Dodo Loves Marketing

Sooner or later you’ve got to begin someplace. Why not with Your own group? Sometimes, because of organizational constraints, the only meetings you can affect are the ones in which You participate. It makes sense to test these ideas in your own back yard. There is no better place to develop your skills and gain experience. If you’re going to spend valuable time and energy participating in meetings, why not make them more productive and enjoyable? Here are eight steps you can take as manager/chairperson to introduce the Interaction Method into your meetings. ..more

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The end of a relationship can be accompanied by despair, despondency and even depression. You will probably know at least one person whose work performance plummeted after a relationship breakup—if you haven’t experienced this misfortune yourself.

William, a product manager with a large manufacturing firm had been seeing Caroline on a steady basis for nine months when she told him one evening that there just wasn’t enough in their relationship to warrant any further contact. This news came suddenly and unexpectedly and William was devastated. He did not arrive at work the next day and rang in to say he was sick and would not be at work for a week. When he did return, his colleagues remarked about how ill he still looked. William said he had a severe case of influenza and hoped to bounce back quickly. In reality, it took William months to overcome the trauma of his severed relationship. During that period, his work performance was most decidedly down. His confidence and general outlook on life were also at low ebb. Fortunately, he had the good sense to see a professional about his emotional state, a move which facilitated his recovery. ..more

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11. Test the product thoroughly prior to launch

Your new product won’t get off the ground unless you test it before the launch. Customers hate being guinea pigs and will start looking elsewhere for supplies, as well as returning faulty goods for recompense.

12. Plan the termination of a product’s lifespan

If a new product is intended to replace an existing one, it is essential to time the introduction of the new product so as to allow stocks of the existing product to be sold first. Be careful not to ‘land’ stocks of old models on a valued customer’s lap, as he will resent being overstocked and be unable to take up stocks of the new model. Try to find a market that will willingly accept the old models so that all your valued customers can be involved to the full in the new product launch. ..more

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So what becomes of our individual privacy and anonymity in a world where there is an Internet-ready device at every turn we make. Aren’t we being bombarded with enough information and advertising as it is? Are car manufacturers going to “eavesdrop” on our weekend getaways? And who’s going to know that I rode an elevator in Chicago last Thursday afternoon? Is “somebody out there” going to know every TV show-watch? Are we marching toward a privacy nightmare or a service and convenience dream? What is going to keep the car manufacturer from selling your whereabouts to other vendors, or even letting it fall into the hands of sophisticated robbers who could drop by your house while you’re spending the weekend in the mountains? ..more

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Being primed and ready for the unexpected has always been a valuable talent. In today’s turbulent business environment, where mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations are changing the face of American business, managers need that adaptability more than ever. What are the skills that allow good managers to respond readily to change? There are five principal ones:

1. Problem-solving ability. Because we’re a global economy dominated by multinational companies, problems are appearing much more quickly and they are more severe than they were before. There is a lot of ambiguity and there are many paradoxes. Along with polished business smarts, you must also be problem-smart. Your antennae must detect problems early and be sensitive to potential difficulties before anyone else’s. Your intuitive powers must be razor-sharp so you can detect a problem’s early warning signals. Once found, you can determine the appropriate solution. ..more

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More and more managers are on the move. By the time they reach their late forties, general managers have assumed from three to nine managerial posts. All else being equal, a manager’s functional background, experience and special competencies will determine how that person takes charge, according to Dr. John J. Gabarro, professor of organizational behavior at the Harvard Business School, who carefully monitored the management experiences of 14 new executives over a three-year period.

Some managers make the transition in easy, sure strides; others falter and fail. Here are some touchstones for a safe voyage: ..more

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Some networkers dread objections. That’s the wrong attitude! You should welcome objections (strange as it may seem) because, as long as the prospect is raising objections, she is interested in the product and networking. What she is really saying is: ‘If you can show me my objection is unfounded, I’ll join.’ And that’s a much better situation than the customer who simply walks away and is not interested.

Also, a question is not necessarily an objection. It can be a sincere desire to know more; a sign of interest.

Often the prospect has doubts and uncertainties about network marketing or the value of the products you are selling. She may genuinely need time to think it over because the whole concept is new. An objection means that you have not really sold the prospect the idea of network marketing. You have not dispelled the fear that she is making the wrong decision and that the benefits you promise will not materialise. ..more

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All business owners know what cash flow is—if not technically, then emotionally. Nevertheless, it’s worthwhile to approach this subject from the very beginning because it is key to business success. Some business school professors have even begun to impart to their students the latest thinking about cash flow: “Cash flow is more important than your mother.”

A useful way to think about cash flow is to view the business as a living organism. Cash is the nutrient that runs through its arteries and veins. The brain might be viewed as the product or service, the heart as the marketing, and the stomach as the finances, at which point it all begins to get a little messy. If you don’t have enough cash flow, though, rest assured that the living organism turns into a skeleton. , ..more

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Innovation has become so commonplace that scarcely any product survives long enough to age. New ideas and items are born obsolete. The cycle never stops. Accordingly, customers and suppliers alike grow dizzy in their futile pursuit of the next best thing.

Last year, consumers in the United States were inundated by roughly twenty-three thousand new packaged goods—about 450 per week. Revlon, Inc., alone introduced four hundred new items. Combine that with the thousands of other new consumer products that appeared, from computer advances to car models, and you get a sense of the plethora of choices, a flood that would have daunted Noah. ..more

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The second type of manager is keen to learn from market leaders. Astute observers, they have a penchant for analysis and methodology. You can visualize them taking copious notes, jotting down ideas, making checklists, and trying to decipher winning formulas. These managers reside equally among market-leading companies and their lagging competitors. Both design insightful strategies and plans for action. Yet the laggards have more trouble getting others within their organizations to adopt their plans. That even seasoned managers aren’t immune to this problem is evidenced in the number of well-considered plans and sound proposals that die prematurely because they are stonewalled by other departments, ignored by coworkers, or overshadowed by more prosaic routines. This situation is all too familiar to consultants whose well-crafted recommendations end up collecting dust because their clients were not adequately prepared for the changes the new plans entailed. Additionally, rookie MBAs face a rude awakening the first time their knowledge and bright ideas are not instantly acclaimed.

Whereas earlier the manager’s trouble was mobilizing employees, in this instance the obstacle is her or his inability to rally colleagues and bosses around the proposed solutions. If and when they overcome their resistance, excessive amounts of precious energy and time will have been lost. That they may shine methodically is irrelevant in this context because their direction and priorities aren’t aligned with those of the other people who have a stake in the outcome. Market leadership doesn’t bypass these managers because their plans lack specificity or rigor, but rather because they are not sharing the perspective held by the rest of the organization regarding exactly what needs to be done to win in the marketplace. ..more

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