Be Relevant

In this day of shrinking budgets, it's increasingly necessary for technologist within organizations to take an active role in advocating technology driven by cost optimizations. There are several reasons this technology "evangelism" will highlight your evolving role as the next generation, instead of what exists.

Understand, it's not IT's fault. The traditional mode is being ignored when things are working fine and vilified if something breaks. Noone in my experience really "enjoys" the constant pressure of IT, wringing more from less, managing challenges and long range planning in the same timeframe. Inevitably maintenance and moving parts allow the system to take on a life of its own because path of least resistance replaced migration and re-thinking how to assemble MAT applications into a cost-efficient and cost-effective way to manage leads and prospects.

Here are the reasons why you should become a technology advocate:

1. Being advocate broadens your role - providing better visibility and can develop a charter that exceeds the normal ho-hum of back-office maintenance.

2. Outsourcing Applications - makes more room for your team and staff to have better control of your monthly costs, offering the potential to "package" certain funtions that can be done more effectively via outsourced organizations.

3. Cross Application Advantage - means you have exposure to more resources in solving problems that are similar to MAT, and offer solutions that are relevant to that department and their application issues or problems.

4. Poised for Change - means you're not waiting for the CIO or CFO to have the "budget" conversation. You can present your manager with answers that have been researched with the future and smooth, seamless migration, instead of knee-jerk reaction.

Whatever your goals in your IT organization, MAT is a great way to sell the sizzle and inject yourself into a world in which results bring money, credibility and career success.

You also start remembering why you got into IT and the potential that intelligence of forethought can render technology answers that offer orders of magnitude in response to your prospects, customers and important internal constituents.

Stand up and be noticed - Be relevant!

When the Economy Gets You Down

Imagine a world without the media's influence over the weak-minded. I believe the media is responsible for literally freaking out most American citizens and businesses. The slowing of our economy did not go sideways until the television networks decided to spread their poisonous spin of gloom and doom. Naturally, they blame everything from an ingrown toenail to a cloudy afternoon on George Bush. Now, they blame Wall Street and BIG business for making too much money when everyone else is starving. This is simply NOT reality. This is only the media's slanted perspective from their brand of "if it bleeds-it leads" approach.

During these temporarily troubled times, you cannot allow yourself to be fooled into thinking all is lost. At present, there are those who are making a financial killing. Do you think you know how they are doing that? The answer is really not that hard to grasp. These positive and passionate entrepreneurs remain fervently focused on their mission; plan; objectives. We must all take a lesson from their playbook if we want to keep moving forward and upward. You cannot allow yourself to buy into a defeatist attitude; you do need to play smart.

This week, I challenge you to purposefully visit Google and search for those clouds with silver linings. Identify the Wall Street winners and ask yourself, how is it they are not only staying afloat, but prospering. Be open-minded as your read these success stories; be prepared to modify your plan if required, but do keep in mind, you can be victorious all through this recession; you must remain positive and on point.

Remember, your business is the lifeline to our present and future economical growth. America needs you! Get back to basics; work hard; work smart. Never say "die!"

You are a champion. Believe it-become it!


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Podcasting: A Definitive Marketing Solution

Each day starts and usually ends with the same BIG question. Our clients and prospects ask us, "How can I grow my business and capture my fair market share?" Our answer is quite simply, "Build yourself a base of prospects and work that pipeline relentlessly and efficiently."

One BIG tip that I can offer you as read my short synopsis today, learn how to become a successful podcaster and watch your bottom-line begin to move skyward.

Over the past decade, the Internet has created many new breakthrough marketing mediums. From successful ezine publishing and distribution, straight through to more pronounced search engine optimization practices.

As a television and radio broadcaster/marketing consultant, I have had the sincere pleasure of understanding just how important both the radio and television marketing methods are to businesses and individuals in getting the word out to their prospective audience.

Our weekly online radio show, Marketing Antics LIVE has been received very well amongst global listeners and advertisers alike. (I guess I always knew that in time, connectivity speeds and portable hand-held devices would ultimately allow for a more expansive target audience reach.)

Although, we began using our online talk radio format years ago, we are now able to sweeten the pie by allowing our listeners to almost effortlessly download our show (information and entertainment) right into their iPods and other handheld devices including mobile phones. Now our audience can listen where ever and whenever "they" like. Plus, as an added-value benefit to us and our valuable advertisers, we can track every hit (listener) around the clock for about the cost of a cup of coffee. We make all this happen by deploying one of today's best emerging audio/blogging technologies popularly referred to as, "podcasting".

Podcasting is a term that manifested as a fresh way to describe the technology used to push (share) audio content from web sites down to consumers (clients) of that content, who usually listen to it on an iPod (hence the term "pod"), or any other type of .mp3 player (iRiver), or mobile phone device at their command, convenience and control.

Podcasting is somewhat similar to the concept of time-shifted video software and storing video, except that podcasting is primarily used for audio to date. (Universal video deployment is most likely just around the corner.) With that stated I should explain, however, that this easy to use emerging technology can be used to push (deploy) any kind of file such as photos (images), software updates, videos and/or text.

Podcasting uses an XML-based technology called RSS (Real Simple Syndication). Content publishers (podcasters) describe new content in an XML RSS file which includes dates, titles, descriptions, and specific links to the .mp3 files. This "automatically" generated file is referred to as an RSS feed. Dave Winer is considered by many to be the creator of RSS and a pioneer in the environment of applied XML. The component to making podcasting work with RSS is"enclosures" (remember that term), an element supported by RSS 2.0.

