The World’s Not Small It’s Just Sliced Really Thin

October 26, 2009

We often remark how much smaller the world has become. Technology has facilitated our ability to seamlessly connect with people around the globe. Social media has added a new depth to this ability by allowing us to connect around common points of interests.

Yet, while the world seems small, it is vast and largely unexplored.

Only a small percentage of the world’s population travels with regularity around the globe. It is both impractical and cost prohibitive for most people, but is the not the primary reason for the limitation. We are creatures of habit. We may venture out of our comfort zones on occasion but even the adventurer follows a predictable pattern.

Online, the limitations and boundaries are removed and still we confine ourselves to one little part of the globe. The cyberworld is not small it is huge but highly segmented into tiny little pieces.

We find micro communities or tribes based on interests, activities and hobbies and we settle into a comfortable networking community. Our tiny little segment seems big because it’s populated with people from around the globe. We marvel at our ability to connect across cultures, time zones and languages as we join virtual hands to sing “We are the world.”

We venture out from our big, tiny world on occasion but we return back to the familiar with predictable regularity.

I happen to be fond of tribes as a human and marketer, but I am not blind to the downside of tribal affinity. Tribes make it easy to get caught in an echo chamber where perception is mistaken as fact. You can fall into the belief that others understand the language, and share the same beliefs as the tribe.

The tribe can dull your senses and stunt your innovation. Without realizing it your world shrinks to the size of your tribe. You see the same topics discussed, products pushed and methods used by members of the tribe and your mind concludes that this is the way of everyone. Welcome to the echo chamber.

Luckily, there is an easy fix. Go visit other cultures. You will find that a simple change of internet scenery will expose you to a whole new group of people with their own language, and tribal traditions.

You may find that the change of conversation will spark new ideas and enable you to see your business challenges and triumphs in a new way. You may even find a previously untapped market eager for what you have to offer.

Tribes are good except when they’re not. Get out and see the world, after all online it’s virtually free.

Have you ever found yourself caught in the echo chamber? How did it affect your views and decisions?

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Posted by Karen Swim | Filed Under Marketing, Social Media | 11 Comments

When Change Meets Resistance

October 22, 2009

: Image by David Paul Ohmer via Flickr

Change is a funny thing. As fervently as we embrace it we seem also to have a natural resistance to it. It’s scary, yet exciting; we need the new yet often cling to the familiar. If each of us possesses this natural love/hate relationship with change, imagine how it impacts the people in our lives.

Change very often makes the people around us uncomfortable. The overweight spouse who embarks on a health overhaul, the needy sibling who begins to take charge of their life, the quiet colleague that becomes bold about contributing ideas and standing up to peers. All of these changes can provoke chaos in the surrounding environment.

While you may be embracing change as growth and forward momentum, those around you may see it as a threat to their position or relationship with you. Ultimately, it’s not your change they are really resisting but how that change will affect them. They respond by trying to defend against the “attack” to protect their own comfort zone.

Those who fear change may unintentionally sabotage your growth. That resistance can sometimes derail your good intentions.

In business, I have personally watched leaders hindered in their growth by the fans that surrounded them. New ideas and behaviors were shot down in an effort to “protect” the leader from making mistakes. The leaders remained stuck in patterns that no longer worked encouraged by loyalists who were afraid that change would leave no room for them.

So, how do you balance the complexity of change without alienating everyone around you?

Acknowledge that not everyone will grab their pom poms and cheer the new you. Change is hard! Be sensitive, but firm in your desire to grow. As I pondered these thoughts on Facebook this week I noted that there are those who may be left behind. I was struck by the very wise words of Kevin Buck which sums it up beautifully:

“As you walk with integrity and a prophetic voice, the community you attract shifts with your transformation.”

Yes, you may lose some people along the way but your transformation will attract new people who will be aligned with who you are and more importantly who you are becoming.

When the resistance is from loved ones, reassure them of their place in your life. People that love you will come around in their own time and in their own way.

The important thing is to be true to yourself and your calling. While our human nature may resist change, without it we will wither and die.

Have you ever encountered resistance to change? How did you handle it?

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Posted by Karen Swim | Filed Under Business and Career | 29 Comments

Fruity Marketing Lessons

October 19, 2009

: Image via Wikipedia

A California grocer recalled several cartons of Del Monte Cantaloupe because it may be contaminated with salmonella. I read the story and realized I don’t spend much time thinking about Cantaloupe. In fact, I could not have been counted on to tell you Del Monte produced cantaloupe.

Imagine being a brand that fades into the background of consumers’ minds until it is placed front and center by negative news. I do associate Del Monte with certain fruit but now I will remember they also grow cantaloupe. In the short term, I will also remember the association with salmonella.

When it comes to food, I care about organic, environmentally safe and locally grown. There are brands I associate with my food values but all the others just become fruit in the bins.

Do your consumers care about your brand or are you just one of many choices? Are they turning over the fruit looking for your label or just choosing whatever is convenient? Would it take a problem or bad news for your brand to be visible or do they know and love you now?

I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be the Del Monte of cantaloupe.

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Posted by Karen Swim | Filed Under Marketing | 6 Comments

FTC Guidelines on Endorsements and Testimonials

October 7, 2009

: Image by Marcus Vegas via Flickr

The internet is buzzing with the pros and cons of FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, 16 CFR Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. You can read the full text by downloading the PDF .

The revised guides are effective December 1, 2009 – Merry Christmas from the U.S. Government.

While many have focused on the impact on bloggers who do product reviews, the guides cover television, hidden camera endorsements, expert endorsements and much more.

A few things that caught my eye:

“Results not typical” statements are no longer acceptable. The FTC tested the statements and found that the disclaimer was ineffective. You should report the general results not the outliers.

