,” then you’re good-to-go.

How do you measure the effectiveness of a social media campaign?

JAMIE TURNER: One, track and measure your traffic via social media, which is relatively simple in the digital world. And two, understand the concept of Customer Lifetime Value, which is the amount of revenue the average customer generates for your business during the average time that he/she buys your brand. If you understand Customer Lifetime Value, then you can calculate how much money you have spent using social media to acquire a new customer. By using these calculations, you can easily measure the effectiveness of your social media campaign. You can download my presentation on this topic at http://www.slideshare.net/JamieTurner1313/social-media-roi-how-to-calculate-your-success.

What are your favorite websites that focus on social media?

JAMIE TURNER: I’m a big fan of Google’s YouTube channel because the videos are extremely well-produced and provide great value to the viewer. I’m also a fan of Social Media Examiner.

 

How will the social media landscape change over the next 12 months?

JAMIE TURNER: The big change will be that more people will access their social media campaigns via mobile devices. I talk about this in great detail in my new book, Go Mobile. Mobile is going to transform the way we do business – it has already started, and believe it or not, mobile is not that hard for marketers to manage.

The Big Picture

One of the biggest reasons why I love graphic design is that each project is like putting together a puzzle. 

Sometimes I get all the pieces right away and I'm able to start and finish the project without any issues. Other times I might get a few pieces one day, then a few more, then something else entirely the next day, week, or month later.  These are the hard puzzles. Sometimes I think all the pieces fit perfectly, only to find that there's one more piece that needs to be squeezed in. Some rearranging is done, and just when I think it's right again, I find another piece, and then another. Eventually, the puzzle pieces have all been joined and an effective design remains. 

Occasionally though, the pieces just don't all fit together. While frustrating, these types of challenges are my favorite. They give me a chance to take a step back and reassess why and if I really need to include so many things. The four most common questions I re-ask myself are: 

1. What is the overall purpose of this piece? 

2. Who is the target audience? 

3. What elements are absolutely necessary to get the message across?

4. Am I more focused on a creative concept than on the overall goal? 

I find that answering these questions remind me of what I'm supposed to be accomplishing in my design. Sometimes the message is being lost in too much material and some words need cut. Other times I'm so convinced my design is good and I'm blinded by the fact that it might not be the most effective idea. No matter what the problem, by taking the time to reassess the pieces, I can put myself back on track to an impressive completed design.  

So, when your pieces aren't fitting together, take the opportunity to step back and look at the big picture. After all, that is the most important part.

Until next time,

Gail

MarketMatch is a full-service marketing consulting firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community. We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the efforts that will generate MOMENTUM and yield the greatest RESULTS for your bottom line.

Learn more here.