Just because I can chop with an knife – doesn’t mean I can cook like Julia Child

I recently received a boxed set of vintage Julia Child cooking shows as a gift. A self-proclaimed foodie, I settled in to enjoy and found myself marveling at how easy Julia made chopping an onion look. Making dinner the next evening brandishing my freshly sharpened cutlery – I realized that just because I have the right tools, it doesn’t mean I’m proficient to brunoise. (It’s a real cooking term – you can look it up!) Then I wondered how many entrepreneurs are dealing with the same sentiment and don’t even realize it.

The moral of the story – we tweet because someone says we should . . . and we have the app on our mobile phone. We blog for a bit and then seem to run on empty, leaving abandoned thoughts in our wake. Your business communication is a tool too. And while you communicate daily, your communication may not be as effective as you think. An outside perspective can help you bring back the sharp edge to your communication program. Think of it like that finely honed 11-inch carbon steel knife deftly chopping onions – no tears!

 

Oh so matchy matchy

I had the good fortune to experience “Shop Your Closet” consultation with Sasha Westin of Fabuliss. She suggested I pair certain clothing items with others to make new outfits. In some cases there were things I had never thought about combining. Sasha took one look at several business suits I owned and advised me to stop being “too matchy matchy”.

Now this was tough order for me – the woman who wants all my place setting and silverware to match, and everything to be “just so”.

Following Sasha’a wisdom – I’ve paired my black and white houndstooth jacket with jeans and a sweater, and my red bandana print shirt has new life under a khaki blazer. I can more fully appreciate the art of unusual pairings (a topic I’ll cover in a future blog.)

While Sasha’s advice holds a great deal of wisdom for style.  I strongly believe that business’ communication should be “matchy matchy”. Consistent, integrated messaging is critical to communicate your value proposition clearly and effectively. Being “matchy matchy” means that no matter what communication touchpoint your prospects or clients might see, they “get it” and they remember your brand. This consistency should carry through your e-newsletters, your website, your presentation materials, your social media interactions, advertising and more.

The moral of the story – as your business grows, your communication may unknowingly become more fragmented – a directory listing here, a landing page there. A Communication Focus session serves as a great start for alignment. During a recent communication focus session, a client had an ah-ha moment – as her business had grown, the communication about her brand had become fragmented and less effective – and frankly, a bit confusing for customers and prospects.

When All Else Fails Pump Up The VOLUME?

My other “job” is being a mom to a usually adorable 6 year old. As bedtime approached one evening, dear daughter seemed to tune out, becoming increasingly inattentive. I was trying to wrap up the tuck in routine quickly for her benefit. I’ve learned that a tired girl in the morning = a crabby girl = stress for everyone on the way to school. So I did what seemed logical . . . turned up the volume. Think about it – if you can’t hear something on the radio or TV you reach for the dial (or remote) and turn it up.

It didn’t work so well with daughter. Which got me to thinking, how often do we create messages for our clients and prospects and when we don’t get a reaction (or the reaction we imagine) we just shout louder. Is that really working for you?

Think back to high school speech class – it was required wasn’t it? The communication model includes sender, receiver, message, channel, interference and feedback – lots of part working together. The evolution of technology has made it a great deal easier to collect feedback, to create conversations rather than the one-way messaging that dominated marketing, advertising and public relations for so long.

The moral of the story – rather than shouting louder, investing more time and money in attempting to attract your audience’s attention, perhaps it’s time to change up your message, solicit more feedback, engage your clients and prospects in meaningful discussions that inspire action.

Please Tell Me About It . . . Please?

I love Mike’s Corner Store’s take and bake pizzas, they make fabulous fresh “Landmark” pizzas and lasagna. So I was thrilled to learn they had a Facebook page and almost beside myself one busy afternoon when a “Special Offer” from Mike’s appeared on my Facebook news stream . . . 30 percent off a take and bake pizza if you told them you saw the offer on Facebook.

Here’s the message “Monday Night Football Special. You don’t have to watch football to get the Deal. Just come on down and mention this [sic] add on Facebook. 30% off all Pizza’s – No Coupon Nec. Tonight only. Call ahead for faster pick-up.”

So I called to order. “What are you talking about?” the person who answered the phone was puzzled. I tried to explain. It seems only the shop owner was aware of the promotion. The staff thought I was a nut, they had no idea about the promotion. What should have been a quick call to order my favorite pizza, wound up being an “on-hold” festival. I was on my way out the door for a time sensitive errand and couldn’t wait any longer, so I hung up. . . without having ordered my pizza. Thankfully the owner had the foresight to call me back, quickly get my order and make the situation right.

The moral of the story – communication isn’t just about customers and prospects, it’s about how employees embody and portray your brand. You can help your employees become stakeholders in your brand and your success through consistent communication.

 

 

I am a Backstage Kind of Person

Life is funny. Back in 1998 while in a corporate communications position I had the assignment of hosting a Ph.D. candidate who was to interview a number of “my” high technology executives for his dissertation.

As a “good” hostess, I arranged to meet him upon his arrival to town and took him for a tour of the sights and sounds of Minneapolis/Saint Paul complete with dinner at Dixie’s on Grand. During our “get to know you” discussion, we spoke about what we both liked and disliked about our professions, getting advanced degrees, and more. It was actually fun.

And oddly enough this “stranger” taught me a really important lesson about me. He noted that I was a backstage girl – the kind of person who works like a fiend behind the scenes to make everyone else look good. Pretty perceptive and spot on.

We got his interviews taken care of the next day and he was back on a plane to UC -Irvine. We exchanged a handful of emails as he wrapped up the Ph.D. and I presented my Master’s thesis. I think the last time I heard from him – he encouraged me to enjoy my time on stage accepting my degree.

But when I’m burning the midnight oil tweaking some writing or worrying about a detail and wonder if anyone cares, I remember my friend telling me that “it’s the backstage people that make things happen.”