Multiple Channels, Multiple Times
I've just been reading about the frustrations of a Human Resources manager. He's tired of having to answer the same questions about benefits over and over again.I understand that, having been on both sides of the issue, both as a consumer of benefits and in communicating about them on behalf of corporate clients. Benefits can be the slippery eels of internal communication.But, to put the issue into context, this is another case of complex communication. In this case, a large volume of information that's not easy to understand.Descriptions of benefits typically involve a high level of density: in other words, they contain a lot of information in a small amount of 'space'. Many of them resemble insurance policies -- long on legal language and short on examples and anecdotes. As a result, the information is accessible to only a small proportion of the whole group.How do you deal with this kind of communication challenge? Multiple channels, multiple times. That means repeating the message many times, and sending it through as many different channels as possible.For example, when one of my clients changed its benefits package to offer more choices, it used this strategy. Collectively, the overall value of the benefits would work out the same for the company. But, individual employees would have to make choices, and in many cases the value of the individual benefits they received would depend on how wisely they made their decisions. In turn, that could lead to the equivalent of 'buyer's remorse' and complaints.The company took a proactive approach to the changeover. It began planning well in advance of the switch, and its preparations included the equivalent of focus groups to identify concerns, questions, and problems.Then, in the month or so before the chan

Delegating Responsibility and Work
Properly delegating responsibility and work does a lot more than make your life as a leader or manager easier. It builds teamwork, increases efficiency, develops careers, raises morale and boosts productivity. But it is not always easy to do. However, the skills necessary to become better at delegating can be learned.Think about the following philosophy from Mort Meyerson, former CEO, Perot Systems from the article titled "Everything I Thought I Knew About Leadership Is Wrong," Fast Company, April 1996:"The … job of the leader is to pick the right people to be part of the organization and to create an environment where those people can succeed. That means encouraging others to help develop the strategy and grow the philosophy of the company. It means more collaboration and teamwork among people at every level of the company. I am now a coach, not an executive. When people ask me for a decision, I pick up a mirror, hold it up for them to look into, and tell them: Look to yourselves and look to the team, don't look to me." Far too many CEOs are reluctant to let go of day-to-day control of their businesses. Letting go can be very hard. The same character traits that led the CEO to found the organization or build it into its present-day success can work against the need to relinquish authority to other qualified individuals. What's the answer? Many leading business experts say the best way to become comfortable with delegating responsibility is surrounding yourself with the best people you can find - people whose abilities you value and respect. With a strong management team in place, it's foolish, even self-destructive, not to take full advantage of their skills and abilities. Make sure you employ people whose beliefs are aligned

Fire Your Boss: Work For You Instead
Have you ever wanted to fire your boss? I’ve never known anybody who didn’t want to at least once a year. I’ve worked with lots of people who wanted to once a day!I believe you SHOULD fire your boss. That doesn’t mean quitting your job.You have a choice in your work life. You can work for you, or you can work only to make somebody else rich. I recommend the first one.No matter who signs your paycheck, you can work for you. All that means is using your work effort to produce a better lifestyle for your family. In my opinion, that means financial wealth (at least relative to where you are now) and abundant time to spend with those you love.Sounds good, doesn’t it? The bad news is that remarkably few employees do it. The good news is that anybody can, and it’s not hard. You simply have to shift the way you think.Don’t think like an employee, who shows up, collects a paycheck and depends on his employer’s benevolence to keep getting paid. That makes you a prisoner of your boss and your job.Instead, think like an owner. Go to work everyday and do your best to find ways to increase company profits. Look for ways to reduce costs or increase revenue. Those profit improvement possibilities are literally everywhere, but few employees bother to look.If you find great ways to increase profit, that will help your boss tremendously. Your boss and his bosses might be too frazzled with the day-to-day grind to see all of the possibilities themselves. Help them out! Believe it or not, that will help you.Those profit improvement ideas, if you present them well to the right people at the right time, might just get you a raise, or promoted. Those ideas also can help you build a killer resume.A steady track record of improving profits sells like hotcakes. A few