You can be liable for making false statements, even if you’re reading a script.

We may never see another celebrity endorser. Lesser known working actors can rejoice, because there may be a few more roles for you to play. Celebrity endorsers must disclose a paid relationship whether they are talking about a product on a talk show, on their personal blog or website or in a company sponsored ad.

Advertisers and bloggers are held responsible for misleading statements. Advertisers must train and monitor bloggers doing reviews. Note the text below that follows one of the many detailed examples (Example 5) in the guide:

“In order to limit its potential liability, the advertiser should ensure that the advertising service provides guidance and training to its bloggers concerning the need to ensure that statements they make are truthful and substantiated. The advertiser should also monitor bloggers who are being paid to promote its products and take steps necessary to halt the continued publication of deceptive representations when they are discovered.”

Experts must exercise their expertise in comparing products and offering testimonials. Many information marketers use testimonials and endorsements from “experts” in their product advertisements. This too is being held to a new standard:

“…the expert must have concluded that, with respect to those features on which he or she is expert and which are relevant and available to an ordinary consumer, the endorsed product is at least equal overall to the competitors’ products. Moreover, where the net impression created by the endorsement is that the advertised product is superior to other products with respect to any such feature or features, then the expert must in fact have found such superiority.”

The FTC uses very specific examples to point out acceptable actions and those that will be called into question. If Tiger Woods endorses a golf club, he is held to a different standard because he is a well known celebrity who is associated with golf. A spokesperson doing the same endorsement not associated with golf is held to different standards.

Before reading the guides, I believed the issue to be as simple as disclosing financial relationships. After reading them, it will impact my actions going forward in providing testimonials and endorsements.

Have you read the guidelines? If so, do you have any concerns or is this a good thing?

By the way, I was not paid to write this post!

FTC to Fine Bloggers up to $11,000 for Not Disclosing Payments (mashable.com)
FTC: Bloggers, celebrities beware! (money.cnn.com)
FTC to bloggers: Fess up or pay up (news.cnet.com)
Potential FTC Fines Raise Big Blogging Questions (webpronews.com)

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Posted by Karen Swim | Filed Under Marketing | 14 Comments

Crazy Colors, Level Doors and Life Lessons

October 5, 2009

I had a dream this weekend that Joanna Young sold me her house. It was under construction with half finished rooms and much of the roof missing. Somehow I had bought the contraption house and was happily living in it while completing construction.

: Image by unertlkm via Flickr

Joanna came to visit and I showed her around, eventually leading her to the master bedroom. The room had a huge bed, a big screen TV and a tub with a seating area in front of it. We sat on the huge bed, me cross legged and grinning and Joanna prim and proper.

“I hate this bedroom, that’s why I sold the house, ” Joanna stated as she involuntarily shuddered.

“We fixed the door, see it’s level and smooth now,” I said beaming with pride, immune to her criticism.

For a few moments we both sat looking at the neon green door that looked like glowing slime, with two windows on either side painted the same color. Still grinning I looked around the room at dark blue walls and the red seating area in front of the tub.

In the light of day I was both mortified and tickled at the realization that I must have a dormant tacky gene that haunts me in sleep. Once I got past the horror of my color scheme, I reflected on the 5 lessons of the dream.

Lesson #1: I am apparently blissfully happy as long as I have a bed, bathtub, and TV even if the color scheme would make a sane person puke. Scary but true.

: Image by ஐ★ღ§wêê†Båbίί®åєღ★ஐ via Flickr

Lesson #2: The house did not work for Joanna but I found happiness there. My face beamed with joy surrounded by all my tacky colors and half finished house. When Joanna blatantly stated her dislike, it would have been easy to lose my enthusiasm and agree with someone whose opinion I deeply respect. How often in life do we shy away from doing things a certain way because someone smarter, popular or more successful has spoken against it? We may begin to doubt our judgment or ability to make it work when someone “better” could not.

Lesson #3: The color scheme and much of the house needed work but I was able to celebrate the accomplishment of a level door. It is easy to miss what you have already accomplished when you are sitting in the middle of a half finished house. Take a moment and give yourself a pat on the back for what’s been done. That small task is one less thing on your to-do list.

Lesson #4: The colors may not make sense to someone else but they are YOUR colors. It’s tempting to stay with safe, proven color schemes. You will blend right in and no one will point and laugh but safe colors are precisely that safe. Own your tacky, putrid, neon colors,let ‘em fly! Those colors are your distinction, they are what makes you unique. I would rather be flying my quirky neon flag than trying to compete with the millions of safe colors in the crayon box.

Lesson #5: Visiting with friends always makes you happy even if you’re visiting in a room that one of you detests.

Are you proudly sporting your unique colors or playing it safe? Why or why not?

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Posted by Karen Swim | Filed Under Business and Career, Marketing | 17 Comments

Tick Tock It’s Friday

October 2, 2009

: Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday morning I grabbed my remote and flipped to a fitness channel wanting to fit in one more workout before rushing headlong into the day. As I read the description of the program, the original air date was listed as 10/1/09. I frowned and wondered what was wrong with the guide.

I finished my workout and hurried through the morning routine. The morning went fast yet felt slow and soon it was 1pm in the afternoon. I stepped outside to breathe in the fresh fall air and feel the sun on my face. The treetops were beginning to turn and the red and gold stood brightly against the clear sky.

I pushed away thoughts of work and simply stood breathing face tilted to the sun. Time was moving so fast, I needed this space to catch my breath and relax instead of running after it.

At the end of the day, I flipped on the TV and again saw the stupid date was wrong. I was too tired to call the cable company so I settled in to relax. An hour later, I realized that September had ended and it was not the guide that was broken but me! The date was in fact 10/1/09 and I had simply missed the passage of one month into another.

Weekend, anyone?