Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/466057
www.HartfordBusiness.com January 5, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 21 Biz Books Women partnerships can make businesses more effective "P ower Through Partnership: How Women Lead Better Together" by Betsy Polk and Maggie Ellis Chotas (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, $16.95). When starting a business, partnership isn't for everyone because sharing deci- sion-making and working through issues can lead to contentious moments. That said, the authors, co-found- ers of The Mulberry Part- ners, found that women working together brought a shared perspective of the business and an apprecia- tion of the importance of the time needed to raise a fam- ily. Using the input of numer- ous women who successfully partnered, the authors focus on the intertwined benefits derived from partnering: Flexibility — Women understand the need for work- life balance better than men because they have two jobs — work and family. Having some- one you trust to step up or step back when these jobs intersect makes it easier to do what the moment requires. Confidence — Being able to play off the strengths of each partner makes the whole stronger than the parts. Decision-making improves because of knowledge-sharing. The author's state: "Whenever we've faced a task that seemed challenging, all we had to do is remind ourselves that together we were sure to figure it out." Freedom — Expectations in work world are often set by men. Women work- ing together level their own playing field. They can bring their whole self to work knowing they won't be judged by a female peer who grapples with the same issues. They feel comfortable about acting and expressing feelings in ways that many males may question. Steady support — It's more than knowing that someone has your back. It's about shared leadership, and knowing that second- guessing diminishes when there's give-and-take about ideas, as well as problems and potential solutions. Mutual accountability — When peo- ple count on each other to make things hap- pen, a business develops a laser focus on outcomes. Fear of letting a partner down provides ongoing motivation. Key takeaway: Women's partnership relationships tend to zigzag between pro- fessional and personal and back again. The zigzagging makes collaboration more of a shared-life experience than a business arrangement. Success comes from investing trust, managing egos and sharing control. • • • "Fizz — Harness the Power of Word of Mouth Marketing to Drive Brand Growth" by Ted Wright (McGraw Hill, $25). When it comes to buying decisions, a Nielsen study reports that the vast major- ity of consumers trust recommendations from family, friends and colleagues versus TV advertising and online brand pages where the corporate voice dominates. The clear message: Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) works. Yet, the message isn't getting through; according to a market- ing industry study, only 17 percent of large companies describe WOMM as a major spending category. To capitalize on word of mouth marketing, businesses must create a story that's "talk- able," and then find influencers to carry the message. Who are these influencers? They are people "deeply involved in their community, however that community is defined." They collect information about their passions in order to share stories. Try- ing new things keeps their stories cutting edge. Once you have a "talkable" story, how do you locate influencers? Wright cites Internet forums as a great source. They mimic the face-to-face interaction of a com- munity. They go online to learn, comment and share. There's pro and con interaction and unvarnished authenticity. You can tell by the comments whether your story reso- nates. It takes time to engage with these people — time that's not really ROI mea- surable because you don't know how fast or how far they're spreading the word. Your story can't be one-off. You need to con- stantly feed new stories to the community in order to keep the influencers engaged. Comments give you clues as to where to focus content. The bottom line: Every- one online can be a reporter, advocate, critic, publisher — and influencer. Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak exeCutive management Seven tips for running a lean, mean marketing machine By Andy Singer O ver the years I have been amazed at the variations in how efficiently market- ing departments are run. Marketing is critical to the growth of your business and there are ways to do more with less. Here are seven tips for running a lean, mean marketing machine. 1. Have a great website: Yes, it's 2015 and everyone has a website, but if you spend any time on the Internet, you know there is the good, the bad and the ugly. Make sure you have others review your web- site and use their feedback to optimize its design. Seek customer input frequently. Don't forget to make it easy for customers to find your contact information and product infor- mation. Amazingly, not all sites do. A great website will have an amazing return on investment and help grow your business. A poor website could drive cus- tomers away and towards your competition. Spend the time to have a great website. You will be richly rewarded. 2. Use email marketing: Email market- ing is one of the lowest-cost forms of commu- nicating with your customers. You can write about tips, advice, new products and anything else your customer's would be interested in. Create content that engages your custom- ers. Use a "less is more" approach and only send out emails when you have developed use- ful content. If there is no one on your team that can write a newsletter, hire a ghost writer. It is well worth the cost when you consider the expense of traditional advertising. Make sure your emails and newsletters look and sound professional and that you allocate resources to develop good content on a regular basis. 3. Be efficient at trade shows: Trade shows can be a fantastic way to find new customers, or they can be a money pit. Trade shows are often one of the biggest line items in your marketing budget. Be sure your team carefully controls costs to ensure efficiency. One area to focus on is to be careful you don't send too many employees. Additionally, you should carefully track what sales are driven over time as a result of customers you meet at a show. If there is no evidence of driving business, carefully con- sider if you should be attending in the future. 4. Distribute press releases: Make sure that someone on your team is trained to write press releases and then distribute them to local media and industry trade journals. Press releases may, or may not, get picked up by various media, but any exposure you get is basically free. 5. Understand your target audience: To run an effective, but lean marketing organiza- tion it is essential you understand and engage your key target audience. If your target audi- ence is public utilities, spending money on local television ads will reach many "eyeballs," but it would be a very inefficient way of target- ing your potential customers. The more you can learn about who your key target audience is and how to reach them, the more efficiently you can deploy your market- ing dollars. 6. Be careful of retainers: If you're uti- lizing an agency that requires a large retain- er, make sure you train your staff on how to minimize billable hours. Your costs can increase exponentially if your team is making frequent contact in these situations. Paying per job may be a bet- ter option and help control costs. 7. Give back to the community: I have always believed in giving back. Not only is it the right thing to do, but your employees will feel good. This also positions your company in a very positive way. Using these tips and other ideas, you can run a lean, mean marketing machine. Remember to develop ways to measure results, so you understand what works. As with anything else, strive for continu- ous improvement and reap the rewards. n Andy Singer is the president of Singer Exec- utive Development, a professional training and development company that helps opti- mize business performance of employees and executives. He can be reached at andy. singer@singerexecutivedevelopment.com. Andy Singer ▶ ▶ Women understand the need for work-life balance better than men because they have two jobs — work and family. Having someone you trust to step up or step back when these jobs intersect makes it easier to do what the moment requires.