As a consumer or end-user, you simply run an "aggregator"(remember this term, too) program like MTV's Adam Curry's iPodder software on your local computer, which lets you easily subscribe to RSS feeds. Programs like Adam's will either by schedule or by random design, download the RSS files, and check to see if any fresh content is available. If new content exists, the audio files are automatically downloaded and put into a folder (of your choice) on your hard disk or directly routed to your mp3 player.

Anyone can podcast. Perhaps, I should more accurately $state,"Anyone who properly learns and activates their own podcast process can reap the significant harvest of BIGGER numbers by creating and nurturing their own emerging community." As an online business owner this is HUGE and required. This marketing solution can not only make you financially solvent, it can even make you a star.

Here now is a list of things to do to prepare yourself for your first podcast presentation.

1. Research the podcast element.

Learn precisely what podcasting is all about and how it works. I recommend visiting Podcast Media Services.

2. Seek guidance from seasoned podcast professionals.

Create a list of those podcasters that undeniably know exactly what they are doing. Align your yourself with only the best. From this list, call them on the phone and pick their brain(s). If you cannot locate an actual telephonic point of contact, I strongly urge you to wipe them from your list. You want to do business with those that believe in"touching" their market with more intimacy and one-to-one personalization rather than just an email. Remember, you are looking for a friend. A mentor. Not necessarily someone to take your money and be off. A solid partnership (friendship) is your objective here.

3. Discover your passion.

What passion do you share with others? What true value will your audience glean from you? Who is your target audience? Understand your "why."

4. Develop your plan and work your your process.

What do you need to learn? What do you need to do? What specific date will you be ready? Who will provide you with the support you will need to fulfill your plan. What equipment is required?

5. Make your podcast happen.

As you roll out your "new-to-you" adventure, don't expect total perfection on day one. Be kind to yourself and know that you will evolve. We all started from square one. You should have heard my first radio air check from my first radio gig in Bakersfield, California. I sounded just like a bumbling knucklehead. :-) Enough practice and desire can make you near perfect, but do be fair with you and give yourself time to grow.

Listen to other pro-podcasters. Listen to your local radio stations, too. Read books and articles like this one on a daily basis. (I do.)

6. Finally, make no excuses.

If you "really" want to crank up the heat on your marketing efforts, than podcasting will give you the significant marketing advantage.

In closing today, I have illustrated only a fraction of what you must know before you go piling into your podcast endeavor full steam ahead. Be sure to identify and podcast production for all the world to hear and take notice!

Happy podcast marketing!

Internet Marketing Trumps Cable TV

Do you ever wonder why we pay for cable TV and yet we are still forced to view more commercials than ever before? Why is it that gobs of Internet social media web properties such as BlogTalkRadio.com give us a choice as to whether or not we want to feed our audience banner and pop-up ads? Would it not be wonderful if the television cable systems gave us that same choice?

I say, we are given the opportunity (control) of deciding upon one of two service pricing models. For instance, Verizon could offer Package 1 which would cost you a few more dollars a month with no commercial advertisements (almost like Pay-Per-View). Package 2 would be regularly priced, and would include commercial advertisements.

The cable outlets are already making money from a variety of sources. They are already paid by the myriad of sponsors that run their commercials around the clock and by us for our standard monthly subscription service. Now I know that if they gave us a choice, advertisers might fold into a fetal position because fewer viewers will see their spots. If you think about though, we can easily TIVO our favorite shows and simply skip ahead of those long and pesky commercial breaks anyway.

What if we could at least choose the type of commercials of which we might be most interested in viewing?

I think the cable systems will sooner than later have to come to terms with these consumer centric thirst and hunger pains. What do you think?

Technology - A Two-edged sword

As companies consider marketing technology, they must remember a key fact: Technology must be managed and thought through to avoid creating problems instead of solutions.

I was looking through some quotes from industry luminaries and Bill Gates jumped off the page at me! He said “....the first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.”

Before making extensive changes to your marketing technology, evaluate what's working. In creating this kind of assisted assessment, you can define a plan that builds or interoperates with your successes. This also makes it easier to talk to the CFO about migration instead of displacement.

Just like a physician, when changes are made, seek to "do no harm" and success will follow.

2008's Marketing Strategic Inflection Point

With the financial strategic inflection point we are now facing, fortunes will be made and some rightfully lost (i.e. those that put us there in the first place!) Selling improvements and upgrades in a down ecomony can be done, but fold these discussions in the context web 2.0 marketing to best postition your sales people and leveraging the core of next-gen marketing technologies moving forward..

Right now, companies need to be focused on "building the list" through verification intelligence and a supply chain mentality around bringing new leads. The tech is affordable and it lessens the stress around "cold calling", allowing sales teams to consider a fundamental shift, from 'total hunter' roles to a hybrid role that adds marketing automation technology (MAT) to provide verified, qualified leads.

MAT provides deliverables to your sales teams, allowing them to change the amount of prospecting they have to do, versus "farming" their existing accounts for growth. A formulation and training agenda could allow salespeople to shift to a higher percentage of "farmer time", working the new leads coming from MAT and doing much more with less.

MAT can also provide a domain that addresses the reality of growing a business: the requirement for a regular sales contact with existing customers, in an effort to review potential opportunities, growing their businesses potential and fostering longevity by driving deeper and more "stickily" in their larger business operations.

In the coming months. the companies that get MAT will prosper and optimize, while developing an awareness of how intuitive and diverse formulations can allow customers to be engaged and "ingratiated" by the process, pulling them to a place that can allow their sales teams to communicate without distraction. By trying to understand the prospects mind-set and designing programs that bring them to a trust level, we are allowed to request an exchange of information and engage the opportunity!.