Social Networking Archives | Page 9 of 9

Business Strategy: An Over-cooked Chocolate Souffle’ tastes like a Dry Flowerless Cake

You have to admire Elton John. He could easily churn out hit pop singles that would bring him millions each year. But not anymore. According to a recent Telegraph.co.uk article Sir Elton John: I will Never Write another Pop Single , the music legend states that he can’t compete at 63 with younger artists like Lady Gaga. He is too old to write pop music.

When you read the article, you feel this is an artistic decision, but is it? Was Elton John thinking in terms of business strategy? Did he feel that his rate of return, both monetarily and artistically was starting to plumment?

If you ever cooked a chocolate souffle’, you would know that if you cook it just a couple of minutes too long, it would come out dry and hollow. The same could be said for a career and business strategy. Are you doing the same business strategy over and over and getting diminishing results? It is hard for a business person to change strategy when they have survived for so many years. So, before you lock the piano keyboard and make that call to Bernie Taupin, look at this a little deeper.

Has your business strategy gotten stale? Are you afraid to re-invent yourself and strike out a new claim in your industry? These are the questions that a good business strategy should attempt to answer.

So, how do you go about it? First, you have to take a good look at the current state of your business . Look at your business in sales, profit, market share, etc. This historical information, if done honestly, may open your eyes. Secondly, look at your industry and see if you want to be in it five years from now? If you are the last blacksmith in a town with two horses, then maybe technology has moved beyond you. In that case, you may want to change your business strategy and start designing wrought iron fences for amusement parks.

Like Elton John, a close look at your capabilities, and your industry, can release you from a diminishing drudgery and open up opportunities that can carry you for years.

Think of Your Business Clients as “Fans” and You, a Rock Star

Music Think Tank posted an article, How Well Do You Know Your Fans? that define different segments of a band’s fan base. As you read the article, substitute the word fan for business client. We all have business clients that appreciate our services on different levels. Levels of dependability, confidence, and of course honesty. Business clients can be classified in similar groups as rock fans. The questions to ask as a business owner is why are some clients more dedicated than others? What did I, as a business owner do that impressed clients to be loyal to me as some are. Lastly, once you have answered these questions, adjust your strategy in business client relationships and procurement. Learn by the mistakes when losing business clients, and duplicate the attributes you possess with those who are your greatest fans.

Are You Skating to Where the Puck is Going to Be?

“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it is.” –Wayne Gretsky.

This may be an overused quote, but it speaks volumes about why businesses, products, and careers strategies fail. I remember when ET hit the movies. As you well know, it was a monster hit. At the same time, I had a movie producer client who was intrigued in another script he had received because “it was just like ET.” I said to myself, “We already have an ET.” Well, the copycat movie was never made.

So much of strategy is based on copying what others have done successfully. That is not “strategy;” that is “similarity.” The link below tells the story of the imminent demise of the CD, and how companies are strategizing to squeeze every drop of life out of it before it succumbs to new technology. When you duplicate what others have done, you become a commodity. In the end, nothing will different you from others; just price. That is a red (full of sharks), not blue ocean strategy. To develop this blue ocean you must focus first on what you are delivering to your consumer, or business. Second, you must take a hard look at what consumers want, and what they are getting that they don’t want. This strategy will lead you to your blue ocean. Don’t let your strategy be swept away by copying others.

BMI article: Bye Bye CD

Strategic Planning with Cheap Technology in the Entertainment Industry

An article by Brian Stelter appeared in the New York Times about the iPad use in the entertainment industry.

Pitching Movies or Filming Shows, Hollywood is Hooked on iPads

The article demonstrates how creative types are altering their strategies by leveraging the iPad technology to display ideas of movie characters, locations, and actors. This strategy is very elastice because its limitation is the creative ability of the user. Whether it is college students carrying digital textbooks, doctors carrying patient records, or producers carrying the daily shootings, the strategy has changed. When I first started using a personal computer in the 1980’s, Lotus 123 was the big time saver. You would enter your row of numbers and click total. Nevermind that the red “WAIT” sign would flash twenty times, Lotus 123 was the greatest invention.

But there was a problem. I was constrained in developing my work strategy by Lotus 123’s functionality. All it could do was mathematical functions. But now, we are at crossroads where a disparate list of technologies have come together. The problem of limiting your strategy by the computer’s functionality has shrunk dramatically. Now, instead of the user’s strategy being limited by the equipment, the equipment is limited by the user’s strategy and abilities.

So, what does this mean to every business person and artist? It means that you should not look to technology to execute your strategy, but develop your strategy to execute the equipment’s capability. Do not do things the old way, but imagine a new way of doing things.

So, how do you start? Well, the first way is to step into the shoes of your customers. What are they looking for in a service of product? What should they be looking for, but have ignored it because nobody has offered it in such a way?

One of many theories is the Blue Ocean Strategy. Southwest Airlines sought to offer air transportation at the cost of a car rental. As history shows us, they were able to accomplish this and grab market share.

The next step is to build a strategy with milestones and metrics so you can honestly monitor your execution.

The last step is to alter your tactics in order to accomplish your goal.

Don’t Drop all 20th Century methods of Business Generation because we are in the 21st Century

This Wall Street Journal article offers examples on how business that tried social networking (SN) and search engine optimization (SEO) prospered when they combined them with old tried and true methods of generating business. SN and SEO are a great way to build a bigger fishing net, but you must throw the net out in a school of fish and personally reel it in. Good old fashioned busines sense can go a long way.

https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303436904575570842639137342.html

How do you include social networking in your business strategy?

I remember when I was a little boy, how I used to marvel at the futuristic gadgets that Walter Cronkite would display in the Sunday night program, The 21st Century.The program was designed around scientific advances that could re-shape our lives in the next century.The 21st Century seemed so far away to a little boy in the 1960s.But here we are.

In the 1996, my interest was piqued with Bill Gate’s books, The Road Ahead. In this book, Bill Gates predicted that we were nearing a society where financial transactions, product research, file transfers, and such could be transacted though the internet on a device the size of a checkbook.

How ironic, within the next decade, Steven Jobs would spearhead the invention of the Iphone.Users now bring up all sorts of applications including social networks like Facebook, Twitter, etc. These social networks are becoming the foundation of the new business communication.

But, how do these social networks impact business? So many businesses just stick their toe in the SN waters. Can business really take advantage them?

The answer is a guarded “yes”.

The advantages of such networks are communication and visibility. Implemented correctly, vehicles like FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogging, and others can enhance your company’s visibility, and draw the world to your web site.With increased visibility comes opportunity.
There is a downside to these opportunities, however. Employees can post criticism on blogs that may hurt the firm’s reputation.In addition, the opportunities with any of these networks can be a bottomless pit sapping into employees time with no immediate response.

Like any tool, the internet can be the piece of your strategy that increases your market share, if used correctly. If used incorrectly, it could be a wasteful tool.

So, here are a few basic tips when your business ventures into social media:

Concentrate on building relationships, not just numbers. It’s nice to see the numbers grow, but if many are not viable business contacts, then so what?
Don’t spam people with your services. Give them something to take home with them every time you connect.
Build partnerships among those who have similar business interests, or work in a similar industry.
Don’t just copy what others are doing in your industry. Set yourself apart by using your core competancies to create your own uncompetative ocean (i.e., Blue Ocean).
Be consistent, be creative, but be real in your daily social networking business strategy.
Write about relevant topics that concern your market place.

These six points will give you a start in developing a real social networking strategy for your business. A very important point not listed, though is that you start today.