Five Reasons Trade Show Exhibits Are So Popular
The size of the trade show display industry is impressive and it is growing. According to Trade Show Exhibitors Association (TSEA), 51 million people attended trade shows last year in the United States. There were more than 13,000 trade shows in the nation with 1.2 million companies exhibiting. This is a testimony to the tremendous value in networking and being able to touch and demonstrate new products. Trade shows connect buyer to seller and people to people in a way that virtual marketing can never achieve.Here are five compelling reasons why trade show displays across the U.S. are successful:1. Networking with the right people at the trade show. You get to see and be seen. You meet your clients and client prospects face –to- face and get instant feedback. This is certainly good news since there has been a dramatic business shift to online marketing, home offices, smaller field sales forces and the depersonalization of the sales function. With e-commerce dominating the business process, cell phones, email communications and Web commerce, there are fewer opportunities for face-to-face business development. The realization that relationships drive commerce has forced companies to view trade shows as a key opportunity for personal encounters. And, research shows that two or three days of dealing directly with decision makers in a trade show exhibit environment can cut the cost and time of closing deals by as much as 50 percent.2. Showcases company’s new products and innovations. Trade shows draw massive attention to new products seen by the right people. At the trade show, your booth staff can help educate attendees on your company’s array of products and services as well as walking prospects through the decision-making process. People need to see and feel new products a

How To Buy Bad Advertising
I have had an e-mail from a gentleman with something on his mind. Since what is irking him may be of general interest, he has been good enough to allow me to dissertate on it right here. As a matter of fact, it's of a touch more than general interest, because his is exactly the kind of account that the freelances among us earn our bread and butter from. So it could be a lesson learned.The gentleman in question is the advertising manager of a Midlands engineering company with a total promotional budget of around ?300,000. Of this, some ?200,000 is spent through an ad agency. Up to a couple of years ago, our friend had been using a local agency which, he says, 'gave us excellent service; but their output of ideas and their general standard of creative work left a lot to be desired'.Accordingly, not without a good deal of heart-searching, he moved the account to a medium-sized, up-and-coming London agency with a strong and growing reputation for creative originality. Has everything turned out fine? Not particularly. He is not getting the same kind of 'we'll be around in five minutes for the brief and have some scribbles ready for you in the morning' service that the previous people gave him. Nor has his present agency exactly set the Thames on fire with its standard of work.Yet, he says (and here's the nub of it) they are doing some outstanding work for other clients of theirs. Therefore, is his appropriation too small for them to bother about? Has he jumped from provincial frying pan into metropolitan fire? "In all fairness to them," he ends, "ours is a rather difficult account which presents special problems."Well, let's take the service angle first. If someone lives on your doorstep, and if your business represents a sizeable slice of his turnover, obviously he is going to

Positioning in Small Business Marketing
Positioning is another one of those marketing jargon words that everybody throws around and is important to understand. It's also important to understand how positioning specifically applies to your small business marketing.Basically a marketing position describes your unique place in the market. The key word here is unique. What makes you different from your competitors? What features and benefits do you offer your target market that the other players don't?Here are a few things that may go into your positioning:-Price Point - This doesn't necessarily mean you have the lowest price. You may be the most expensive in town, and that's OK if you convince your customers you're worth it.-Service - Almost every business claims they have great service. If you can provide exceptional service compared to your competitors, your customers will remember you. I'll never forget calling a surly plumber to try to get him to my house for an emergency on a weekend. he acted like he didn't want my business and then told me it was going to be $200 for him just to show up, no thanks. I called roto-router who gave me amazing service, a guarantee, and the whole bill was less than $200. I now use them for all my plumbing.-Features and Benefits - Positioning is not just about what makes you different, it's also about what you emphasize. Folgers announces to the world that it's "mountain grown coffee" ( a feature). Guess what? All coffee is mountain grown. Folgers just claimed this feature first. What's something that none of your competitors are talking about?-Credibility - Legal Seafood's clam chowder is served at every presidential inauguration. Many products get celebrity endorsements. Many companies tout how long they've been in business. All of these things build trust in the mi