Thinking About Canada and Canadians

Thoughts on November 11:

While watching the CBC broadcast from Ottawa, I was impressed by the participation and inclusion of  embassies from around the world, from America to Zimbabwe.  I wondered if the War Memorial would run out of space for the wreaths deposited.

For some reason this was the biggest observation of November 11 across Canada.  Perhaps the recent involvement in Afghanistan contributed to the national outpouring of thanks and appreciation of those who put their lives on the line.

I was further impressed by the gracious treatment of the Governer General's grandaughters in the reception line, as though Canada's inclusion had rubbed off on our visitors.

Hurricane Sandy and the subsequent storm caused such problems with the utilities, Canadian Municipalities dispatched their own crews and equipment to the US east coast to assist in bringing order and service to stricken municipalities.  They no sooner got things up and running from Sandy, when the nor'easter hit, and Canadian crews had to rescue the US crews because they couldn't deal with the snow, and restore operation, again!

Remembered the words of an American grateful for Canadian crews in the US because of the storms: "Who would have thought it would take the Canucks to know what to do and arrive equipped to bail us out."

Capable, inclusive and accepting.  In his acceptance speech, Obama said that in this term of office, he would work so Americans have more of these qualities.  On November 11 we exhibited the qualities of graciousnous and we were gentle.

Do you think we get something very important 'right' and could be considered world leaders in emotional quotient?

Marketing Tips for Success

Success is not gained by one big overwhelming thing, but by a succession of small, consistent, regular efforts.

There are many key areas of marketing for which one could write numerous tips, but to narrow it down, I would have to put them under the following categories:

·         Image

·         Planning and Organization

·         Activity

Businesses find they have a problem defining Marketing and separating it from Sales.  Actually you can’t separate them.  They are a continuum.  If you have a business, you have to ask for the order…eventually.  That’s sales.

Image

This all encompassing title includes what your company stands for, and bores right down to your belief system.  If you don’t believe in what you are selling, you can’t sell it with any integrity, and people won’t believe in you either, nor will they buy from you. 

1.     Have a Vision, and a Mission, and write them down. 

2.     Be able to articulate why you are in business and what you want to achieve. 

3.     Have a clear, concise and consistent message so people will know exactly what you are selling and your brand is readily identifiable. 

4.     Protect your brand.

Planning and Organization

There is one very good reason to have a plan and that is so you don’t get caught up in the details of your business, and miss opportunities.  Your plan is your roadmap. 

1.     Have a Business Plan including a Marketing Plan and a Financial Plan.

2.     Work your plan.  Give it a chance to work for you.  Use a ‘parking lot’ for opportunities that come at you out of left field, and re-visit them when you review your plan.

3.     Use a Marketing Planner notebook.  You need to have one place for all your ideas and the information.  It’s a good tool for keeping everything together.

Activity

It’s activity that will put you where your customer can trip over you. 

1.     Define your target market. 

2.     Know your customers’ hot buttons (so you can solve their problems). 

3.     Where do your customers live-work-play?  That’s where you can connect with them.

4.     It’s a numbers game.  Know your ratios.

Finally

Don’t try to do everything: you don’t know how, and there are only 24 hours in a day.  Do what you do best and delegate the rest.

Drive to Business Success

Look to this blog for Marketing and Business ideas and thoughts for businesses of all sizes.
There are so many practical things you can do to grow your business.  Success is driven not by one big newsworthy thing that you do, but by the ordinary small day to day things you do to run your business.  Image is everything, so remember as a business person you are always "ON", and behave as if you are with a client even when you think there's nobody looking